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Front only for me, but plenty of people run them on both ends.

These could be in my future because I’m very susceptible to “the claw”. But I’ll try cheap Renthal push-ons first and do some more fiddling with bar width and roll before making the jump.

Shoutouts to tool-porn, casually showing of those nice Wera keys.

Hm, tricky. Did you try the Continental Baron? Ticks most of the boxes. Much grippier than Terra minions, very supportive sidewalls, rolls decently, light enough that you can add inserts to taste without it becoming boat anchors.

I don’t think I quite understand which problem you are trying to solve with the inserts? Are you looking for a lighter alternative to the verdict and Judge with similar grip? Or did you like the Minions but they were too fragile at low pressure?

Did you happen to ride a DVO Topaz at some point?  That and the TriAir obviously share some parts, so i would be curious how they compare.

Could turning radius play a role there? I don't know enough about pro-level cornering technique, but Enduro tracks frequently feature tight switchbacks while DH race courses usually don't.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think you can get solid grease bearings with a full complement of balls (no cage)? That would make them less than ideal for stuff like pivots.

"but for 27" wheels an XL fits me beautifully while a large feels a little small."

Could this simply be because 27" bikes generally have lower stack numbers? When i bought my current bike, i was torn between a 29" in L and a 27" in XL. Both felt good the latter had more reach but 40mm less stack. Now they changed that a bit and the new Nomad has a high stack for 27", it should feel closer to the Megatower in the same size.

I have a Topaz on a different bike and found the bladder pressure to be the equivalent of damping adjustment. But the adjustment range might be too small for certain frame/rider combinations. It is fine for me, being light, and my frame, though.

Thank you for the review. Can you say something about eco credentials, country of origin/working conditions and chemical impact of the DWR? 

Sadly, most outdoor gear has a horrible track record in all those aspects and I feel this is something we as consumers in the developed world should care about.

I have two relatively cheap SKS pumps which I had strapped to the frame for many years without any protection. Still working fine. Mud, snow, dust, hose, whatever.

Posted by: WeTYC...
One question mark though is the compound.  I'd always though that black chili was black chili, but it looks like you're right and they do fiddle the compound a little from one tire to the next.  Now I'm curious if there's someone out there with durometer measurements for the various tires...

Your arguments concerning the different thread patterns make a lot of sense. Rubber is a big issue, though. Judging from Maxxterra and Maxxgrip, compound makes a huge difference in rolling speed. Annoyingly, Black Chili is more of an umbrella term for their rubber technology.  Similar to "Addix" for Schwalbe or "Gripton" for Specialized. They make everything from road tires to DH mud spikes in black chili.

Posted by: WeTYC...

Unfortunately even with all the combinations and permutations of bikes and Conti's I've ridden, I've never ridden the same size of Barons and/or Kaisers on the same bike.  The Barons have only ever been on my more "efficient" bikes.  Even though I don't have a direct comparison, I think the 2.5 Kaisers roll easier than the 2.4 Baron Projekts.  To further devalue my opinion though, I'm not the most sensitive to rolling resistance.  If I could get a 2.35 Smoke, I'd probably run them front and rear!

One thing I do though is try to install new tires in the fall then run them through the summer so the knobs are a little more worn down and easier rolling for the longer summer rides.  Although I don't usually use a tire until it's a slick--maybe 50% worn at most?

The 2.4 Kaiser Projekt Protection Apex looks like a very different tyre than the 2.5 Kaiser Apex (26"). Different thread, different casing and probably different rubber. The former is advertised with a fast wearing competition compound, the latter as hard wearing, fast rolling.

1. Living somewhere with mountains and trails again

2. Slowly regaining my confidence after years of abstinence from biking (see above)

3. All day, all weather commuting on the bike. Great way to avoid catching the bug on public transport and the merciless battle for civilization’s most precious resource: the parking spot

4. Complex suspension that isn’t a pain to set up thanks to good setup instructions (MRP and DVO in this case)

Fresh pedals, Works Components angleset, a courtesy bell and a digital pressure gauge (got royally fed up with trying to read 2psi increments from a coin sized dial that goes to 350psi).

Posted by: D_C_
Is it really possible to have a rubber that doesn’t harden in the cold?

Probably depends on your region and definition of cold. ;)

Schwalbe Addix, Conti Black Chili and Specialized Gripton all work fine in the tempereatures i usually ride in (-5°C to 30°C ). Maybe they harden a little bit, but not enough to notice on the trail.

Posted by: tungsten

Oh, thanks for that. How did you know, are you a rubber tech? What would the gummy (durometer?) curve look like? Gradual hardening or stable until 0deg then fall off a cliff?

I'm no professional, but me and my buddies have been riding and alternating between Schwalbe and Maxxis for many years, all year round. None of us noticed any obvious difference between maxxterra and addix soft except for the temperature thing. This was no scientific test, so i can't give you a curve. It was noticeable that in the temperature range around and below zero, maxxterra felt different. On a particularly cold day, one rider on maxxis complained about grip and noticed cracks around the knobs after the ride.

We looked around and found some info on the German Maxxis website. They advise against using Maxxgrip and Maxxterra at ground temperatures below 6°C, because the soft rubber compounds harden, loose grip and might start cracking when used in the cold for too long.

Addix Soft is equivalent to Maxterra, most of the time. The main difference is that Maxterra hardens when temperatures drop below zero and loses grip. Addix doesn’t do that.

Posted by: XXX_er

FF helmets were an easy sell to parents, I told them it was cheap insurance  for the 6K they spent on orthodontic  work

Related to that, do any of you wear a mouth guard when riding with a half-lid? I got one made by the dentist after expensive orthodontic work. I wear it whenever i'm riding without a chin bar. But i haven't met anyone else who does.

As to the original question, FF only when shuttling/using a lift. I overheat too quickly, even in modern, well ventilated fullface helmets and the trails i ride are more mellow than those on the shore.

Posted by: JVP

I feel (somewhat) vindicated. I’ve been railing against threaded BB’s in carbon frames for years. That bonded interface for your aluminum threads is just an extra part (incredibly high-stress junction) waiting to fail and ruin your precious frame right after the warranty runs out. Or all the companies now offering really long warranties on their carbon superbikes... holy shit, threaded BB’s are going to get really expensive for you.

I’ll take pressfit every time in a carbon frame. Aluminum frame, I’m happy with threaded, but either way works. Worst case scenario you need a Wheels manufacturing BB to solve creaking in a pressfit.

Isn't the take-away from this video that you should only take a Pressfit frame if you know that the tolerances and QC are good? And that usually means no north-american frames. Threaded BBs are theoretically worse, but work better than PF in the average frame.