Big tires and other rambling...

[Matno]

I recently hooked up with a group of riders who are pretty hard core - at least by my standards. I've had a great time riding with them but today I mixed it up a little. Instead of the tried and true 5000, I took my hardtail single speed for it's very first ride on "real" trails. Unfortunately, instead of the usual mix of varying abilities, the only two guys who showed up were the two freaks of nature in our group (one has some of the best technical skills I've ever seen and the other is an ironman triathlete). Bottom line, they had promised each other a serious cardio workout.

What I learned was:

1) single speeding CAN actually be fun. There were a few big climbs where I was hating myself for not having a bigger rear cog (I've got a 32-18T setup on there currently), but other than that, for rolling ups and downs and technical rock gardens, it worked nicely.

2) The added clearance of not having a big ring was a huge help. We ride over lots of roots, rocks, and big logs here in NY. I'll be replacing the big ring on my K2/Proflex 5000 with a bash guard VERY soon. (I haven't really used it since I left Utah 5 years ago anyway). 2x9 here I come...

3) Bigger tires are very nice. I recently swapped the 1.9" tires on my single speed for 2.20" Specialized Enduros. In spite of the fact that my single speed is currently built up around an el cheapo aluminum frame that is too stiff, too heavy, and too big, I felt like the ride was quite smooth, which I'm sure was mostly due to the tires. Big drops (well, under 4 feet, but big for me) actually felt more controlled than on my Proflex. I was shocked that I didn't get "jolted" more. I think having a stiff rear end was kind of an eye-opener for me too. I tend to forget that the carbon swingarm is the flexiest rear half ever designed in the history of mountain biking (okay, that's probably a bit of an exaggeration, but it IS very flexible side-to-side).  

4) Running up hills with your bike is almost just as hard as grinding up them in a too-high gear...

I won't be retiring the 5000 any time soon, but at least now I know I can have fun on more than one bike. (And since one of them cost me less than $200, I can abuse it more too...) Of course, now I have to buy bigger tires and a new bashguard for my K2, but hey, that's the way it goes, right? Still trying to find a deal on a quality steel hardtail frame...

[RhinoDave]

I've had similar experiences with both my single speed and larger tires. I've always been a fan of larger volume tires and run Hutchison Pythons and WTB Mutanoraptors most of the time. I have the 2.4 Mutanoraptors on my S.S. (see attached pic). I would like to run a little lower pressure in them but they have pretty thin side walls so they get a little squirrely below 35 psi. I usually end up riding the single speed late fall and winter because I'm usually not in a hurry in the cold and it's a fun change of pace. My s.s. is a 1998 Moab 1 steel frame. As it sits it is a little under 25 lbs. Not light by any means but much lighter than my 31 lb. EVO 3

[Matno]

I'm surprised your EVO weighs 31. Mine is VERY similar build on a large 5000 frame with carbon swingarm. With my Stratos Helix coil shock it was right at 29lbs. Now I've got a Swinger 3-way Air, so it should be slightly lighter. Other than that, it looks a LOT like yours (X-vert fork, Avid mechanical brakes, same LX cranks, Bontrager Race Disc Modified wheelset, same saddle, same derailleurs, cheapo seatpost & stem, Monkey Lite riser bars). Maybe one of us should re-weigh our bike (I'm hoping it's you!)

Of course, the issue of bigger tires begs the real question: When am I going to get a 29er? My brother in law lives in Moab (yes, he lives there - for the next 2 years at least), and he just got a 29er hardtail. He says you absolutely don't need rear suspension with the 29" wheels. They're that smooth. Hmmm....

[Carbon_Angus]

Matno, I think you are a freak of nature to be doing that crazy stuff!!!  When will sanity of fatherhood and soon age creep up with you???

J/K Keep it all up as long as you can!!

Thanks for recapping....yes SS can be fun...mine is gone to Sweden, hopefuly to a nice lassie built by a swell laddie.

[willem]

Nashbar has some shocker deals on "generic" frames.
They also have some combo deals with forks.

I tried a Gary Fisher 29er in Houston last week. Couldn't get over the feeling that I was sitting down between two giant wheels.

Those 29er wheels roll over curbs like nothing. But you do notice the inertial drag when you're trying to get it going.

I'm holding out for a 96er... maybe...

[Matno]

Matno, I think you are a freak of nature to be doing that crazy stuff!!!  When will sanity of fatherhood and soon age creep up with you???

