- Welcome to this week's "Ask GMBN"
and we're going to be diving into questions
we found in the comment sections down below
and using the hashtag #AskGMBN.
- Down below the desk,
- Down below this desk, there are questions Neal.
Let's get into it and see what we've got.
(loudly bangs)
First question is from Andi Bridge and he saying,
'Hey guys I am from Austria.'
- Doesn't sound very Austrian.
- 'And I would like to know what you would suggest
as essential winter and mud riding gear,
pants jacket, for enduro riding?
Do I need a special waterproof jacket or pants
or only normal short long pants
in combination with leg warmers?"
Okay so I see what you mean,
like kinda short, knee length stuff.
- Yep.
- 'Most of the time I'm riding at low temperatures,
minus five, plus 10 is the highest
and I'd like to hear your opinion
on how you would deal with it.'
- My opinion is,
I did it for years as well with just a waterproof coat
and a normal low, as we say.
It's alright for a couple hours if you keep going
but you'll get cold and get wet.
I've recently got a really set of waterproof shorts
and waterproof jacket, and I love it.
- Yeah.
- It makes a massive difference.
Marino socks, potentially you got some winter shoes as well
they'll stop you from getting wet,
if not, Marino socks just do the job pretty well anyway,
but just get wet.
- And that's just to do with the materials.
- I love it.
I've got Marino everything, just the best stuff.
- Marino.
- Even if they're soaking wet, you'll probably stay warm.
- Yeah.
- I did and you wouldn't get wet.
- Yeah, and one thing to think about: layering.
Make sure you do a bit of layering.
Cause then you got options.
- [Both] Yes.
- There you go.
Right, next question is from Duarte Baptista.
- Baptista.
- I was wondering if I can change my 27.5 wheels and tires
2.8 tires, for a set of 29er wheels
with a 2.2 or 2.3 width?
- Right, okay.
- I would say yes, probably.
The question continues.
What internal width on the rim would be recommended?
For 2.2, 23, that's a very good question.
I would say probably 25, 30 wheel.
It's all width so it'd be alright for that.
- Yeah I think you can swap out to a 29
on quite a lot of bikes.
- Yeah, he's saying his bikes' a Merida Big Trail 800.
Well what happens with geometry,
it will stay very similar.
- Yeah.
- If not, identical.
So he's more interested in cross-country.
Now that's gonna be a good move.
You'll end up getting thinner, faster tires,
best suits cross-country, the wheels.
- Yeah, absolutely.
I guess geometry wise, it's gonna get
slightly high above bracket, but.
- I think the overall diameter is so close
you're not gonna mess around with it too much.
- Let's just look at this video of Neal
trying to do that actually.
Putting a 29 front in your, Scott.
What is it, Scott Genius?
- Yeah.
It jacked the front up a little bit.
- Let's have a look.
- The Scott Genius has always been designed
for your very first tar bike
and this is the latest edition.
It's on a four frame redesign.
One of the really cool features about this bike
is you can swap out a two different wheel sizes
really easy.
So in this video I'm gonna try the 27.5 wheels.
Swap them out for 29.
I'll let you know how it feels on the trail.
How it actually changes the right characters sits the bike.
How it stacks up against the clock,
and ultimately try and solve which ones I prefer the best,
but also give you guys, hopefully a bit of an insight
as to how it affects characteristics of this bike.
(heavy rock music)
Red fire!
Hello!
Are there some hidden GPS trackers for mountain bikes
on the market?
Good greetings from Germany.
- Well, you know, I haven't actually heard of many.
There is, what is it, the Sherlock GPS.
There's a couple.
- I think they're also road specific,
but that's why it makes a difference be.
- Spike bike is fits and head too.
- It has those tile things in the stacker.
- Yeah.
- I guess that'd work.
- That would work on a bike,
of course it would.
Yeah, yeah.
So there are some options out there.
But yes, good thing to think about though, actually.
Isn't it?
