Posted by: Vikb
I've got a bit over a 100K of trail riding on the Pipedream now. I'm still on the original 30x22T ratio. I've ridden a lot of Cumberland trails I've ridden geared in the past and so far there are only two climbs I haven't made. One is unlikely to ever fall SS since the entry is from a 90 deg turn off a sketchy bridge and I can't get on top of the gearing from a stand still. The other I think I'll get with some practice. I've also tackled some new to me trails and been pleasantly surprised I could ride them blind without too many issues. The climbing trail is great for getting me up high in the trail network with reasonable grades the whole way. As my SS fitness builds I'll explore more new trails [to me on a SS] and see how I do.
The Sirius handles great. It's fun to carve turns and it likes to pop off anything on the trail. Without a cassette & derailleur back there the rear wheel does a good job of skimming the rough parts of the trail. I know shorter bikes and shorter CS are not hot right now, but it feels so fun to ride I'm glad I went backwards in terms of geo trends.
Riding solo or with my GF who is slower than me works well. I can moderate my pace to match hers pretty well. I don't think SS will work so well in a group ride of faster folks who are at my fitness level. I'm not sure about that so I'll try it to verify. I'm also thinking SS won't be great when the snow falls, traction is poor and I need to be able to grind along smoothly at walking pace [low speed & low torque]. That said SS is a keeper as long as I can push hard enough to make a lot/most climbs...hopefully for the rest of my 50's! But, I'll want a geared option for fast group rides and snow rides.
Shout out to the rear Tannus insert. It's working great. I am riding much faster here than in the Victoria area on trails I don't know very well. I try and ride light, but that doesn't always happen. So far I have had zero issues. No flats with my EXO casing DHRII and no rim dings. Plus because I am not worried about flatting I can run the tires low enough to maintain solid traction with MaxxTerra.
30x22T ratio is pretty good. I could ride to Cumby from my house in Comox no problem on this gearing then shred the trails. It's tall enough I can throw some power into the pedals on rolling terrain to keep my momentum strong. I think long term this could be my general purpose ratio. I will try a slightly lower gear 30x24T and see what that is like and how much I give up on the top end for the benefits climbing. I also need to experiment with an oval chainring.
Glad you are loving the new bike and the SS. I've ridden a ss on a group ride and if anything, I'm faster on the SS. Your gear is harder than what you would usually use for easier climbs like the climbing trail in cumby. For technical, steeper climbs, you have to attack everything more aggressively in order to have enough speed to clean things so you ride faster on those trails as well.
On downhill, it mostly about pumping the bike, working the trail and you really don't lose much speed. There was a pinkbike video today about riding chainless to improve your speed. His times without a chain were within 5% of his fastest chained run.
As for enjoying the pop of your new bike, there is nothing like a bike that wants to play on the trail. Every time I go back to my 27.5 hardtail, I remember what I'm missing on my chromag. Nothing wrong with the chromag and love it too, but there is nothing like 27.5 for the pure fun of riding.