I'm no freak, and I think my age is JUST starting to catch up with me (I'm still really young though - just turned 33 this month). I do feel a few extra aches and pains that didn't used to be there, but other than that, I'm okay. The nice thing is that all of the guys I ride with are older than I am, so I know I don't have to slow down any time soon!

As for doing crazy stuff, it's not crazy if you can clean it, right? Actually, I'm a fairly risk averse person, so I don't have a problem with backing off of something I think is too big. On the other hand, my ego gets a huge boost if I can do something the rest of the guys can't or won't. Fortunately, most of the stuff we try to outdo each other on is climbing/cleaning technical sections. Very rarely do we do anything really crazy while pointed downhill! And usually the chances of getting hurt aren't much different than just riding along.

My next purchase will probably be a bigger rear cog - I'm still feeling the 2 hours of mashing in my knees. (I already ordered the bashguard for my K2/Proflex!)

[Proflexman]

I once made the mistake of riding with a bunch of riders that are a bit quick.
A lesson learnt the hard way.
Call themselfs the Yogi's !!

[RhinoDave]

Used one of these to weigh the bikes. http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/14261-325_ULTAD5-0-Search--/Ultimate-Bicycle-Support-Alpine-Digital-Scale.htm
The Six way swinger is pretty heavy and the wheels are XT hubs with Mavic 317 rims. Other than those, the rest of the build is fairly light. Easton scandium bars, XT shifter/levers, Thomsen Stem and seatpost, King headset, WTB speed V seat, LX frt - XTR rear derailleurs, LX crankset, XT bottom brkt XT cassette, 2001 X-Vert fork. My Haro FS weighs in at 25.6 lbs and it has full XTR, Noleen fork and DT swiss hubs.
Fortunately for my bank account, I haven't been bitten by the 29er bug yet. Lots of people in my area are switching to them so I guess it's only a matter of time. I can hardly wait until I have to explain to the sig. other why I need a bike with bigger wheels.  

[Matno]

Speaking of old, there's one guy in our group of riders who I thought was my age (33), or maybe even younger (he's the craziest and best rider of the bunch). Today I asked him if he had any kids. Yes. How old? 24, 21, and 16. Man, I was WAY off! Just goes to show that it really IS impossible to guess the age of an Asian! On another note, I hit more big drops and crazy stuff today than ever before... It's crazy how confident you feel when riding with ER doctors and orthopaedic surgeons... On a bad note, my Swinger 3 way feels kind of funny after that last big drop. DOH! I hope it's okay...

[jimbo]

You can get Shimano Saint Bashguards for $10.00 at Beyondbikes.

Couple warnings they're cheap because they're made out of plastic.  These are Saints so I'm assuming they can take it.  The other thing is the way it's design you're suppose to buy the bolt kit, another $12.00, to fit it.  I just went to the hardware store and drilled out some washers so I can use the original chainring bolts.  Works fine.

The big plus is that these are probably the lightest bash guards out there.

[jimbo]

There's an orthopaedic surgeon here who rides a Prophet.  He had a Lefty fork on it till he bent the axle hitting a drop.  The Lefty suppose to pretty beefy so you know how hard he landed to bend it.  Better the fork then his own bones

The Danger gene must be in of all doctors DNA.

[Matno]

Dang, I've never heard of a Lefty bending. Did he have one with a Titanium axle? (I've heard they're not as beefy).

I'm bummed about the bolts. I ordered one of those Saint bash guards already, but I didn't realize that the bolts wouldn't fit. However, I have some spare ones in different sizes, so MAYBE it won't be too much work.

If not, I have lots of washers, a Dremel, a grinding wheel, and I love to fix things... (Hey, I'm an orthopod - that's what we do!)

As for the Saint bashguards, they may be plastic, but they're THERMOplastic, so probably as strong as anything made. Like the stuff they make handguns out of, only 5 times as thick... No worries there. Shimano knows how to make quality stuff.

[jimbo]

Not sure what kind of Lefty except that it came with the Prophet.  

Just find a washer that fits over the lip of the screw hole and drll out the washer.  Easy fix.  You can use the original chainring bolt.  I'm pretty sure it was from a metric washer.

Yeah, I figured the plastic should be beefy enough considering that it's a Saint.  It just looks cheesy.  I actually got 2.  One on the Gemini and one on the Prophet.