Clever, clever.
I might do that myself.
Next question.
What you got Neal?
- XD says, 'hi I'm having problems with manuals
when I go fast.
I'm scared of looping out while going fast.'
Chipping, that hurt.
'I also have no one-finger brakes.
Any tips?'
So you mean your brakes aren't good enough for,
- Yeah, maybe the brakes aren't good enough
for one finger brakes, or he's hoping
there's some kind of special leave for a one finger brake,
in which there isn't.
So that might be it.
But either way, one thing.
One finger braking is not necessary.
You can do two finger brakes.
- But definitely cover them
cause any time you see people loopholes
but they're not covering the brakes.
- Yeah, yeah.
I'd definitely be worried about manuals going fast.
Cause it can go horribly wrong, and does often.
- Get really good hitting your brake.
It takes a bit of practice.
You just know how much when to hit it
and it will save your ass.
- Literally.
Next question from Kristian Schoeler says,
'can you do a comparison of different internal wheel widths
with pros and cons?
Also, when does tires become too wide for a wheel?'
That's interesting.
Well no, I mean, I think there is a point where
a rim becomes too narrow for a tire.
- True.
- Because you suddenly have got this horrible sensation
where there's this big balloon of tire at the bottom
and just kinda keeps folding over to one side or the other.
- So, I could do it.
So that, if actual rim, would brake,
why a thin rid of brim, your tire's balloon out
like a x-shape.
A wider rim's gonna make it more round.
- Yeah, basically you get a square of tread actually,
so you don't get the same use out of the tread.
So there is an optimum, but it really depends on the tire.
- Tire manufacturers will probably say it on their websites
or the rim manufacturers,
but I recommend a tire width.
The size I want for Dottie's grass,
but more for the, not to say, 30 mil rims
almost becoming the norm now.
They recommend that for 2.3ish tires or 2.5
- Yeah.
I mean there's rims going right up to like, 45 and beyond.
- But what the question was,
when does a tire become too wide for wheel.
Well, we don't know.
You'd have to check manufacturers,
but it'll make sense.
They'll correspond, wider rims, wider tires.
- Yeah, okay.
Next question Neal, this one's for you.
Sam Gooding Matthews, 'Hi GMBN love the videos.
I'm new to the MTB scene.
I want to spray sticker my helmet so it looks pro,
but not Redbull'
You know, cause you know that would be weird,
'Is this okay or is just not the done thing?'
- I definitely did this as a youth.
- Me too.
- You used got to buy those kits.
I think Troy Lee did like, these helmet sticky kits.
He'd slap them all over and look really cool.
- There's nothing better than very cool
stickered up or painted helmet.
I always get my helmet painted up, still.
I still do it.
- I don't.
I have had a couple.
I used to make my own stickers out of paper
and then get the little, like, almost cello tape,
or clear sticky tape, put it on there,
and they stick on your helmets.
You make custom stickers.
- Yeah, I did the exact same thing.
(laughing)
I loved doing it.
It's really cool.
But yeah, you're right.
Don't do a Redbull one.
That is not a done thing
because only a Redbull athlete would have a Redbull lid.
Cal says, 'is there a reason to not set the fork
on a very low pressure and ride downhill
with it almost locked out,
so it would feel like a normal setup
and then be able to unlock it on the climbs
and have a really steep head angle?'
Does that make sense.
I feel, are you talking about actually riding the fork flat?
That wouldn't work.
- Well on the climbs if you've,
I think it's not gonna work really.
You're turning in the low speed compression damping up.
- Yeah.
- What we're talking about, locking out,
so it's not gonna work very well,
if you've got max low speed,
you're just gonna have this horrible fork.
So you could do it, it's just not gonna work good.
- What you could do is totally let all of the oil and air
out of your front shock.
You can then ride it up a hill, completely bottom down,
and the hill would feel flat
because you'd be riding into it.
(laughing)
- I've seen people.
- Wait!
