NSMB - 2021 - Hardtail Thread

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: mammal

Posted by: skooks

Agreed. I get by fine running tannus inserts and EXO casings. Lots of grip and light enough.

Same here. I find that the slightly lower pressures allowed by the Tannus inserts gives enough grip over the winter that I don't need stickier rubber than MaxTerra, and I've never had an issue with the EXO casings. I mean, I've definitely done in a tire casing over the past 5 or 6 years, but probably only 1 or two in that span, and in retrospect, it was probably due to being lazy about tire pressure. After buying a good tire gauge for the first time in 21 years, and getting very particular about dialing in my pressures, my tires are pretty much never an issue.

I haven't had issues with EXO casings and Maxxterra. I'd be curious to try a Maxxgrip front tire on my winter bike [I'm hitting wet roots at far greater speeds here in the Comox area] when the EXO DHF wears out. I just wish you could get the stickier rubber and the lighter casing as I don't need a more burly casing on the front at all.

I have a DHF exo MG 29x2.5 wt on the front of my Moxie, they exist... Availability may vary

Posted by: velocipedestrian

Posted by: Vikb

I have a DHF exo MG 29x2.5 wt on the front of my Moxie, they exist... Availability may vary

Interesting. I'll keep my eyes peeled and see if any cross my path. Thanks for the info.

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: velocipedestrian

Posted by: Vikb

I have a DHF exo MG 29x2.5 wt on the front of my Moxie, they exist... Availability may vary

Interesting. I'll keep my eyes peeled and see if any cross my path. Thanks for the info.

I actually found one at a LBS! Although it's a 29 x 2.5" DHF in EXO MG. I'm running 2.6" tires on the winter HT. For the moment I'm pretty happy with that tire size for hardtail riding, but at least I know I can get the stickier tire if I want to size down. I'll keep looking for a 2.6" version just in case that unicorn crosses my path.

I've read on a few forums [incl. NSMB] about people saying hardtails are great, but they beat me up and "X" gets sore. With "X" being various body parts. That had not happened to me during my last year plus of hardtail-palooza so it was always interesting to read, but I couldn't relate. Then last night I woke up at 3am to empty my old man tiny bladder and when I went back to bed I couldn't sleep. My foggy brain was trying to figure out what was going on. Eventually I realized my ankles were sore. Not injured. Just sore and kind of throbbing. That's definitely a first! I took a couple advil and fell asleep.

I did do 3 rides in a row and some trail running so I guess I overdid my ankle pounding. They feel fine today and I'm having a rainy rest day in front of the computer. I'll be interested to see if that happens again or if it was an oddball occurrence.

The trails are less rocky here than down around Victoria, but a lot faster so the impacts that do happen are harder so my ankles are seeing more action.

On another note I've had my first group ride on the SS HT. We can into some folks from North Van and showed them around the Cumby trails so they didn't have to pull out Trailforks a lot. I was in front picking trails, but the SS vs. geared ride speed wasn't a problem. Mind you it was a social ride with guys and gals so not worst case, but that's promising. I also got out on two snow rides on new [to me] trails. That worked pretty well although the snow cover was light so again not worst case. There were a few times where not knowing what was coming and then slippery snow made powering up a tech section impossible due to wheel spin. We got a bit lost and ended up riding some trails twice. The second time I made some of the sections I walked just by carrying more speed into them.

It's a lot of fun having so many new trails to explore.

Posted by: Vikb

I've read on a few forums [incl. NSMB] about people saying hardtails are great, but they beat me up and "X" gets sore. With "X" being various body parts. 

The trails are less rocky here than down around Victoria, but a lot faster so the impacts that do happen are harder so my ankles are seeing more action.

--------------------

Speed is the thing that hurts me on the HT. Steep tech is fine, but flow tracks rattle my bolts loose.

My riding history has been different than a lot. I pretty much grew up riding FS bikes and it wasn't until 2019 that I actually started riding hardtails. 

2018-2019 I rode a GG trail pistol mostly, but when covid hit / less travel that bike just didn't see the use it had before. I also started riding a gravel bike more and realized that I could do a lot more than I thought with skinny tires and drop bars. I think this made the switch to riding mostly hardtails a lot easier. Going back to big tires and a front fork gave me a major confidence boost. Plus, the hardtails were simply more fun for my local riding. Now I don't own FS. 

