Name: Dave Haik

Age: 39 Where are you from?: New Orleans, Louisiana USA originally.

What do you do for a living? Aircraft Maintenance Engineer.

When and why did you start cycling? I started at age 7. It’s about the closest thing to flying that you can do under your own power. What kid doesn’t like the feeling of speed & distance?

Tell us a bit about your bike(s)!: Over the years, I’ve had “big box store” BMX’s, roadies, & MTB’s. Now I have a 2013 GT Aggressor 1.0 hardtail, stock accessories except for the Weirwolf 2.3 tires.

Favorite ride(s)/trails? Extended Corporate Loop, Wadi Hof, Tour de Wadi.

Do you practice other sports?: Fishing, weightlifting, swimming.

Tell us about your cycling-related injuries/accidents: As a teenager on my road bike, one of the brake levers fell off & went into the front wheel spokes, immediately stopping the bike. I went otb in the blink of an eye onto the concrete, scraping up my hands & breaking my new Swatch. Another time, I was riding full speed on my road bike & went mouth first into the back of a car, rearranging my front teeth. The worst was when I was 12 years old on my BMX. I hit a dip hidden by high grass. The bike stopped & my knee hit the bars, splitting it open to the fascia.

Anything else you want to tell us about yourself? I’ve lived in Cairo for 6 years…good times, good times…it’s been a blast! I am married with three children. It’s been great riding with the MTB Egypt gang. I stumbled onto MTB Egypt on the internet & was hooked after my first group ride. I really enjoy the people, the laughs, & the wide variety of terrain in the Wadi Degla. I’m in the best shape of my life since MTB Egypt introduced me to serious mountain biking. Rule number 5, Baby!

Mountain bike suspension technology has taken some fairly big strides forward in recent years. When you buy a new mid-range or high-end suspension fork or rear shock, the technology inside these components is comparable to technologies inside modern motorbikes and sports cars, only in a much more svelte and lighteweight package, which makes it all the more impressive. As mountain bikers, we now have an increasingly broad spectrum of options in terms of type, adjustability and tunability  of our mountain bike suspension components. That said, getting the most out of your suspension is as straightforward  as it sounds, with a multitude of knobs, buttons, levers and adjustments that can be very confusing for beginner and even intermediate and advanced riders. This multi-part guide is intended as an introduction to mountain bike suspension technology and should help you get started with exploring how to tune your suspension to suit your riding style and terrain.

There are many articles on the internet that offer information on how to setup your bike’s suspension, and there is a wealth of information in mountain biking forums on setting up, tuning and servicing specific suspension components. All that in addition to the manufacturers own official guides, of course. This multi-part guide is intended to present information on mountain bike suspension fundamentals in a useful, organized format that will be published here in bite-sized posts.

This guide will be structured as follows (forthcoming parts will be posted on a weekly basis):

1. Introduction: The purpose of mountain bike suspension and a short glossary of terms.

2. Basic set-up: Finding the optimum setting for your weight, terrain and riding style.

3. Trouble-shooting: solving problems with your front or rear suspension.

4. General suspension maintenance and advanced tips and tricks.

The first art will be published by this weekend. Stay tuned!

P.S> You can follow us on twitter to get updates, or “like” our Facebook page.

Over the last few days I have had many conversations with my publishers, conversations that have been overwhelming, exciting and nerve wracking. Talk of this opportunity, that opportunity, book tours, public speaking engagements across the world and how to get the book translated into different languages, all very exciting… but honestly… I am bricking it!

I have had to ask myself “What on earth have I created!?”, “Am I really that engaging?”, “Will so many people really be that interested in my book?”, “How will this affect my children and the rest of their lives, especially during the school years?”, “How will my family react to what is said about them and how will others react to them?”… Is this book really worth it? Do I need to publish it? and the answer to the last two questions is a resounding YES!

I have always known that the way I think, and share my thoughts, confronts people, either because it challenges a deep seated belief they have held but never thought about why they have that belief, or simply because they are not used to someone being as direct as me.  I know I am not very tactful, I also know that sometimes to wake us up from a slumber we need hot coffee, strong, black and regularly.  Choosing ignorance is not the answer when you have the information to move out of it.  I share and learn.  Sometimes I am shown areas of my own ignorance.  I know how being confronted feels.  It can be painful, but in the end it is always empowering because you have moved into a new paradigm of being, of seeing the world and understanding the role each and every one of us has to play, no matter how big or small.   It doesn’t matter if we play a big part in the world, or a small part, so long as we play and so long as we play fair.  We have the opportunities to extend our thinking, to extend our network of people and how we deal with each other.

