well this is a pointless debate, but since we're at it for a laugh, mackaroo.. Shimano moved away from 2:1 a la SRAM... Shimano eliminated pivot at the knuckle al SRAM.. and Shimano innovated "shadow technology" (ooooooo....) a la SRAM... I think Shimano is finally making decent der's after the last 7 or 8 years of taking cues from SRAM. Everyone stoked on Shimano today is just stoked on what SRAM was offering 8 years ago. For everything else though (pedals, cranks, cassettes, chains, brakes).. i'll take Shimano over SRAM every day of the week. Good times!

Yeah - i don't really understand why the author is vilifying the "out of place... old man... landowner" for sniffing around his own land (especially after being robbed)... sounds to me like the landowner presented the opportunity for discussion and to work with him to reroute the tail or find some solution... maybe that could have been a good starting point.

WAKI - in this part of the world it would be beyond most/all of the locals to "pity" anyone as it is more or less beyond them to judge and their egos are basically absent. Judging, pity, and ego are left to us and I highly doubt they look down their noses at us for chasing artificial needs. I think one can be spiritually balanced with or without money and with or without religion.. to assume all of us Westerners are miserably stuck chasing some illusion is the same as saying that none of these locals can be happy for their lack of financial wealth. Interesting discussion anyway.

well at least your bike can back-pedal ;)

Tom, Ice - fact is that only westerners would be hung-up on how expensive the bikes are in contrast to their surroundings... the locals couldn't care less.. i've been to this part of the world and other developing/under developed areas with high-end bikes... do you think owning your high-end bikes, computers, and whatever else "out of site" from these locals is somehow different??.. better to hide from the disparity than face it? Supporting and promoting mtb tourism in this part of the world helps develop a new economic opportunity.. which is a good thing, if you're concerned about their lack of money compared to ours.

Apparently it's the author of the article you take exception to and not the content. So be it. The logic is perfectly sound in theory and in practice.

In the case of AM/enduro type riding.. whatever you want to call it... I think a 2.35 tire on a wider rim is better than a 2.5 tire on a narrower rim.. you'll get similar volume with a better profile that won't roll over and at a lower weight (maybe marginal depending on rim comparison)... this is true whether you're running tubes or tubeless... and both options set-ups are fairly common.. so i think there's a valid argument to be made.