Schwalbe G-one Pros

 If anyone reads this they might notice I go through a lot of tires. That will happen when you ride a lot and have a lot of bikes. I counted how many i bought last year and it was... a lot.

The other thing people may notice is how much attention there is to rolling resistance right now. It kind of started with bicyclerollingresistance.com, and now there are a number of folks out there doing testing on real roads, which is nice as the smooth roller doesn't always tell the full story especially when it comes to gravel and mtb tires on rougher surfaces. The most recent real world testing is indicating that as roughness of the surface increases, the faster wider tires become. And on smoother surfaces, many wide tires are still fast. Conclusion? Probably that you should ride as wide of tires as possible unless you're only ever on very smooth paved roads (and even then, bigger road tires are nice).

So, last year when I got my orbea that had more tire clearance than a CX bike of old, I started off with 40mm tires because I had them. Then, in the summer when those needed replacement I went to 45s. Then, this spring when it was time for a new set i tried some 50mm schwalbes. My frame officially only has clearance for a 48mm measured width but in my experience the schwables tend to be a bit small or at least not bigger than advertised so I thought I should give it a try.

My choice - the new G one pro tires, with a semi-slick RS rear and the R up front for a little more braking and cornering grip.

They measure about 50.5mm and it's a pretty close fit

Don't think I could pull off a 2.1 thunder burt or anything even slightly larger. I put some foil tape in the chainstays and I have already noticed spots where it's got some wear from rocks and dirt getting in there.

So, how do they ride? Pretty good. I've been going with about 23/25psi f/r, which is around the same or a bit less than my getaways (which measured 48mm). I did not put inserts in them because it seemed less necessary with the added volume. Last week I did quite a bit of extended gravel descending, first down allen creek road to turah. The last time I rode it on 40s my hands were numb at the bottom and I had to take a break and shake them out a bit. Last week it felt pretty good. Yesterday we rode up deer creek, down little park creek, and then over holloman saddle, then back on crystal creek. Nowhere did I think "gee I wish I had narrower tires."

Grip is pretty good but the rear will slide around a bit on hard braking. The edge knobs bite pretty good though, and you do get used to riding a file tread type tire and learning that the grip is better when they're leaned over.

Durability is questionable, but good so far in the real world over rocks and stuff. However I got a silly puncture at slow speed on the kim willaims trail, presumably from a piece of glass or something that needed to be plugged and now I need to go patch the inside of the tire. They do not have the best puncture protection rating but they are fast and comfy.

Treadwear is also already noticable on the rear after only 300mi so I might be going through a couple of these this summer. Schwalbe does make 3 versions with differing tread so there are many possible combinations of tire, from the RS front and rear to the more aggressive RX, and they all test fast on bicycle rolling resistance and in the real world.

I guess the real conclusion is that big tires are absolutely the way to go for gravel and trails. It surprises me to see new gravel race bikes being released that only fit 45s. Basically, IMO if you put out a new bike it better fit 2.2s. 

Challenge Getaways

 Last summer I was just riding along and sliced open one of my pirellis (ok i was going too fast through a loose, rocky, downhill turn in the middle of glacier), and after a couple seasons on the same tires i decided to try something else. We had some nice, big 45mm challenge getaways on the shelf and my new bike had the room to fit them so that made it a pretty easy decision.

These tires look really good and are like big fluffy clouds to ride on and they go fast. For tires that actually have tread, they are one of the fastest things on bicycle rolling resistance. Out of the box they measured over 47mm on a 23mm hookless rim and are more like 48mm now even at 25psi.

So that was the good, but there are some drawbacks. Mainly, cornering grip is not really great especially if it's loose. the big edge knobs of the pirelli gravel RC are really good and those come in big sizes too. I also do not trust these around sharp rocks. But after nearly 3k miles of riding through the fall and spring I have not had any punctures and now they're due to be replaced.

These definitely get my "would buy again" seal of approval, and they look good. But next I'm going to try the new schwalbe g-one r/rs pro in 50mm, so we'll get that posted sometime soon once I put them on.

