I'm guessing it's different density of the smoke clouds. Even if they rise consistently over the burning area, they could still form patterns of higher and lower density as they move. Think patterns in smoke from a cig or candle as it rises and moves - curls and gaps forming in it. Not sure what that's called or caused by in fluid dynamics but I assume that happens in the smoke clouds as they travel south. So when we get lower density bit over us - numbers go down, hgher density - they go up.
Here's visual aid on the difference between high-end derailleurs and low-end ones. One can get pretty decent shifting out of the cheap one but not the 99.9% reliable shifting that stays reliable for years without adjustment that you get from a better made drivetrain.
With that said, some parts have more effect than others. With any level of Shimano, running decent quality (Shimano, Jagwire) uninterrupted housing from the shifter to the derailleur eliminates problems on the frame. That along with an aligned derailleur hanger would produce pretty good shifting.
Nowhere yet. Still on Discord since Discord backpedaled on their ID bullshit. We'll have to reexamine again at some point. It seems there may be some other alternatives to look into like Stoat or Fluxer.
BTW I'm not at all a fan of the Discord format but it's not my decision to use that format.
No kidding. This didn't ruin me but it was painful. And on top of that, it's smaller disks for significantly more than I did last year.
I bought them for years ahead. My primary pool is gonna start having drives fail from age and use, and it'll need replacements. So I'm gonna be sticking these in as they fail over time so I use all the service life I can get from the existing (8TB) drives.
The M8000 derailleur/shifter on my bike are from 2017. The cassette is M7000 (SLX) which is also that old. I've done at least 25000km on this drivetrain. Probably closer to 30-40K. I don't clean it regularly. Maybe once every 2 years. Last year I shamefully fell behind on maintenance and rode it dry almost all summer. This drivetrain still shifts perfectly and new chains don't skip on the cassette. Point being that if this anecdata is any measure, even old, used compontents from these series might work great, if you find some cheap deal.
I don't have experience with the 12-speed drivetrains but the M7000/M8000 11-speed Shimano are incredible. If you have some cash burning in your pocket, you'd be delighted. That said as some have suggested, the same shifting consistency is probably available in cheaper parts too. I can vouch for M7000/M8000 as that's what I've been using since 2017. Especially coming from an old Suntour, it's gonna blow your mind. Perfect shifting under power? Yes.
I'm sure the good quality pivot joints don't start at XT. I just don't have other intermediary parts to test with. I've used an SLX derailleur and shifters in the past and the shifting consistency didn't feel worse in any way. Maybe it goes down to Deore. Maybe even to CUES. The CUES parts look really well made. But so does the Alivio so unless one can inspect it with their hands, it's not clear. :D
All that makes me curious about the quality of the newer "value" brands like Microshift, S-Road, Sensah, Ltwoo. If those have stiff joints, they may be a worthy upgrade for cheap setups.
Back in 2008-10 I started using 10-speed SLX and that was near flawless. Sometime around 2017 I switched to an 11-speed XT (M8000) that I found at a discount. That thing never misses a shift and in addition it can shift under load in either direction without mishifts. Never requires adjustment after a new cable settles. It's incredible. I've gotten really used to this experience.
Recently I got a foldable with M3100. I was pretty excited because the M3100 now has the shadow cage design and it looks more or less like a heavier, cheaper version of what I'm used to. I starter riding it and I got a few misshifts, adjusted the barrel, got a bit better, adjusted the deraileur hanger, got a bit better, B-screw, got better. I even got an old 9-speed XT shifter for it because the derailleur movement is primarily controlled by the shifter. Now it's closer to the consistency I'm used to but it still does some slow shifts / higher-lower shifts every few cassette sweeps. That got me thinking about what could possibly cause this and I started inspecting it physically. That's when I discovered how much play there is in the M3100. I could get the guide pulley to move half a gear from the indexed one by mildly pressing on it. I did the same test on my other bike. It barely moved even when pressing really hard. That's when it hit me that there's no way to get perfectly consistent shifting with this amount of play. It's still perfectly functional, it's not dangerous or anything, but it physically can't do it. I decided to bite the bullet and get some old M8000 gear. Once I removed the chain from the M3100 it was so much more obvious how much play there's in it compared to the M8000.
With all that said, for the price, an M3100 with a cheap trigger shifter is still very good. It just won't ever do perfect shifts and there isn't much point in changing cassettes, cables or shifters in the hope it'll improve significantly.
I'm guessing it's different density of the smoke clouds. Even if they rise consistently over the burning area, they could still form patterns of higher and lower density as they move. Think patterns in smoke from a cig or candle as it rises and moves - curls and gaps forming in it. Not sure what that's called or caused by in fluid dynamics but I assume that happens in the smoke clouds as they travel south. So when we get lower density bit over us - numbers go down, hgher density - they go up.
Years of anti-China propaganda is cracking under the weight of the naked US aggression. Crazy change.
