Bicycling Off-Road

JoshK · « **Reply #860 on:** 18 Jul 2012, 12:15 am »

Got an XTR crankset for quarters on the dollar locally off pinkbike. My crankset is a beast, so that will shed some weight. Together with seatpost/seat which drops a half a pound and wheels which drop all crucial rotating weight, I think I've come up to the goal fairly quickly. I will do a weigh in before and aft.

Levi · « **Reply #861 on:** 19 Jul 2012, 03:30 pm »

Here is the Formula R1R installed. It is basically a tweaked out R1! So powerful I only needed 140mm in the back and 160mm in the front. Did I say lightweight or bling the bling?

coke · « **Reply #862 on:** 19 Jul 2012, 03:46 pm »

Well my friend I bought the wheels for canceled on riding with me yesterday, so I decided to keep the wheels for myself and put them on my spare bike.

I couldn't believe the difference it made. It went from feeling only slightly better than a walmart bike, to feeling almost as good as my main bike. Wheels have to be one of the best upgrades you can make.

I plan to ride it today and this weekend instead of my main bike. I had built this bike from leftover parts so I'd have something for friends to ride when needed, but now I think a nice frame and fork may be justified

Levi · « **Reply #863 on:** 19 Jul 2012, 04:52 pm »

+1

Wheels and tire combination are extremely important. I went out of my way and upgraded all the bearings to ceramic. It is a little extreme but that is just me.

zybar · « **Reply #864 on:** 19 Jul 2012, 04:55 pm »

Hey guys,

Are the wheels/tires as important and impactful with road bikes?

George

coke · « **Reply #865 on:** 19 Jul 2012, 05:13 pm »

Not sure about the road but these are things I notice offroad.

Much stiffer. Through rough stuff, i feel less wheel flex and vibration. They don't squat as much under hard breaking either.

Steering seems much more precise

Power transfer is also greatly improved. The hubs with more points of engagement help in technical stuff (probably pointless for a road bike though). The stiffness also helps when accelerating.

Light weight wheels and tires makes a big difference in acceleration. This is by far the best place to try to lose weight on a bike.

Hubs with better bearings roll noticeably smoother

In my case, I bought really strong wheels so they can handle jumps, rocks, and need less trueing than cheaper wheels.

Both sets of my wheels have hubs that can easily converted to handle different types of axles. Makes it cheap and easy to try different forks or swap wheels between bikes.

The hubs are extremly easy to service. I can clean and grease them in a few minutes and it doesn't require any tools.

Sealed cartrige bearings are much easier for me to work with than cone & cup. They are also more resistant to water and dirt.

My wheels allow me to safely run tubeless if i want. This lets me run lower pressures and saves some weight.

My rims are a little wider than normal. This improves the profile of some of the big tires i like to run.

AB · « **Reply #866 on:** 19 Jul 2012, 06:08 pm »

Quote from: zybar on 19 Jul 2012, 04:55 pm

Hey guys,

Are the wheels/tires as important and impactful with road bikes?

George

I will say yes but the differences are not as obvious as they are in the mtn bike world.
An obvious example would be between sewup and clincher set ups. The sewups will ride better, safer and faster than any clincher combo available but unless you are willing to deal with their hassles, they may not be worth it. There are very good clincher/tire combos available now that get close to sewup feel, weight and performance but they still are not 100% comparable - but they are clinchers and are relatively simple to manage.

Mtn biking is too broad a sport when it comes to wheels and tires. There are DH specific, XC specific, All Mtn, Trail, Race, Lightweight Race, etc. Then you have tubeless and tubed versions for all these and all the different axle types. With tires you have widths and volume and tread patterns and TPI and thread material and reinforcement and on and on. And they all make a pretty noticeable difference in my experience. The road world seems to be a little less "involved" probably because it's all done on the road rather than on dirt and roads just don't vary all that much. On the road you want light weight, good feel, speed and to some more than others, durability.

JoshK · « **Reply #867 on:** 19 Jul 2012, 06:20 pm »

I am a bit curious about the cheap chinese carbon rims that seem to be all the rage on eMTyBeeR. Supposedly really stiff and rugged.

AB · « **Reply #868 on:** 19 Jul 2012, 06:35 pm »

Quote from: JoshK on 19 Jul 2012, 06:20 pm

I am a bit curious about the cheap chinese carbon rims that seem to be all the rage on eMTyBeeR. Supposedly really stiff and rugged.