Schwalbe Rick XC

 Got some new mtb tires this spring. On my trek hardtail I had been riding schwalbe thunder burts for the last two years, and while i like them and they are really fast, I wanted to go to something with a bit more grip. Enter schwalbe's new Rick XC, which is supposed to be wider, faster than a racing ralph, and have more grip than the thunder burt. So I got some.

here it is compared to my thunder burt

Listed weight is 760g for a 29x2.4 and one of them was there, at 750g, but the other was not.

Soooo, the heaviest tire i've had in awhile. But at least it's 2.4" or 62mm wide, right?

This is on a 29mm internal width bontrager rim.

So, that's not great. a 2.25" tire that is almost 800g. Not thrilled.

But how do they ride? well, seems pretty good. They are fast and the traction when you lean them over is good. the edge knobs bite and pull you through the corner really well, and I like that from a tire. Some just kind of feel the same no matter the lean angle where others really grab and give you some confidence and get the bike turning.

I've ridden these down our local rim and tire wrecking trail- chopsticks on mt sentinel- a few times, with no slices or punctures, so that's good. My friend Phil has not had great luck going down that one.

I also went down my local smooth and fast trail- ravine, and set my 2nd fastest time ever without really trying to go fast.

So, in conclusion, it's a pretty fast tire with more traction than the thunder burt. BUT, it is narrower than listed and might be heavy too. I'm going to keep them but probably won't be my next tire unless they fix them to actually measure 2.4" wide (and I did give them a good amount of time at high pressure to stretch out).

The new Vittoria Mezcal

 Being one of my favorite tires, I was excited to see a new version of the Mezcal floating around last year, ridden by pros and sponsored riders. They released them this spring and I ordered a set for the hei hei, which had been rolling on some syerras since last summer, and was due for some fresh XC tires.

Here it is next to the old mezcal. The previous xc-trail and xc-race tires were both available in 29x2.25 and 2.35, which is kind of not a big enough difference to bother imo but anyway the new one is now a 2.4, or 60-622. The old tires were the "anthracite" grey casing for the trail version and then a tan wall for race, both 120tpi but a little thicker on the trail version. The new "XC RACE" tire is 60tpi and available in both black and tan, with no apparent difference between the two other than color. I would have preferred black I think but tan was the color actually in stock so hey lets try a new look

Pretty good what with the matte green frame accents and copper chain and such. Guess I have an earth tone vibe going currently.

In addition to being wider and possibly more durable than the previous race version with the lower thread count, these use a new rubber compound that is supposedly softer, grippier, but still faster rolling. It also costs $10 more at retail, which to me seems a little strange given a lower thread count casing and a single compound rubber, where the old tire had a "4c," 4 rubber compound. That's one hard base layer, a medium hardness down the center, and then softer on the cornering knobs. So probably they're going to wear out faster and might have been cheaper to make. But it's ok vittoria i still like your tires.

I put both on the scale, listed weight is 730g, mine measured 742 and 760. I measure both because I'm a nerd and also to put the heavier one on the back. So a little heavier than they say, and not any different than the old xc-trail 29x2.35 I pulled out of the package (i think it was 750ish).

Maybe you can do this with most tan wall tires but it's a little unsettling that you can see light through the sidewalls

Seems like I should stay away from sharp rocks... The weight and thread count at least suggest similar durability to the old xc-trail, which i always felt were pretty reliable.

It does also appear the tread itself is slightly wider on the new 2.4 when put up next to a 2.35 but I didn't actually measure it

Anyway, I have a couple rides on them, both up mount dean stone actually. First one was thursday with team stampede, up to the top and back down. Then saturday after work I did a longer loop, riding up dean stone, across house of sky, down into pattee through sam braxton, up crazy canyon to the top of mt sentinel, and then back into town via chopsticks and the moZ.

So we did hit a few rocks out there, especially down chopsticks, and I managed not to slice open a brand new tire.

These haven't been tested on bicycle rolling resistance yet (as a pro member I voted for them as well as the new peyote), but the old version is pretty fast and definitely felt fast riding it. These new ones also feel fast, and currently my mtb tire speed butt dyno is calibrated to the schwalbe thunder burt, the fastest tire tested by BRR, on my pretty lightweight hardtail. So, "feels fast" to me coming from that bike at least is some sort of an indicator that they actually are.

