It’s in the details, the bits and bobs you can’t ride without

Al Boneta

Dark Rider
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 18, 2018
1,351
2,602
California
1A8360AF-034E-4698-848E-34326C8CE76A.jpeg

I am not talking about major components like brakes, derailleurs, bars, wheels tires etc.
But the small stuff, here’s my examples
MRP Ramp Control.
9F3DE928-22F8-4DE2-AA16-F951F9C55728.jpeg

I have these on just about every fork I own. It eliminates the need to take off the air damper cap to add or subtract bottom out tokens.

Shockwiz
11EAA59A-FB81-43BF-8F31-29AE78B31224.jpeg

I originally thought this was a useless waste of money for gadget nerds and that could in no way help me set my suspension up any better than I already did. But after using it for well over a year, it’s made me even better at dialing in my suspension for myself and my customers.

Revgrips
3AEE3A0F-8D26-4AD0-B80F-13D81EC1254A.jpeg

Another product that I thought was just hype at first. The idea of grips that rotate on the handlebars seem ludicrous to me. They called them suspension grips. I installed a set for a friend of mine with arthritis. He was able to ride longer without the usual pain he had at the end of the ride. I gave them a try. I no longer have arm pump issues or numbness at the end of the ride. What I once thought was gimmick, is on all of the main bikes I ride.

So what do you all run?
 
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davegixer

Active member
Jul 7, 2018
217
207
UK
I'm interested in those Revgrips, might have to give them a punt, i'll try anything to help ease my old injuries. Thanks Al
 

Doomanic

🛠️Wrecker🛠️
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 21, 2018
8,461
9,931
UK
SPDs for me too, Nukeproofs in my case.
* - I’m a below knee amputee (motor bike accident) and without clip-ins I can’t keep my prosthetic foot on the pedal
At least you have an excuse, I'm just too shit to ride flats! :ROFLMAO:

I'd add dropper post to the list. It's not that you can't ride without one, but who'd want to?
 

Dax

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 25, 2018
1,453
1,812
FoD
Nice post @Al Boneta Ive been looking at the mrp, but decided to go with a Luftkappe instead (I know they do different things, but they won't both fit).

For me it's my Saint SPD pedals. I've been riding clipped for years and have tried most of the different styles, eventually settling on xtr race pedals because the big cage spds offer nothing more than added weight. Then I found the Saint spds, they feel like a cross between a flat and a spd, offering a useful platform when unclipped and a more comfy ride when clipped in.
8CAD1112-4338-44B0-B507-510573B77CA0.jpeg
 
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Donnie797

Well-known member
Jul 2, 2018
529
526
Germany, southern Black Forest
Nice thread @Al Boneta :)

Very obvious but something I have on every bike is a front mudguard. It protects the face (and action cam) from the water, mud and little rocks thrown up from your front wheel. There are multiple different ones available, I went with the cheap bendable plastic ones for years and they worked well:
IMG_2592.JPG

On my Kenevo I'm running the "Front Race Mudhugger" and I'm very pleased with it. It's rock solid and covers a bigger area.
IMG_2619.JPG IMG_2623.JPG
 
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Al Boneta

Dark Rider
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 18, 2018
1,351
2,602
California
Round two!

Cushcore tire inserts
57068251-E796-48EF-BF45-3A6BCC61768C.jpeg

Another product I was pretty skeptical of. I tried the Huck Norris tire foam inserts and they were all but worthless. They offered very little in the way of rim protection and no sidewall support. So the Cushcore came along and it was expensive and heavier than the Huck Norris. But they were recommended to me by the Specialized Enduro team mechanic so I gave them a try.
They were a nightmare to install, but once I got them on the trail they were a complete game changer. I could run lower air pressures and with the sidewall support my bike felt like it had power steering. Rim protection is awesome and I even ran the back tire flat down a flight of stairs without rim strikes. The only problem is when I rode a bike without them. I couldn’t carve a turn to save my life. So I had to install them on every bike I have.
 

Witte300

Active member
May 13, 2018
118
90
Belgium
Round two!

Cushcore tire inserts
View attachment 3545
Another product I was pretty skeptical of. I tried the Huck Norris tire foam inserts and they were all but worthless. They offered very little in the way of rim protection and no sidewall support. So the Cushcore came along and it was expensive and heavier than the Huck Norris. But they were recommended to me by the Specialized Enduro team mechanic so I gave them a try.
They were a nightmare to install, but once I got them on the trail they were a complete game changer. I could run lower air pressures and with the sidewall support my bike felt like it had power steering. Rim protection is awesome and I even ran the back tire flat down a flight of stairs without rim strikes. The only problem is when I rode a bike without them. I couldn’t carve a turn to save my life. So I had to install them on every bike I have.

