Mike, great to see a bit of follow up, hope you have a boat load of fun on your trip, can't wait to hear the report when you're back. Curious to see what wheel/tyre combos you try - thinking you need a set of 29" x 40ID to run some 29x3" rubber in dryer conditions. Also would be curious to hear how running the stock 26x5.0" compares say to running 650Bx 3.8", as by my figuring, fairly similar OD, but a bit less squish and width, so maybe an in between, go anywhere most of the time setup.
To everyone else, just ignore Andrew Major, he doesn't seem to get "it" in the least. First because, well it's a carbon framed bike for $1999 with a decent set of wheels, cockpit and all the other parts necessary for a rideable bike, this when a frame only is $1499. So yeah, they could have done better with the brakes, a set of the lowest end Shimano for example, but that's an additional $80US if you're so inclined and for fat biking in it's truest form, not trying to tame the steep and janky of the NS and break KOMs, they're plenty.
As to the dig on Clarkes brakes, as someone who constantly is trying to tell people they need to look at it from the other persons perspective, quite narrow minded - I know loads of people who've happily done "proper" mountain biking using Clarkes and been super happy. Now would they have been happier on a set of Deore, SLX or XTs, most likely, but I highly doubt it's diminished they're enjoyment as much as Andrew would lead you to believe, because most people just don't ride that hard.
Feb. 2, 2023, 6:49 a.m. - Lynx .
Mike, great to see a bit of follow up, hope you have a boat load of fun on your trip, can't wait to hear the report when you're back. Curious to see what wheel/tyre combos you try - thinking you need a set of 29" x 40ID to run some 29x3" rubber in dryer conditions. Also would be curious to hear how running the stock 26x5.0" compares say to running 650Bx 3.8", as by my figuring, fairly similar OD, but a bit less squish and width, so maybe an in between, go anywhere most of the time setup. To everyone else, just ignore Andrew Major, he doesn't seem to get "it" in the least. First because, well it's a carbon framed bike for $1999 with a decent set of wheels, cockpit and all the other parts necessary for a rideable bike, this when a frame only is $1499. So yeah, they could have done better with the brakes, a set of the lowest end Shimano for example, but that's an additional $80US if you're so inclined and for fat biking in it's truest form, not trying to tame the steep and janky of the NS and break KOMs, they're plenty. As to the dig on Clarkes brakes, as someone who constantly is trying to tell people they need to look at it from the other persons perspective, quite narrow minded - I know loads of people who've happily done "proper" mountain biking using Clarkes and been super happy. Now would they have been happier on a set of Deore, SLX or XTs, most likely, but I highly doubt it's diminished they're enjoyment as much as Andrew would lead you to believe, because most people just don't ride that hard.