One of the things that I am finding right now is that there are many people who are saying they will buy my book.  Some of them I believe, but some of them I don’t.  The ones I believe have never let me down, but there is always a first time right? The ones who have let me down before, may surprise me.  BUT I also know that it was me who allowed them to let me down.  I used to trust too easily, I took people at their word.  Why would they lie? Because sadly people do, some intentionally and others unknowingly.  Some have the best of intentions to do what they say but are then trapped by previous choices and decisions they have made for themselves, or by choices and decisions made for them by someone else.  I have spent four years planning, preparing and writing this book.  I want it to provide me with a four year salary.  It can only do that if people buy my book, and I supplement the sales with public speaking engagements and being paid to write for other publications, on the variety of topics included in my book.  I need book sales.  I need paid bookings for speaking engagements and future articles – time is money after all, and I, as well as my husband, have a family to provide for.  Will those friends out there really buy my book, or will they expect a free copy? Who should get a free copy? Close friends of mine who have helped with the book have refused a free copy, others who I hardly know have requested a free copy… probably why I have chosen for them to hardly know me.  They are the free loaders of society, the ones that do very little yet expect the prestige and returns to come their way.  They have to remember that the smarter and harder you work, the luckier you get.

The churning in my stomach has been there for a few weeks now and I guess it is just a new part of my life.   Will my book be a success or will it take my 2nd, 3rd or 4th one to kick start the momentum… or will they all fail and leave me with a choice to make about a new life direction? Who knows?  I am an entrepreneur.  I am a writer.  I am a mother, and just like everyone else who embarks on a life changing journey, we have to put our faith in those around us to support us, guide us and encourage us.  For some of us we pray that God will provide us with the sanity to see it all the way through to the end, with success in our endeavours and strength and determination along the way.

I may have finished the book, but the journey is not over.  It is time to step back into the field I know best… the business of marketing and networking.  But this time I have a publishing house behind me… I am excited, full of anticipation and prepared to fall flat on my face.  But you know what… you have to play the game to stand a chance of winning.

Let the games begin

You get on with it!  You ride the wave and you enjoy the ride.  You take each and every challenge in your stride and then you wake up one day and think “What am I doing? Why am I just going through the motions? Why am I pretending to be OK when I am not?”  You realise that you are becoming someone you don’t like, someone you wouldn’t want to be around and yet, so many enjoy your company.  Why? You have started to be negative about so many things.  You feel as though you are being eaten up by quick sand and you sadly realise “If I do not get off this path I am on, I will never be able to” or “If I do not change the way I am behaving I am going to become just like so and so, and I do not want that”.

It is time to make a new plan.  It is time to wake yourself up and do some serious self analysis and reflection.  You have to start doing the things that have led you to happy places before, whilst taking into consideration the new experiences, and hopefully wisdom, you have gained since your journey began.

What do you love about your current life? What do you want to keep with you as you move forward? Who are the people you want in your life? What characteristics about them inspire you? What kind of environment makes you happy? Why do they make you happy? Create a mood board, stick pictures of people, places and things that make you happy, with you as the central image to it all.  Once that is complete, set deadlines to make it happen.  Make a list of all the things you need to do to make your new life a reality.

Life is forever changing and sends many challenges your way.  You have to roll with the punches, see through the rhetoric that people spout, avoid guilt trips that people put on you and avoid being distracted.  Keep your eye on your goal.  Keep an eye on your happiness levels.  Believe in yourself and your new goal.  Find those that will help you in your new endeavour and all those that just send negativity your way.. find out why, work through it and then embrace the new road together or say “see you later”, not “goodbye”, just “see you later”

This is the process I have just gone through following a period of being terribly depressed.  People thinking they know me, people pulling me in one direction to serve their own goals, taking advantage of me and using me.  I have allowed it to happen and have been left in the deep depths of unhappiness.  Now I am doing the things that I NEED to do for my own happiness, the happiness of my family and I feel more empowered than I have done for the last 36 months.