I’m really eager to try these :D
Thanks for all the info and new stuff I didn’t now yet :p
 

Donnie797

Well-known member
Jul 2, 2018
529
526
Germany, southern Black Forest
Round two!

Cushcore tire inserts
View attachment 3545
Another product I was pretty skeptical of. I tried the Huck Norris tire foam inserts and they were all but worthless. They offered very little in the way of rim protection and no sidewall support. So the Cushcore came along and it was expensive and heavier than the Huck Norris. But they were recommended to me by the Specialized Enduro team mechanic so I gave them a try.
They were a nightmare to install, but once I got them on the trail they were a complete game changer. I could run lower air pressures and with the sidewall support my bike felt like it had power steering. Rim protection is awesome and I even ran the back tire flat down a flight of stairs without rim strikes. The only problem is when I rode a bike without them. I couldn’t carve a turn to save my life. So I had to install them on every bike I have.

I've also planned to install rim protectors but didn't know they're so different. Guess the Cush Core is worth a try.
Do you run it in the front as well?
 

Al Boneta

Dark Rider
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 18, 2018
1,351
2,602
California
You all asked for more. Here’s a couple more

Timberbell

BD5DA280-B951-46E3-A060-7164139A0F92.jpeg

The polite and universal way of saying “Move the f**k over!”
The bell rings all by itself or you can shut it off when you can’t stand it anymore.

Rokform phone mount
F9F80BC2-EB3C-4C2A-A362-9D0D798898AB.png


This phone mount was developed for motorcycles and they adapted it for bicycle use. I won’t use any other cases or mounts. I’ve never had one break in when I’ve crashed.

Bike Yoke Revive Dropper Post
E0878BBC-E1B5-459F-A930-186531CCA247.jpeg

Technically this is a major component, but I thought I’d share it anyway. After dealing with the nut busting battering ram known as the command post, I looked for something better. The paltry 125mm of drop left much to be desired. I had used the Rock Shox Reverb before and I hated the hydraulic hose and that crappy push button remote. So I found the Bike Yoke DyHy remote kit which converts the Reverb to a cable actuated lever remote. But the Reverb was so unreliable that I was rebuilding two of them every month. Screw that.
That’s when Bike Yoke announced the Revive dropper post. It wasn’t cheap, but it was so smooth in it’s actuation and it came in a 165mm travel model. The post doesn’t use an internal floating piston. So it’s more reliable than any other post. When it develops play a 4mm will quickly reset it
 

Tmacca

Active member
Founding Member
Jan 26, 2018
56
76
Australia
Al Boneta those rev grips looks bloody awesome, cheers(y)
Well, I guess i could ride without these beer bottle openers in my camelbak, though i usually carry 1 or 2 as pressies for mtb mates, of course only used after a ride:) Mostly recycled bike bits n bobs, some with a bit of resin.
tmr1.jpg
tmr2.jpg
tmr3.jpg
tmr4.jpg
tmr5.jpg
tmr7.jpg
 

Al Boneta

Dark Rider
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 18, 2018
1,351
2,602
California
Bonus Round

One more while I am waiting for my friend to show up to ride.

I suffer from ADHD. The only two things that help are riding and music. It’s no wonder they are two of my greatest passions.

So naturally I listen to music when I ride, been that way for over 20 years.

Ear buds block out too much noise and over the ear phones are not practical and make most people look a little bit like a twat.

So I found these bone conduction ear phones that give me all my crazy loud head banging rock and metal while still being able to hear what going on around me. I have skipped out on rides if I have forgotten to recharge them.
097E6127-5D13-4FC7-A2BF-235385C05F76.jpeg
 

Donnie797

Well-known member
Jul 2, 2018
529
526
Germany, southern Black Forest
Just came home from a "night ride" and thought i could share my helmet light, which i find amazing.
The Sigma Buster 2000 >> test review here

Sigma-An.jpg


Makes my night rides like day rides :cool:
IMG_2741.JPG


A small "glow in the dark" remote on the handlebar makes switching modes very easy.
The extender cable is long enough to store the battery in the backpack and have the cable running through one of the watersystem holes up to the helmet. The light & battery can also be mounted to the bike, but for trail riding i like it following my head movements.
Light and battery are of amazing quality, i can fully recommend it - the price is very hot as well.
 

Tori

Active member
Apr 1, 2018
282
423
Australia
Bonus Round

One more while I am waiting for my friend to show up to ride.

I suffer from ADHD. The only two things that help are riding and music. It’s no wonder they are two of my greatest passions.

So naturally I listen to music when I ride, been that way for over 20 years.

Ear buds block out too much noise and over the ear phones are not practical and make most people look a little bit like a twat.

