Znarf profile

But if all E-MTB discussions end in a certain argument or line of logic - maybe this should be called empirical evidence and be treated in a rational manner?

A friend of mine is working for and with Schwalbe. He is very resourceful and a tinkerer, the most nerdy (in a good way) biker I know. Rides with him turn the uphills into incredibly interesting and controversial discussions on nerdy bike topics. Tire compounds were the thing for many 2018 rides =)

He was closely involved with the development and testing of the new ADDIX compounds a couple seasons back and tested all kinds of attributes and behaviors of different makes and compounds both in the lab and on the bike.

If I sum up his findings (to my best ability) he stated that current soft compounds are massively better in varying temperature ranges than those from ten years ago. Like with car tires, wear and tear (knobs tearing out) will increase massively when you run winter tires in very hot temperatures. Also, summer tires will harden significantly below 7deg C.

Maxxis recommended the 60a tires because of knobs tearing with soft compounds in winter. At the same time, grip will suffer because the compound hardens. A soft tire will feel pretty close to a harder compound below zero. But there seem to be big differences for different compounds. Oil viscosity vs. temperature seems to be a great analogy.

In my experience you can feel those alleged differences at temperatures right around the freezing point of water or slightly above, when you have frozen soil, ice, mud and wet, slimy roots. Your super grippy tires will feel not that grippy at all. 

Same trails, same tires, same rider and 5 degrees lower (everything's frozen solid) - you'll have loads of grip. (on BOTH soft and harder compound tires).

All that is pretty theoretical - I'll happily run my Maxxis 3c MaxxTerra or Addix Soft tires front and rear all year round. Swapping tires is a little bit messy with sealant and the 2.5 Shorty WT works pretty okay in almost any condition.

What are your feelings on low temperates and very soft tire compounds? Some soft compounds harden very significantly below 7deg Celsius. At freezing temperatures this becomes very noticeable. The older Schwalbe Vertstar tires were awful, the ADDIX Soft and Super soft are a lot less awful in the cold.

Maxxis even recommended the dual 60a compound for low temperatures because of this.

Continental Black Chili is said to be good in this regard. 

Maxxis 3c Maxxterra works pretty well, but also gets harder and louder when cold. At least in my experience. 

It'd be very interesting (and nerdy) to see a systematic test between different compounds and their behavior at cold temperature...

xD

I experimented with GX Eagle at some point, but ultimately didn't need a 500% range, as either I could as well push the bike once I needed a 30x50t  on very, very steep climbs or I could reach crazy speeds with a 34 or 36x10t - and I would only reach these on the road realistically, as I just don't launch these gigantic Grand Canyon gaps. Or if I do, there's usually enough "gravity" or slope involved. 

But I had to pedal around a gigantic, clanky cassette with a very long cage derailleur and LOADS of chain length. 

I went back to my 10-42t 260g XX1 11spd cassette and a 28t on my LT 29er with 11spd Shimano RD. That works for me even on very steep uphills (Alps) and 28x10t x29" 2.5 tires is plenty of top-speed for me.

I´d love a 10 or even 9spd version, if durability was noticeably better. But I´d guess there'd be a point where gearing differences become coarse. Manageable but coarse...

I don't know if links are permitted on numb.com? But have a look at:

https://ritzelrechner.de

I find the drag and drop and customizable interface really helpful for figuring out gearing and comparing different drivetrains and wheel sizes etc.

I’d be interested if the seat angle is great even for really long-legged people? 76 sounds steep BUT:

My RAAW Madonna sports a 78.2deg effective and 74 actual seat angle. And I feel it is perfect. No need to ride your enduro rig with less sag to not make it slump on steeper climbs, no back pain. And with a 210mm dropper it is fantastic up and down. With less drop the saddle doesn’t move enough, with that steep an angle. (no theories here, I actually tried and tested these combinations a lot over the last couple of years)

I also have a 29er Orbea Rallon which sits around 76degrees, varying with bb settings.

At almost 37“ inseam, 76 is tolerable, but the 78 is really a lot better on a slack bike with lots of rear travel - for climbing and pedaling from and to the trails. Also dropper posts last longer for me on bikes with steep actual ST angles.

Could you maybe measure the actual seat tube angle? 

The new Enduro looks great - but this detail could make or break the bike for tall/long-legged folk.

I’ve been riding a Raaw Madonna since March this year. I bought it as a backup for my carbon Orbea Rallon 29 and intended to primarily ride the Orbea and the Raaw for winter rides or when something on the Rallon is broken only.

Since I took delivery of the Madonna I didn’t touch the Orbea once. Even though the Rallon is a great bike, too.

The Madonna felt absolutely spot on for me from the first minute. I have had a lot of nice bikes (instead of owning decent cars) over the years, but very few felt as great from the get go to me. 

If you ride a lot, the Madonna is a fantastic bike. It’s incredibly solid, the performance of the rear suspension is absolutely superb! I love the geometry and especially the longer chainstays and absolutely find it strikes a great balance of confidence and flickability. It climbs great, the seat angle is perfect for long legs, even better than the Rallon‘s.

I believe that the bearings and frame parts will last for a couple of seasons, for real! Most bikes I get around a full season max before the bearings are not rough, but stuck! Also, another unexpected side effect of the alloy frame: it stopped my whimsy fussing about getting the frame dinged/scratched/clamped/crushed in transport (train, ferry, roof rack, shuttling, lift) etc. Carbon frames are strong while riding, but I worried (and actually destroyed one) about them all the time...

And yes, it is not cheap, but when handling the frame in person, it’s incredibly well built and in my opinion worth the price. 

If there is a chance for a test ride, do it!

I am not sponsored or affiliated with RAAW in any way. I just own one and paid full retail for it.

It would be a gross generalization (and a wrong one imho) that "Europeans accept e-bikes". Most of my serious (bio-biking) buddies don't accept e-bikes. They feel that e-biking is a totally different sport and not the right one for most of them. (on trails for recreation).

There are however TONS of people who never actually rode their bikes and now ride e-bikes a lot. But most of them will not ride trails, only bikepaths or bike lanes. They often lack skill and our endurance to ride the heavy bikes safely on trails. 

And then there is the group of e-mountainbikers on trails, which consists mostly of fit-ish younger guys too lazy to ride proper bikes. Some of them don't know trail etiquette, because they just ordered their e-bike online after watching rad youtube-vids with loads of skidding and sick e-bike jumps. 

And then there are 0.01% former real bikers, who can't ride because of some health issues or really old age. And if they can ride again on an e-bike, I am all for it. Truth to be told, these cases are pretty rare.

If it was up to me, I´d ban e-bikes on trails, but introduce a special permit for people with a certificate of disability. 

For commuting and general recreation riding (not on trails) an e-bike is LOADS more efficient than your average Best-Ager Mercedes Cabriolet - so I am all for it.

@Dolomite - e-lobbying across the big pond, eh?

I live in Southern Germany (and manage and build a legal trail system here) and I travel a lot with my mountain bike, all over Europe and have spent quite a bit of time in BC and North America as well, biking. 

Just for the record, I disagree with several of your "conclusions" and "facts".

1. the Dolomites, parts of Austria and South Tyrol DONT have THE best trails in the world.  There are great trails in these regions, but that is true for a lot of regions. I don´t know if you´ve ridden all regions world wide a lot, but if you don´t, you just can´t speak of "world´s best".

2. E-Bikes and trail access are absolutely not without trouble (in Europe) and I for example have certainly NOT understood the potential of E-Bikes the way you have. I however understand that there´s a boat load of POSSIBLE trouble.  

3. As with guns, not E-bikes kill trails, but some people riding them ;-) I´ve experienced douchebag non-e-bike behaviour on trails over the last twenty years. And I´ve experienced douchebag e-bike behaviour on trails. If you have physical ability as a selecting factor (only dedicated people get to 6000ft mountain tops self propelled) there´s a humbling element. Lazy people just don´t go there a lot. And if you´ve climbed LOADS you just don´t argue. You sit there and nibble your energy bar and some water, content with little stuff.