The casing is still light and supple with the lower thread count and feels good. You could say lively, springy, responsive perhaps. The rubber is definitely soft and grippy and i didn't notice a loss in traction compared to the slightly worn syerras. But a new tire with fresh, sharp knobs always feels good.

So yeah, initial review, seems good. mainly I like that they have a bit of extra volume. Probably the only reason to not ride a 2.4 XC tire these days is if you weigh 100lbs. Wednesday night we're on the traditional xc course at marshall, which, I'll probably ride on the trek but it is tempting to take a spin on the hei hei, which definitely gets down to the bottom faster and is more fun, but probably is actually slower over a full lap due to the weight and tire difference. Should probably do some back to back test laps some day.

Tire review - Schwalbe Thunder Burt

 Last summer before butte, I found myself with two sets of mtb tires that were getting a little worn down and wanted something that was fast, light, and had fresh tread for the race. The racing ray/ralph combo was been pretty good all around on the hei hei but is a little on the heavy side (770g/tire for 29x2.35 super ground). Pirelli XC/RCs are light at 700g in a 2.4 but never really felt super fast and after a spring of use the grip had fallen off significantly despite the tread wear still looking fairly ok (this is common with XC tires though- the fresh, sharp edges on the little knobs do a lot of work). It also turned out the pirellis test slow on bicycle rolling resistance. They looked cool I guess but yeah no sorry won't be buying those again.

So, deferring to the bicycle rolling resistance charts I went with the fastest tire they've tested- the schwalbe thunder burt

I'd always been curious about riding tires like this full time but was a little cautious. The kenda sabers are super light and fast and flimsy but only come out on special occasions, where these I was going to ride all the time on the hardtail plus at butte on the hei hei.

In 29x.2.25, super ground casing (there's also a lighter super race, which according to brr is slower) they came in at about 630g and measured a little on the small side with my 29mm internal width rims. I want to say 2.2 or so. Skinny and not much to them but the larger size was out of stock. With these on that loose sandy butte course, especially in the first half, I was a little all over the place but on a more normal trail and hardpack dirt they're fine. And they went fast and made it through the race. I didn't weigh my bike but with 630g tires and 1200g wheels, I'm guessing well into the 24s.

With that first set getting pretty worn I recently bought another set because I couldn't come up with a better option. This time n 2.35. They measure true to size on the same wheels and came in at 700g each. Been riding them at 19/20 psi f/r and they give a nice good cushy feel.

Mainly though, these tires roll really, really, really fast. They feel as fast as a good road tire going across town on the pavement and the bike just flies uphill out on the trails. Plus, for conditions where these would be a challenge I have the hei hei with more aggressive tires. My best description of traction on these is "better than you'd expect."

Is this a good all around tire for general mtb riding? no. But if you want to go fast, this is the one. The main downside is that they are expensive for a pretty limited condition, flimsy tire, but all the tires are getting fairly expensive these days.

Pirelli cinturato gravel follow up

 Last year I put up a little review of the Pirelli gravel H that I was using. It's here.

I rode those all the rest of the year and was pretty happy with them, although by june-july, as the tires wore and road and trail conditions got drier and looser, I was starting to notice a pretty good lack of grip especially up front. At garden city gravel especially I felt like I was really lacking traction on the final descent, where I got dropped and then just barely chased back on to our group. Not long after that I bought a new front tire- the gravel RC, which is a pretty good match with a little more aggressive knobs. It's a mini version of the XC-RC (which tbh I didn't like that much) and shares the double edge knob thing you see on some other tires like the maxxis aspen and ardents etc.

This combo I like really well when you want a little more traction. The front end bites better and gives you better turn in response.

I rode the gravel H f/r for about half the year and then put that RC up front in the late summer, and overall was really happy with these tires. They don't have the most supple feel, like, say, a handmade challenge tire, but they roll fast and have good durability for all the gravel and forest road type riding I do around here. I had plenty of those impacts where you think "uh oh that might be a puncture" without issue.

So I bought a fresh set of the gravel H tires for this year, although I do also want to try some other things like the conti terra speed, or maybe a challenge getaway, which both test faster than the pirellis by a little but I do like how well these have held up. Anyway, I guess review summary is they get my "would buy again" seal of approval.