I had a wake up call recently where I gained an insight into how I would end up if I didn’t take action.  I visualised my life if I didn’t snap out of the negativity and depression I had found myself in.  I realised that being hurt by others lack of integrity and dishonesty would make me a bitter person, angry at the world and forever miserable.  I don’t want that future.  I want to be happy, I want to relax and feel safe.  I want to be surrounded by green fields and people I trust.  I want to be able to write more books and articles.  I want to do my bit to help make our world a better place, building bridges with people who want the same.  So I am going back to the wonderful city of Sheffield, the greenest city in Europe, home to my sisterhood and also home to my mum and the fields of Fenland.  After years of being estranged, my mother and I have worked through so much since she saw me on Sky News in Tahrir Square during the revolution here in Egypt.  Now we are going to come together and spend time together… and my dad is going to come and live with us, instead of being by himself.

Sometimes, going back is moving forward.  So with 6 months left in Cairo, there is a lot of planning to do, book promotions to organise and articles to write.  There are projects to complete, goodbyes to say, precious time to spend with the friends I have come to love and cherish here, and of course I have little Belal’s nursery to decorate.

Live a life that makes you happy, and if you are not happy, look at every aspect of your life and work out why.  Remove the unpleasant people and things that are taking you away from your destination.  Move forward always.

Life is an adventure,  embrace it and learn from it.

Be blessed always in all your endeavours… where ever they make take you

Shimano XTR trai pedal: pedal body came off axle without warning!

Yesterday I had my 2 year old Shimano XTR trail (M985) drive side pedal suddenly come off its axle. My GoPro was  on and I have some footage of the moment it happened:

Now, I am a big fan of Shimano components, especially their top of the line XTR if only for its 3-year warranty. I would have simply considered this to be a fluke incident considering the reputation of Shimano SPD pedals being super durable. However, I decided to post this because it seems to be a widespread and known issue of this particular model XTRs that Shimano is not officially acknowledging (but they are honoring the XTR 3 year warranty according to several reports on various mountain biking forums. I have submitted a warranty claim and still waiting for a reply from the retailer I bought them from). A quick Google search reveals that this is definitely NOT an isolated incident:

http://forums.mtbr.com/drivetrain-shifters-derailleurs-cranks/xtr-trail-pedal-failure-751821-4.html

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyone-else-had-an-xtr-pedal-come-off-its-axle-jra

http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/workshop/62971-xtr-trail-pedal-fail.html

…if you google something like “XTR pedal failure” many more forum threads will turn up. You’ll get a sense of how prevalent the problem is.

Some of the forum posts about this issue are dated more than a year ago, and at the time of this writing Shimano has not issued a recall. Considering how the problem appears to be endemic to PD-M985 and PD-M980 models, there are clearly serious manufacturing defects with these pedals. This is a dangerous thing to happen on a ride, especially while bombing down technical, rocky trails. I reached out to Shimano via their Shimano MTB facebook page, but yet to receive any response.

My 1x9 trail riding setup with an E-Thirteen 32T Guidering and XCX chainguide on a Shimano XT crank coupled with an XTR 11-34 cassette.

Although recently given more attention by the launch of SRAM’s XX1 1×11 group, 1x (one-by) drivetrains are nothing new in the mountain biking world. Many riders have realized the benefits of running a single ring drivetrain and have been modifying 3x and 2x systems to go 1x. With 10 and 11 speed mountain bike drivetrains introduced, the advantages of running a single ring are becoming even more apparent. Here are some of the benefits of running a singe-ring MTB drivetrain:

1. Less maintenance: With a 1x system, you lose the front (left) shifter, front derailleur, shifter cable and housing, and at least one chainring (depending if your started out with a 2x or 3x crankset). This means less parts to maintain and/or replace on your mountain bike. Chainrings are one of the quickest-wearing parts on your bike, and replacing a single ring is always cheaper than replacing two or three.

2. Less weight: because you will no longer need the components mentioned above, you are saving some weight from your bike. While gram-counting and extreme weight savings are not something recreational riders should worry about too much, a lighter bike is always welcome, especially if you ride in a rather hilly terrain. You can loose as much as 400 grams from your total bike weight by going 1x.