Then, when you get to the downhill, lean back,
and the shock will magically come up
and you'll just, manual with the front wheel kinda floating,
and it'll all look fine.
- It don't if front puncture.
You're just hanging on the back
(beeps)
- Steer it.
(laughing)
Coming in a corner and going, aw I've got a front puncture.
(beep)
It's getting worse.
- I've seen people with toe strap, strapped the fork down,
like a motocross starting thing going right uphill.
- Then you can just ride up hills like this.
(humming)
Sorry, I totally (beep) that all up.
I just got excited.
- Jake Braun, 'does riding in rainy or wet conditions
wear down brake pads faster?'
- Yep!
- It does.
If you specially is one place in UK, First Dean.
- Yeah.
- It's like grinding pace.
(talking fast)
- It does.
It really does make a huge difference.
You can get pads that work better in the wet.
- Yeah, that's center pads back from whatever.
- Yeah, but at 10 speed when the mud gets in there.
Not necessarily just the rain,
but when the mud gets in there, that really does
wear them down fast.
- I remember right back in the day, probably 1996,
testing out one of the very first pairs
of carbon disk brakes.
- Oh yeah?
- That carbon coated disk brakes, they were actually.
And they were amazing.
We were riding on these rocks,
they were Charles brakes,
thinking 'this is the future'.
There was a slight downpour of rain
and the coating came off in minutes,
and they actually didn't work anymore.
- Wow.
- And it was like, wow it doesn't work.
- That's cool.
(laughing)
Did you ever wear through a rim,
you had it that long, you know,
the old rim brakes.
- Yeah.
- And a bunch of edges go through.
(laughing)
Disintegrate.
- You wore the mileage out.
- Oh the good ole days.
- They were, they were.
Right, Chris Hanson says,
oh this one's pessimistic.
'Is a carbon frame really worth the extra dollars?'
Is it really worth it?
'Does the weight savings make that big of difference?
What's your favorite bike material?'
So, is carbon really worth it Neal?
- You're asking a man who hasn't bought a carbon man bike.
It's gotten free mountain.
We're lucky in that situation about
often this won't survive in years.
- Yeah.
- So I would always choose the carbon option of course,
but it's lighter.
Often it's stronger.
So it's not like he's used a recommended for a heavier ride
as above certain weights.
He was like 10 12 stone in UK terms, so what's that,
a couple hundred kilos.
Yeah, a bunch of pounds.
- I think, I mean, there's more dirt road,
of course stiffer more precise.
Some people say it would look nicer.
I would disagree with that.
I don't think they look definitely look nicer
and I would argue right, I've got canyon sender
in carbon.
I love it.
It's one of the most.
I love that bike.
But the aluminum sender
- Cool.
- Looks rad.
- Yeah.
- So, you know, I mean I don't think they necessarily
look better, but there's a weight saving.
There's a slightly different ride
and there's someone standing on our roof.
- Who is that?
- But anyway, I don't know if you heard that.
(laughing)
Seven, this video done, seven things you don't know,
maybe didn't know, about carbon fiber.
- Let's have a look at that then.
- Carbon fiber has been used to produce mountain bike frames
since the late 80s
and since then, its' use has broadened significantly.
Producing these old frames is a very
labor intensive process.
As you can see here in this Scott footage
from their carbon fiber production facility.
Firstly, it can be used to make very lightweight frames.
Certainly, with a higher strength to weight ratio,
they're using aluminum.
Secondly, it can be used to form very complex shapes
and these shapes can be very light and neat.
Certainly more so than these other materials.
Finally, it can be used to actually tune
the ride attributes of the road,
so you can have a bike that's very stiff,
yet also dampens trail shock.
But still, there's a lot of mystery
about this amazing material.
So there are seven things you might not know
about carbon fiber.
- Sami Asghar asked us,
'why don't you get a GMBN train dog?
(laughs)
- What?
- Good question.
