Oz out muddles two 2004 Enduros

[Thunderchild]

Last night we had a club ride and trail work adventure.  After putting in a couple of hours building a new approved trail, we hit the bikes.  Of course we have to ride bikes into the work area as well.  Best way to do trail work is when you can ride your bike to the work area.  

Dark clouds were approaching, but we rode on.  At the turn around point a little rain fell, but nothing our droughted-soil shouldn't soak up.  Lightning was a little close ~2 miles.  I was hoping I wouldn't earn my handle, 'Thunderchild.'  Dosen't carbon fiber conduct electricity.  Then the rain really hit.  The trail surface transformed into 'spooge'.  A term we used a lot when I lived in Oregon.  I kept on riding and the Oz kept on going.  I stopped at a cross road to wait for my two buds.  I waited for 5 minutes and figured they had headed down a nearby road.  So I rode on.  It was getting dark and we had no lights.  

I got to the bottom of the trail and waited for 30 minutes.  They finally arrived.  They hadn't taken the road, but kept on the trail way behind me.  They were both riding 2004 Specialized Enduros.  One bike was an Enduro  pro and 2 weeks new.  The rear swing arms had packed with mud and smeared their muddy smiles to frowns.  Their rear tires wouldn't turn.  They had to dig out the mud, ride, dig out the mud, ride...  I know the Oz's rear swing arm clearance is not the best, but it amazes me that some new bikes have so little clearance.  

I didn't check to see what size of tires they were using.  Probably stock.  Regardless, the results are in.  Chalk up one more feel-good-moment for owning older technology.  

PS I have clogged my 5000's rear swing arm in two day old, clay based mud.  Actually wedged a few rocks in there.  That mud would have chocked a Humvee.  

[Old Proflexer]

i love riding mud in the winter months, and we get all kinds if you know what i mean.

check out my rear oz fender in the galleries - it helps a lot.  
being flexible - it catches then sheds a lot of mud that would roll over and pack at the arm



OP

[Matno]

OP,

I don't know about his Oz, but I know Thunder used your fender idea on his old 5000. Worked great, as far as I could tell.

[Thunderchild]

Oh Yeah, OP's fender idea.  I use it in the winter.  I just wasn't expecting I would need it in July...     GOod think I had a boot on the rear shock.  

[amandasdaddy]

 [smiley=laughing.gif] What a great story!
 I bought a Oz-m today, and am waiting for it to get here!  I am new to this forum, but I am reading everything.

 What size tire do you recommend for this bike for a general purpose tire?  Also - the fender -- is there a specific fender or a place I can order it?

Thanks

Brian

[Kevins19]

That is a great story. Thats kinda like when I first started riding cross-country with my friend and some of thier friends. They all ride lightweight cannondale hardtales. Clad in spandex I might add! and I show up with my EVO "Free Ride" with 6" of travel and they are running 80mm of travel. They were all like you know wera re riding 20miles. I just smilled and said "I sure do" to thier suprise my friend and I, on my 38lb. bike. took the lead for most of the ride. At the end they all had to stand around and check out the k2! They were very impressed how well it pedaled with so much travel.

About Tires... With the Carbon swingarm I think you can "practically" fit no larger than a 2.2" tire. I just bought new tires and I thru my 2.3 Tioga DH Mud on the back to see if it fits and it does so with only 2mm of clearence. So, if the pressure was low or under hard cornering there would def. be rubbin on the swingarm. Which would be bad! Let alone clearence for mud. So, I went with a Tioga Factory DH non MUD 2.1" and stayed with 2.3" in front that way I have pleny of clearence since that tire has very large knobs. But a more cross country oriented tire should fit up to around 2.25". Just remember every tire is a bit different.

[Matno]

if the pressure was low or under hard cornering there would def. be rubbin on the swingarm.

I agree, 2.1-2.25 is probably optimal, but different manufacturers numbers vary widely. There was a recent article in one of the bike magazines that showed actual measurements and some of the smallest tires were Conti's 2.3s whereas some of the largest were "2.0" tires! Go figure.

As for low pressure - it would have to be way too low to ride on for it to cause rubbing on the swingarm! (only the bottom of the tire in contact with the ground squishes wide - the top maintains its shape). Swingarm flex is a bit of a problem though - especially with the carbon swingarms, which flex a ton. (At least the 3 that I've ridden do). I don't think it's something I would worry about as far as tire clearance is concerned though because the axis of the torque should make the change at the tire-swingarm gap minimal. If it really causes rubbing, I'd double check my swingarm for damage!