The balcony right now.
(CO2 was not calibrated as the sensor was indoors for a long time, so ignore that.)
Here's visual aid on the difference between high-end derailleurs and low-end ones. One can get pretty decent shifting out of the cheap one but not the 99.9% reliable shifting that stays reliable for years without adjustment that you get from a better made drivetrain.
With that said, some parts have more effect than others. With any level of Shimano, running decent quality (Shimano, Jagwire) uninterrupted housing from the shifter to the derailleur eliminates problems on the frame. That along with an aligned derailleur hanger would produce pretty good shifting.
Nowhere yet. Still on Discord since Discord backpedaled on their ID bullshit. We'll have to reexamine again at some point. It seems there may be some other alternatives to look into like Stoat or Fluxer.
BTW I'm not at all a fan of the Discord format but it's not my decision to use that format.
Been contributing monthly since I joimed in 2023. It's approaching my cell phone bill. Not complaining, just saying I got that part covered. 😄
Still, I can't demand extra free labour but in case it was already done.. or someone was about to do it.. 🤭
Oooh this is very nice!
Haven't noticed any issue. That said overtightening the top screw does cause the button cover to warp a bit.
A compromise I can live with.
9x 14TB, WD HC530. Paid 25% less for some 16TB HC550 in 2024.
No kidding. This didn't ruin me but it was painful. And on top of that, it's smaller disks for significantly more than I did last year.
I bought them for years ahead. My primary pool is gonna start having drives fail from age and use, and it'll need replacements. So I'm gonna be sticking these in as they fail over time so I use all the service life I can get from the existing (8TB) drives.
The M8000 derailleur/shifter on my bike are from 2017. The cassette is M7000 (SLX) which is also that old. I've done at least 25000km on this drivetrain. Probably closer to 30-40K. I don't clean it regularly. Maybe once every 2 years. Last year I shamefully fell behind on maintenance and rode it dry almost all summer. This drivetrain still shifts perfectly and new chains don't skip on the cassette. Point being that if this anecdata is any measure, even old, used compontents from these series might work great, if you find some cheap deal.
I don't have experience with the 12-speed drivetrains but the M7000/M8000 11-speed Shimano are incredible. If you have some cash burning in your pocket, you'd be delighted. That said as some have suggested, the same shifting consistency is probably available in cheaper parts too. I can vouch for M7000/M8000 as that's what I've been using since 2017. Especially coming from an old Suntour, it's gonna blow your mind. Perfect shifting under power? Yes.
I'm sure the good quality pivot joints don't start at XT. I just don't have other intermediary parts to test with. I've used an SLX derailleur and shifters in the past and the shifting consistency didn't feel worse in any way. Maybe it goes down to Deore. Maybe even to CUES. The CUES parts look really well made. But so does the Alivio so unless one can inspect it with their hands, it's not clear. :D
All that makes me curious about the quality of the newer "value" brands like Microshift, S-Road, Sensah, Ltwoo. If those have stiff joints, they may be a worthy upgrade for cheap setups.
That's how I found this.
Back in 2008-10 I started using 10-speed SLX and that was near flawless. Sometime around 2017 I switched to an 11-speed XT (M8000) that I found at a discount. That thing never misses a shift and in addition it can shift under load in either direction without mishifts. Never requires adjustment after a new cable settles. It's incredible. I've gotten really used to this experience.
Recently I got a foldable with M3100. I was pretty excited because the M3100 now has the shadow cage design and it looks more or less like a heavier, cheaper version of what I'm used to. I starter riding it and I got a few misshifts, adjusted the barrel, got a bit better, adjusted the deraileur hanger, got a bit better, B-screw, got better. I even got an old 9-speed XT shifter for it because the derailleur movement is primarily controlled by the shifter. Now it's closer to the consistency I'm used to but it still does some slow shifts / higher-lower shifts every few cassette sweeps. That got me thinking about what could possibly cause this and I started inspecting it physically. That's when I discovered how much play there is in the M3100. I could get the guide pulley to move half a gear from the indexed one by mildly pressing on it. I did the same test on my other bike. It barely moved even when pressing really hard. That's when it hit me that there's no way to get perfectly consistent shifting with this amount of play. It's still perfectly functional, it's not dangerous or anything, but it physically can't do it. I decided to bite the bullet and get some old M8000 gear. Once I removed the chain from the M3100 it was so much more obvious how much play there's in it compared to the M8000.
With all that said, for the price, an M3100 with a cheap trigger shifter is still very good. It just won't ever do perfect shifts and there isn't much point in changing cassettes, cables or shifters in the hope it'll improve significantly.
The AI search is just crazy, especially when you adjust the model quality.
I call it Ubuntu.
Yeah, not all are affected but there's a growing number of reports. Probably a minority of some size.
Reactivated the Battety health assistance setting and we're back to 91% capacity: