Mountain Biking

steve45

steve45

steve45

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Malevolence said:
Shame there isn't more of an industry standard, as frame sizes are all over the place depending on manufacturer.
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Yeah, its a hell of a minefield when it comes to sizing.
I'm 5'6 both my current bikes are small frames. For most manufacturers I sit in that overlap between S/M. However, I often feel more comfortable on the smaller size, I have T-Rex arms... The clash is maybe a smidge on the small side, but still well within the comfort zone and I dont feel it holds me back. But I've ridden everything up to a large before with the Scott Gambler which I felt fit me perfectly. I think where in the past I could have gotten away with larger sizes due to smaller reach etc, Nowadays with current Geo trends they are just way too long for me. I had a play on my mates Stanton Switch9er in large, felt like an oil tanker to me, way too stretched out to have proper control.
I think when it comes round to me upgrading the Clash frame to the current model in a year or two I'll probably stretch to a medium. I think I could get used it.
 

garnett

garnett

garnett

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mrk said:
For tyres I'm really impressed with the Schwalbe Rocket Ron. Good rolling resistance but at the same time sticky grip too, plus they look mean without having bright distracting printing on the sidewalls. Good balance all round I'd say and the price is excellent too.
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Thanks for this.

I was considering going down to much thinner tyres but I'm reading that I should stick to 2.35" on the front and go down no lower than a 2.2" on the back. I'm wondering about a 2.25" Schwalbe Rapid Rob on the back. It looks like the Rocket Ron only goes up to a 2.25". What width do you have on front and back on your bike? I was looking at maybe a 2.35" Smart Sam on the front.
 

BananaDunka

BananaDunka

BananaDunka

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Mate has the Smart Sam on his Norco and they seem good, his is 2.6" boost though!

Mine are 2.25 front and back and currently 30psi on both but I'm going to lower to around 26 next ride to see how that feels for added traction in the woodland bits.
 

Hedge

Hedge

Hedge

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Glorious weather for weeks then when I book a mountain biking weekend the weather turns utter poop. Brilliant :(

On a bike related note I fitted a Megneg can to my deluxe rt shock and the thing feels much more responsive over small bumps now. Quite a nice purchase.

Fitting an rct3 2.1 charger and debonair to my fork later today.
 

garnett

garnett

garnett

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mrk said:
Mate has the Smart Sam on his Norco and they seem good, his is 2.6" boost though!

Mine are 2.25 front and back and currently 30psi on both but I'm going to lower to around 26 next ride to see how that feels for added traction in the woodland bits.
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Thanks. I need to pay more attention to pressures (rather than just assuming that my weight means they both need to be at 90% of the max the tyre is rated for).

I'll have a look at those Rocket Rons. Have you ever been tempted to run something wider on the front? It seems to be the consesus view wherever (online) I look at the mo.

Pyr0m@nI@]{ said:
Vittoria mezcal aren't bad for rolling resistance and trail/xc use
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Funnily enough someone else just recommended these to me too,and I thought they look good. Schwalbe seem generally a bit cheaper / more bang for your buck, but I will look more closely. What do you use?
 

Pyr0m@nI@]{

Pyr0m@nI@]{

Pyr0m@nI@]{

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I did have 2x 29x2.6 vittoria mezcal.
Recently I purchased a new dt swiss 27.5 wheel for the rear and have ordered a schwalbe johnny watts to try out. I may still buy another 27.5 mezcal..
I also now have a second set of dt swiss wheels in carbon, currently with 2x 29" maxxis hookworm for commuting/road use.

[Edit] ordered another 27.5 mezcal tnt from ebay for £34.98 delivered
 
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Megahurtz400

Megahurtz400

Megahurtz400

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Hey guys :)

I'm after some new tyres for my 27.5 Plus Norco Fluid 2.0 Hardtail.

I've got Schwalbe Hans Dampf 2.8" at the moment, and they're so overkill for riding around Essex in the summer, and want to start upping my mileage to get my fitness up after a back surgery in January.

I'm also semi-obsessed with the idea of some bike packing at some point, so doing 50 miles a day on tarmac/hard pack on Hans Dampf seems like hard work!

So what would people recommend?

My other idea is a new wheelset for the above, and keep my current wheelset for winter/trips away, but feel like i'd end up spending close to what a new hardtail/rigid bike packing bike would cost, but it would save the hassle of changing tyres and setting up tubeless again!

Oh, and i've got 110x15mm Boost up front and QR rear, which makes things a bit harder!
 
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BananaDunka

BananaDunka

BananaDunka

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garnett said:
I'll have a look at those Rocket Rons. Have you ever been tempted to run something wider on the front? It seems to be the consesus view wherever (online) I look at the mo.
Click to expand...

My fork manual states max tyre width 2.25 (although I think this is a guide?). I think at the moment it is a nicely balanced set of wheel to tyre to frame size. The bike is very nimble/twitchy which I kind of like and that's part thanks to the 2.25 tyres I think whereas on my mate's 2.6 boost I can feel that there's more contact patch on the ground so whilst more grip, not as twitchy? I think if I did go wider I'd go 2.3" max as that looks like will leave enough clearance for the fork arms and even rear chainstay if I did the rears in future.

The Rocket Runs are night and day vs the stock tanned wall tyres that came on the bike though! SO at least I know that tyre compound and technology makes a big difference even when staying the same width!
 

Invertigo

Invertigo

Invertigo

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mrk said:
My fork manual states max tyre width 2.25 (although I think this is a guide?). I think at the moment it is a nicely balanced set of wheel to tyre to frame size. The bike is very nimble/twitchy which I kind of like and that's part thanks to the 2.25 tyres I think whereas on my mate's 2.6 boost I can feel that there's more contact patch on the ground so whilst more grip, not as twitchy? I think if I did go wider I'd go 2.3" max as that looks like will leave enough clearance for the fork arms and even rear chainstay if I did the rears in future.

The Rocket Runs are night and day vs the stock tanned wall tyres that came on the bike though! SO at least I know that tyre compound and technology makes a big difference even when staying the same width!
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Can attest to this, going from the decent stock WTB wire bead tyres to Michelin Wilds running tubeless, it almost feels like someone's coated the tyre in glue. Way more confidence inspiring on the downhill stuff, but way draggier too.
 
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