Ask the experts

[El Chupacabra]

But why bother with a 2-piston in the rear unless it's for a full-on XC bike? Just go with 4-piston F&R... other than Magura, I can't think of a company that sells a complete set that's split like that.

Shimano sells, or, at least used to sell, a 4-piston front + 2-piston rear brake set. Wasn't very common.

IMHO a 2-piston Shimano brake is more powerful than a 4-piston SRAM Guide.

[MCS5280]

Adding some new 1x shifters to my gravel bike that run the rear derailleur cable under the bar tape. My frame has internal routing that enters on the drive side of the down tube. Which way should I route this cable up to the right shifter?

[toast2266]

Adding some new 1x shifters to my gravel bike that run the rear derailleur cable under the bar tape. My frame has internal routing that enters on the drive side of the down tube. Which way should I route this cable up to the right shifter?

Of those options, definitely A. But is the frame tube in tube routing? Can you have the cable enter on the non-drive side port near the headtube and then exit at the drive side by the bottom bracket (or wherever it comes out).

[MCS5280]

Of those options, definitely A. But is the frame tube in tube routing? Can you have the cable enter on the non-drive side port near the headtube and then exit at the drive side by the bottom bracket (or wherever it comes out).

The housing ports just dump the cables into the down tube, no guidetube. Unfortunately the entrance hole in the frame is too small to pass two cables on one side. Brake line on non-drive side takes up the entire opening.

[Thaleia]

What maintenance jobs do you do on your mountain bikes over the winter? I've got the yearly shock and fork service done, and will do my dropper post and refill my tubeless wheels next. Bike shop bro said my rear derailleur clutch needs some attention so I'll service that as well.

Anything else beyond the obvious drive train cleaning and lubing?

[Thaleia]

What maintenance jobs do you do on your mountain bikes over the winter? I've got the yearly shock and fork service done, and will do my dropper post and refill my tubeless wheels next. Bike shop bro said my rear derailleur clutch needs some attention so I'll service that as well.

Anything else beyond the obvious drive train cleaning and lubing?

[Andeh]

Check pivot, headset, & BB bearings. Check brake pads & bleed brakes.

[Dantheman]

Fresh chain queso.

[toast2266]

Around this time every winter, I like to spend 5 or 10 minutes admiring all the mud on my downtube that I didn't get around to cleaning before I turned my hose bibs off for the season.

[Dantheman]

Heh. The amount of time I spend thinking "I should really get the bikes all dialed in before spring" usually far exceeds the amount of time I actually spending getting the bikes dialed in.

[Thaleia]

Check pivot, headset, & BB bearings. Check brake pads & bleed brakes.

Good stuff, thank you.

To the naysayers yeah that's me most years but I've got some time on my hands and it's been mainly a snowless winter here.

[The Reverend Floater]

Question: How enjoyable is Fruita towards the end of March? Taking a road trip with my 8 year old and thinking Road 18 area would be fun but it looks like the weather is iffy that time of year?

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[The Reverend Floater]

Also, in regards to off-season stuff, all of the above plus new rubber. And don't forget to charge those derailleurs (still seems weird to me).

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[evdog]

My comment was directed at changing from 4-piston XT to 4-piston SLX, or vice versa. No reason to do so.

I'd agree unless there is a problem with the set that's on the bike. I've gone from Zee 4-piston to XT 2-piston and 2 years ago replaced brakes on all bikes at once going with SLX 4-piston up front and 2-piston in back. Honestly I can't tell much difference between any of them. Going up to bigger rotors was noticeable.

The annoyance I have with XT/SLX 4-piston is they changed the design of the finned pads. They now use the old Saint/Zee pads, but with a smaller fin. So you can't use up your stash of old Zee finned pads. But the non-finned work fine. Of course the new finned pads are $$ and seldom on sale.

[evdog]

it's been mainly a snowless winter here.

Shouldn't you be out riding the bike then?

That's what gets me off the hook on major mtce. Too busy riding all the time

[smmokan]

Question: How enjoyable is Fruita towards the end of March? Taking a road trip with my 8 year old and thinking Road 18 area would be fun but it looks like the weather is iffy that time of year?

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There’s a better chance than not that the weather will be nice in late March. But honestly, it’s hard to know until about a week beforehand.

[toast2266]

Question: How enjoyable is Fruita towards the end of March? Taking a road trip with my 8 year old and thinking Road 18 area would be fun but it looks like the weather is iffy that time of year?

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I've generally had good luck in fruita that time of year, but yes, it's hit or miss. Fruita tends to be a little colder than moab, and some of the dirt can turn into heinous mud if it's wet. For that time of year, that mostly means that a dusting of snow that's easy to ride through can mud-ify the trails when the day warms up.

[snowaddict91]

Also, 18 Road is usually the slowest to dry out behind Kokopelli and Lunch Loops, mostly due to the clay mud. The way this winter has been I'd say you have a good shot at dry riding then.

[The Reverend Floater]

Also, 18 Road is usually the slowest to dry out behind Kokopelli and Lunch Loops, mostly due to the clay mud. The way this winter has been I'd say you have a good shot at dry riding then.

Thanks for the input, all.

I haven't ridden there in years but I feel like 18 Road would be perfect for an 8 year old.

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[NuMexJoe]

Hayes Prime fitting question: I bought a Prime Pro lever/master cylinder and a Hayes hose kit (compatible with Prime, among others) separately. The former came with a one-piece hose fitting; the latter with a two-piece. I only need one at the master (caliper end has a pre-installed banjo), so which should I use? My impression is that they introduced the two-piece with the Dominion, so it's newer, but does that make it better? As to why I'm going with Prime, it's for a moto LHRB I'm kludging together. It's good enough for Ox Brake, I needed to go with DOT to be compatible with the caliper, and I didn't want to spend Dominion money on something that may or may not work.

[leroy jenkins]

Question: How enjoyable is Fruita towards the end of March? Taking a road trip with my 8 year old and thinking Road 18 area would be fun but it looks like the weather is iffy that time of year?

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If fruita is somehow too wet, moab should be great.

[skaredshtles]

Thanks for the input, all.

I haven't ridden there in years but I feel like 18 Road would be perfect for an 8 year old.

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It is.

[Thaleia]

^^ Awesome!!

Shouldn't you be out riding the bike then?

That's what gets me off the hook on major mtce. Too busy riding all the time

I got a trainer last fall and have admittedly fallen in love with it. I never thought I would say those words.

Haven't touched my fatbike once this season. Another sentence I never thought I would say.

[El Chupacabra]

In case anyone cares, that DT Swiss superboost wheelset is now even cheaper - $349 today at Planet Cyclery, on a flash sale.

I emailed them to ask for a price adjustment, since it's now $25 less than when I bought it - and my wheelset hasn't even arrived yet, so hoping they'll send me back $25.

I finally got around to swapping over this wheelset - which is now $315 at Planet Cyclery! Active Junky still shows 8% cashback too, so go grab a set of you need some superboost wheels.

[unitofstuff]

Question: How enjoyable is Fruita towards the end of March? Taking a road trip with my 8 year old and thinking Road 18 area would be fun but it looks like the weather is iffy that time of year?

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I've camped and ridden 18 Road at the end of March almost every year for the past ~8 years. So far I've been snowed on maybe twice, and only one of those delayed our riding until the next day. Sometimes the cattle leave some pretty nasty postholes on the trails and if you're camping then it definitely gets cold and windy as soon as the sun is disappearing, but I love it as an early season opener.