Hardtails musings:

1. Inserts - they make a huge difference for me. I am able to run 23psi rear / 20psi (at most usually less)

2. Slightly stiffer casings - Vittoria trail works for me

3. Direct feedback / standing and pedaling

4. Surprisingly hucking it through rocks is a ton of fun.

5. Mostly recently a big fork. I have a Mezzer at 150-160mm on my newest hardtail and it's just silly fun. The rear bounces does whatever and get's through. The front soaks it all up.

6. Short rear ends 415-425 CS. Slack HA 63-65 degrees makes an incredibly capable and fun bike

Both my bikes were built by Neuhaus Metalworks

My goal with this bike was one that didn't feel like it gave up anything to my Guerrilla Gravity Trail Pistol. It's specs are - 415mm CS, 63 degree HA, 470 reach, 150mm Mezzer. I was worried that the big fork and the resulting geo changes would be an issue. But, they aren't. I have set so many PR's and become a faster rider because of this bike.

Neuhaus Metalworks Singlespeed

415(ish) CS, 65 degree HA, 460 reach, 130mm Fox 34. Singlespeed is a great (and brutal experience) I think every hardtail rider should experience it. It completely works me over. But, it's also a ton of fun.

Posted by: velocipedestrian

Posted by: Vikb

I've read on a few forums [incl. NSMB] about people saying hardtails are great, but they beat me up and "X" gets sore. With "X" being various body parts. 

The trails are less rocky here than down around Victoria, but a lot faster so the impacts that do happen are harder so my ankles are seeing more action.

--------------------

Speed is the thing that hurts me on the HT. Steep tech is fine, but flow tracks rattle my bolts loose.

Vic, if you are going too fast you should make your way over to numbskulls

My new Knolly HT is pretty comfortable with a 2.6 DHR and Tannus insert on the back. I took it down Ned's recently tho and won't be doing that again any time soon. Wrists, ankles, and lower back were begging for mercy. Then again, I'm not as young as I used to be!

I'm sad I didn't bring a decent camera on yesterday's ride. You'll just have to trust me that this ^^^ spot and in particular the lighting was awesome!

As much as I am loving riding hardtails these days I am under no illusion that they are the best option for all riding or even most riding. At least "best" as defined by a random group of MTBers you round up at a busy trailhead. Even when I am riding a trail where the HT is sub-optimal for performance I can be having a superior level of fun making the bike handle the challenge. That said if I am heading to Moab for a month I'm bringing a FS rig zero questions!

I had my first SS bonk yesterday as well. My exploration ride got more adventurous than I expected and I had eaten my emergency energy bar on a previous ride without replacing it. On a geared bike I could have geared down and grinded things out reasonably well. On the SS it ended up being a little comical as blew some pretty trivial sections not being able to get on top of my gearing worth a $hit. Even that was fun in its own way since it's been a while since the last bonk and I knew I was close enough to the trailhead the suffering wouldn't last too long.

Totally different topic I am impressed by the LBSes I've dealt with in Cumby/Comox. In the last 10 years my LBS experiences have been reliably poor. So having one great experience after another is rocking my world and renewing my faith in the LBS. I'm talking both CS/wrenching and them stocking stuff I actually want to buy.

I am newish to SS. Probably 8 months total on them (mostly in the summer) . But there is nothing quite like the SS bonk. It's this whole body shake / barely move drag that is such a unique feel.

Ton of fun though.

Posted by: Rhitter

I am newish to SS. Probably 8 months total on them (mostly in the summer) . But there is nothing quite like the SS bonk. It's this whole body shake / barely move drag that is such a unique feel.

Ton of fun though.

Couldn't agree more. Tried the full climb trail in squamish once with no food ss. It's around 1000m of climbing. The last 150m was a joke. Couldn't build up the steam for any steep punchy bits. 

When that happens on a hardtail, the downs aren't much fun either.