Add a motor though and things get ugly. I KNOW - riding an e-bike can be very exhausting. And absolutely not everyone who rides one is lazy or a douchebag. In fact, there´s no reason that regular mtbers are douchebags, too. And in lift or shuttle assisted riding areas the douchebag factor is higher as well. But suddenly every "regular" tough climb is not as strenuous as before. You´ll have e-bikers speeding climbing trails. And some who don´t. But what´s the point of lugging 5kgs of motor and battery and NOT speed? You could just ride a regular bike...

Yeah - you can rack five times as much elevation a year with your e-bike. But know what? I could multiply that with my car. And could even do it in the rain, without getting wet. In fact - I could do it with a bike on my roof rack. =)

To be fair, as long as you ride your e-bike responsibly, I couldn´t care less if you ride e or non-e. Have fun and enjoy yourself. But just to give the Canadians here a second, non-e opinion I thought I´d contrast your pro-e-bike european opinion with a european non-e-opinion...

Also try Syntace bars. They come in 12deg also, loads of different rises, widths and materials. Not cheap, but probably the highest quality bars and stems you can buy. Don't know if they're available in Canada though?

Really good ideas and advice here! What bike are you building? If you can run a 32t only, you'll probably want a 50t cassette.

https://ritzelrechner.de

Try this. I know, it is german. But it's really good!

Click the button "VERGLEICH" on the lower right. It means "comparison" and you can compare different combinations and ratios. It is really handy =)

Hi,

I understand that you're not keen on changing to a 28t chainring. But this exact swap made me very happy on my LT heavy 29er.

I have the XX1 10-42cassette and a steel sram 28t ring and couldn't be happier. Enough range, very light weight, longest durability if you swap the chain semi-regularly and absolutely enough top-end speed for me and good range on steep climbs. (with a 11spd Shimano XT derailleur and shifter)

I also had good luck with the 11-50t shark tooth cage for 11spd Shimano derailleurs. But I don't know if it is still available. The smaller 28t ring and shorter chain, shorter derailleur cage are pretty great features though in my experience.

The E13 cassettes aren't bad, I do find that the additional range isn't needed, if you dial in exactly the right chain ring size for your fitness level and bike setup, though.

Cheers

Znarf

Wear a google, even with your half shell. I wear contact lenses and have trouble with eyes watering when I ride fast. 

I wear a google with clear lenses, problem is GONE.

I´d enter my 250$ commuter bike which carried my around thousands of traffic jams. 

But really, smiles per $$$, my 5000$ Raaw Madonna made me giggle and smile with happiness so often during the last two years that I have to credit it with the best smile/$ ratio. Even though it´s a lot of money. It just rides THAT fantastic and really makes me smile when I just THINK about my last rides on it.

Posted by: thaaad

Posted by: RAHrider

Is this what your other bikes have turned into? Looks sweet. Can't wait to see it built up....

Coil going on there?

Yeah, so far I've only sold the Darkside, still have the Wideangle. I spent a little of that money on this but the build will be slow as I make up my mind on things, and since nothing is in stock in the entire country right now lol.

I'll probably stick with air since that's what the Sight frames are designed around, but I haven't made my mind up about the build specifics yet. Not sure if I'm going to go Rock Shox or Fox yet either.

Posted by: Znarf

Very nice! Where did you come up with an alloy frameset? Are they sold in Canada? Over here we only get to buy the carbon framesets, which I don’t want :)

You can buy aluminum frames here in Canada, but only black for this year.

This one is actually one of their "Build your ride" frames that had some cosmetic defects (extremely minor scratches) that I managed to score. You're not supposed to be able to buy the build your ride frames standalone but this one was a special case since it had some small scratches. It's a 2020 frame but nothing has changed between 2020 and 2021 and I loved this colour so much I jumped on it rather than buying a complete 2021 bike.

Posted by: Vikb

Looks great. I like the colour. Enjoy the build and riding it. :-)

Thanks, I'm really stoked on the colour!

Sweet! The color is really great!

Very nice! Where did you come up with an alloy frameset? Are they sold in Canada? Over here we only get to buy the carbon framesets, which I don’t want :)

I feel that below a certain pressure the side knobs don’t penetrate the ground anymore but rather get pushed inside the deformed tire profile instead BY the ground and therefore don’t grip in corners. 

