Ryan is one of the easiest going people you could ever meet. I also met him at one of his trials shows, even built up one of his bikes for him and was given the old frame. If you ever have a chance to see one of his shows in person and meet him don't hesitate to go

Its the good old "the internet said so" syndrome. Got to any bike shop, electronics store, or computer store and ask the people there what they think of the internet opinions. I would be willing to bet that most of them with just roll their eyes and walk away, and the rest would tell you how the internet has made a million experts with none of them ever having hands on experience with what they are suddenly experts on. I can't could the number of times that I had to deal with people that insisted they were fixing something right because they read it on the internet, or that a product I knew was good was a piece of crap because someone had a bad experience with it on the internet. How many people instantly declared the 888 junk because of this: Andreau- bent 888's Hopkins- snapped 888's Doerfling- snapped 888's How many hit larger than what most people here will ever do, did these forks take? These guys stress their equipment to the limits every time they ride a comp and things are bound to fail. I admit I ma a bit of a hack and 50% of what I land it not buttery smooth, or I case it. guess what, my 888s are working fine and show no signs of failure, same thing with my Argyle, the steerer is still straight. despite what all the naysayers have said about those products being bad. OK I am going to end my rant now:o

@stever: Yes it happens to me every time I ride a bike with Grip Shift. I don't really blame the shifters, its just the way I ride that causes it. @Rolas: Revoshift is worse than the low end gripshift, Revos are some of the worst feeling shifters out there, bar none. @feds: yes there are unintentional shifts with any shifter, so you can't say it doesn't happen. For me it happens a lot more with Gripshift. I am not saying that the high end Gripshifters are garbage and never would, they are great pieces of equipment that just doesn't work for me. While I was still working in the bike shops I would get asked often what was better. My answer was always what ever feels right to the person using them. For me it is Sram triggers, but now that shimano can be shifted with all thumbs, they are a strong contender on my books. Once again, either you love them or you hate them, but these new X series shifters are not junk.

The low end twist shifters found on department store and kids bikes are no where close to a real grip shift. It does come down to personal tastes, people will either hate them or love them. I personally hate them not because they are bad, but because I constantly bump shift with twist shifters due to the way I hold the grips. The best thing about these shifters is the simplicity and ease of use. Also you can take them apart and put them back together without the hassles of all the cogs and springs in a trigger shifter.

Absolutely nothing, waiting to see another surgeon about a second surgery on my elbow

Triple ring riders are in the majority by a long shot, but with the advent of 2X10 that will change over the next few years. Freeriders and and the likes are a relatively small group in the cycling word, but I will admit to seeing more and more double ring setups on the trail in this area. That is because the terrain isn't the greatest for big ring hammering. too many short ball busting climbs with equally short descents and not much in the way of flats inbetween.

It is my opinion that you don't need to know all the hoopla and jargon, just find what feels right and works for you then go an enjoy it. Most of tech the bike companies push out is just marketing, solid advancement, but if it didn't come out would you love your ride any less?