Carbon vs. Aluminum

Santa Cruz and SRAM are officially divorced

Santa Cruz Syndicate - San Romolo Testing from santa cruz bikes on Vimeo.

I think I would have made the same decision. You all know my disdain for their parts of late, it hasn't always been this way.

I took XTR derailleurs off my bikes in the early 2000's in favor of XO. The fixed knuckle was an advance in derailleur technology that has become standard affair. As recently as three years ago I had bikes spec'd almost entirely from SRAM. Then Elixir brakes went into their 2nd year of production. I'm not sure what happened, but whatever it was, it sucked.

However, it did always bring a smile to my face to see that 2nd set of shifters in the bike boxes. You know "just in case" the first set doesn't work...

More info here. http://www.bicycling.com/mountainbikecom/featured-stories/santa-cruz-syndicate-and-sram-split

Always leave the house with clean cables just in case you get hit by a car and your bike ends up in the shop

So your bike isn't shifting properly? OK. Come in, sit down, we can talk about this.

Now, now, tell Uncle Knuckler everything. Oh, so it skips around. It takes two clicks to get it to shift. Anything else? It's driving you crazy. Last question, when was the last time you changed your cables/housing? Six years ago? Holy shit, let's start there.

There are three parts to most shifting systems: (the exceptions are Di2 and that new Syncros stuff) the shifter, the cables/housing and the derailleurs. The shifter is where your input is applied. Want a harder gear? You hit the button releasing or pulling cable tension. The derailleur receives that input via cables/housing and moves the direction that you wanted it to. It's a simple system.

The weak link to the system is the cable/housing. Over time grit and shit will enter the housing degrading the inner sleeve causing friction. The outer sleeve of the housing will also wear exposing the inner radials adding flex to your system. Sure you can buy that fancy Gore stuff to extend the life of your cables but one thing is certain, your shifting performance will degrade over time, regardless of what you do. Yes, I said regardless of what you do, at some point your bike is not going to shift like it should. Big fucking deal, get over it and buy some new cables/housing. How often? Well, if you need me to give you an exact time frame, once or twice a year. If you think you can handle a little more freedom, change them when your shifting isn't working perfectly.

PSA #2. How to Fucking Clean your Bike

I've seen a lot of creaky bikes with rusted out cables and hubs that won't turn to save their lives. I also happen to live in the desert. There is not a lot of rain, humidity or salt floating around. This isn't Hawaii. Remember desert means there isn't a lot of water. From where do all these fucked bikes come? You've all seen the photos, the rusted out bb's, the housing with orange radials hanging out the sides and the dumbfounded look on the owner's face when you tell them they need some new stuff. Well, in my case, of living in the desert, it comes from the method used to clean the bike.

Over the years, we have noticed a significant trend for bikes that are shiny clean but are rusted out. Bikes that should be dirty, we know they are being ridden regularly, but when they come in for service not a spec of dirt can be found. Of course, Lake Bottom Bracket is there. If you push down on the suspension you can hear the bearings grinding against each other causing that awful creak we all want to avoid. Shifting is always sub-par and often creates a similar sound as the suspension linkage.

Oh, we know exactly what happened. You fucked your bike. You took it to the car wash and paid to destroy the thing. Sure it looks clean but let me show you what is inside.

What's to be done? Well, let me teach you how to clean your bike...

Fuck you! This is how to lube a chain.

Editor's Note: As many of you have noted, I see a lot of crazy shit throughout the natural occurrence of my day. I would assume that a doctor, if allowed, could create a similar blog entailing some pretty nasty human shit. It just goes with the territory that if you are supposed to "fix" something you will see a lot of broken stuff. As proprietor of this blog, I am going to be somewhat self-indulgent and post certain "articles" detailing some of the most common or biggest mistakes that I see and how to avoid them. I am not a scientist and will not provide empirical data to back up my advice. All I can offer is the constant observation of a mechanic over the past 16 years aided only by those who I would consider mentors that have tried to pass on their years of observation to me.

Choosing to jump into the abyss is my style and as such will start with the polarizing topic of chain maintenance.

Christmas Brakes

I see a lot of bikes. Some make me scream in agony. Others make me scratch my head. And still, there are always the ones that should just be thrown away. But when it comes to kids bikes, especially around Xmas, you will here many a bike mechanic say, "Do they even love their kids or are they trying to kill them?" We see bikes with forks on backwards and even worse are the bikes that don't stop. Well, this isn't one of those times... She will be able to stop, for sure. We had some LX V's hanging around from a half decade ago and hooked this little ride up. Did the bike deserve the brakes? No. But at the price we gave her, it was the logical choice to make and I'm sure the little girl deserves to be able to stop.

Saved someone $230

However I think I shorted my life a bit.... Pulled this Jelly fish of a cable end out of the shifter and interesting to note is the reversed "b" screw...

Anti-post

I built up this beauty this afternoon. I'm not one to go all haywire over Italian, overpriced fluff so I was quite surprised at how it felt in the parking lot. Intrigued? Yes. Willing to pay to find out? Nope.