Andrew Bike Guide

A friend's rear hub stopped spinning on a recent ride, described as "crunchy". The 17mm bearing extractor allowed easy removal of the drive side hub bearing and a punch was used to remove the remainder of the non-drive side bearing. A 17mm wrench and a soft hammer allowed the removal of the inner race from the axle. A magnet retrieved the loose bearings from inside the hub shell before a thorough clean. It appears that used a smaller 17 x 26 x 5 mm bearing, pressed into a reducer, on the earlier editions of their Gen1 hubs. They later replaced this complicated arrangement with larger 17 x 30 x 7 mm bearings which are more robust. The 30 mm threaded press made short work of the new bearing install. It is a real joy to use simple but well made tools. The whole job was made easier with excellent tools from and l***s applied from l**e toobs. grease in the hub and freehub grease for the ratchets. The hub is again as good as new and ready for another few years of rolling good times.

The XX Transmission chain on my Arrival 140. 1187 km of Rocky mountain dust and trail shake. This chain has been run from new with Flowerpower chainwax, which has been significantly quieter and cleaner that the chain lubricants that I have used previously. Whilst impressed with the longevity, shifting quality and lack of noise, I have moved to a hot wax system which seems to be even better (in full honest disclosure; my real world experience, based on the first 1000 km, is that the hot wax is marginally better than the drip wax, something that is tested by ; probably 350 km with hot wax versus 300 km with drip wax; one has to decide whether the extra time of the hot wax process is worth it; I plan on riding another 2500-3000 km this year to test it further). One can see the difference in wear on the plates between the inner and outer sides of the chain. As wax runs 'dry' I notice that the chain attracts far less debris and as a result is far cleaner (and quicker to clean between waxes, either method), quieter for longer and appears to be wearing far more slowly.



transmission
flightattendant

After having one of those "do I really need to change my tyres already?" and "I can probably get another 1-200 km out of the front tyre" conversations with myself, I reflected on the two or three crashes, in the past, that might have not happened had I been on newer tyres and added "new tyres and sealant" to my 1000 km, overhaul service, laundry 🧺 list. The upside of fast and grippy 'race' tyres is that they are light, fast and grippy- the downside is that there is not a lot of rubber on each k**b and once they 'go' they are 'gone'. The lack of braking grip on Reclaimer was also a pretty good 'message from the trail' that it was time for new tyres! So a new set of Race tyres for my trusty Revolver 120 for another 1000 km of rolling good times.




transmission
flightattendant
















downtowncanmore

Had a tootle around the G8 and Horseshoe zone today. The trails are 99% good to go. Some absolute hero dirt in places. Some tyre deep sections of pine cones in others which made cornering interesting.

There are a few boggy patches that we really ought to walk (see photo) at the moment to avoid developing nasty ruts and braiding the trail.

Trail etiquette also seems to have taken a dive over winter, especially if one rides an e-bike. Apparently pedal assist prevents the use of good manners or common sense.

If someone is climbing they have trail. End of chat.

I did meet a very cheerful chap on a Rocky Mountain who made a very good effort on the steep, loose ascent out of the Grotto Canyon drainage. Lovely to share trail stoke.

Well look what the postie dropped into the box today. 3D printed blue anodised titanium brake levers. They look awesome just sitting in the box. Off to install them and then out for a ride.

Get outside and share the joy of riding one's bike.
📷

Rolling good times (mostly) in the Nordic Centre yesterday.
Thank you to Canmore & Area Mountain Bike Association - CAMBA for the excellent snow dog grooming.
If you like the trails remember that it happens due to a trail crew, volunteers and donations so if you are not a member please join.

https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/donation-form/a2b9eb2c-7f18-4357-975a-4fabb252b0ca

Morning conditions are going to be better than late afternoon. Trails with the most traffic have the best base.

The Witness mark, also known as an Index mark, Draw mark or Draw line. If you know you know. A simple way of checking that bolts (including axles) are where they should be and "at torque". Also a good way of knowing that a bolt is tightened to the correct torque when one doesn't have a torque wrench handy.

After a winter that was missed, due to throat and neck cancer surgery and the subsequent recovery, I finally got my Big Iron V2 titanium fat bike built and rolling on the ‘snow’*.
*note that we have glare ice or bare ground here at the moment.
I was fortunate enough that provided the Xiphias 27.5 x 95 mm carbon rims on some Big Ride hubs. I am rolling on custom hex studded Yippee Ki Yay 27.5 x 4.3” tyres. They are my single track tyres and grip like an octopus on a crab. I sourced a Mastadon Pro from . As usual I have installed a Transmission XX drive train (with the option to swap to Eagle 90 for extreme cold or a multiday winter adventure). I am using my original “winter seal test” AXS Reverb as it works perfectly and there isn’t really room for more than 170 mm of drop. It is topped by the custom molded Seymour. The stopping is managed by a set of Code Stealth Ultimates gripping a set of HS2 180 mm rotors. I prefer to have more power, especially given that the fat bike is usually loaded with more gear than my summer bikes. provides the premium head set, bottom bracket and the CAMO bash/ chain ring system helps protect and retain the chain. The bags are a combination of and to ensure that the winter safety gear, water and food is carried cleanly.
The bike, with its more modern geometry, rides beautifully naturally, even with the wide tyres and a load. It is turning out to be a great adventure enabler and a fun single track explorer. Thank you to all the clever designers and manufacturers who make sure great equipment is available for winter riding. And thank you to the surgeon and medical staff at University of Alberta Hospital who operated to remove the cancer and worked tirelessly to assist my recovery.

Playing fast and loose with the coffee stores! Almost civilian levels of disorganisation! Thankfully the resupply arrived today as in-hand levels had hit "danger low".