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Messages - Carbon_Dude

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1756
Component Deals & Selection / Re: SRAM XX1 1x11 Discussion
« on: April 24, 2014, 08:49:07 PM »
Update:
Received replacement XX1 rear derailleur.  Installed it this evening back on the FS IP-036, still takes me a while to get a R/D setup, seems to be working fine.  Most importantly, no creaking.  Now let's see how it does on the next ride.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The SRAM "Powerlock" master link is a one time use item, it does not squeeze together and release like the old SRAM "PowerLink" did.  I ended up needing to get out my chain tool and carefully break the chain, being careful not to push the pin out all the way.

1757
Lucky to have that in your back yard!

Great comparison thread. Gotta be honest, I never could understand why someone would need multiple bikes before but now I could totally understand how having a full suss and a hardtail would be about right. They really are different beasts.. there is something about the efficient power transfer of a hardtail that I just love, and always have. Rode a new Rip9 last week and it was a blast! But I still wouldn't give up my hardtail for it.

These chiners make it possible to own two very high end bikes for a reasonable "investment' as you have obviously realized and taken advantage of. Nice job.

Couple of questions:

How much travel is in the rear end of the full suss?

The obligatory question - If you could only have one?
I'm certain your answer will be the full squish, but perhaps not.

The IP-036 is supposed to have 110mm of travel, although I have not measured it.

If I only had one, I would need to chose between the lower cost, lower maintenance, lighter hardtail or the more expensive, higher maintenance, smoother riding FS.  Hmmm, that is a tough choice. 

It would depend on what trails you ride, both bikes work well on the trails I ride.  Also, I have not ridden the IP-036 enough to offer up a completely fair judgement.  However, I suspect I'd  go with the FS because it is potentially a better all around bike, and with the lock outs, it's almost as efficient as the hard tail when pedaling.  I just haven't had enough seat time on the new bike to say positively though.

1758
For me, I suspect the IP-057  feels like climbs better because the frame size fits me well, I have a set of riser bars which may allow my to be a bit less bent over when standing up, and the bike is about 4 lbs lighter than my IP-036.

1759
Just got back from a 12mi after work ride on the IP-057 hardtail.  The previous three rides have been on the IP-036 and all I can say is WOW, that suspension on the IP-036 really does a great job in smoothing out the trail.  It just seemed like I was feeling every rock and root, and they felt bigger than before.  On the flip side, the IP-057 is so fast and efficient, climbs great, feels solid.  I caught up with a couple other guys and and hung with them for a while.  We chatted about bike a bit, I'm always happy to spread the word and tell others about my Chiner.

If anyone want to see a video of a typical trail in my area, here is one uploaded a few years ago from Chicopee Woods which has about 24 mi of trails.  The trails are only 15 min from my house :) :) :).

http://gainesvillesorba.org/pictures/chicopee/ChicopeeRevised.mov

The video is a bit long, there is some good action around about the 8:00 mark.

1760
29er / Re: My FM-057 Build Thread.
« on: April 23, 2014, 06:30:53 AM »
Any torque wrench is good enough.  Do you have hex key * torn bits for it?  I find that, for the bike, it's not much good without bits.

1761
Think I'm going with the Saguaros.. Look plenty big enough here:



Plus, I'm digging the grey side walls.

I think you will be happy with them, particularly since you will be using them on a hardtail.  One of these days, I will swap my wheels and see how I like the carbon rims with the softer tires on my IP-057, and the looks of the white DT Swiss wheels on the IP-036.

1762
I'm not sure I would be building a Fatbike anytime soon but for me the size would be a difficult decision, I typically like the effective TT to be around 615mm.  The 18" is 605mm and the 20" is 625mm.  I would need to ride a couple fat bikes to determine which way to go, bigger or smaller.

1763
If you don't mind, all specs aside, out of the three tires you have listed the (Saguaro, X-king, Racing Ralph) which ones are your favs? You know.. when you're not really thinking about all the stuff we spend far too much time analyzing  :D  Which ones do you simply prefer when out on the trail?

Thanks for the insightful write-up.

Hi Izzy, I think they are all good tires and all have their strong and weak points, here is a pros and cons list of what I think:

Schwalbe Racing Ralph
Pro: Very light weight
Pro: Seems to grip well
Pro: Tread blocks are sized nicely for dry and wet terrain and go out to the edge of the tire profile.
Con: Expensive, up to $80 per tire
Con: Thin sidewalls, requires lots of work to get the sealant to close the pin holes and hold air
Con: Tread compound wears quickly

Continental X-King
Pro: Fairly light weight
Pro: Reasonable cost, ~$40 for the folding bead version
Pro: Good tread design
Pro: Tread compound seems to have longer wear
Pro/Con: Firmer side wall than the Geax, can have some pin hole leaks that need to be sealed with tire sealant.
Con: I've ordered these two times and received the heavier, wire bead version and had to return them.
Con: The top of the line version with the Black Chili Compound is more expensive, ~$60+

Geax Sagauro TNT
Pro:  Reasonable price, $40, from Artscyclery.com, free shipping.
Pro:  High quality tire, very nice construction.
Pro:  Setup tubeless the tire aired up very easily, no leaks, no loss of air over a few weeks.
Pro:  Widest tire I have on 30mm wide rims.
Pro:  Tread pattern seems to be good for the hard pack clay that I mostly ride.
Pro:  Tread compound seems like it will have long wear but I've only put 30 miles on these tires.
Pro:  Looks great, but that's just my opinion
Pro/Con:  120tpi construction seems to make a really nice, plush riding tire but for some they might not like the additional squish of the tire, but I would think the supple feel would be good for a hardtail.
Con: Tread pattern is tighter which may not shed mud as well.

