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

[Al Boneta]

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.

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

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

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?

 

[davegixer]

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

 

[Stumpy]

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

+1 ??

 

[Stumpy]

For me, the one accessory I (literally*) can’t ride without is clip-in pedals. My default choice being Crank bros eggbeater 3’s - mainly as they don’t get clogged with mud (which we get a lot of in the UK!)

* - I’m a below knee amputee (motor bike accident) and without clip-ins I can’t keep my prosthetic foot on the pedal

 

[Doomanic]

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!

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

 

[Dax]

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.

 

[Donnie797]

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:


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.

 

[Al Boneta]

Round two!

Cushcore tire inserts

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.

 

[Stumpy]

Loving this thread, keep them coming, I’m building a nice wish list here!

 

[Witte300]

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
Thanks for all the info and new stuff I didn’t now yet

 

[Donnie797]

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]

You all asked for more. Here’s a couple more

Timberbell

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

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

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

 

[Al Boneta]

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?

Front and back

 

[R120]

I put 30mm rise Renthal Fatbars on all my bikes, any bike I ride without them just feels wrong.

The Dakine Hot Laps bag is the one bit of kit I never go for a ride without.

[Tested] Dakine Hot Laps Gripper Bike Bag

 

[Tmacca]

Al Boneta those rev grips looks bloody awesome, cheers
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.

 

[Al Boneta]

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.

 

[Donnie797]

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

Makes my night rides like day rides

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.

 

[R120]

That looks tasty, can you wire it into the bike battery?

 

[Donnie797]

That looks tasty, can you wire it into the bike battery?

I really have no idea. I think it's not made for it, but somebody with a couple skillpoints in electrician might be able to craft a cable ?

 

[HeatproofGenie]

Another vote for CushCore front and rear. Definitely makes a world of difference in feel but also in rim protection and I'd say flat prevention as well.


I never ride without first checking air pressure with a known gauge, for me that's my trusty SKS.

 

[Tori]

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]

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:

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.

 

[Al Boneta]

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!

I got mine at Best Buy.
Trekz Titanium

 

[Witte300]

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.

 

[Al Boneta]

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

I was able to snag some production samples. I still have the sample they gave me at Interbike.

 

[Taffyteg]

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]

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]

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

I ran it for a year, but ultimately I prefer Cushcore

 

[Al Boneta]

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???

They rule, that’s it.
Goldie

 

[Al Boneta]

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.

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