dem beats

That's what she said. :rimshot:

I do not have the engineering words to describe what is going on. I feel like an audiophile weirdo describing chocolatey mids. I'm frustrated because from my POV the difference is so dramatic that it changes the experience on the bike from wow even pavement is fun to be on, to really disliking even coasting or gently pedaling. Hyper sensitive to Bob and have bad ballance so I like long and stiff at that angle?

Maybe this analogy will work. I don't know how over sledded you are for riding in ditches, but you certainly do not need as much sled to simply ride the ditches, when you want to hit something you can because the machine is more than capable of what your asking of it. On a system where I'm only pushing it to 20% most of the time and occasionally when I want to be nuts I push it to 75-80% I really know how the bike will respond. That is not try when you reach the limits of the suspension and I'm not a good enough rider to cope. So on some level I agree with you. Suspension is stupid in general. Until it isn't for one or 2 tasks and those 1 or 2 tasks are the only thing I get enjoyment from mountain biking other than the scenery.

Also I was impressed with roseville Erick's bikes. They had some dummy proof measuring system. Arms at all kinds of angles crotch, back, everything. As soon as I asked technical shit and a seat dropped had an issue the assistant manager stepped in. He went for the hightower and got a bigger fram than expected himself because of similar reasons. He is also the one who noticed that all the bikes I liked have a similar suspension design with a horizontal mounted shock. He was maybe the newest to mountain biking himself but as I described what I didn't like about a particular bike he got me progressively closer to what idea hovering sensation that I like.

large. Make sense. I just know I'll get a hardtail and watch it rot. Actually why I wanted a fat bike in the first place. I wanted to love it. I would rather ride road bike. Maybe I can cyclocross to work.

It fit me better than any other bike because it was a large or Xl. Everyone else who had a bike to loan was medium and set up small and flickable. I liked it because it ate up everything though. I have shorter arms and shorter legs that I can mitigate with the seat a bit, but this long back is hard to fit into some larges.

Something else that's amazing about rear suspension is how it eats a turn. Flexing into a tight turn is maybe the coolest sensation on a bike IMO. Letting the back end eat a rock as you keep rolling and feeling zero loss of grip is cool. I'm not sure if this will make sense based o your choice, but for me the fatbikes all felt "numb". I know people ride them fast, I cannot. I also felt no confidence. It felt like I was on basketballs. No air PSI felt good. I don't have the right words probably but if it was bad suspension, I might blame how the rebound felt? Instead of being plush and flowing in the right amount of sag, I'm just bounced along for the ride.

I broke 2 nice $600 hardtails in a month as a kid at the river bottoms after breaking 4 target bikes. Of course a bmx frame could take it but my body cannot. I didnt just mean handle the stress. I meant absorb the terrain effciently. Rear suspension done right increases grip and confidence on gnarly shit. Done wrong it numbs you up. Done right it allows you to be less picky about your path. The XL frame makes sense for one reason. I can drop the post and my seated position doesn't matter as much as how my hips hover over the rear axle and that I can keep my shoulders and face behind the fork stem if pointed down. One on one, freewheel, and REI all fit me for an L or XL in the enduro bikes I wanted to ride. The rocky mountain was ok in a large I think. I'm right on the edge and with suspension and drop posts it's way easier for me to handle a slightly larger bike than a slightly smaller bike. Especially with how light they all are.

I rode a hightower LT for example. I was amazed by it. Then I started to stand and shift my weight forward and I instantly realized my face was way too far over the forks with that rake and I couldn't sink back and down. It felt way to sporty and while I'm sure it's more "flickable" even if I want to do something in the twisties I would rather not worry about my line as much and sink the suspension into the turn anyway. Ultimately, I'm going to ride the baby trails and baby park paths and occasionally see something that I want to ride down or jump. If I don't have 2 or 3 times the bike required for it I don't trust my body to deal with it and then I will be annoyed and have a very expensive thing that only makes my wife mad and me embarrassed.

@///M5 I have now tried so many bikes. So many geometries. Here is what I love and what I think is going on. The Santa cruise Nomad and the Santa cruise Bronson. Both are fine. XL in the bronson but maybe an L in the Nomad. I tried a salsa that was ok however also but it wasn't as long of a travel and it really made me less confident. What I think is going on is that bikes with a horizontal mounted shock work so much better with how i stroke and ballance that it makes me feel confident enough to risk a weird angle. Double that problem with a shorter suspension. Hell, the salsa and the stump jumper felt too hard and I got even less speed on the 29" short travel when the pistons were vertical. That's on curbs and parking lots. If you are familiar with the brand intense, they made the only bikes I liked about 8 years ago. A budy had a Frankenstein uzzi on a super big frame and way over sprung in the rear. Basically the stiffest thing possible so it didnt just Bob horribly 100% of the time. I rode the sag in that long travel flawlessly. It would be impossible to duplicate and if I went down anything sketchy I would die because of the way he changed bars up front to make it something to ride trails with. I'm not sure that I can afford anything even close. I know myself and I'm not going to ride if I don't like it so do I just save for a few years and just focus on other hobbies or is there a used option? My joints really like that hovering flow sensation that comes with the enduro feel, but new shocks technically and that horizontal mounted shock made me so efficient even in full open that I have 100% no downsides for my style or riding. Let's say $2k

That's so cool that you guys coach. After highschool I went back to assistant coach some wrestling but I couldn't get into it. I bet if I had a kid in the sport I would have made time like I should have! Way to go gents!

