I’ve installed (and removed) countless tyre inserts/ rim protectors for customers who specifically requested it over the years, but was never tempted to run them myself. A wholesaler offered to throw a pair of inserts into a recent order for me at a ridiculously low price recently, so I figured I had nothing to lose. The plan was to fit them when my Norco Sight needed fresh rubber, and that opportunity presented itself a few weeks ago. It’s worth pointing…
At the time of writing, it’s the 3rd of March 2024, just under 6 weeks out from this years edition of SeVen Gravel Race – and riders have already been talking about it for months. I am lucky enough to have perspective from my own time spent racing mountain bikes, as well as years of being a pro mechanic and wrenching for the people doing the racing. Our customers here at TLS who sign up for big events like this…
Perth Mountain Bikers, this one’s for you: With the steady increase in the amount of shops + riders sending us their suspension jobs, it was time to split that work off into its own business module. Say hello to TractionLabs – A dedicated MTB Suspension Service Centre operating inside the existing TLS workshop in Joondalup. Suspension has been an obsession of mine for years, and back in 2019 I mapped out a very deliberate (and expensive) journey to become a…
For the first time in a decade, I moved away from Maxxis tyres to try something else on my daily hardtail – I had a new set of wheels on their way to me and the rubber on my outgoing set of hoops was very, very tired…. The second big change for me (look at me go!) was running identical tyres front and rear. Same tread, same profile, same compound – rather than the super aggressive front/ semi slick rear…
Disc brakes on bikes, particularly the newer generation of road bikes, cop a lot of flack for various reasons (some of it is justified…) but on the whole they are actually incredibly high performance products that punch well above their weight (literally) But….like most things in life….complaining about problems is a lot easier than engineering solutions. For this example we have a high quality TRP rotor off a road bike, measuring 140mm in diameter – nestled snugly inside a fairly…