Michael Hanslip Coaching

If you want to go faster, you have to pedal harder

Most anticipated tool - ever?

13/06/26 16:49 Filed in: Gear
I've written about CushCore before. Foam inserts in bike tyres that reduce the air volume and protect the rim from impact. CushCore the company made a fantastic tyre lever to assist the somewhat laborious process of installing tyres on a rim with the foam inside. I bought one as soon as they were announced. And it has been good - helping me get many tyres on and off rims over the years.
My last installation was proper Enduro race tyres - slightly less taxing than full-on DH tyres, but basically the same difficult job. And I managed to snap off the hook on the end of the CushCore tool. It takes a lot of wear in use and enough had worn away to expose it to breakage. I filed the end down making it a great bead pushing tool and in that guise it will contribute to tyre work for years to come.

Meanwhile, CushCore has announced a proper tyre tool - looking a lot like automotive tyre fitting tools less the rim-holding and rotating base portion. I have one on back order and will be amongst the first in Australia to check out the new, simpler method of installation and removal. One side has a roller for dropping the bead while the other side has a bead guide for removing the bead. If you want to see what they look like, CushCore has a video on their website.
It is crazy expensive for a household tool - but I am buying one anyway. A busy shop can probably justify one - but my shop said they are going to do without (at least until I get a chance to try one).
One of the aspects of installing tyres that is so tough with foam inside the tyre is that working on one end of the bead with both hands while the foam insert is pushing on the other side is that the bead just pops out over there while you work over here. The roller portion of the tool means you can securely hold one side and roll all the way around with the other hand (and yes, CushCore also make the BeadBuddy for specifically this problem but I haven't tried that tool). The roller can push the foam down into the drop centre and push the bead down into the drop centre for either installation or removal. Then for removals, you flip the tool over and use the bead guide to remove the bead in one smooth trip around the rim.

The length of a post about the prospect of a new tool should tell you how enthused I am for the new tyre tool. And I have either 8 or 10 tyres waiting installation (making 16 or 20 total tyre movements as there are tyres on those rims already).
Like the last entry about a new saddle - watch this space for an early review.

New saddle day

08/06/26 19:14 Filed in: Gear
For the past 258 hours, I have commuted on an Ergon saddle. It is good, but not great. Comfortable, but not perfect. I was buying some tyres and the shop had one of the 2 or 3 saddles I'm considering as a replacement for the Ergon, so I picked it up with the tyres. Selle Italia Flite Boost Kit Carbonio S1. Bit name. Small saddle.

It was easy to install as it uses the same size rails as the Ergon - in fact they are so similar they might well have been produced out of the same factory - maybe the same mould. The Flite Boost is pretty short, but it doesn't lack any important saddle areas - the nose is a bit shorter and the tail is a bit shorter.

My fingers are crossed that the Flite is more comfortable than the Ergon. Meanwhile, the Ergon will go on my Enduro bike when the new 200mm drop Reverb arrives. The Slash came with a 170mm drop post - the longest Reverb at the time. Now you can select even 250mm (more than any of my bikes can support). The Slash will equal the Ibis with its 200 drop.

Look for me to report back soon about the Flite.

Flight Attendant woes

17/05/26 11:27 Filed in: Gear
I have one bike with Flight Attendant. I really like it in action out on the trails. For 2 years it has worked flawlessly. Then my first lap at Thredbo in March - the first run of a week of riding - I got a flashing blue/yellow LED code I'd never seen before.
Looking in the FA guide, that means an error. Troubleshooting step 1 was reboot the system. I did that, straight back to the flashing error code. Troubleshooting step 2 was remove the control module from the fork. Maybe it is not so hard, maybe it is a very technical job - at Thredbo I'm not going to try it with a pocket tool.
I replaced the fork battery with the transit cover and rode all week with a "dead" brain - and it was fine because it was almost all downhill and would have had the fork in "open" position anyway. There were a few times I wanted to adjust something but bike and I had a good week.
I still haven't returned the fork to SRAM for diagnosis. Next big date for the bike is Whistler in August. Given that the best trails in Whistler are off the lift-serviced terrain, I'll be wanting a fully functional suspension for those 3 hour climbs.
Probably the biggest issue I have with the FA system not working is that it adjusts the compression setting in the open position, there are no dials to turn. If FA is off, adjustment is off.
I would still love to have FA on the other mountain bikes I ride - I really do like it.

Lubricated valve stems 2...

27/04/26 18:29 Filed in: Gear
Back in September, I wrote about the idea of adding lubricant to tyre valves and the valve stems to stop sealant from blocking them. I've been using "lubricated" valves for many months now. Long enough to find out that if the sealant gets in there, it will turn solid even if it won't stick to the valve itself. Clearing it was super easy - pull the string of congealed sealant out. But not foolproof.
I haven't figured out how to get lubricant inside the valve stems - I think I need a pipe cleaner since a cotton bud is too big in diameter to slide inside. I could use the same submergence approach, but then they'd be out of commission for a few days (I have many spare valves but not many spare valve stems).

Riding cues #5

11/04/26 14:55 Filed in: Riding
One cue that PMBI repeats a lot is chin over stem. That ensures that the riders centre of mass is centred in the bike’s wheelbase - a stable position. It should be obvious that there is room for variation in this position - one can be centred and still not be optimally positioned.
 
Legs should, by default, be extended. And this is where the problems arise. Challenging terrain makes people crouch. Straight legs are more relaxed, more stable and provide better "suspension" (like a fork, you want your legs to absorb impacts and return to rest, not stay down in their travel). It is easier to keep chin over stem - centred - position when legs are straight. Most people bend their legs and either go directly backwards or find their way back. The cue, therefore, should be something about long legs. In challenging terrain the correct response is bent arms but long legs - hence the importance of the hip hinge in mountain biking (I'm sure I've written about hip hinges before and if I haven't I should as it is worthy of its own entry). Bent arms lower the riders centre of mass, increasing stability. And those bent arms can push the front wheel down which is generally more advantageous than being able to absorb the upwards movement of the front wheel (the fork can do that or the rider can lift up immediately prior depending on the size of the bump).
 
For 10 years I went to BC for a month of mountain biking and by day 3, no matter the prep prior to going, my legs were sore. That always settled after a couple more days and I just chalked it up to being unused to long days on bumpy trails. However! My recent trip to Thredbo for a week didn't generate sore legs at any point. I think the difference is my default straight legs has finally landed as an actual default position, and thus I'm not challenging my legs in the same ways as before. Between the elbow cue and the leg cue, I feel like I'm riding as well as ever, and in some ways better (despite being another chunk of years older).

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