NSMB - 2022 - Hardtail Thread...

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Is anyone else like "the Princess and the Pea" as far as bike set up goes?  5 psi too high in the fork?  I'm in pain and sketched out.  Rebound knob got knocked over a click one way or the other?  Ima gonna die.  10mm change in stem length = either I can't do anything technical uphill anymore or is this a road bike?

The tweeking is fun though.  It's all a part of the journey.  But cheese sauce crispy corn am I a total wuss if my equipment isn't in it's very narrow band of ideal set up.  Probably best I'm on a hardtail.  I can only imagine how much effort it would require me to set up a shock.  :\

I'm a bit like that. Definitely notice small changes in geometry. I seem to be most sensitive to tire pressure on the back of my hardtail though. 1-2 psi too high or low and I'm either pounding my butt or bottom my rim. This is with a DHR 2.6 and insert.

I just lowered my bars by a 5mm spacer and even that makes a significant difference for me.  This time for the better it seems. 

I'd make a terrible F1 driver I think.  ;)

I've raised my bars and then done a steep techy climb where my brain said this is much harder and my new bar position won't work. Yet a month later I am riding that same climb with high bars and not having any issues.

OTOH I have tried to love bikes that were overly long for me and a year+ later I haven't gotten there and going to a shorter bike immediately cured my woes. 

So I don't take immediate brain/body feedback to mean anything 100%, but if the feelings/issues persist long-term I don't try and deny them either.

Posted by: skooks

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Is anyone else like "the Princess and the Pea" as far as bike set up goes?  5 psi too high in the fork?  I'm in pain and sketched out.  Rebound knob got knocked over a click one way or the other?  Ima gonna die.  10mm change in stem length = either I can't do anything technical uphill anymore or is this a road bike?

The tweeking is fun though.  It's all a part of the journey.  But cheese sauce crispy corn am I a total wuss if my equipment isn't in it's very narrow band of ideal set up.  Probably best I'm on a hardtail.  I can only imagine how much effort it would require me to set up a shock.  :\

I'm a bit like that. Definitely notice small changes in geometry. I seem to be most sensitive to tire pressure on the back of my hardtail though. 1-2 psi too high or low and I'm either pounding my butt or bottom my rim. This is with a DHR 2.6 and insert.

Same here for hard tail tire pressure, except even +/-0.5psi throws me out of my performance window.

I get some wisecracks from my riding buds re: last minute super precise tire pressure demands. I’m also fussy about that more than anything, and really feel it on a hardtail. 

Really, I don’t blame them. It’s not like I’m doing anything important on my bike.

But air pressure is free to adjust and makes a huge difference. Why not?

I am the complete opposite. I serviced my fork a couple months back and forgot to re-set LSC and rebound. Didn't notice a difference until I remembered, "hey, there are some dials I haven't used here..."

My tire pressure is: squish test feels right and not pinging the rim off rocks.

Swapped a Der Kaiser rear tire with a high volume Maxxis Shorty 29 MaxxGrip DH, and it's amazing what a bit of extra sidewall support will do to your confidence on a hardtail. Even though the tire is 500g heavier, clocked my fastest hardtail times this year as I was able to grip the climbs and wasn't concerned about tire squirming on the descents.

An alternative might be Cushcore with a slightly lighter tyre. Less weight, awesome sidewall support, rim protection, and for me, the biggest benefit on hardtail: massively reduced buzz through the bike due to the Cush damping effect.

Posted by: Heinous

An alternative might be Cushcore with a slightly lighter tyre. Less weight, awesome sidewall support, rim protection, and for me, the biggest benefit on hardtail: massively reduced buzz through the bike due to the Cush damping effect.

^this. I've tried to love dh casings for all the reasons stat3d above but the casing while providing sidewall support is so stiff that it creates unbelievable rolling resistance (especially in the cold). Cush core with an exo or exo+ is best of both worlds. Low rolling resistance and good sidewall. I don't think cush core offers a ton of damping over a dh tire, but the rolling resistance kills them for me.

The buzz damping of cushcore over any tubeless tyre on a hardtail is something that is like night and day for me, but it'll depend on a load of factors.

How hard are they to install?  I'll admit I've been tempted but they seem like just one more pita thing about tubeless.  Every time I go to a gas station and spill stans shit all over the air pump station I feel as if the attendant is going to run out and start yelling at me.  Throw a giant foam donut in the mix?  Will confusion reign?

Yeah my mechanical skills are weak.

Cushcore really isn't hard to install. Can depend though on rim and tire combo. But, IME, for most combos your first time installing cushcore will take a while and will be frustrating. But once you get the hang of it is really is quite simple. I figure swapping tires with cushcore adds 5 to 10 minutes per end. The key is the garbage can trick. Without something to brace the wheel against when tucking the bead under the insert it is admittedly difficult.

Cushcore is a true game changer on a hardtail that if you ride anywhere rooty, rocky, janky. I wouldn't bother if your area trails are all smooth. But for anything in the Sea to Sky it makes a HUGE difference in terms of comfort, compliance and traction.

I've had great results with Tannus Tubeless in my hardtails. Pretty easy to install and pretty light. I'll just throw one of those inserts in the rear of any HT I build in the future.

Posted by: Vikb

I've had great results with Tannus Tubeless in my hardtails. Pretty easy to install and pretty light. I'll just throw one of those inserts in the rear of any HT I build in the future.

I put tannus in my trials bike and was pretty happy with how it felt. Given the weight difference and ease of install, I have been tempted to try those next time. Cush core just won't die though, so no need for new inserts for quite some time.

In terms of install, I would just recommend getting a pump with an air chamber. I find my pump with air chamber is better than many air compressors as I can remove the valve core and the rate of air flow is really high.

something like this would do better than the gas station