Mud will be your only real enemy if you have a tight gap.  (Or maybe fresh asphalt - I recently saw a guy riding his road bike right behind a construction crew. Don't know what he was thinking, but when I saw him, he was pulled over with literally about 1/2" of tar and gravel coated on his wheels and the entire underside of his nice white frame! What an idiot. He could have ridden around it...)

My wierdest problem with getting stuff in my "clearance area" was when I got a rock wedged between my fork and rim! Luckily, I was going slow, but I still went over the bars almost instantly. The really amazing thing was that the rock was a disc about 8 inches across and about an inch thick! I have no idea how it flipped all the way up to the top of my wheel. Never did like riding in loose shale...

[amandasdaddy]

Wow -

 You guys are prtty serious about biking and specs.  Well, my bike comes in on Friday (next week), so I have some time to research and buy spare parts where I can find them.  I know have a decent idea as to the tires I want to look for, and thanks for all the info.

 Other question:  The seat post.  Is there a standard size for the seat post?  I wanted to order a CF post, maybe off of ebay, but I'm not sure iif there is a specific size I need to get.

Any thoughts?  

Also was looking at the hammerhead adapter for disk brakes.  I love the way it looks, and am curious how sturdy and stable they are with the flexing of the swing arm.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks

Brian

[Kevins19]

"Wow -

 You guys are prtty serious about biking and specs."

You have no idea!  [smiley=laughing.gif]

I know that my EVO 4.0 uses a 27.2mm seatpost. I am not sure if the OZ is the same diameter, hopefully someone that already has one can jump in and verify this.

Wow, an Thermoset OZ Frame w/ Carbon Fiber Swingarm w/ Carbon Fiber Seatpost maybe even an Carbon Fiber Handlebar! That would be a sweet setup. the bar and seat post in CF would really help tie the whole bike togethr. It is going to look great and ride great!

One other upgrade people like to do is upgrade the rear frame shock. Something like a 5th Element / Fox DHX-RC-R / Manitou swinger would be an amazing upgrade to an already great riding bike.

Poseted by: Matno - As for low pressure not causing a rubbing issue. You are right you are right. Except, for the few of us that are "out there" like me! and run near motocross tires with 1/2" knobs it is more of a concern. Especially when you are running 25psi!   and those large knobs like to pick things up in them and can wedge them in the swing arm. These Tioga Factory DH Pro MUD tires do some crazy things. With their HD wire bead casing I can run them at very low pressure so they roll ofer everything without getting any pinchflats. But again for 99.9% of tire it is of no concern

[Dennis]

amandasdaddy:

Congratulations on purchasing the finest bike ever built!! (imho).

I don't want to brag, but check out my gallery and some of the other Oz owners galleries to see what an Oz can be.

rear shock: I highly recommend the risse astro 5. light, reliable, easily adjustable damping for climbing or anti-climbing.

CF seat post? a must. I also have cf bars, crankarms, wheels on mine. next cf upgrade will be cf bottle cage.

fenders: make your own, or do what I did. buy a mudmachine.com rear fender and modify it. check my gallery.

tire size: I am running a weirwolf 2.3 in the front and irc trail bear 2.25 in the rear at the moment. great setup. excellent traction and control in all conditions, no problems with mud build up.

this website: you are right, this is a great site. everyone on here is very knowledgeable and passionate about their K2/Proflexes. I am glad I found it when I was building my bike. very helpful!!

have fun making your Oz "Oz-some"!!
just make sure you go out and right the sh-- out of it!! thats what its really for.

I made mine pretty, but I don't mind getting it dirty and even a bit scratched up. just makes it look better.

[smiley=groucho.gif]

[Simon]

Wow -

 You guys are prtty serious about biking and specs.  Well, my bike comes in on Friday (next week), so I have some time to research and buy spare parts where I can find them.  I know have a decent idea as to the tires I want to look for, and thanks for all the info.


Also was looking at the hammerhead adapter for disk brakes.  I love the way it looks, and am curious how sturdy and stable they are with the flexing of the swing arm.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks

Brian

As your new to this go with the hammerhead they are strong and reliable,however if your a bit more adventurous make your own,many have on this site,check out my gallery (Simon) and (Op's) to see the sort of mod's that can be achived with an Oz frame it might suprise you,I've yet another major new mod coming soon [smiley=nod.gif]
Simon.