JBV profile

no compound finds grip on wet roots.

personally i think there's a lot of princesses in here in regards to MT vs MG compound issues. MT is a bloody grippy compound, plenty soft and sticky for most riders, on most terrain, in most weather, most the time. i see very little demand amongst the cognoscenti for maxxx grippp, let alone in a tire like the Ass guy.  it's a near perfect front tire, just as the M Mary is, compound be damned.

nice looking bikes. i wasn't sure these guys were even in business at this point.

many upvotes!

holy shit that's a dark vision mate! i'm sure there will be takers.

good to see interest in the 2.8 tire size category still. though i don't have a bike with the mid fats, it seems a great and reasonable option for mtbing, but i don't even see them for sale in shops anymore. anything over 2.6 seems relegated to pure niche already.

i don't have clinical hand problems, just subject to the same grip fatigue and hand soreness as most riders. i'm impressed with my Rev Grips ('race version') and find them a step up on everything else i've tried. i also like 2.6 front tires.

absofreakinglutely.  i have a couple of great buds that i can follow much of the way, but they are just so skilled, strong and young that at a point i have to let it go. you can't always be as good as the best of the best you ride with. and that's ok.

nice write up and nice job Tim. sounds like a bike test gone very right for you!  

on our group ride last night one of the guys (the most competitive and best rider in the group) brought up CC and said it was a game changer for him. he said it dramatically improved the ride quality.  i sure hope so for the price, it's a bit insane in Cdn bucks.

are these even available in Canada?

i hope they tar and feather the kids responsible.

Fugitive LT, size xl, measured ESTA at full seat extension, raised for my optimal (straight leg) seated pedaling position is 75.3 degrees. i have a 37" inseam.  maybe it's this that makes it (at least in part) such a good climber. my new Meta TR 29 checks in at 74 where i sit.  also checked the size L Druid they had in stock, 76 and change. 

i'm not sure where i stand on STA and just how important it is to me, but every bike that's a bit steeper i like a bit more. it's a bit odd feeling on the flats, but gets better as it gets steeper and that's when biking kinda sucks for me anyways.

80° ESTA, holy smokes.

a gross bush?

i demo'd a Knolly Fugitive and found the seated climbing position very good. (6 5, 37 inseam).  i have an xl Meta TR 29 and it's seated position at full extension is good. i nerd out and measure bikes now before i buy. i have a Wixey angle gauge and bring it and a hockey stick to demo bikes so i can measure effective STA where i sit.  bikes have only gotten better and better in this regard, including bikes with slack real STA, such as my Meta. many bikes may not be as bad as you think, even if they don't have ram rod straight seat tubes.  tomorrow i'll measure the ESTA on the XL Fugitive at the LBS and report back.

hows that for a name?  has anyone tried these yet, they're pretty new to the market. something like 38mm diameter.

is the dual compound much different than the 3c?  it's such a good tire and the dual is nearly 20 less than 3c...

would like to save some bucks and try something other than the DHR, which everyone knows is the go to option for anyone anywhere.  anyone with experience on the Michelin 'wild enduro' rear? i'm feeling neither wild, nor enduroy but it looks like a solid option. any other good non $120 options that should be on the short list?

holy fuck, there's some bad crash history in here....  last night i had possibly my worst yet and i feel foolish but lucky i wasn't hospitalized.  coming down the first stretch of a techy and very rough trail into a left off camber rocky chute. ridden it about 8 times this summer. broken rock with little soil the line held up on the downside with thick primary tree roots. came in hot and lacking focus, thinking about keeping up speed with the young guns ahead, not just enjoying my own ride and trying to slow down too late. now into the chute too fast and plow into one of the leg size roots and out the front door, down the chute into the rock pile at the bottom with my bike following and landing on me.  badly cut elbow and leg and knee contusion (through the pad). 

sore all over and banged up but i'll recover in a couple weeks.  riding with expert guys younger than me that go harder and faster and are always 'training' for the next race or racing each other requires some discipline to recognize i ain't ever going to catch them and trying to is a high risk proposition.

it's one cool looking fork if nothing else. will be curious to see how you like it.  (now in British.  proper looking bit of kit, lets us know how you get on.)