3. Less thinking: With a traditional 3x or 2x system on modern mountain bikes with things like adjustable suspension and dropper posts, things can get too complicated with brake and shift levers to push/pull, seatpost buttons to press to drop/raise your saddle and knobs to turn to drop/raise your fork or lockout/open up your suspension. When you want to concentrate on picking good lines and going faster, it could be too much technology to deal with in the saddle. Taking front shifting out of the equation definately contributes to simplifying things. On my bike, the left-hand side of my handlebar has the front brake and the dropper seatpost button, and the right-hand side has the rear brake lever and the rear shifter. Things are simpler, and I can concentrate more on the riding.

4. Less chainslap: You know it, you hate it and you’ve learned to deal with it: chainslap: 2x and 3x systems have to have a relatively long chain to fit the wide range of teeth counts on the multiple rings and rear cogs. More chain=looser chain=more chainslap. With a single ring on the front, you can run a mid or short-cage rear derailleur and shorten your chain. A tighter chain across your gear range means significantly less chainslap. (with the new clutch type rear derailleurs from Shimano and SRAM, an even quieter drivetrain is possible)

Shimano's medium cage XT Shadow Plus clutch rear derailleur

5. Less chainsuck/drop: on multiple chainring setups, the chain is often forced to run at uncomfortable angles, which increases the opportunity of annoying things like dropping the chain, chainsuck and also makes for a less efficient drivetrain (the straighter the chainline, the more efficient your drivetrain is). As mentioned, things like clutch rear derailleurs, coupled with simple top-only chainguides (like the E-Thirteen XCX or MRP 1x) can significantly increase chain retention and enable you to go faster on rougher terrain without worrying about the chain coming off. SRAM’s new XX1 group’s chainrings even has special tooth profile that are claimed to prevent chaindrop without the need for a chainguide.

6. Better ground clearance: With a smaller ring on the front, your chances of bashing it on trail objects is reduced. Modern mountain bike geometry is leaning towards slacker, lower bikes for more stability at speed, but at the expense of ground clarance. You can counter this by going 1x and even adding a bashgaurd for additional protection if you ride aggressively in a particularly rocky area.

Single ring setups often have improved ground clearance and put your chainring further up and away from harms way.

7. Stronger legs: Contrary to popular belief, going 1x will not cause you to lose a lot of gear range compared to 2x or 3x systems. You only forgoe the lowest gears (granny) and highest top-end (big ring), which are gears that you rarely use anyway (for most riders). Also, a lot of your 2x or 3x gear combinations are duplicate or crosschain gears that you do not use anyway. You will also deal with not having the granny by pushing a slightly longer gear on tough climbs, which only means that you’ll become a better, stronger rider!

Final words:

I have been running a 1×9 system for sometime now and very happy with it, and the only thing I would miss sometimes is the upper end of the range on fast, wide open (not too technical) descents (you can always run a bigger chainring to suit the terrain you are riding). Converting your existing setup to 1x is easy and reversible (you can always go back to 2x or 3x if you don’t like it). With the introduction of dedicated 1x systems such as SRAM’s XX1 with it’s massive cassette range and 1x-specific chainrings, multiple chainring systems are loosing their appeal for the majority of mountain bike applications.

Name:  Nader Mahrous

Age: 27

Where are you from?: Maadi, Cairo, Egypt

What do you do for a living? Owner of an interior and woodwork company

When and why did you start cycling?

After the revolution (everything seems to be related to revolution now?), it was a method of commuting around Maadi. Then the odd morning ride. It wasn’t fun enough riding between traffic and through pollution. I run often in the Wadi so decided to start biking there. Went twice, on the third time met a nice fellow who told me about MTB Egypt and haven’t looked back since (or down in the case of some our trails).

Road, off-road, or both?

At the moment strictly off-road. But still the odd commute around Maadi I would do.

Tell us about your bike(s)!:

I bought a silly Egyptian Rodeo bike that didn’t last more than a couple of months.

Then decided to upgrade to a Bianchi that again lasted less than a handful of months until I decided I wanted bigger gear.