They gotchu on a pupuplatter! Glad you have been off the nicotine!

Beard is getting my grey. But the top is thinning. I cannot go bald. It will be my end.

Hahaha! The plan was cigars and bourbon on the boat last year! I've used cigars for a while as a way to relax, but the vape/snus thing just helps me shit. Gross but medically wonderful for my morning constitutional. The moment I get that "craving" I just discontinue use until I forget about it. I get the juice made for me for dirt fucking cheep and the vapes were all gifts, thus preventing me from ever trying to spend my own money and going down that rabbit hole of a hobby.

I bet if you upped your vegis and water you would be good. Maybe cut out packaged salt, and add some iodized salt occasionally instead of straight kosher. People are dumbfounded at how much they think I salt my food. I've almost stopped prepping food with people who don't cook, or don't know me. On top of what appears to be a healthy amount of salt in cooking, I love salty snacks and am known to take shots of soy sauce. I almost ALWAYS show up with low sodium. Also cut the cigs. Snuss pouches, cigar, pipe, all better choices. Vape if you really want to get your hormones and body back into check. If you can get down to 3mg or 1mg regular juice you're life will change. Nicotine by itself isnt brutal to your system but coming off something that you have relied on every day will be earth shattering for your health. I use nicotine BTW. Recently, it's been close to daily unfortunately. I vaporize or use snuss. No excuses but I use it to shit more than I use it for enjoyment honestly.

Damn! I wanted to know how good they tasted! I've never been to one! Amazing job BTW. Really jealous.

Is that a hot or cold leftist tears tumbler??

I eat a lot of kitties.

Always smells like urine when I cook it. It is one of the very few smells I really really am turned off of food from. Ammonia right? I think ABrown did an episode on it. Almost 100% of the time.

It's time to start designing my outdoor kitchen..... I'm so excited! Can't decide on getting another egg or similar, making a pizza oven type, or just a large gass/coal grill and flattop. I dream of a large flattop surface, but I'm not sure if that can be implemented outside in MN @///M5 the heavy cast egg grate is still perfect after all the a year and wet moments. Even got some water in the egg once. My egg is under an overhang when not grilling but gets wet and is not covered. Used the cast for grilling and smoking. I like it for grilling more than the thin wire. For smoking, I want a stainless. Steaks taste better off the cast. Scientific facts bro.

I need to rebuild my BGE guts and then get a controller. Then I can just use that. Rockstar still the go to brand?

Speaking of, the briefcase from Tijuana is in. Chapo sends his regards.

What water pill? Spironolactone? That is a potassium sparing one, but you might grow tits! Lol. Oddly enough I know another group of men that used it to make them looks less puffy because they had too many lady hormones! Be aware that my rant about potassium does not exactly work while on this drug. One of the reasons people take that drug is to INCREASE potassium. If you do thats then eat a ton a veg and have the drug pushing out sodium, you're gonna have a bad time. Be extremely careful of strenuous activities while getting used to any water pill. Especially hot days. Drink lots of water. When I was put on those things I would have to take shots of soy sauce before/durring/after workouts where I was going to sweat a ton. I really tried to just time it so it would be out of my system before any possible workout interactions and for me spironolactone goes through me relatively fast.

With a curry sauce or curry dusted on top. Mmm I need your recipe, my cauliflower always gets soft or ends up sulfery.

J, I don't think you have a sodium problem. I think you have low potassium and water intake. My suggestion is to salting as Sean mentioned for a month. Get another blood test and then go from there. I'm not going to Harp on for hours but I have helped people completely change their body comp, blood work numbers, and performance dramatically. Here is a lesson that I have had to relearn over and over and it's what Sean is trying to teach you in a different way. To be healthy, you cannot simply remove some type of food from your diet and expect any reasonable results unless your diet is pretty good already. AKA you cannot be healthy without these vegis most likely, and the sodium number you are seeing probably has more to do with the rest of your diet being "junk". Junk is ANYTHING processed that you did not process yourself, and some things that are natural can be junk too, depending on goals. Anecdotally you have to get in the vegis before you can blame your high sodium on "too much salt". Less anecdotally, you probably deficient on potassium and other related nutrients. Your water balance is off then, along with synapse and metabolism. A few things you can try to help yourself.... leafy greens and high nitrate ones especially. Beats, I think turbo(arugula), and high potassium stuff like spinach, avocado, and watching massive starch or sugar intake. Sugar can screw with water as much as other electrolytes in some cases. Also fake sugars and packaged salty foods are not the same as table salt. One last thing.... salt is not salt. For coating meat and in most cooking I use kosher salt. However I'm trying to incorporate iodized salt. I'm pretty sure that someone with my metabolism is not getting optimal iodine and I havent figured out how to add wakame into meals every day.... so you could try eliminating all pre salted foods if possible and using iodized salt. Lost of active men don't really understand that they are starving for some of the most basic nutrients and while our government did good things like add iodine to everything so we don't die, those who might want to live a bit harder than a sedentary 2000kcal life need extra. So J, add in an extra liter of water to your day for a month. Do your best. Eat all the greens you can and salt the frick out of them if it gets you to eat them. Do not eat packaged food, especially sugary or salty. These things, even when diet or low sodium, will affect your electrolytes and water ballance and in order to protect your nervous system and metabolism your body will slow down and store salt. It's why some people really puff up for a day when trying to deplete salt before some magazine shoot for example.