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Where in Italy was that from Alex?
www.Lordgunbicycles.com - free postage kicks in when you buy some other stuff 😉 Ordered Weds, Shipped last night. Apparently ParcelForce will delivery into my sticky hands on Monday.
Cheers Alex.
Just replaced my NNs with Minions.
Here's a comparison:
2.8 apex NN, and 2.8 Minion DHF both on Halo Vapour 35s (30mm internal width)
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Nics wider, any chance you could measure across the carcass please.
Well the NN survived a rocky beating around the black mountains
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Mountains MTB - June 2017[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
I'm going to leave it on for BPW. That's the kind of rebel I am 🙂 I will be taking a spare tyre in the car tho!
The Minion's survived the Aston Hill Enduro (was dry thankfully) and were just brilliant. There was some pretty tricky off camber sections and they just gripped and gripped while lots of others slide and fell! A few times I got my lines wrong and they were so confidence inspiring that I could just lean it over and know it would find traction.
Very impressed so far although do need to gets some longer forks as had a LOT of pedal strikes.
So Maxxis have brought out 29+ DHF and DHRII. Having seen the 27.5+ DHF, clearly these are going to be monsters. Eye watering Maxxis prices would be enough to put me off tho.
Having sung the praises of my NN after a rocky beating in Wales, it then went flat in the van. Pumped it up, went flat again. Stuck the new rekon on, pumped it up and it was rock solid. Did 7 runs of BPW without so much as a burp. Ran the rear a little harder, didn't notice any reduction in grip.
Not sure I'll go back to the NN as the rekon doesn't roll that much slower. And I'm too lazy 😉
I'd have thought the Rekon much faster rolling than the NN
Well it's noticeably 'less nobbly' but I always thought the NN was one of the faster rolling tyres. They are about the same weight but the rekon definitely has stouter sidewalls.
Very pleased with my DHF front and Rekon rear combo for general riding at the moment. The DHF is mental, cannot believe what an extraordinary tyre it is. I've always been a fan of the standard versions of it, but the plus version is on a whole other level. Just booked up BPW again for 1st Aug so will probably put the DHR2 on the rear for that which means it'll most likely stay on there after that.
What pressures do you use at BPW on the B+, Alex and muggomagic, do you run them quite hard? I've been happy with WTB tyres for general riding on the transmitter, but I went round Llandegla with my boy and found the front horribly squirmy, like it would need a substantial increase over normal pressure. I wasn't riding that hard, though, so don't know if it was a case of getting used to it.
I'd have thought the Rekon much faster rolling than the NN
Nah, looks like it should from the tread, but Maxxis rubber compounds invariably trade rolling speed for grip. Schwalbe and Conti tend to lean the other way and produce fast tyres, but perhaps not as grippy or robust as Maxxis.
iirc, rolling resistance data shows that an Ikon has around 50% more rolling resistance than a race king despite then having quite a similar design.
@fifeandy - interesting. I'm still too lazy to change it back tho unless it feels super draggy. On my FlareMax I had the fast rolling WTB ranger on the back and Trail Boss on the front. Super fast, but not much use on anything but loam 😉
I've been happy with the NN. Seemed a good compromise of rolling speed/grip in corners and braking/strength/weight but I wouldn't fancy it at say Antur or anywhere in the lakes or peaks.
What pressures do you use at BPW on the B+
Ibis recommend 16/16 in the supplied NN. I ran 18/17 at BPW having burped a tyre there before on my flare max. No issues all day. Not sure a couple of PSI makes any difference but it made me feel better!
I don't find them squirmy at 16. Not on 41mm ext rims. Occasionally they feel like they 'let go' in a strange way but mostly what I experience is so much grip. Maybe I'm not riding them hard enough.
muggomagic - Member
Very pleased with my DHF front and Rekon rear combo for general riding at the moment. The DHF is mental, cannot believe what an extraordinary tyre it is
Hurrah. At last, it's not just me on this thread raving about it.
fifeandy - MemberNah, looks like it should from the tread, but Maxxis rubber compounds invariably trade rolling speed for grip.