I mean, it seems unlikely we can keep one here in the shed.
I mean, it's too dirty for a dog to live in here.
- Hey, you know if we had a well trained dog,
do you remember the blue PETA dog?
- Yeah.
- That was always, it wasn't Tint, was it?
It was Goldie, wasn't it?
- Maybe.
- That was two.
Maybe there was more than two.
Basically there's a share in the UK.
(talking over each other)
I've been on it three times.
What color badge you got?
- Yeah I got one noir.
- I've got a silver one.
- I know, you've told me this already.
- Well don't ask about blue Peter
then there' some kinda comparative instance.
- I love dogs.
I lost my two dogs last couple of years.
(talking over each other)
It's my dog bite karma.
I mean I've tried that.
Mine were too big and fat to run.
- My dog, George, he would be a good dog for the channel.
He's big, very slight, doesn't do much.
He would fit in the corner alright.
- We've got Blake though, already so.
- Maybe we've sorta got a dog.
We've got a pet and he's Blake.
(loud barking)
- I always think he's like,
isn't the size of a Labrador, isn't he, Blake?
- Well literally, if you shout fetch and throw something
he does run off.
(laughing)
He does.
(loud barking)
Right.
Time for correct me if I'm wrong.
First one is from James.
He's on a orange clock grunge 120.
'Here is my dad attempting a few jumps.
What's right and what's wrong?
Okay, let's have a look.
Let's see what James' dad is doing.
First attempt, there we go.
Go on, James' dad.
- Whoa!
Wow.
- It was alright.
- It was going quick.
- Yeah it was alright.
You counted the speed through there pretty good I think.
We've got one more.
He's getting it more wrong than that.
Here he comes, rolling into view.
That's the same set I think, isn't it?
- That's a cool place.
- There he is in the distance though.
He's just coming in to sight now.
Come on James' dad.
Didn't seem to have the same speed.
(talking over each other)
- Bit of a, the first time was pretty good.
- Yep.
What I see there is the seat go straight up
so plant with your feet to get a balance there,
rather than using weight.
You ride a space and you can't go any higher.
And that's why he came up a little bit short.
So James' dad, try and learn to use your hips
to lift the back wheel.
- Nice.
You're good when it comes to your coaching stuff.
Did you know that?
- What's the deal?
- Alright, next up we have got Nelius
on his custom Merida in South Africa.
'I went to session our school's across country
to check with her friend.'
- Why?
- 'And did my first nose bonk.
Is there anything I can improve?'
Wow, looking forward to this.
- I wish my school had a cross country
when I was growing up.
- Yeah, yeah.
There are some schools in the UK with cross country courses.
- Is that right?
- Oh yeah.
Alright, here we go.
Let's see if Nelius' nose bonk is from the high standards
of this.
- Try to manual that a bit as well.
- [Both] Whoa!
- That was good.
It's a funny sort of seesaw
where you onk onk cause it's the nose bonk
does send you straight to manual.
- I'm going to be quite particular about this right, okay?
Cause I think to do a tree nose bonk
you really need to get a bit more distance, bonk.
It's not really in touch.
It's gotta be up, donk.
And then that donk should lift you up a little bit more.
So we're talking, you're coming in, donk,
then to manual.
So he's actually gotta create some inertia itself.
- Yeah.
- So really, you kinda come in,
you're touching the front wheel
and then you go into manuals.
It's more like stoppy to manual.
Up, bonk, and down.
He needs to practice much harder.
Spend much more time on it.
I'm being very hard on you because I want you to succeed.
- This is one of those things I would have done
200 times when I was 18.
- Yeah.
You're doing it alright and you got perfect jump there.
And you're thinking outside the box.
You're trying new things, it's fantastic.
Congrats.
- If you wanna see a video on how to manual
we've got a cracking one over at cracking.
- Absolutely.
- Kick it over there for that one.
- Yeah, now see that globe that's there?
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Bonk, bonk.
(laughing)