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I typically use the climb switch once per ride. I like to turn it on halfway up the climb when I remember I have it and might as well use it. I tend to turn it off halfway down the descent when I’m puzzling over why my suspension isn’t working. I suspect I am not in the minority.

I clean my shoes because I don't like sticking my feet into something that smells like a bog. I also wash my knee pads and gloves for the same reason. But to each their own. I've also noticed that for flat pedal shoes, soaping & scrubbing the soles once or twice a year helps revitalize the rubber a bit. It's not going to fix the pin craters, but they do feel grippier to me after all the embedded sand is scrubbed clean.

Living in the PNW my shoes would get caked in mud. The main problem was just that they would get really stiff. I just let them dry out, then use a stiff brush to get the mud off the fabric and laces, and they would be good to go. Since they were generally already soaked through, sometimes I did just hit them with the hose to get most of the mud off. They would still need the brush though. I used to keep a garden sprayer in my car to spray off my bike, and often used it to clean...

Spray with hose, quick brush off, onto the boot dryer. Embrace the patina.

The etiquette piece might be my single biggest grievance from the ebike crowd. I'm a big guy and climbing is not my strength, so I have PLENTY of experience with being passed on the uptrails by both regular and ebike riders. The ebike riders are exponentially worse at saying excuse me, on your left, or simply making some noise to let you know they're behind you. I've even seen groups of ebike riders talking and laughing about how fast they're cruising past other riders at the top of the climb. These aren't new riders. At the end of the day...

This a common straw man argument I see on this topic. It’s important to remember that anyone capable of going that fast uphill is only do so with a lifetime of skills as a foundation . Anyone in a pro xco race is likely never putting out 1500w in that race, and if the are it’s for about 5 seconds during a sprint finish. Theres just a lot more nuance man. No human is putting out world tour sprint finish power for the same duration as a 800wh battery Humans are creatures of the path of least resistance. If you...

Running less sag makes a bike track poorly on account of losing contact with the ground anytime there’s an indent the wheel has to go over. You see the same exact issue with people lifting vehicles to drive off road. They throw preload collars on and all of the sudden they feel the truck is harsher. The spring rate hasn’t gotten stiffer so why does it feel harsher? It’s losing contact with the ground and causing the chassis to pitch to allow a wheel to drop into a hole as soon as a hole is deeper than the amount of...