MTB_THETOWN profile

Wonderful read and paintings. If I wanted something practical, I wouldn't mountain bike at all. Where would the fun be in that?

I am 5-10/178cm and have a strong preference for 165mm cranks, but haven't had the chance to try anything shorter. I think at a certain point the loss of leverage makes shorter cranks harder to pedal, but I'm not sure where that point is.

I've been conciously trying to voice my opinions using I statements instead of You statements and it instantly makes things less confrontational. When I tell someone "you should do this", it's never taken as well as "I did this and it worked for me."

I rode these on my friends bike (kryptotal dh, super soft) and compared them back to back with my Michelin wild enduro race with magi x2 rubber. Unfortunately, it was a super wet day,  so I'd like to try them in more normal weather. 

With those caveats, they were clearly decent, but had nowhere near the grip of my Michelins. Rolled much faster though.

I have DHR on my Spire and Cura 4 on my scout. Cura 4 are much more power and modulation, and 1/3 the price. Mtx pads improved DHRs enough to go back and forth without issue, but the Cura 4s are incredible.

Aerodynamics matter in mountain biking too, especially if you do longer xc type races. If your favorite thing is going downhill and are using your brakes to control speed all the time anyway, aerodynamics matter a lot less. For me, it's definitely not worth the inconvenience,  but if I was lining up for Leadville I'd want every energy saving advantage I could get.

It may be expensive,  but Pinkbike currently has a field test with several bikes over $10k(US) that are mass produced. If I were to spend that kind of money on a bike, you better believe I want something handmade and interesting like what these guys are doing.

You can keep the grip shift gearbox though.

Good reason to use a hitch rack!

The spokes cut weight too, but in the recent Pink bike article on Berd's new Enduro wheelset, they said the rims alone are about 393 grams which is over 100 grams lighter than these. I have heard that WR1 use lighter construction for the rims they build for other companies and this is an example of that.

I didn't hear many complaints about people breaking the old versions, so I'd like to see a rim with a focus on cutting some weight as opposed to adding more strength. They are supposedly making the BERD rims which save like 100 grams each, which shows that it should be possible. I've been looking at these rims for a while, but the weight is about the same as an equivalent Stan's rim so for $600 each it didn't seem worth it at the time. 

I am impressed they got the price down to $450 though. That's cheaper than most well made overseas options. These will probably be my next rims.