The Hei Hei's best version

 I got my hei hei cr in 2020 and since then I've changed or modified basically every component, mostly in the search for lightness and more speed on the race course. Sometimes that search went a little too far but for the most part it's trended in generally the right direction. I mean, who doesn't like a lighter mountain bike?

That is just about the best a Hei Hei CR can get, in my opinion. Right about 26lbs flat for an XL, 120mm travel bike on somewhat real tires with pedals and bottle cages and a dropper that works. There are a few things that could make it a touch lighter but some things were chosen due to availability at the time or price or both.

The highlights are that it's a hei hei. DT swiss carbon wheels, X01 axs drivetrain. guide rsc brakes, bikeyoke divine sl 125mm dropper, Industry nine a35 stem with raceface carbon bars, and an assortment of fancy little titanium and carbon bits. I also swapped the standard grip damper in the fox 34sc for a fit 4 which has more control of low speed compression, and then revalved the shock to a firm digressive tune which makes it more responsive while pedaling hard but still pretty smooth over rougher stuff (I think).

The tires are the biggest variable, and depending on what I'm doing they might be something very flimsy like the thunder burts I used for the butte 100, or the minion dhf/aggressor combo I rode for awhile but decided was just a little too heavy and slow for a bike like this. What makes this bike ride the best to me are an aggressive XC or light trail tire. This spring I started out on 2.35 racing ray/ralphs because I had them, and now it's on Vittoria Syerras, which I also rode last fall. The syerras manage to be pretty light and fast while offering better grip and durability than your average XC tire. I also have an insert in the rear tire.

It's basically a bike I can ride just about anywhere, and it'll go pretty fast and be fun while doing it. So now that it's just about perfect I'm considering a new bike of course. 

If anyone wants a list I guess I can do that

Frame: 2020 Kona Hei Hei CR
Fork: Fox 34 step cast performance, 120mm, fit 4 damper. 78psi, 10 clicks rebound, 14 lsc
Shock: Fox Float DPS, Digressive rebound firm, digressive compression firm, 0.4 in^2 volume spacer. 210psi, 5 clicks rebound
Wheels: DT Swiss XRC1501 with 54t ratchet
Tires: varies, currently vittoria syerra, 18/19 psi f/r
Cranks: truvativ stylo carbon, 34t chainring
Cassette: X01 10-50
Derailleur: X01 AXS
Chain: XX1 copper
Brakes: Sram Guide RSC w/ carbon blades, 180/160 clx rotors, ti caliper bolts, ti clamp bolts
Handlebars: raceface next R. 780mm, 25mm rise, esi chunky grips
Stem: Industry nine A35 50mm w/ ti bolts
Seatpost: Bikeyoke Divine SL 125mm
seat clamp: bikeyoke squeezy
Dropper lever: Wolftooth light action
Saddle: Shimano pro stealth offroad
Pedals: shimano XT race
bottle cages: arundel mandible carbon w/ ti bolts

Out with the transfer sl, in with the divine sl

I really like weight of the transfer sl, and also that it has a simple mechanism that will probably keep working with minimal maintenance. However, the thin tubes made it hard to get the post properly tightened and it had a tendency to either slip down in the frame or bind up depending on clamp tightness. I think possibly the hei hei frame wasn't helping either. the upper part of the seat tube is pretty short and also just a touch oversized, so the post doesn't have a good tight fit in there, which means the clamp has to be tighter to keep it in place and creates a higher force over a smaller area. Recipe for making a lightweight post unhappy, and in fact my old regular transfer liked to stick a little when cold and I think that was also due to the frame and clamp. Additionally, the stock kona clamp is bad and has a sharp edge that broke the rigid carbon post on my cross bike. The bikeyoke squeezy and wolf tooth clamps are much better.

In addition to it's finicky nature, only 100mm of travel and only up or down doesn't really suit the hei hei. So I ordered myself one of the next lightest posts out there- the bikeyoke divine SL, in 125mm. It's not that much more, but it's the longest drop it comes in.