This is especially true on round tire profiles, or wide tires on not so wide rims.

I don’t feel a huge benefit with inserts in my front tire, but flat without a beefy insert in the rear tire.

I tend to not ride crazy low pressure, but settled around 22f and 26r on 2.5 Maxxis WT EXO or EXO+ 29“ tires at 75kg without clothes.

I think I recall reading that Sam Hill runs them primarily as protection for the brake levers in a crash scenario and less for his hands. If a lever breaks off during an EWS the race would be over etc. and all that super important stuff. 

Your lady - maybe really try chopping the bras a bit. My wife used to run 760mm, but after we tried 740 she is more comfortable and it seems to be more proportionate with shoulder width, she is more mobile on the bike, especially  in steep and rough terrain. It absolutely depends on body proportions and also reach / body ratio imho. If the bike is fitting on the small size, she might not feel good with narrower bars?

Posted by: Tremeer023

Posted by: Znarf

Lockdown-Bike (more pics in my album)

My Lockdown-Gravelroad-Rocket. It is a Pipedream Moxie 2020 size Large with 29“ wheels.

Very nimble and super snappy compared to my Raaw Madonna. Also super light in comparison. The geometry makes it very capable, but I can tell you my wrists and hardtails in harsh terrain don’t mix. I can ride almost all the trails/stuff I can ride with the Madonna. But I’ll pay dearly with several NO-Bike-days, because of wrist problems. I can ride the stuff with the Madonna no problems for a couple of days in a row. It’s not a fork issue, the Pike Ultimate works great.

I was going to sell the frame, but now I’ve settled on another use case and am super happy:

I use it it on bikepaths, gravelroads, fireroads and only the mellowest of trails, attach lots of water and snacks with straps and enjoy riding it with only a helmet and no pads like the 15 year old kid I was 20 years ago. Very uncomplicated and innocent fun. And with higher rise bars it’s very comfortable. Love the 78deg seat angle...

Nice to see another Moxie - looking good. I've got the older teal colour but prefer that blue. Oh well, good excuse for a new paint job at some point. The stack height is low on the Moxie, I've just put a 3 inch riser on mine with the stem slammed. Running a shorter fork than you though. If you're just riding gravel and mellow singletrack I agree with the high rise bar. It's really comfy when seated.

The stack height is TOO low imho on the Moxie. I really can not imagine that anyone would ride it without spacers and a regular rise.

It would look nicer with a bit more headtube length and less spacers. But the blue paintjob is fantastic, even nicer in person. Some trick glitter particles, very, very nice. All in all a really enjoyable bike!

And thanks for the good wrist wishes :)

It’s not the fault of the bike at all. The frame is surprisingly comfortable for what it is. My wrists are just toast, runs in the family. 20years of biking and loads of trailbuilding with pick axes etc did not help. But so far I can ride gnar relatively pain free with fat ESI grips, flexy Syntace Carbon bars and the best full suspension I can find. First world problems really.

If my wrists put an end to trail riding at some point I’ll tour the world with a recumbent bike, no joke!

Lockdown-Bike (more pics in my album)

My Lockdown-Gravelroad-Rocket. It is a Pipedream Moxie 2020 size Large with 29“ wheels.

Very nimble and super snappy compared to my Raaw Madonna. Also super light in comparison. The geometry makes it very capable, but I can tell you my wrists and hardtails in harsh terrain don’t mix. I can ride almost all the trails/stuff I can ride with the Madonna. But I’ll pay dearly with several NO-Bike-days, because of wrist problems. I can ride the stuff with the Madonna no problems for a couple of days in a row. It’s not a fork issue, the Pike Ultimate works great.

I was going to sell the frame, but now I’ve settled on another use case and am super happy:

I use it it on bikepaths, gravelroads, fireroads and only the mellowest of trails, attach lots of water and snacks with straps and enjoy riding it with only a helmet and no pads like the 15 year old kid I was 20 years ago. Very uncomplicated and innocent fun. And with higher rise bars it’s very comfortable. Love the 78deg seat angle...