All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

I just put my cush core back into the rear wheel of my bigger travel bike, but also just found out about rim savers from skills with phil's latest video. he cracked his ebike rim with a cush core in it then swaps his enduro wheel in with the rim saver. rim saver seemed to save the rim. could have been a pressure thing idk.

anyone have any comparison between a cush core style insert and a rim saver insert?

 

Dude, I literally just broke mine too. I was installing it and the rebound assembly snapped off at 5nm (supposed to torque to 6nm). I just emailed them, hoping they can help.
Very impressed with the Lift. I thought the Grip2 was fantastic, the Lift is better and easier to tune (as long as the tune they send you works for you).
Don't think I need the V2 though, since the V1s settings work great for me and I don't need a larger tuning window. AFAIK those are the only improvements, nothing really in terms of general performance?

 

The V2 also has a better rebound knob. The Lift was a huge improvement over the Grip in my fork.

 

Just a PSA; I broke the footnut rebound knob assembly on install. It's a 15mm head, torqued to 6nm. With such a big head on it, it's REALLY easy to overtorque it and snap it inside the damper shaft. I even used a torque wrench at 5nm. I think the size of the head at such low torque makes it hard to properly gauge. If you're installing one, make sure you just tighten it just snug enough to keep the oil in. Be careful.
They're sending me the parts needed to fix the damper for their cost to machine them. They sent it out same day. We'll see how easy it will be to get the rebound assembly off the damper shaft and install the new one.

 

If anyone is vacationing near Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg definitely bring the bikes. Wildside TN is an amazing place, the trails are enough to have fun on for more than just beginner riders, but they also offer something for beginner riders. I wouldn't recommend a random tourist go here that has no concept of what actual biking is or someone that only casually rides down the road in the neighborhood. I had a blast, jumped the jumps and could go as fast as I cared to.

The trails are perfect for the person who has been riding a few months and is ready to dip their toes into their first downhill park. I rode here Wednesday, took Thursday off and hiked and explored the Great Smokey Mountains, and came back Friday when all of the new trails opened.

Was going to go to Windsock Saturday, but 7pm Friday night in Knoxville I scratched that off and drove back towards B'ham, wasn't worth battling the storms.

https://wildsidetn.com/bikes/mountain-biking/

 

Finished up some Vistalite mods to give the e-bike some better eyes. The stock light has decent cutoff but leaves much of the road in the dark.

 

This sounds awesome

 

If only it had been there all the years I went to Gatlinburg for old family trips. 1 or 2 days there over the week I was there would’ve been amazing.

 

Heck yea would have! I might try to plan a trip up that way for Labor Day to hit a few places over a long weekend. Either going to be there or Pisgah.

I don’t know much about it, but Ober gatlinburg also followed suit with the bigger ski resorts and turned their “ski slopes” into downhill mtb during the summer. I think it’s a little more tame, but still two new places in the immediate area.

 

I got out for a ride on my Ti hardtail yesterday and fell in love again! It was my first real ride after a full overhaul so drivetrain is humming, brakes are crisp, and I add a Fox 34 Factory (upgraded from Pike Select).

One question for folks here on wheels/tires... I'm currently running Rekon 29x2.4 and Ikon 29x2.2 for a pretty fast rolling setup. Unfortunately 29x2.2 is about the biggest rear tire I can fit, so I've been considering setting up this bike as a 27.5+. Anyone have experience with this kinda comparison? Is it gonna feel super sluggish on the plus tires? Will there be a noticeable improvement in cushion/grip?

Pic for fun!

 

My gravel/bikepacking bike was originally built with 27.5 x 3.0 wheels/tires. The cushion was excellent, but the chain would actually rub the tires when in the granny gear. I switched to 27.5 x 2.8 Rekons front & rear. The ride was good...great grip, enough "suspension" for what I was doing on it, but holy smokes was it slow!

I built a 29" wheelset last year and put 29 x 2.35 Ground Control tires on it (about as big as I can go). The bike *feels* faster (and according to Strava, it is), has solid tires that roll fast enough and have good grip. The cushioning is reduced but not gone. I love this bike in the 29 setup. The only time I would consider going back to 27.5+ is if I was bikepacking in the desert with a lot of sand. Also, there's not a lot of 27.5+ options out there anymore, especially if you're wanting fast-rolling.

I've done the exact opposite of what you're considering. 29 is way faster. I don't feel like I've sacrificed anything in the grip/cushion dept. Now, our bikes are different...mine is a rigid steel frame and is essentially a drop bar MTB. I do ride some light trails on it but it's mostly gravel and bikepacking. Maybe not the best comparison but it's something to chew on.

 

I had a Stache with 29x3.0 and it was fun to ride, good cushion for a hard tail and tons of grip. Pretty fast downhill due to the big wheels and extra grip, but overall not a super fast bike. Just fun.

I had a FS Fuel 27.5+ with 2.8" tires, also super fun and stable handling, predictable grip, easy to ride confidently. But again, not exceptionally fast.

My current Fuel is 29x2.6. I find it to be the perfect balance for me.

It's always a tradeoff. Yes, you will have more cushion and grip, but it will likely feel sluggish. If you ride a lot of rough, tech stuff, having more grip and cushion is good. If you ride mostly gravel and groomed single-track on longer rides, I'd stay with skinnier tires. I like the less-groomed stuff, but there's always groomed stuff mixed in, so I went in the middle.

 

Been lurking a lot lately. Picked up a Carbon front wheel recently and some conti tires with the new fork and have just been putting in the miles after work. Currently in Santa Cruz with the “bike leaning of stuff” picture for attention. Overall very happy with the bike

 

Since we're doing bike leaning on stuffs.

 

Ooh, bikes leaning on stuffs AND 27.5+!

those are 27.5x4.5, and I will rock that bike year round. All the grip and cushion. I have a FS and a hard tail but will still rock that fatty on tech or flow alike. I ride a lot of the same trails and Strava will show it’s not as slow as you’d think it would be. Obviously, on XC stuff, skinny and fast rolling tires are faster, but I do pretty well with that bike. It fits me the best out of all my bikes so I ride it any chance I get.

 

Bike leaning on something invisible.

 

That perspective make the bike look like a reverse-mullet.