NSMB - 2021 - Hardtail Thread

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: RAHrider

I'm thinking of more the unfixable situation. 2" slash in the sidewall.

I understand. That just seems like a very unlikely scenario. I haven't had that happen in decades of riding.

Are you killing tires like that semi-regularly?

That scenario has happened to me maybe twice in 30 years and yet those two times are specifically why I carry a spare tube on every ride since. I really need to get over it and invest in some of those giant Dynaplugs.

Posted by: craw

That scenario has happened to me maybe twice in 30 years and yet those two times are specifically why I carry a spare tube on every ride since. I really need to get over it and invest in some of those giant Dynaplugs.

I haven't needed my spare tube in well over a decade, but I carry one and an energy bar [eat bar and use wrapper as a tire boot] just in case. I have used my spare tube several times to get other people rolling on group rides so it's worth it for that purpose.

I find MTB tire plugs + moto tire plugs takes care of the rare flat I do get and I can just pump up the tire and ride out. 

How big are the giant Dynaplugs?

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: craw

That scenario has happened to me maybe twice in 30 years and yet those two times are specifically why I carry a spare tube on every ride since. I really need to get over it and invest in some of those giant Dynaplugs.

I haven't needed my spare tube in well over a decade, but I carry one and an energy bar [eat bar and use wrapper as a tire boot] just in case. I have used my spare tube several times to get other people rolling on group rides so it's worth it for that purpose.

I find MTB tire plugs + moto tire plugs takes care of the rare flat I do get and I can just pump up the tire and ride out. 

How big are the giant Dynaplugs?

Vikb which moto plugs are you using?

I still carry a spare tube, holdover from the past. Although the last 2 times, I used it to fix other people's bikes.

I have the mtb bacon strips and they work okay but I am interested in the larger plugs.

Posted by: kavurider

Vikb which moto plugs are you using?

I still carry a spare tube, holdover from the past. Although the last 2 times, I used it to fix other people's bikes.

I have the mtb bacon strips and they work okay but I am interested in the larger plugs.

I would keep carrying the tube myself. Just because you can carry a small 26er tube and like you note even if it's just to fix someone else's bike it's a great option to have. You can make a sling out of it for someone's injured arm, etc...

For moto plugs I got a bulk pack like this: https://tinyurl.com/ct4vbfph

They are cheap and bigger than bacon strips. So rather than trying several bacon strips in a bigger hole I use these...essentially the same thing just scaled up. I carry both as the bacon strips are nice for smaller punctures. Between the two of them I haven't had to use a tube on one of my bikes since I discovered tubeless plugs.

Sorry I forgot I had two large plug options. A buddy at a LBS was disposing of the black plugs [middle sized] for some reason a few years ago and sold me ten packs at $1 each. So I use those as well. I throw a few of each into a ziplock and if there is a hole I have lots of options. If you buy in bulk off Amazon you can probably get a lifetime supply for a few $$ or sell/pass them onto your riding buddies for Trail Karma.

Tubeless tire plugs are one of the greatest things I have come across. So handy.

BTW - there are probably all sorts of plug sizes/options beyond these ^^^ ones. Might be some other interesting ones available. These have solved all my tire problems so I haven't looked any further.

Posted by: kavurider

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: craw

That scenario has happened to me maybe twice in 30 years and yet those two times are specifically why I carry a spare tube on every ride since. I really need to get over it and invest in some of those giant Dynaplugs.

I haven't needed my spare tube in well over a decade, but I carry one and an energy bar [eat bar and use wrapper as a tire boot] just in case. I have used my spare tube several times to get other people rolling on group rides so it's worth it for that purpose.

I find MTB tire plugs + moto tire plugs takes care of the rare flat I do get and I can just pump up the tire and ride out.

How big are the giant Dynaplugs?

Vikb which moto plugs are you using?

I still carry a spare tube, holdover from the past. Although the last 2 times, I used it to fix other people's bikes.

I have the mtb bacon strips and they work okay but I am interested in the larger plugs.

I was thinking these ones http://www.dynaplug.com/racer.html

Posted by: craw

I was thinking these ones http://www.dynaplug.com/racer.html

They look interesting. I've never tried any plugs like those. If you do get them I'd be keen to hear what you think when you get a chance to use them.

Hi @Vikb,

very nice looking Sirius, great to hear you're happy with it. Did you ditch the BfeMax?

I'm riding my 2013 Honzo ST single speed since a few years now. I'm using an oval ring up front, which I'm convinced improves traction and uphill prowess. I also mounted the rear tire (Maxxis HighRoller) backwards, to make sure the tread bites deep into the dirt and to reduce the slipping behaviour. Both changes really make it a fun ride for quick laps where I don't have much time but want to punish myself :)

Here's an older pic of the bike, in the meantime, I installed a 2° angleset and a 1cm tall crown race, upgraded the brakes to XTs and swapped the cockpit.

Cheers,

Reini

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: kavurider

Vikb which moto plugs are you using?

I still carry a spare tube, holdover from the past. Although the last 2 times, I used it to fix other people's bikes.

I have the mtb bacon strips and they work okay but I am interested in the larger plugs.

I would keep carrying the tube myself. Just because you can carry a small 26er tube and like you note even if it's just to fix someone else's bike it's a great option to have. You can make a sling out of it for someone's injured arm, etc...

For moto plugs I got a bulk pack like this: https://tinyurl.com/ct4vbfph

They are cheap and bigger than bacon strips. So rather than trying several bacon strips in a bigger hole I use these...essentially the same thing just scaled up. I carry both as the bacon strips are nice for smaller punctures. Between the two of them I haven't had to use a tube on one of my bikes since I discovered tubeless plugs.