Spring 2012, after more than 5 months of research, finally acquired a Yeti SB66 medium in it’s most flamboyant color. A beast of a bike:

A 150mm travel up front and back, with Switch suspension platform technology aired by Fox RP23
2011 Fox 32 Float fork 150DT Swiss Tubed X1600 wheels (soon to go tubeless)
Truvativ Boobar 780mm handlebars
Schwalbe tires – Hans Dampf
Full SRAM X7/X9 drivetrain
Kindshock i-950 dropper seat post
Shimano DX flat platform pedals

Favorite ride(s) (road or off-road):

What’s dubbed the Advanced Corporate Loop and Puppy Canyon

Do you practice other sports?:

Squash, football, basketball and running

Tell us about your cycling-related injuries/accidents:
I am glad I don’t have any nagging injuries from all my sports (knock on wood, please). I have had one spectacular biking accident where I lost a chunk of my stomach to it and picked up a dozen of scars all-over.

I have had several other accidents that haven’t really left much scars behind.

Anything else you want to tell us about yourself?

Getting into mountain biking has been some sort of transformation. It’s a great sport, albeit a dangerous one, and very addictive. I would love to somehow one day be involved in expanding it in Egypt and promote it.

A deserved mention for MTB Egypt as a great group of help, ride partners and people in general.

My motto in MTB: Go big or go home.

There are so many words left unsaid.  So many memories not shared.  There is still that Wild Rice dinner to eat when I get back to Sheffield.  She still has to help me unload my books, as she helped me pack them.  The tears keep rolling all whilst I distract myself with keeping up with world news on Twitter, researching information for my new endeavour of home schooling, another thing I never got to share with her.  I had always said I would never home school but she always told me “Never say never” and now here I am, home schooling because I don’t want my children in Egyptian Schools.  I know she would have supported me.  I just know it.

I am about to send my manuscript to the publishers finally, after three years of making sure it is ‘good enough’ to publish.  Amera never got to read it.  I never got to know what she thought about it, but I know now who the book will be dedicated to.  I know that it doesn’t matter what is inside the book, she knew it all anyway, and more besides.  She would have been proud of me.  She always was.  Total acceptance of me: the good, the bad and the ugly.  I could be me, not hide anything.  I could be too tough on my boys and she would be the one who would make it all better.  She was my rock as well as the wind beneath my wings when my hubby was away, and when he was at home.  She was always there.  Now she is gone.  Forever.  Never to return again.  That hurts.  A lot.  Too much.

In the Holy books it says in various ways “From Him do we come and to Him do we return”, well that just doesn’t cut it at the moment.  It also says “He does not give us more than we can handle” well I don’t want to handle this right now, and I can’t see how I am going to handle this.  I don’t know how I am going to handle walking back into the home my dearest Amera helped me pack up over a year.  I don’t know how I am going to handle going back to the Winter Gardens or the Peace Gardens without her, or how I am going to feel sitting in my own garden by the fire pit without her being there.  How I am going to deal with being with the other sisters and not seeing her face, her beautiful face, with the playful eyes, communicating things to me without saying a word.  How am I going to do a lot of things?  Even making a pot of coffee sets me off at the moment.

I have cried myself to sleep nearly every night. I never really had close friends up until I was 29.  I had lots of friends who I had good times with, lots of friends who I spent a lot of time with, but I always had a wall of armour around my heart, to protect me from getting hurt.  The only person I really truly trusted and shared things with was my husband, until I met Amera.  She broke through that armour like a hot knife through butter.  There was nothing left to share, she knew everything.  She was just wonderful and I am really struggling with the fact that I am writing ‘was’ to describe her.  I am grateful I can touch type because I cannot see the keys through my tears.  I can only just see the screen.  The tears just won’t stop.

I know that she would be telling me ‘it is OK to cry, just let it out’ but letting it out makes it real.  It makes it harder to pretend she will be waiting at the house when we get back to the UK.  So many have said ‘be strong, she wouldn’t want you to be like this’.  In some ways they are right I do need to be strong, but I also know that she would tell me ‘be with what you are feeling but don’t let it over take you for too long’.  If I am like this in a month, then she would tell me to get a grip.  She would understand the pain I am in because I know how much pain we felt when we said “see you in 3 years”.  I took it for granted that I would see her again.  I never got a chance to say so many things I wanted to say because I was either too tired to stay awake, the phone calls were never long enough or I was distracted by other things.  I took it for granted that I would get to share so much more with her, and I have learnt the hard way.  I have learn that it doesn’t matter what plans we make with each other, it doesn’t matter what our intention is, when our time is up, our time is up and we can’t go back.  We can’t give each other the hugs we once shared.  I am never going to hear her Scottish Yorkshire accent again, or hear her beautiful laugh.  I don’t have photos of us together, we were just too busy having fun to capture the moments.  I am never going to be with her again in this life and that hurts.  That leaves me lost.  I feel as though I have lost my footing.