So yeah I have added a little weight to the bike but that post does work better and the extra 25mm of drop makes a difference. The saddle clamps are not great though, I think because the hei hei's actual seat tube is pretty slack due to the bend. The front bolt is tightened down all the way and the rear bolt jammed up against the upper clamp and I broke it. So I wrapped my rails in fabric tape and dremeled a groove in the clamp and now i can get the saddle level enough so hopefully that does it. Kind of annoying that most clamps I've experienced have to be pretty much maxed out in the nose down position just to get the saddle level.

Also I put some new tires on there- vittoria syerras, which I am liking so far. And a new hardtail showed up last week. I think the transfer sl will be a better match for that bike.

Shock revalve

 In june my shock made a loud bang and started spraying fluid out of the adjusters. Damper shaft had just snapped, apparently a common issue with these things. Not covered by warranty as that is only a year apparently.

While it was being repaired at fox I thought I'd try some different valving. The stock tune from kona is a linear curve, which means that as shaft velocity increases, so does damping force. I've felt like this was part of my issue with the bike as it felt very squishy under pedaling forces, which is low speed shaft movement. A digressive valve means there is much more low speed force and then it levels off in the higher speed range.

Every fox shock and fork has a 4 digit code on it somewhere and you can look it up on the fox website to find out the details of your suspension. Mine spits out the following:

2020, FLOAT DPS, P-S, A, 3pos, Evol LV, Kona, Hei Hei CR, 190, 45, 0.8 Spacer, LCF, LRM, CMF, TC-6265/PMS-447-C Logo

The year, model, bike it comes on, length, stroke, air volume spacer size

LCF stands for Linear Compression Firm
LRM stands for Linear Rebound Medium
CMF stands for Closed Mode Firm

So now instead of linear I have digressive valving, firm, on both rebound and compression sides. I also previously swapped the 0.8 in^2 volume spacer for a smaller 0.4 which allowed me to increase air pressure to make the shock firmer while still using most of the travel. I have been at about 215psi.

The revalve resulted in a pretty big difference. At the same shock pressure it feels like the suspension barely moves when I stand up and pedal hard, yet if anything is more comfortable over bumps and rocks and roots while descending. It also uses less travel because of the extra low speed support, which keeps it from compressing as far and blowing through travel when loading the bike or pedaling hard or even landing on jumps.

I've actually been dropping the air pressure a touch, as previously I was only sitting at about 18-19% sag which is on the low side and then still not ever using full travel. Down at 200-205 I still get a good balanced feel and pedaling support but below that it starts to feel a little too squishy again. I had my rebound pretty well figured out before but now am at about the same spot with a different curve so probably need a little further adjustment there.

In conclusion it feels really good though. I'm not really sure why it wasn't this way out of the box, but I suppose they were going for a more supple feel and progressive curve where I'm looking for more of an XC race bike pedaling feel. But on the other hand it's still pretty smooth and rides nice so yeah, seems way better. Now that this bike is lighter and pedals well I'm starting to question my new bike order. But I think a hardtail will still  be nice to have, and then I can do things like keep more aggressive tires on the hei hei and put on a dropper that goes down farther and works in the middle spots.

Fox Transfer SL review

 The last "heavy" part on my hei hei was the seatpost. The 170mm standard transfer came in at 631g when I put it on our scale. That's a lot, and it bugged me having that on an XC bike. Also, it had started acting a little finicky in cold weather so I figured something else to put in there while I send it in to be serviced wasn't a bad idea anyway.

Enter the fox transfer SL, one of the lightest dropper posts out there

Two years ago I didn't even ride with a dropper but now I'm finding it to be pretty invaluable. While it saves weight, I'm noticing some compromises with the SL version of the Transfer. The main things are that it can only be up or down, and only has 100mm of travel. For trail riding steeper and rougher terrain on the hei hei, that's kind of not enough. I'd estimate I generally dropped the old post down in the 125-150mm range, not usually all the way, but still more. The lack of intermediate positions isn't as important with the shorter travel though.

The other issue is that it has thin walls and is really sensitive to clamping pressure. With the stock kona clamp I couldn't get it to stay in place without sticking, and swapped to a bikeyoke squeezy, which is super slick and low profile and light and has a titanium bolt.

