Show off your Mountain Bike!!!

All my offroad tires are at least 2.1 and 2.35 on a couple of them. Certainly aware of the terrain type variances and I may have said 40-50 but that is what gauge on pump says and it may actually have less in tire than what pump gauge says - about 5-7 less according to another tire pressure gauge so I may likely really be riding with 35-45 psi which I guess puts me in line with what most are posting here. Still like mine a little on higher side. All of mine are tubes - some self sealing and some not. Riding is aggressive until heart rate says chill a bit so a mix for the most part. I only ride lightly when the wife or kids or grandkids are along.

 

If your sidewalls are not very supportive, or your rims are narrow, wavy is a good way to put it. But if you have wider rims and tires built for lower pressures, you would see quite a difference. It's probably one of the main reasons Fat Bikes got so popular so fast. You can run those with crazy low pressures, giving a pretty good ride and tremendous grip, even without suspension. I'll be picking one up in a few months.

 

Yep, and fatty is a likely candidate to be bike #19, just scoping different options in that niche..............

 

Loving the Stache. It's not a fatty, though, it's 29+

 

Yep, Loving that area for the early season. Its always dry.. probably why it was on fire a few years ago. Still have the whole section north of the fire road to explore.

 

Nice dude. I'll be up for a test ride shortly

 

me and my cheapie.

Gets the job done, im waiting for it to break so i can upgrade but it just wont die. I guess thats good.

 

I read an interesting article about mountain bike rolling resistance that might make you feel differently about tire psi...
http://www.mtbonline.co.za/info/mtb-tyre-rolling-resistance.htm

@T@co_Pr3runn3r

 

Update on my tubeless adventure...

Had a double blowout today on a local trail, pulled up off a small root dropoff to get some air landed at a weird angle on the side of the tires and me being around 180lbs popped the bead and bleed all the air out... sadly that ended in about a mile hike to the car, thankfully it wasnt longer.
I had only one tube for emergencies... guess i need a bigger backpack so i can carry two lol
I go to mizzou for orientation tomorrow but ill fix em up later this week.

 

i can't say whether tubeless is lighter because i went to a 2.4in DH tire in the front and 2.4 in tire in the back, but im like 220 and have run high 20s with no problems. my tires are tubeless tires though. I've run like low to mid 20s before on a loaner bike and i could feel the sidewalls flexing around high speed turns.

as far as blowing a tire i would definitely carry 2 tubes. i carry two usually and a patch kit. it came in handy one day when my friend tore a sidewall like 2 miles into the trail (after a 8 mile road ride to the trail) and then two more times throughout the trail. i havent blown a bead since i went tubeless so i don't know how well co2 works for that

 

This and not making my rims try to punch thru from the inside and wavy gravy cornering is why I'll keep my pressures where they have been and ride the bike vs. walking it or jacking with flat repairs. My 2.35's at 45psi worked fabulous in mud rocks and hardpack this wknd. I think I'll leave them just how they are.............except maybe wash them off some.........

 

Still don't know where you get that "wavy gravy cornering" from, but run what pressure you like, it's your ride.

 

I have made the decision to go tubeless as soon as i replace my tires. What is everyone running on their 29ers? I am running Rocket Rons now and they are o.k. but dont have a lot of confidence in the front when cornering hard.

 

I just got knee pads because of a fall from months ago. Still have a scar.

 

I run the Bontrager XR3 Team Issue TLR in a 2.3 width. I always go for an all-around tire, and these work well for the varied conditions in my local area. Trek stepped up their game on tires a few years ago and have some really good options. For your area, something like the XR1 or XR2 may be a better choice. Your local terrain should guide you.

For those considering the change, you will get more consistent results with both rims and tires designed for tubeless. I know a lot of people go with the ghetto tubeless setup and it works just fine most of the time, but not all of the time. Blowing a bead is more likely.

The front tire on my Stache started losing pressure, it was leaking out of the rim cutouts (MuleFut 50mm rims). It turns out they didn't get the rim tape on straight, so I will have to redo it. Should have done it myself in the first place, but they offered. Back to a tube for now. Rear is holding up.

 

From weighing 210, riding semi-aggro to aggro and not liking the feeling of riding on a flat with less than 35 lbs of air regardless of whether it was wide syncros big box or sun rhyno lite hoops or something narrower like the Mavics or WTBs on some of them or 1.95 or 2.1 or 2.35 tires. It is definitely a preference thing with several factors to be considered. Everyone has their preferences and opinions and are welcome to them. I try different things I hear people talk about and sometimes it's oh wow yeah that is great and sometimes it's more nah doesn't work for me. It isn't me trying to taut my way or the highway all closemindedlike, it's just voicing what I have experienced in similar situations given my set of factors. It may help somebody it may not, that's for them to decide.

 

Another thought on my blowing beads probably has to do with the stock giant anthem rims are fairly narrow something like 19 mm inside width (don't quote me on that) I may upgrade rims in the future but I think my blowout was just a chance thing that I landed at just the right angle and whatnot.

My first ride was perfect with them

 

Peace, bro, sorry. I came off like a dick. You are right, lots of factors, and it's all about what you prefer and what works for you, your terrain, and your particular setup.

My point is, you gotta give the new stuff a chance. It works, but it may not give you the results you expect or want.

As an example, I had been running 32 rear and 30 front, but some guys at the trailhead were saying that is way too high. So, I dropped to 30 rear and 28 front. I was used to a little less traction and more drift. I cut a turn on a fast section a little too tightly expecting some drift to the outside (which didn't happen) and clipped a sapling on the inside of the turn with the handlebar, resulting in a spectacular superman flight and less spectacular landing. Just 2 psi made a big difference on grip. I may not have liked the end result, but I can't argue with the actual increase in traction. I still run 30/28 for now and will consider lower.

The other young guy they talked into lowering pressures was running tubes and pinch flatted right after I crashed. I have never been able to run less than 35 psi with tubes.

Anyway, it's physics, and traction is better with lower pressures and tubeless setups. That is a fact. But if you are blowing beads and bending rims, or you just don't like it, it doesn't really matter.

 

Just picked these up.

 

Got some fancy Spank Spike pedals.



Edit: Of course, you can't really see them though.. Haha