Cheap? Carbon? These are words not often found together.

Are these tubular or clincher rims? Oh, MTBR, so clincher. Disk brakes so no worry about overheating and melting. Hmm. What else could go wrong?

And how cheap is cheap anyways?

Levi · « **Reply #869 on:** 19 Jul 2012, 07:49 pm »

They are cheaper than Enve wheels. Enve composite sets the bar in carbon rims.

coke · « **Reply #870 on:** 27 Jul 2012, 05:17 pm »

I've decided to give full suspension a try. I've never owned one but think it might work better for some of the really rocky trails around here. I plan to sell my frame to help fund the build, so I thought I'd get a picture while the bike was still in one piece.

JoshK · « **Reply #871 on:** 27 Jul 2012, 06:15 pm »

What size frame is it? I am assuming large.

JoshK · « **Reply #872 on:** 27 Jul 2012, 06:18 pm »

The cheap clinchers are $140/ea here: http://www.light-bicycle.com/ Lots and lots of buzz on MTBR on them. Apparently they are really stiff and durable.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #873 on:** 27 Jul 2012, 06:44 pm »

Quote from: coke on 27 Jul 2012, 05:17 pm

I've decided to give full suspension a try. I've never owned one but think it might work better for some of the really rocky trails around here. I plan to sell my frame to help fund the build, so I thought I'd get a picture while the bike was still in one piece.

Nice Bike! I have the same cranks and pedals on my trail bike, an '09 Trek Remedy.

I'd love to have a 29er hardtail too, but I'd want mine in the low 20 lb range and only use it for relatively buff trails. Just rode yesterday with a friend who has a new carbon niner hardtail at about 20-21 lbs...

I'm sure you'll love a FS bike, have fun choosing from the gazillion options out there. I personally like the NomadC and Trek Slash... both are super capable and can be built under 30 lbs.

coke · « **Reply #874 on:** 27 Jul 2012, 06:47 pm »

It's a medium frame. It feels absolutely perfect when out of the saddle, but a little cramped while sitting and pedaling on smooth xc trails.

coke · « **Reply #875 on:** 27 Jul 2012, 06:49 pm »

Quote from: DaveC113 on 27 Jul 2012, 06:44 pm

Nice Bike! I have the same cranks and pedals on my trail bike, an '09 Trek Remedy.

I'd love to have a 29er hardtail too, but I'd want mine in the low 20 lb range and only use it for relatively buff trails. Just rode yesterday with a friend who has a new carbon niner hardtail at about 20-21 lbs...

I'm sure you'll love a FS bike, have fun choosing from the gazillion options out there. I personally like the NomadC and Trek Slash... both are super capable and can be built under 30 lbs.

Yeah there's too many options and it's almost impossible to find a test ride in Oklahoma.

3 leading candidates are a niner rip9, transition bandit 29, and a Devinci Atlas

DaveC113 · « **Reply #876 on:** 27 Jul 2012, 06:58 pm »

Quote from: coke on 27 Jul 2012, 06:49 pm

Yeah there's too many options and it's almost impossible to find a test ride in Oklahoma.

3 leading candidates are a niner rip9, transition bandit 29, and a Devinci Atlas

Gotcha... luckily it's hard to make a poor choice these days.

JoshK · « **Reply #877 on:** 27 Jul 2012, 09:27 pm »

You might want to consider IBIS's new 29'er. Looks to be a righteous stead!!

s_cervin · « **Reply #878 on:** 27 Jul 2012, 09:31 pm »

Make the trip to Outerbike and ride as many as you can. Last year trial bikes were hard to come by, but it sounds like some are taking reservations. Was a great event with the rides, food, and free beer!

Will be headed back next year.

J-Pak · « **Reply #879 on:** 27 Jul 2012, 09:33 pm »

I am thinking about either a Stumpjumper FSR Comp 29 or or the 26 version. I do some all mountain riding, and I'm not exactly sure if I'll get the fine control I like with 29" wheels. I've only ridden one 29" bike (SC Tallboy LT) and I preferred the Blunt LT when taking tight turns, especially when combined with downhill sections. My gut tells me there was a geometry mismatch with the Tallboy though.

Anyone have any thoughts? I noticed that most pure all mountain bikes are 26"

I'm annoyed to have missed a Specialized demo day

Really happy to see a prospering mountain biking thread, the other hifi forum I hang out on is all roadies!