martyz profile

Things I have learned after a year on the M630 on the shore, mounted to the rear of my V1 Hightower, under a tall 190-lb rider:

1. They are not as harsh as the M60/forty that preceded them. But not as snappy to accelerate either.
2. You will pinch-flat a lot unless you ride with an insert (I ride with Tannus now and have come to be okay with it). Probably more than with the M60/forty. This negates some of the benefits of an ultralight rim.
3. You will break spokes. A lot. And when you do, the nipple that's embedded inside the rim will fire through your rim tape, leaving you with a flat that sealant won't seal. You will be walking unless you have inserts.
4. Removing a tire from this rim, especially with the insert that you for-sure need, is a special brand of hell. It's definitely not a trail-side move.
5. ENVE is really good about replacing a broken rim (here, the M60/forty that the M630 replaced).

While I'm happy enough to keep riding these while I have them, they won't be part of my next build.

Interesting. My 6-year-old has the 24" version of this Early Rider bike. Came with an NX 1x11 drivetrain. That stock bit of kit seems perfect for him; I haven't been tempted to swap it. Loving how light this bike is. Now, about those pinner rims and the lack of a water bottle mount and dropper post...

Interesting that you briefly discuss the stiff and heavy stock wheel/tire combo, but all the photos are of ENVEs. Curious as to whether a wheel swap changed the ride much? What does that say about the wheel spec? Also curious about your impressions of the ENVE rims to compare against my own.

Enve replaced a rim I bought second-hand. No hassles. Easy to get a hold of and talk the issue through. Maybe their nominal line is “original owner only”, but they go beyond that in practice. 

SRAM, on the other hand... what a nightmare.

I happen to own this very same jacket, right down to the colour and size. I’m Pete’s weight but three inches taller. Fit is perfect. Nice and light. Easy to layer so I’m just warm enough, even through this winter we’re having here in North Van. Doubles as a decent running or XC ski option when it’s inclement. If I find myself too wet, it’s not the jacket. No complaints.

Another voice in support of Tannus here. I found myself this summer getting rear-wheel sidewall pinch flats pretty much every ride on my EXO and e-thirteen TR casings, when running anything less than about 27 PSI. I had blamed it on the ENVE rims (and still think they’re partly culpable, with how stiff and thin-beaded they are), as I’d gone years without flatting on aluminum rims. Then I dropped in a Tannus and haven’t flatted since. I can even run <20 PSI if it’s slick and slow and techy. Grip is pretty great too. Threw one in the front after a few hard bottom-outs and have been stoked. TLDR: Tannus good, ENVE bad.

Yours look like a leak at the rim bead. I'm talking about weeping through the entire sidewall, so through the rubber itself. Wondering if anyone has experienced this - is it common to these tires, or just a manufacturing defect in particular runs?

I've mounted the Gum-X rear tire and am finding air is weeping out the sidewall, meaning I have to pump up the tire two or three times in a ride. I expect over time the sealant will mitigate that, but it's irritating for now. Did you find the same on your test tires? How common is a weeping sidewall?

I have a Dakine bag that looks to be the predecessor for the one you've reviewed. Have been using it about a year. Has all the same things except the external cinch straps. I find the water bottle holster on the site pretty useful on longer rides, where I expect to swap out the bottle on my frame when I finish its contents. I have had a full water bottle fly out of that pouch, though, when I was descending something rough in a hurry. I have also found that the waist strap will loosen in the course of a ride, leaving the thing to slide around and become less of a bum bag and more of a gut bag, unless you remember to muffin-top yourself at the top of each descent. These are small gripes. It's comfy and generally does what I expect. And it was cheap. I'd love to have the external straps at my disposal.

"What it doesn't seem to like as much is going slow"... reminds me of my old Transition Blindside. Felt like it only ever really woke up at bike-park speeds.

This climb trail is great and keeps getting better. More than anything else, it’s opened up the place to a whole new kind of rider: one who likes a good singletrack climb too. Love the work and am looking forward to more.

Soquel demo forest. Otherwise there's not much reasonable downhill-ish riding that's legal.