2022 Mountain Biking

[Tony S]

Interesting. My observation is that his climbing test was very short (one minute), and that he didn't have a "long ride" test. I.e., What happens if you go out on a three hour ride, with 750 meters of climbing, on each of these tires?

Also interesting was that he mentioned another test his colleague did, between 2.0 and 2.2" tires, for XC. 2.2" tire won there. "Well duh," is my response. (I remember the 1.9 vs 2.1 debates!)

So what's my point? My point is that I suspect many people are "over tired" for what they really do, just like many people are "over skied" for what they really do. What THIS guy did was ride a lot of short "session-y" segments, on an enduro bike, with a bias toward descents. On that basis, I have no doubt that 2.8s are a great choice. However, that's not my riding. YMMV, as Andy suggests.

Getting pretty deep in the weeds here folks. Can’t we just ride bikes?

 

[AmyPJ]

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I have questions

 

[Tony S]

I have questions

Get on a plane and they will all be answered. Bring bug dope.

 

[Rod9301]

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Great first picture. Interesting how leaning on a bike is the opposite of leaning on skiing.

 

[nay]

Just doing stuff.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

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New Hampshire?

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Tires are funny aren't they? Looking at the comments about the DHF - did you guys know that there are 71 different SKUs for the DHF? So many widths, casings and compounds! Probably not best to paint them all with the same brush.

Right now I have a DHF 2.4 EXO MaxxTerra on the front of my bike and a Vittoria Morsa 2.35 Trail on the back of my bike. I switched the rear tire from an E13 semi-slick and even though the E13 looks faster, I cut three minutes off of a 20-something minute climb the day I switched. I'm a big fan of the Vittoria tires. I really like the Mazza which is basically a DHF, but it feels way grippier than any DHF I've ever tried.

 

[Tony S]

New Hampshire?

Just a mish mosh from the last few years, in response to Wooglin's plea: "Can't we just ride bikes?"

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Just a mish mosh from the last few years, in response to Wooglin's plea: "Can't we just ride bikes?"

Ah. I saw Wendy's KT pictures this morning and knew none of that was Kingdom, so I figured it was somewhere between there and home.

 

[Tom K.]

I'm a big fan of the Vittoria tires.

I have also slowly been finding that Vittoria has the secret sauce trifecta of grip, speed, and toughness.

Also FWIW their 2.6 Mezcal is HUGE, without being silly heavy.

@wooglin, no apologies here for nerding out. I ride more than just about anybody I know, but also love, love, love nerding out on "the stuff".

So I'll drop this nerdy bit: For a few bucks more, you can upgrade from a GX to XO1 chain, which actual testing has shown to last at least 50% longer.

 

[Wilhelmson]

I was following along a bit since I could use a new rear tire. The Dhr sounds good but now there are like 50 different versions to choose from.

 

[Andy Mink]

did you guys know that there are 71 different SKUs for the DHF

Yep. Same basic tread pattern, then pick your compound, width, casing, diameter, etc. Then on to air pressure. Would you like titanal in that tire, sir?

 

[Andy Mink]

Just doing stuff.

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Just curious, do you ride with someone who takes your photos or do you set the camera up then go back up to come down?

 

[Tony S]

Tires are funny aren't they? Looking at the comments about the DHF - did you guys know that there are 71 different SKUs for the DHF? So many widths, casings and compounds! Probably not best to paint them all with the same brush.

We had a whole deep dive on that with Josh a few years back. It was fun

 

[Wilhelmson]

Just curious, do you ride with someone who takes your photos or do you set the camera up then go back up to come down?

I wonder about that too when I see action photos.

 

[splitter]

Thanks for all the well-wishes.

Ouch. Upper or lower body injuries or both? Hope you’re good to go for ski season!

Were the stairs part of the trail or did you fall off the trail (something I have done one too many times)?

All in the ankle. I’m hopeful. After the CT and multiple trips with X-rays, foot broken in three spots, dislocation, and a high ankle sprain.

I think we’ll avoid surgery though.

Stairs are part of the trail. Technical, blind 90-degree turn that I got hung up on and fell down the stairs tipping over after losing balance.

5 groups came through after me and every person hiked their bike through that section, without knowing I was there below the feature on the side of the trail.

I was riding so well. Jumping off everything, bunny hopping up boulders. Over confident and too fast

 

[nay]

I have also slowly been finding that Vittoria has the secret sauce trifecta of grip, speed, and toughness.

Also FWIW their 2.6 Mezcal is HUGE, without being silly heavy.

@wooglin, no apologies here for nerding out. I ride more than just about anybody I know, but also love, love, love nerding out on "the stuff".

So I'll drop this nerdy bit: For a few bucks more, you can upgrade from a GX to XO1 chain, which actual testing has shown to last at least 50% longer.

X01 chain is such a good upgrade and it’s more than lasting longer. X01 derailleur and shifters are also upgrades that exceed the cost differential.

In other news, the E13 Helix cassette remains flawless and is a beyond good upgrade from GX.

 

[Slim]

The oldest daughter (14) dropping into the steep rock slab at the Copper Harbor (UP of Michigan) Enduro.

 

[Slim]

I love this set up on the east coast...a bit aggressive for some mellow trails, but they climb over roots and rocks like a beast...even in wet conditions. I also love how the side knobs hookup on downhill flow trails.

Related to that, I read a test once, where they took a stock, mid range mtb, and ‘pimped it out’: lighter components all over the bike, dropping pounds from the weight of the bike.
One of the changes was much faster rolling and lighter tires (but not XC race tires).

The interesting thing was, that on the steepest, roughest, loosest climbing section of their test loop, they used less power! Uphill!

Their theory was that the grippier tire spun out less, and this saved effort. And that’s not even countering the mental effort of worrying about losing traction,

 

[Tony S]

One of the changes was much faster rolling and lighter tires (but not XC race tires).

The interesting thing was, that on the steepest, roughest, loosest climbing section of their test loop, they used less power! Uphill!

Their theory was that the grippier tire spun out less, and this saved effort. And that’s not even countering the mental effort of worrying about losing traction,

I'm confused. If they put on faster rolling tires, presumably they were LESS grippy, unless the compound was much sticker and they went to low pressure tubeless into the bargain. But you don't mention any of that.