taprider profile

The Rokkline have a shiny yellow armour around the lighter core of the noodle.  The Revolution do not appear to be armoured and I wonder how much sealant they can soak up? (weight them before and after use?)

The Rokklines might be more similar to ProCore than to other inserts?

I've been using Pepi's Rokline (the yellow Enduro ones) for two years with good results and wonder if the r-evolutions are as durable.

Even the heavier yellow Pepi's are far lighter than most of the competition, give good sidewall support that enables one to use narrower and lighter rims, so the overall system weight can be the same or lighter than no inserts

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  ;-)

Posted by: MaxRockatansky

Posted by: xy9ine

the first half of severed (before it goes properly down) is a fun no pedal / pumpy bit of trail. can't generate enough speed to get past the uphill bit at the JD turnoff, alas. guess one could be a dork & hop up that section, but i'm not quite *that* motivated...

This one for me. but i will admit that you need to put a few pedals in after where c-buster peels off if you want to get anywhere.. Then its a game of see how far you can get...

yes, that's a good one

No, I don't NEED an update.

and I don't see anything at the moment that would make me WANT one.

I'm not full stuck in the past stubborn, and over my long life as a mtn biker have been ahead or behind new trends about 50%/50%.

Some of the things where I was ahead were; SPD, tubular tires (glue-on tires in 1991 and bad idea) and tubeless tires (2001 and good idea), rear suspension for XC, inserts for XC, angle adjust head sets (but, don't feel a benefit for head angles less than 68deg for BC XC since you really need to change everything such as tires, fork, frame to feel the benefit [but downhill only], but I did modify my bikes with shorter seat stays and off-set bushings/reducers starting in 2002 to get under 70deg and lower BB), frame bags for bike packing (1989)...

Where I was/am behind were; disc brakes, 29er's, 1X (and I'm still not, since XTR front pull side swing front derailleurs work so dam well), carbon rims, high points of engagement rear hubs (but did have Chris King in 2003 and found it not to be a benefit for ME for technical climbing), wide bars...

But if there is some unknown-to-me major revolution in technology for 2022, I may give it a try.

the piston is so stuck that it wouldn't pump out with the lever, even holding the opposite piston back

I have a piston stuck in a M9000 caliper body and can't even blast it out with compressed air

Google tells me a new seal kit is not available and M9000s are not meant to be repaired, but people are able to buy a cheap caliper body and cannibalize it for seals and pistons (if needed)

But, I found the old M985 set did not have that wandering bite point problem, so was the problem with the lever body or caliper?

If so, just take the carbon lever out of the M9000 and put it into the the M985 lever body (because carbon feels warmer, and I still care about weight).

Was hoping to not fully cannibalize my old 26er and to pass it on to someone else

snow on the ground from the gate up on Fromme but not enough to make much difference

I first I thought, what happened to Hambini? where is all the swearing?

but you won't be disappointed if you wait to the end

Testimonial in favour of noodles/inserts.

noodles/inserts may not make you faster, but "run flatting" them down to 5 psi in the rear won't make you slower either

I did the Merritt Crown 120 km XCM in September

Lots of arrowhead like rocks and lots of punctures for many people.

In the first minute of single track, the guy behind says "you (me) have a flat, I see sealant spraying".

I was using Pepis Rokline yellow noodles, with Racing Ralph 2.25" and 22mm id rims. Since it was the start of the race and I had no trouble following in line with a rear soft tire, I didn't bother stopping until the single track finished before checking and sure enough my tire went from 15 psi (as measured at the start with a big brass gauge) down to ~5psi (pinch test), so I got my quick fill and tried to do only a partial refill to get back up to 15 psi, but messed up a bit and only got to about 12 psi. Anyway with the noodles I didn't have much tire squirm as the Pepi's round noodle squishes down into a light-bulb shape between the rim flanges, and makes the tire near impossible to unseat.

At the Merritt Crown, the course was only partially marked and everyone was required to download the course map from TrailForks onto a device, and most of those that used Trailforks to record their ride also downloaded their ride to the Trailforks website, which includes leaderboards for the individual trails that are part of the course. So almost an Enduro within an XCM.

I did two of the four black diamond downhills at 12 psi down to 5 psi (as I was gradually getting more micro flats or had lost some more air immediately after using my CO2 before the sealant worked). So looking back at the Trailforks leadboards, I was 5th overall for the first black diamond dh (Burn & Windy, which is bermy) at probably 10 psi average, and 1st for the second one (Godey, which has lots of rock gardens, rock slabs, root nests and bridges, but not that steep and no berms) going from about 10 psi to 5 psi by the end. I borrowed a foot pump after Godey at an aid station, and the next black diamond dh (Ridge) my tire felt too rigid at ~20 psi. Maybe the extra cushion on Godey made me faster on the dh (I was still slow on road climbs, but according to the speedo on my Garmin, I was no slower than normal on the paved climb between trails)