Posted by: Rhitter

My riding history has been different than a lot. I pretty much grew up riding FS bikes and it wasn't until 2019 that I actually started riding hardtails.

2018-2019 I rode a GG trail pistol mostly, but when covid hit / less travel that bike just didn't see the use it had before. I also started riding a gravel bike more and realized that I could do a lot more than I thought with skinny tires and drop bars. I think this made the switch to riding mostly hardtails a lot easier. Going back to big tires and a front fork gave me a major confidence boost. Plus, the hardtails were simply more fun for my local riding. Now I don't own FS.

Hardtails musings:

1. Inserts - they make a huge difference for me. I am able to run 23psi rear / 20psi (at most usually less)

2. Slightly stiffer casings - Vittoria trail works for me

3. Direct feedback / standing and pedaling

4. Surprisingly hucking it through rocks is a ton of fun.

5. Mostly recently a big fork. I have a Mezzer at 150-160mm on my newest hardtail and it's just silly fun. The rear bounces does whatever and get's through. The front soaks it all up.

6. Short rear ends 415-425 CS. Slack HA 63-65 degrees makes an incredibly capable and fun bike

Both my bikes were built by Neuhaus Metalworks

My goal with this bike was one that didn't feel like it gave up anything to my Guerrilla Gravity Trail Pistol. It's specs are - 415mm CS, 63 degree HA, 470 reach, 150mm Mezzer. I was worried that the big fork and the resulting geo changes would be an issue. But, they aren't. I have set so many PR's and become a faster rider because of this bike.

Neuhaus Metalworks Singlespeed

415(ish) CS, 65 degree HA, 460 reach, 130mm Fox 34. Singlespeed is a great (and brutal experience) I think every hardtail rider should experience it. It completely works me over. But, it's also a ton of fun.

Sorry I missed this post earlier. The photos don't load for me. Any chance you could repost them? They sound like sweet bikes and my GG Smash is my FS bike. No plans to sell the GG as I can see some trips where squish would make me very happy, but ya modern hardtails are so capable.

I was starting to feel like having a geared HT was going to be fairly essential for winter riding here as there's just no getting away from the granny grind to make progress in tougher snow conditions. I don't mind pushing my SS bike a bit, but after a certain point I start to wonder why I bother bringing a bike on this hike. ;-)

The two options with my existing fleet were #1 put knobbies on the bikepacking bike or #2 throw some parts on the Cotic BFeMAX frame I still have. I don't own a road bike so my bikepacking rig is my road and my gravel and my touring bike. so having it ready to grab off the hook and handle all that non-tech riding is great and I didn't want to mess with success there. The Cotic was tempting. While I preferred riding my Pipedream Sirius in terms of geo I didn't hate the Cotic and it's still sitting in the garage.

Given my advanced age I decide life was too short to ride a bike I wasn't fully stoked about. So I decide to sell the Cotic and get a new frame. I nearly ordered another Sirius since they were in stock. Thought about a Canfield Yelli Screamy for a minute, but ended up ordering a Bird Forge. Ya I like weird steel frames made by small companies. And Bird actually had frames to sell. Buying a lesser know brand/model has an advantage in that they didn't sell out fast.

Nothing too radical about the geo other than it does have a lowish BB. I have leaned towards higher BB bikes in the past so this is a bit of an experiment. TCV has less slow speed chunk pedaling so I'm hopeful it will be fine and I am curious to see if the cornering is noticeably better than my other bikes.

I'm a fan of flexible frames and the Forge seems to fit that bill based on the tubing, lack of bracing and what limited reviews/customer feedback I can find. I'll get started on the build this week as I hear we got a decent amount of snow on the trails to contend with. As long as my parts bin doesn't let me down on something essential I can't get from a LBS I should have her rolling for the weekend. In the meantime I'll give my SS rig a shot at the snow and see what happens.

For folks that are into the details:

- Product Page: https://www.bird.bike/product/forge-frameset/#configuration

- Geo: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51745104625_bcfd1f1a9d_k.jpg

- Review: https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/mountain-bikes/bird-forge-review/

That's a great looking frame Vik.  Any idea what length seatpost it will accept?   I'm looking forward to hearing how it rides. Good luck with the build!