It also seems to not have the tightest fit in my seat tube, which is likely more the frame's issue although I haven't measured it, and could also be why the old post was getting finicky.

When you actuate it, you can't just be sitting on the saddle with your full weight either, as it will get hung up on whatever little latch releases the post and not drop down. You have to unweight, push lever, drop post down. Then make sure to go all the way down.

So anyway my impression is yes, lighter. A full 253g of savings, over 1/2 a pound, and the best value in g/$ I've done. But also, good for racing, not ideal for a trail bike, so I might go with something with more travel and a little heavier.

I estimate it will come in a bit under 26lbs when I go to XC tires, which is still heavier than I want for a race bike. I'm "on a list" for an orbea alma hardtail frame, and then will use my nice wheels on it and piece together the rest. I don't have my hopes up about having it for xc season though.

New road wheels

I've been getting by on some pretty busted wheels and this year finally got some replacements for both the road and cx bikes. The road bike was the first to get something as I was riding it a lot this spring and the mavic ksyriums were starting to show their age. The rear freehub still had play after first going to oversized bushings and then a bearing, and the hub bearings themselves were starting to knock. On the plus side, they were still perfectly true after probably over 10k miles of hard use ranging from dirt roads on road tires to racing cx to riding singletrack. Aside from the rear freehub issues common with mavics I don't have any major complaints.

For the road bike I wanted something more aerodynamic, and for the cx bike I wanted something wider and tubeless. While working on missoula xc stuff at the mtb missoula and cycling house office I asked Shaun if he had anything around. And yes, he did have some Heds jet 6s in the basement that he let me have for practically nothing.

They're a little older, and I had to get an axle and freehub and have them dished for 11 speed, but they're straight and wooshy. I took the giant stickers off immediately to keep the all black subtle look going but did get those snazzy tan wall vittoria corsa controls. I liked the open paves a lot and these are the new version of those. They're smooth and fast but jury is still out on durability and flat protection. I basically never got a flat with the open paves and have a couple on these already. But when you run over a staple it's going through just about anything. These are the "C2" rim and so are 23mm external, 18mm internal width. It makes the 25mm vittoria measure a touch over 27 and that's the most tire that will fit between the chainstays on this bike.

They're 60mm deep, and do seem to go faster out on the flat. Going 22-24mph just seems easier than before, although I was on the mavics with maxxis refuses last fall and for the early season this year so just going to a much faster tire is part of it. Plus getting that fitness back. I do plan to tape over all the holes for the fairings as I hear that helps. You do notice that depth in windier conditions but it's got to be pretty gusty and a crosswind for it to be much of an issue. Also, it's a different feeling from being pushed around with narrower wheels. I'd call it less abrupt, and more of like, gentle nudging.

More new tires - Challenge Baby Limus tubulars

I think I previously mentioned that I had planned to race cyclocross on Clement/Donnely MXPs again this year, ideally on wide, tubeless wheels. But that wound up not happening, because Alex at Missoula Bicycle Works had a set of tubulars sitting in the back. Seeing how everyone is now on disc brakes they weren't doing him any good so I got some new wheels.

How I learned to stop worrying about the stutter step and love cyclocross

I think I'm going into my 5th season of cyclocross, and maybe the 6th season of racing bikes. For me, a full season has been around 3-5 road events (including gravel races), another 5 or 6 mountain bike races, and then 6-7 cyclocross races. A big portion of those are the wed night beer league, where we have 4 mtb races and 6 cross races. Outside of those I don't get out much and have actually never even left town for a cross race. The only "real" cross race I've done is Rolling Thunder, and I've done that I think 3 times. Every year I intend on doing more of the wild west series, and every year it seems not to happen. Mostly because it costs money to go drive somewhere and race and I always seem to wind up kind of broke in the fall. The other is that it's the end of the year and prime time for slacking off and drinking beers.

Where was I going with this? Oh, yeah, cross racing, and racing in general, and the fact that I am not actually all that experienced or good at it. In cyclocross, you have that added challenge of needing to get off and back on your bike for runups, barriers, and other obstacles. if you are not good at running the barriers and other obstacles, and carrying speed through corners and difficult sections, you won't do very well even if you have the best fitness. The other side if this is that if you are good at doing those things, you will do better in races even if you aren't the fastest guy at wed worlds. While the pros make it look so easy and fast and smooth, getting to that point takes work, and I had not been doing enough.