With Pepi's noodles even at 0 psi, you would have to do something extremely violent to unseat the tire while riding, and at 5psi I have not been able to burp. Although, at that pressure how could you tell while riding. But after the Merritt Crown there were not dried sealant stains around the beads or sidewalls, but over 20 on the tread of the tire. Actually, lower pressure normally prevents punctures from arrowhead like rocks. There are videos out there showing a truck tire at different pressures rolling over a bolt welded to a plate (like a dull spike plate) and at low pressure the tire folded and absorbed the bolt rather than fighting it and puncturing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kz8mmLkeks

The Roklines start round and rattle around inside the tire after mounting, but mash down into the rim after some rough riding, filling up all the rim channel space, and mushrooming up over the beads, effectively locking the tire to the rim

So the "run flat" ability saved my race and enabled me to have an encouraging result, at least as far as individual trailforks segments go. So as far as any measurable benefits or detriments, noodles are still a benefit as far as the "run flat" ability.

I have weighed the Pepi's Roklines after a year of abuse and they didn't gain weight (still 100 gm). They have a shiny exterior that doesn't absorb liquid and is meant to reduce friction between the noodle and the tire carcass. They also haven't been damaged by "Run Flatting" them.

I haven't run flatted a front in a race, but have ridden a front home at 0 psi (mix of trail and road), without damaging tire, rim or insert

With the noodles I have gone from 2.35" tires with 26m id rims (without noodles) to 2.25" and 22id (with noodles) and saved weight overall (some pretty inexpensive narrow carbon rims out there now too)

^the summary is

EWS professionals ride surprisingly short bikes – for good reason

Narrow handlebars are awesome!

here is a cut and paste of the juicy parts

EWS professionals ride surprisingly short bikes – for good reason

The development of innovations always follows certain trends. Often the pendulum swings far in one direction only to level off somewhere in the middle. This seems to be the case with modern geometry. If you check out the race bikes on test, you’ll probably be asking yourself how Richie Rude, who is 180 cm tall, can be so fast on a bike with a reach of only 460 mm. Jack Moir is 1.91 m tall and rides a size L Strive, which, due to the extremely tall cockpit, is guaranteed to have a reach under 460 mm. The mullet conversion on the GT Force Carbon that Martin Maes rides has also shrunk the bike down to less than 460 mm in length. The reason for this became clear during the course of our test. Not only did the shorter bikes record faster times, they also allowed our test riders to change direction more quickly and position themselves better before corners to carry their speed through them. On top of that, the agile handling of compact bikes is usually more fun. Anyone who thinks that these bikes aren’t composed at high speeds can rest assured: handling stability is heavily determined by the suspension and all the bikes on test performed brilliantly in this regard.

Narrow handlebars are awesome!

Another trend that is swinging back is extra-wide handlebars. The professionals on the EWS circuit ride astoundingly narrow handlebars. The Renthal bar on the Yeti measures just 750 mm, the one on the Canyon is 765 mm wide and the Lapierre had a 755 mm model fitted. After taking a little while to accustom themselves to them, four of our five test riders found the narrow models better overall. They found them to offer more direct steering and increased freedom of movement, reducing tension on the bike with arms spread less wide. After the test, we ended up shortening the bars on our private bikes, starting at 770 mm. In any case, the fact is that 800 or 810 mm, as some manufacturers fit on their bikes these days, is too wide for most 180 cm tall riders.

Did Richie Rude only win in Canazei last year because of his bike? Unlikely, but after our test, we can at least confirm that his Yeti SB150 certainly will have helped him. On our test track, the Yeti was by far the fastest bike with an average time (all runs, all riders) of 2 minutes 22 seconds – on a size medium! Many riders will have asked themselves why Richie Rude, who is 180 cm tall, chooses to ride a medium frame and we have to admit that we also had our doubts. However, when we were done with our testing, we knew that on technical enduro stages, the deciding factor is the speed at which you exit the corners. It is essential to be able to set the bike up with precision and change direction as quickly as possible. The key word here is balance! It’s about finding the right balance on the bike and thus the perfect distribution of grip across the front and rear wheels, as well as the balance in handling between sufficient composure and lots of agility. The Yeti is fast, agile and demands little effort to manoeuvre. The heavy downhill tires, including a CushCore insert, provide plenty of grip and keep the bike safely on track. The suspension is sensitive and offers a lot of traction yet it responds to rider input immediately, allowing you to carry a lot of speed. Overall, the medium Yeti SB150 impressed us and left the competition behind

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: taprider

if your up is as important as your down, then a tiny/little bike is not a handicap

That depends. A rigid/HT bike on steep wet/slippery tech climbs is not an advantage vs. a FS bike for example.

Posted by: kenny

Kenny said in the first post "something a bit non-typical for the shore like a 5010 or a mojo 4"

I guess we have different definitions of tiny. 

I am thinking lighter weight, shorter wheelbase, shorter travel dual suspension. 

I think my 120/100 bike is both shorter and lighter than your Waltworks.

My own handicap is losing power and becoming more fragile each year

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: fartymarty

I take "tiny" or "little" to refer to taking on a handicap vs. the typical enduro-esque bikes

if your up is as important as your down, then a tiny/little bike is not a handicap