D_C_ profile

@Vik Banerjee I use the same approach. I have been buying $19 SRAM PC-1110 chains for my 11 speed drivetrain and don’t find the longevity to be all that different from more expensive chains. I wipe/lube with cheap triflow every ride, and have zero qualms about replacing the chain as soon as needed.

For 12-speed, I have become convinced that the X01 chain is worth the splurge over GX. That thing goes forever, whereas GX seems to last a more typical length of time before reaching 0.5% elongation.

Did you get any dents or flat spots in the rim bed? With the latest crop of wide, light rims (e.g. Stan’s Flow MK3, Race Face Arc), it’s a common form of damage that makes seating tubeless tires a lot harder after. There are some heavier, more reinforced options (Flow EX3, Chromag BA) that should do better, like my old Flow EX did, but did you see any similar anti-denting benefits from the foam?

I'm with you. Seat angles that make sense on a full suspension, where the rear sags and the seat travels backwards, do not make sense on a hardtail. Something that looks fashionably steep on paper ends up very steep on a hardtail once the fork sags.

I am riding a 2019 Rootdown with 150 fork (10 mm shorter than stock) and feel quite over the bars while seated. I am not sold.

I had a V1 170 post and it seized up after a couple months of use in sloppy conditions. I emailed OneUp and they quickly sent me a new upper bushing free of charge, which popped in without needing to disassemble the post. That solved the issue, and post was flawless after that over 8 months of use before I sold the bike.

I now have a 180 V2 on my new bike, and the action feels smoother than the V1. As said above, they now ship standard with the V2.1 actuator mechanism, where the cable moves instead of the housing. I have only had the new post for a week, so I can’t comment on durability.

It does in 27.5 but not in 29.

Maxx Grip in EXO+ would be awesome. The 1300 g DD I’ve been lugging around on my trail bike is exhausting, but I’m spoiled with the grip and don’t think I can go back to anything else.

Thanks for the great review and interesting perspective on the drawbacks of the harder rubber.

I have drilled a hole in the bb shell on steel and alloy hardtail frames that didn’t come with them. It solved my problem of having bottom brackets seize.

I’ve also had issues with water sitting in the head tube and seizing the lower headset bearing. The solution to this might be to tip the bike back so it drains into the downtube (assuming the headtube has an opening into the downtube).

I think your take-home message is that it’s important to be aware of water getting into the frame and to make sure that water is evacuated in some way.

What if your bike has a drain hole in the bb shell? Is pulling the seatpost still necessary?

Not sure I agree. I think most people get on fine with EXOs, especially if your riding area has fewer jagged rocks (including quite a few of my friends who ride hard on the Shore). Heavy tires are necessary for some usage or terrain, but really neuter the versatility of a bike and are probably overkill for lots of people.

I’m a fan of CushCore in back on the enduro bike. I took it out for a trip to the Kootenays, where the dirt is softer and loamier than what we typically ride on the Shore, and didn’t really miss it. 

But first lap back from the trip, I rode Executioner with 26 psi in back and thought I was going to rattle my teeth out. Being able to run 22 psi in the rear tire without folding tires over or destroying rims is a game changer on hard, bumpy terrain. It’s the small-bump sensitivity everyone thinks they are looking for from their suspension.

CushCore in front on the enduro bike felt like diminishing returns.

C02. I'll bring 2 cartridges if I'm going far.

My trick for getting good inflation is to blow up the tube with my mouth as firm as possible before mounting the tire and inflating with C02.

For around here, 22 psi + CushCore just rides so much nicer than 26 psi.

Posted by: breakdance32

Would love to try an Assegai on the front in MaxxGrip, but was lifting them in the store the other day and man they're heavy.

I went from an Assguy Maxx Grip to DHF Maxx Grip. The Assguy has a ton of grip, but the DHF in the sticky rubber is close but rolls faster and is lighter.

Posted by: Bull_Dozer

Funny how the price of a decent bike seemed to double in a relatively short period of time (5-10 years). Used to be able to get a mid-spec'd bike for $3,500 and now that has gone up to like $7k. 

Part of that is definitely the exchange rate. No question prices have gone up, but the Canadian Dollar was also at par with USD for a while and now it isn't.

Posted by: LoamtoHome

Cushcore or inserts won't help with sidewall tears. DD or DH tires for the rear. Too bad Maxxis doesn't have them in Maxx Terra compound.

High Roller II comes in DD/Maxx Terra, as does the 2.3 DHR II.

A couple of friends have put holes in their EXO+ tires. They might offer a tad more cut resistance than EXO, but I don’t get the sense they’re full-on burly like DD.

I find I can get away with running EXO on the Shore. I don’t puncture very often. For enduro racing, where flatting would make me sad, I don’t take the risk and will run DD or DH in back. 

Comparing all of the above while running CushCore, DD and DH are not climbing anywhere in a hurry. I don’t find EXO with CushCore especially bad to pedal around. EXO without the insert feels sprightly, but the higher pressure required takes away from ride quality.

Posted by: rlindh

sounds good. Will look at some routes on Seymour. Is CBC still in good shape? I remember seeing pics of that trail ages ago and it looked pretty dope. With the pedal all the way up for? Or is my time better spent doing more lower laps?

I wouldn’t bother going all the way up there at this point. The lower stuff has seen quite a bit of work. CBC has basically been left to rot. There is some interesting woodwork left on the trail that’s fun to ride in the dry, but overall the trail is quite eroded and less fun than other trails that are actively maintained. Check out Boogieman for woodwork instead.

You should definitely check out Seymour if you’re there for 3 days. You can pedal there from Lynn Valley via Rice Lake. Check Trailforks for loops.

Cypress is awesome too. A good note all-mountain ride is Mystery DH or Jersey Shore/Mystery, then across the mountain to Blind Skier-Pull Tab-Upper Tall Cans-Wutang. There are other good laps as well, but that gives you some good variety.

Obsession has them.

Posted by: tungsten

2.5/2.4 WT Maxxis fit best on what width rim?

They claim they’re designed around a 30-35 mm rim. I don’t think you can go wrong with 30, which seems to have become the de facto standard rim width. But my bike came with 35 mm rims and I am liking the shape of a 2.5 DHF on there. The 2.5 Assegai squares up a bit more than it should.