New tire day

My cyclocross bike, an older Orbea terra, was built to race and not much else. It comes with one bottle cage mount, a tall bottom bracket, a steep head tube, the original brakes were pretty mediocre, and the gearing range was short. I used it as a road bike for a summer, and found the ride to be pretty harsh even with 28mm tires due to a lack of frame compliance (my road bike, with the same wheels/tires/pressures, rides much better). The plus side, of course, is it's light and fast and handles well on a race course. But over the years I've made some changes that have improved both comfort and performance.

New tire day - Schwalbe Racing Ralphs

I really should have bought some new MTB tires last year, but I never got around to it. By fall, when trails get all dry and loose, I had essentially no tread left, which did not inspire confidence and I didn't ride the bike all that much from about August until now. I also got a number of flats that needed patching on that rear tire, despite it being the EXO casing. This could be due to the new 120tpi design, which means a faster, more supple tire, but each thread is smaller and weaker. It was the 3rd or 4th ikon I had, with the previous tires being 60tpi, with a non-exo, non-tr thrown in there that had no issues.

I didn't mind the ikons, but last time around I tried an ardent race up front hoping for a little more grip. That was not really the improvement I was hoping for, I think because of the minimal transition knobs. With a high seat post XC bike and racey tires, you spend a good amount of time in that part of the tread and it's hard to get the bike fully leaned over onto the cornering knobs. For me at least. I might just suck at riding. So my plan was to try something with a little more even spacing like a continental x-king, schwalbe rocket ron, etc. My understanding is that a well defined set of edge knobs does give more outright grip when you are on them, but you have to get there first.

Eventually I decided to try the schwalbes, and wanted to go with a rocket ron up front, which has even knob spacing, and a racing ralph rear, which seems a a little lower profile down the center.

Gear ratios and calculators

You might have noticed I talk about gearing a lot, especially after buying two new drivetrains last year. The other point of view is "I don't care, I just ride my bike," but I'm not like that. Instead I like to stare at a bunch of numbers on a screen and try to determine which will be the better combination of gears. While there is definitely merit to just riding a bike, if going up hills seems too hard, or you are always spinning your pedals too fast on downhills, it's worth considering different combinations. And then, if you're doing what I did and going to a 1x setup, it's a good idea to compare what you're getting with what you have.

Another 1x11 review

This year I swapped both my mountain and cyclocross bikes from 2x10 to 1x11 drivetrains. Like I mentioned, this is simpler, lighter, easier to use, and tends to keep the chain in place better with the big chainring teeth and clutched derailleur. And like I did with the mtb drivetrain, I figured I should get a little use out of the new cx parts before giving it much of a review.

Words about my new road bike

I mentioned a new road bike awhile ago, but didn't really go into detail. I've been riding it all year and figured it was time, since I want to get a little more into talking about equipment and different rides and routes instead of myself all the time. I guess posts about trail work and the zootown derailleurs would be good ideas too.

Yeah, about that new road bike. It's nice

New parts for the CX bike

Cyclocross season just started, and this will be my 4th season on the Orbea. Apparently that is a long time to have a bike now, and I've heard "you should get a new one" quite a few times. I guess that would be nice, but I already bought a bike this year, and the cx bike just needed a bit of maintenance. Until now, about all I've done is put on new tires when they wore out. And replaced the chain once. So, after all that time and a few wet and muddy events, the shifting quality was not like new. It still worked, but sometimes shifts on the rear cassette were slow or I'd have to overshift to get to a bigger cog. Of course fresh cables and housings would have fixed the issue, but where's the fun in that?

Sram GX 1x11 MTB drivetrain 1000 mile review

This spring, I finally caught up with the rest of the world and got rid of the front derailleur on my mountain bike. Now I've got some good miles and a few races on it and thought I'd write some more words. I see way too many reviews of stuff that consists of "hey check out these new parts, looks cool, right?" Well, try it out for an extended period of time and get back to me. So that's what I've done, and the conclusion is that it's pretty good.