Sorry I forgot I had two large plug options. A buddy at a LBS was disposing of the black plugs [middle sized] for some reason a few years ago and sold me ten packs at $1 each. So I use those as well. I throw a few of each into a ziplock and if there is a hole I have lots of options. If you buy in bulk off Amazon you can probably get a lifetime supply for a few $$ or sell/pass them onto your riding buddies for Trail Karma.

Tubeless tire plugs are one of the greatest things I have come across. So handy.

BTW - there are probably all sorts of plug sizes/options beyond these ^^^ ones. Might be some other interesting ones available. These have solved all my tire problems so I haven't looked any further.

Awesome thank you!

Posted by: reini-wagner

Hi @Vikb,

very nice looking Sirius, great to hear you're happy with it. Did you ditch the BfeMax?

I'm riding my 2013 Honzo ST single speed since a few years now. I'm using an oval ring up front, which I'm convinced improves traction and uphill prowess. I also mounted the rear tire (Maxxis HighRoller) backwards, to make sure the tread bites deep into the dirt and to reduce the slipping behaviour. Both changes really make it a fun ride for quick laps where I don't have much time but want to punish myself :)

Here's an older pic of the bike, in the meantime, I installed a 2° angleset and a 1cm tall crown race, upgraded the brakes to XTs and swapped the cockpit.

Cheers,

Reini

Great looking Kona. Very clean. I bet she's a fun ride. :-)

I took the parts off the BFeMax. I still haven't decided what to do with it. I'll probably sell it. Just need to clean it and take some photos.

Posted by: kavurider

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: kavurider

Vikb which moto plugs are you using?

I still carry a spare tube, holdover from the past. Although the last 2 times, I used it to fix other people's bikes.

I have the mtb bacon strips and they work okay but I am interested in the larger plugs.

I would keep carrying the tube myself. Just because you can carry a small 26er tube and like you note even if it's just to fix someone else's bike it's a great option to have. You can make a sling out of it for someone's injured arm, etc...

For moto plugs I got a bulk pack like this: https://tinyurl.com/ct4vbfph

They are cheap and bigger than bacon strips. So rather than trying several bacon strips in a bigger hole I use these...essentially the same thing just scaled up. I carry both as the bacon strips are nice for smaller punctures. Between the two of them I haven't had to use a tube on one of my bikes since I discovered tubeless plugs.

Sorry I forgot I had two large plug options. A buddy at a LBS was disposing of the black plugs [middle sized] for some reason a few years ago and sold me ten packs at $1 each. So I use those as well. I throw a few of each into a ziplock and if there is a hole I have lots of options. If you buy in bulk off Amazon you can probably get a lifetime supply for a few $$ or sell/pass them onto your riding buddies for Trail Karma.

Tubeless tire plugs are one of the greatest things I have come across. So handy.

BTW - there are probably all sorts of plug sizes/options beyond these ^^^ ones. Might be some other interesting ones available. These have solved all my tire problems so I haven't looked any further.

Awesome thank you!

Do those moto plugs still fit a standard bacon plugger fork or do they need a, uh, magnum fork? Also, wow for cost economies of scale.

Posted by: craw

Do those moto plugs still fit a standard bacon plugger fork or do they need a, uh, magnum fork? Also, wow for cost economies of scale.

My guess would be no they don't fit. I say "guess" because I don't use a bacon fork for my plug insertion. [I know, I know...what a savage!] I just use a small hex key off my multi-tool to push the plug in and that works with any size plug. I would expect I could use the bacon fork to push a larger plug in the same way I do with a hex key without the plug going into the fork bit though.

Vik, what were the downsides of the BFe?  I'm interested in a Solaris Max.  The BFe looked a touch too slack.

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: craw

I was thinking these ones http://www.dynaplug.com/racer.html

They look interesting. I've never tried any plugs like those. If you do get them I'd be keen to hear what you think when you get a chance to use them.

Those are super popular with motorcyclists and I used them for both motorcycles and mtb.

Posted by: fartymarty

Vik, what were the downsides of the BFe? I'm interested in a Solaris Max. The BFe looked a touch too slack.

Two two main things I didn't love about the BFeMAX were the long CS and the long WB. The Pipedream I am riding is just as slack as the BFeMAX and I love it not to mention I could have simply put the 140mm fork on the BFeMAX if the HTA was my only issue. I did buy the bigger of the two sizes I could ride as an experiment and I have found out that there such as thing as a "too long" a bike...for me. Mind you I rode it for over a year as my main MTB. In the past I have sold a new FS frame after 2 rides because I was dissatisfied with it so I am not someone who hangs onto to stuff doggedly just because. If the BFeMAX was bad it would have been gone equally fast. It occupied a weird space where it was a well made bike that rode pretty well, but somehow didn't 100% mesh with me. I kept at it thinking maybe I needed more time to adapt, etc... Eventually I realized that despite the potential it just wasn't going to happen and I needed to move on. I would have probably enjoyed the next size down better and perhaps that would have been enough to keep it, but I didn't like the longer CS and that aspect of the design wouldn't change with a smaller size. In some ways it would get worse if I looked at it as a ratio between CS and WB.

Here are my extensive ramblings on the BFeMAX:

https://vikapprovedblog.wordpress.com/2020/12/30/cotic-bfemax-review-part-1/

https://vikapprovedblog.wordpress.com/2021/10/11/cotic-bfemax-review-part-2/

TL:dr

• Cotic is a great company. Very easy to deal with for the purchase.
• BFeMAX frame was well made.
• Rode really well for such a long bike. Handled slower janky tech better than I expected.
• The long CS and WB made for a very stable ride.
• The bike felt too long for my preferences.
• I wanted more shred and less sled.

The SolarisMAX looks like a really nice frame. If you are keen on the geo go for it.