So many people I know do not get me.  Not like Amera did.  They do not accept me.  Not like Amera did.  I know I am confrontational.  Another friend posted on my facebook wall “Oh are my ‘political’ posts annoying you? Sorry I thought the future of our planet was worth discussing. By all means show me another picture of your dinner”.  I do worry about things that others don’t give a second thought to.  I do ‘nervous myself’ about the behaviours and attitudes of others, because sooner or later they are going to impact my life, my children’s life or my grandchildren’s lives.  A friend who is an amazing Human Rights activist puts it well “we have to create a better future for our grandchildren and their grandchildren”.  I do want a better life for everyone, but over the past year, I have grown aware of the fact that so many people just really do not give a shit about anyone but themselves.  Not Amera, she would do everything she could to help someone, if she thought it did them some good.  So many do not put enough effort into disciplining their children because ‘they are just kids’, ‘I don’t have the patience’ or simply because they cannot see the bigger picture.  I don’t sweat the small stuff unless the small stuff has a greater impact in a negative way. Amera got this.  She used to just let me rant, she disagreed with me, she agreed with me, showed me a new way of thinking regardless of whether I wanted to hear it or not.  She confronted me.  She wasn’t embarrassed by me.  She included me in her life regardless of who else was there.  I was her friend and if others didn’t like it, tough.  That was just the way it was. She could tell me all her troubles, all her embarrassing moments, secrets she could never tell anyone.  Bits she just kept between us two.  She knew I could ‘see’ her.  She knew it didn’t matter where she was or what she was doing, I’d be by her side in a heart beat.  But now, her heart is no longer beating and mine is aching.  How long is a heartbeat now? How long will it be before I am with her again?

Losing Amera has made me wonder how painful it would be to lose my husband or my two boys.  If I am like this over my best friend, I want to die before my husband and two children.  I don’t think I could go on without any of them, but I know I would have to.  I just hope I would be able to. So many words are left unsaid between so many people.

Please if you could do one thing before today is over, regardless of which day you read this, contact the people who you need to say hello to, need to say sorry to or just simply need to hear their voice.  I called my dad yesterday and spent most of the call just listening to him breathing.  It felt good.  It felt right.  He didn’t know what to say, so we were just with each other, 1000′s of miles apart, and yet just with each other.  I’m now going to call my mum, and hope I don’t her voice mail again.  Everyone else can wait.  I need to be with my family, the friends I have chosen as my family and the ones of blood.

Amera, my dearest friend, I make you this promise and promise to honour it as best as I can:  There will be no more time wasting.  No more spending time doing things that are not going to help me get to where I need to be.  No more spending time listening to other peoples excuses.  No more time with those moments in my head wishing I wasn’t me just so I could stop hearing people telling me ‘don’t nervous yourself’ or ‘pick your battles’ just because they are too weak or lazy to do something or stand for something.  No more worrying about how I look in front of people who are more glamourous, prettier or thinner than me.  No more feeling bad about having a lazy day.  No more guilt over enjoying a little too much food.  No more guilt about being me, because you loved me as I am.  Ramo loves me as I am.  My boys love me as I am.  And now there are only 3 of you left, and my time – or theirs – could come at any moment, I want to make each moment count. I love you Amera.  I miss you.  I will miss you.  I will cry.  I will hurt.  I will chuckle over silly things we used to do.  I will think of you when pouring coffee or doing the things we used to do.  I will honour you always.  I will keep your secrets.  I will listen to songs that we used to sing and dance along to, sometimes crying with all my heart, sometimes the tears will escape and sometimes I’ll just smile, close my eyes and feel you close to me.  I will never forget you; could never forget you.  I will keep my promises I made to you.  I will keep your spirit alive… and if I do ever have another baby, and the baby turns out to be a girl, she will be named Amera in your honour.

I love you my dearest sweet Amera.  Rest in peace always and forever… or at least until I get there xx