So I found these bone conduction ear phones that give me all my crazy loud head banging rock and metal while still being able to hear what going on around me. I have skipped out on rides if I have forgotten to recharge them.
View attachment 3549
Al, have you got a link to this product? I ride my dirt bikes listening to music all the time and I kinda want to do it with my MTB riding - but haven't found a decent headphone set. This looks like it could be the real deal!
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,686
the internet
So naturally I listen to music when I ride, been that way for over 20 years.

Ear buds block out too much noise and over the ear phones are not practical and make most people look a little bit like a twat.

Yeah, me too.
I use a Sony bluetooth device that'll take any 3.5 headphone jack and the remote/volume control clips on to my clothing and I've always used the in ear harder plastic style earphones, The type without the squashy rubbery bit that blocks your ear. This and not using noise cancelling means I can set the music volume loud enough to sound ok but low enough that I can still 'just' hear my own tyres on tarmac/ meaning I can still hear the traffic around me too.
Just an example but this sort of thing:
31H1%2BZl4sVL._SL500_AC_SS350_.jpg



I don't always ride with music though... Almost always on my roadbike, most of the time when just arsing around on hardtails, and mainly just on climbs when on big rides. Plus sometimes nature is pretty nice too. DHing music actually makes (me) ride slower. But sometimes bounce around off stuff in time to the beat.

Infact. Even though I'm incredibly fussy about bike set-up, clothing and the accessories I use there actually isn't any one product I can't ride without... I love riding bikes far too much for that. I'm just as happy riding an absolute shitter of a bike as some of my ridiculously well spec'd bikes.
 
Last edited:

Witte300

Active member
May 13, 2018
118
90
Belgium
Round two!

Cushcore tire inserts
View attachment 3545
Another product I was pretty skeptical of. I tried the Huck Norris tire foam inserts and they were all but worthless. They offered very little in the way of rim protection and no sidewall support. So the Cushcore came along and it was expensive and heavier than the Huck Norris. But they were recommended to me by the Specialized Enduro team mechanic so I gave them a try.
They were a nightmare to install, but once I got them on the trail they were a complete game changer. I could run lower air pressures and with the sidewall support my bike felt like it had power steering. Rim protection is awesome and I even ran the back tire flat down a flight of stairs without rim strikes. The only problem is when I rode a bike without them. I couldn’t carve a turn to save my life. So I had to install them on every bike I have.

Can’t wait to try these.
Hopefully the 27,5+ will be available soon in the eu.
 

Taffyteg

Active member
Founding Member
Feb 13, 2018
200
129
United Kingdom
I am not talking about major components like brakes, derailleurs, bars, wheels tires etc.
But the small stuff, here’s my examples
MRP Ramp Control.
View attachment 3532
I have these on just about every fork I own. It eliminates the need to take off the air damper cap to add or subtract bottom out tokens.

Shockwiz
View attachment 3533
I originally thought this was a useless waste of money for gadget nerds and that could in no way help me set my suspension up any better than I already did. But after using it for well over a year, it’s made me even better at dialing in my suspension for myself and my customers.

Revgrips
View attachment 3534
Another product that I thought was just hype at first. The idea of grips that rotate on the handlebars seem ludicrous to me. They called them suspension grips. I installed a set for a friend of mine with arthritis. He was able to ride longer without the usual pain he had at the end of the ride. I gave them a try. I no longer have arm pump issues or numbness at the end of the ride. What I once thought was gimmick, is on all of the main bikes I ride.

So what do you all run?
Love the look of these grips, I sometimes get pins and needles in my hands when riding for a long time without stopping. Anyone got any feedback on these???
 

Highflyer

Active member
Patreon
Mar 29, 2018
157
221
Northern Ireland
Round two!

Cushcore tire inserts
View attachment 3545
Another product I was pretty skeptical of. I tried the Huck Norris tire foam inserts and they were all but worthless. They offered very little in the way of rim protection and no sidewall support. So the Cushcore came along and it was expensive and heavier than the Huck Norris. But they were recommended to me by the Specialized Enduro team mechanic so I gave them a try.
They were a nightmare to install, but once I got them on the trail they were a complete game changer. I could run lower air pressures and with the sidewall support my bike felt like it had power steering. Rim protection is awesome and I even ran the back tire flat down a flight of stairs without rim strikes. The only problem is when I rode a bike without them. I couldn’t carve a turn to save my life. So I had to install them on every bike I have.

Try Shwalbe Pro-Core system. Faultless for me during the last 2 years.
 

Al Boneta

Dark Rider
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 18, 2018
1,351
2,602
California
Let’s talk about sealant.
I was once a disciple of Stan’s, but once the Specialized plus size tires came out I had to try something else.
The Stan’s sealant would seep through the side wall of the tire. I tried a few different sealants and some worked better or worse, but when Intried this stuff, it was truly something special.

3DF2D822-1BAD-468B-BFC8-89E72F4E9FFA.jpeg

No seepage, non-corrosive and it seals holes an 1/8” in diameter.
No flats ever again
 

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