taprider profile

is your front derailleur front pull side swing type?

are your front derailleurs front pull side swing type?

I like to wear lycra to be a rebel

just sent what one?

60T is just waiting for wider acceptance of 36" wheels

Noodles/Liners can work for BC XC too.

Stans Podium wheel set:     1287g (29")

2 Pepi's Rokkline Noodles (the heavier enduro ones) with valves:  200g

2 Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.35x29 Snake Skin: 1540g

2 scoops Stans sealant:  100g

________________________________________________________________

Total: 3147g

How about Pepi's Rokline (the yellow enduro ones) at 100 gm with valve per tire.  They seem very durable, even after rides with 0 psi because my rim tape wouldn't stick. And you won't have as much of a weight penalty.  The old red and new pink 3-lobe-shaped Pepis are even lighter, but have no idea about the durability.

https://singletrackworld.com/2019/09/pepis-rokkline-tire-noodles/

Grasshopper/Dave, you have progressed towards enlightenment.

Pretty soon you will be bikepacking  ;-)

The  fit/advanced/or pro riders who ride uphill more and cover more distance (vs the  downhill strong/advanced/or pro riders who shuttle and uplift more) are also more efficient by wasting less energy (such as they brake less, lose traction less and schralp less) and are overall lighter on their tires (by that I mean, impact to the trail surface not just body weight)

the other trail users around here are walkers, dogs, runners etc. 

the North Shore is not a dedicated mtn bike park

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: Kenny

Most people are overbiked. Heck most people are over-vehicled if you look at a typical MTB trailhead parking lot and count the number of 4x4s and then the number that actually get used for anything that really needs 4x4 and higher clearance. People/guys like to feel "burly" being overbiked or overtrucked ticks that box for a lot of people even if the result is making life less challenging and hence making them arguably less "burly" people.

That's lol funny. 

I ride a 120/100 Element on the Shore, like lycra (often look like an elderly figure skater), and when driving typically hide my bike in a hatchback or small wagon.

I don't feel more burly though, I just try to flow through everything with more efficiency, less effort and less interruptions of momentum. So a lower travel, lighter bike works for me.

Posted by: mudrunner

I suspect more mountain bike people are using the Braemar climbing trail and heading back down to Expresso/Ladies/Oilcan/etc... but there are a few non-gravel bikes coming down from above the 6th switchback. And their gear doesn't ring "hardcore rider". I'm not bashing anyone...just curious if there is a movement afoot of new-to-trails-folk that are riding Mountain Highway just for the sake of riding Mountain Highway? I mean....every once in a while, I've been known to head up the gravel way to Grouse for a pint. It's a worthy ride.

... otherwise it feels like the Downhill of Shame  ;-)

I've been using Pepi's Rokline yellow noodles (100 gm with valve in 29") with narrow light semi knobbies (2.25") on narrow rims (22mm inside) for xc and bikepack racing at 12-15 psi for my 150-155lb (and I don't add more pressure when I add ~20-25lb of bikepack gear).

The Pepi's are round and take up most of the lateral volume inside the tire.  They begin to form to the inside shape of the tire and squish down into the rim channel, which makes them a real bitch to get off, but they have lots of lateral support even at 0psi (repeated rim tape problems until I sanded the rim bed) so they act like a run flat tire system.

When moving faster than 20 kmph on coarse railway ballast or smaller washboard, the tires seem to have very little rolling resistance (almost like smooth hardpack gravel).  I usually finish a ride with what ever bike I'm on by coasting down a short incline and seeing how far I can coast around the perimeter of a gravel playing field and find that I coast further than with 2.35" nobby nics with no liner and wider rim, other peoples 27" wheel bikes, and my road bike with 32mm all road tires.

The narrow semi knobbies with noodles work pretty well down rock slabs (like middle Crippler), wet roots and bermed corners, but not so well on marbley off-camber corners.

Weight per wheel is ~100-150 gm lighter with 2.25 semi knobbies (Ralphs and Rons Snake Skin), noodles and 22mm rims, compared to 2.35 nobby nic snake skin, no inserts and 26mm rims. 

Maybe inserts/noodles will let you use smaller volume tires?

Is this the start of a new poetry thread to replace to old Vassago one?

What bike shop carries ESI grips in North Van?

Posted by: Endur-Bro

Posted by: Timer

What about rear-wheel-traction? Not being as far forward on the bike might be beneficial for that purpose. Considering the kind of power pro-racers can put down, keeping the rear wheel from spinning is probably important.

You’re underestimating how great the effect chainstay length has on climbing traction.

YouTube Hill Climbing Dirt Bikes and look at how long the swingarms on those bikes are.

those hill climbers have far more power and torque than any cyclist, and are in near wheelie balance their whole run

the longer chainstay makes it easier to stay at the balance point, such as its easier to balance a baseball bat on your forehead than a pen, it damps/slows movements away from the balance point

I bet tall xc racers could benefit from longer chainstays too, because easier to modulate

Long front centre and slack HTA is not as good for flat corners where you need to extra weight the front wheel. 

XC riders corner while seated more too.

For the pinkbike showdown you refer to, only ~2 bikes have 69 degrees or steeper.

I have been experimenting with a Works angle adjust headset on an Element, going from 69 degrees to 67.5.  It wasn't as night and day as I expected, and since the bearings began to make lots of cracking noise I went back to the original headset and didn't die going over the bars. 

I think to make long and slack work, you also need a much grippier front tire, which usually means more rolling resistance (and slower overall)

Posted by: andy-eunson

Another thing you want to check is the spoke tension after a tire is mounted and pumped up. Those light Stan’s rims lost a lot of tension with a tire snapped onto the beads. Like 20 kgf lower. I’ve even measured a pretty substantial drop on ENVE rims.

I agree.  I couldn't believe at first when building up MK2 Arch (not the lightest Stan's rim), so tested with tire on, tire deflated and tire off and back to tire on and inflated, and the drop in tension was consistent.  Tire on and seated, but deflated was about the same as tire on and inflated.  With the tire off the tension was a lot higher.  The final tension I used, was what was recommended on the little Park chart, but for the wheel with an inflated tire. However, I began to notice small stress cracks around the nipples after a year, so now I build to the recommended tension with the tire off then add tension after I ride a bit if the wheel seems noisy.

Posted by: chupacabra

Posted by: taprider

Posted by: chupacabra

I would gladly boycott Strava, but I use it as my ride log and to compare my times on various segments.  Is there a better alternative to that?  

Trailforks

I already use Trailforks but I didn't think it recorded times for trails or segments.  I don't care about my time, but I like to see them in aggregate and see if I am improving, especially on climbs since I am perpetually trying to get in shape.  :)

go to Leaderboard then My Results for your times on segments (although the segments might not match what you consider to be "the trail")

Posted by: chupacabra

I would gladly boycott Strava, but I use it as my ride log and to compare my times on various segments.  Is there a better alternative to that?  

Trailforks