One more thing, when measured, the overall diameter of the GEAX tire as mounted on my carbon wheels is about 29.5" (not 29"), seems the sidewall is about 1/4" taller making the overall diameter a 1/2" taller.  However, with the supple construction, the tire flexes more making the runout the same.  Meaning, when I measure the length of one revolution (applying a some pressure to the bars to compress the tire slightly) I get 2374 mm, the same as my other bike.  I do this to calibrate my bike computer and found that the length of one rev is the same for both my bikes.

1764
I have 2.4" Racing Ralph & 2.4" Conti X-King tires on my IP-056 and even though the Geax Saguaro says it's a 2.2" tire, the measurements I get on my bikes are:

IP-036, 30mm wide carbon rims
Geax Saguaro measured width = 2.3" Fr/Rr

IP-056, 25mm wide AL DT Swiss Rims
Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.4", measured width = 2.2" Fr
Continental X-king 2.4", measured width - 2.25" Rr

So, you be the judge as to actual tire width.  Obviously it also depends on your rim width.  So even thought the Geax is spec'd as a 2.2, it comes in the widest of the three tires I have right now, although on the wider rims.


1765
You would be right about the weight, I re-checked my spreadsheet and the tires together weigh 1590g so 795g each.  I will go edit my original post.  So, if I had put on Racing Ralph Tires, I would have a FS 29er that's less than 23 lbs but would be more prone to flats.

1766
29er / Re: Welcome to Chinertown!
« on: April 21, 2014, 05:26:09 PM »
SN, thanks and your welcome.  I am not crazy about the free-for-all that is on MTBR, people post all kinds of questions in the wrong forums, I've yet to see a topic moved over there.  Seems the only thing the people that run MTBR care about is advertising.  I'm sure that website takes in lots of advertising revenue.

1767
These tires are very different from the Schwalbe or Continental tires I normally run.  First off, they are a bit heavier at about 800g per tire.  For comparison, I've used Racing Ralphs that are ~550g per tire, nearly 2/3 the weight.  However, the RR are super thin and will puncture easliy.  I had lots of problems with the RR losing air, even with Stan's Sealant.

The Geax Saguaro TNT tires are meaty, which makes them heavier but more puncture resistant.  In a tire, I look for a balance between low weight and reliability or puncture resistance and good wear performance.  It's hard to get a good balance, in the past I've been really happy with Continental X-King 2.4" Folding tires.  With the Continental, you need to be careful as they have a wire bead version that is not as nice as the folding tire and it's not clear on most websites which version of the X-king tire you will get.

The Geax Saguaro TNT tires are very high quality, they mounted tubeless on my XMIplay Carbon rims very easily.  I used one layer of Stan's Rim Tape, mounted the tire, added some Orange Sealant, and inflated them with no cursing :).  Very happy when you don't need to fight with tires.  In comparison, the Schwalbe RR required much more effort with getting them to seal as there were several sidewall pin holes, and I needed to shake and shake the wheel (as per Stan's Instructions) to get the sealant to cover the side walls.  Some people report that they have the sealant weep through the sidewalls on the RR although I never had that problem.

Trail conditions for these tires would be on the hardpack side, I have not ridden them in muddy conditions so I don't know how well they shed mud.  Looking at the tread pattern I'd say they would do okay but they would not do as well as say a Kenda Nevagal.

When riding, these tires provide a very soft almost plush ride, even when aired up to as much as 38psi.  They have a rating of 120tpi (threads per inch) which makes the tire very pliable.  On my first ride I could feel lots of movement in the tire, so if you are the type that likes a really hard tire, this is not the tire for you.  I mounted these on my full suspension IP-036, but I would think they would work better on a hardtail, providing that nice bit of compliance to the back wheel.

Overall I'm pleased with these tires, after 30+ miles they still have the nubs on them so hopefully the compound has good wear characteristics.  So there you have it, they are a bit on the heavier side but have lots of other good qualities.


1768
I like the 80mm width, I think over 80mm would be too wide.

1769
29er / Re: My FM-057 Build Thread.
« on: April 21, 2014, 07:05:51 AM »
The Ritchey TorqKey is preset for 5N-m, or 45 in-lbs.  It would not be the only torque wrench you need, you should check out Harbor Freight, they have an inexpensive torque wrench in the range you will need.  The Ritchey TorqKey is just a tool of convenience :).

1770
I prefer the Rockshox Reba Dual Air over the Fox CTD on the IP-057 and here's why:

1) After 600 mi, the fork does not seem to need to be rebuilt yet.  Although, I have purchased a rebuild kit from Pricepoint.
2) I don't care for the fact that the Fox fork usually has a think oil film on the stanchion, the Rockshox stays dry.  So I like the way Rockshox designs their seals.
3) They both do the job, can't really say one fork does a better job of soaking up the bumps over the other, they both function well.
4) The Rockshox cost is generally lower than the Fox.
5) The Fox has one advantage with having a partial lockout in their CTD system, which is why I chose to go with a remote lever so I could take advantage of this feature.  I never bother with adjusting anything on the Rockshock when out on the trail.
6) I think the Rockshox fork is a bit lighter.

If I had it to do again, and didn't care about the lockouts, t would have gone with RockShox for the fork and rear shock, but at the time I ordered my parts, I picked up the  Fox Fork w/remote for $400 off eBay so then I decided to also go with the Fox rear shock with remote so I could do the dual lockout.

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