I has a 2.8 Pacestar NN rear, replaced it with the 60a 2.8 Rekon and am definitely rolling faster. And the Rekon doesn't piss air at the sight of a rock also, which is nice
When I was last at BPW I was running the Rekons F&R. I started with 16f and 18r but it got soggy so I dropped some pressure out the front, no idea how much, and got a puncture soon after on the Bonneyville drop. Should've stuck with the pressure as it was.
Next time I'm sticking with 16/18
I've converted the stache back to 29+ (due to yet another upcoming chubby project!). I remember liking the Chronicles. Not ridden it 29+ for a year so be interesting. Certainly feels very different just riding up and down the lane. Had to move the dropouts all the way back so it ain't going to be so nimble.
It is quite monster truck feeling tho 🙂
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Stache[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4214/35261979390_c782192e67_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4214/35261979390_c782192e67_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/VHYRXU ]Fat Stache[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4132/34839798573_f7b866d4f5_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4132/34839798573_f7b866d4f5_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/V5F5ji ]Fat Stache[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
Jenson USA have the Magic Mary 2.8 listed now. Can't find them on the usual German sites or nextdaytyres yet (nextdaytyres have the 2.6 listed)
Hopefully won't be long until they appear in Europe.
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Mary plus[/url]
Minor PSA for plus fans here - DHF 3C 2.8 and a Rekon 2.8 Rear for 129 Euro
BIKE-COMPONENTS.DE Or Apex NNs for 85
Well I know that this is hardly scientific, but I took the chubby HIghTower out for an 18 mile Chiltern blast on Sunday and think it's safe to say that for me at least, it's faster than on the 29s...
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[/IMG]"27.5X2.8 Minions coping happily with Alpe d'huez so far this week
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Great picture.
It is a great picture 🙂
Now I've just built up my solaris max with NN 2.8s on Ibis 41mm ext rims. What pressure are we running on HT? On the 29+ Stache I go with 13 and 11 on 3.0 tyres / 50mm rims. I run 16/16 on the FS on 42mm rims.
I'm thinking, bit more in back but don't go silly, maybe 18/16? I'm 77kg kitted up and have yet to roll a tyre off a rim 😉
I bought a digital gauge as I didn't believe my track pump, but I'm 77kgs kitted up and am running 14/15 on my Enve M60Plus (4mm internal) rims with 2.8 Minions on my FS bike
Ta. I started with 17/16 and ended up at about 15/13. Bit skittish at the start, maybe a bit roll-y at the end. More experimentation needed. The bike tho is blooming lovely 🙂
40mm internal that is!
Took the Solaris Max out again tonight. Felt very skittery over the roots and was locking up the back wheel so easily under braking. Dropped the pressures to 12/12 and that felt amazing. Really transformed the ride. Took a token out of the Yari as it was set up for 140mm. At 120mm it ramped up too quickly for me.
Not sure I'd run such low pressures where there are rocks, but in the Forest here it's fab. So much grip. Might drop the pressures on the Mojo3 now!
So anyone going to try the new 2.8s from Spesh as per FGF
last week?
I prefer the Nobbly Nic 2.8 on the HT compared to the FS. Rode the FoD last week on the Rekon's (on my flaremax) in grotty conditions. Surprisingly grippy. Until they weren't and I hugged a tree/broke a brake lever. Not sure any tyre would have saved me tho!
Yep, definitely will give the butcher a go. Keep looking at the stock dates on hibike and it continually rolls on another few weeks. It was June/July back in April and now it's beginning of October.
Anyone else think the side knobs look an awful long way down the side on those Spesh 2.8's? May just be the angle of the photo, but looks like you'd need one hell of a lean angle to get those into play.
I bought a digital gauge as I didn't believe my track pump, but I'm 77kgs kitted up and am running 14/15 on my Enve M60Plus (4mm internal) rims with 2.8 Minions on my FS bike
I did too. Pleasantly it agrees with my track pump.
Yep, definitely will give the butcher a go. Keep looking at the stock dates on hibike and it continually rolls on another few weeks. It was June/July back in April and now it's beginning of October.
Same here, especially as the local shop is a Spesh dealer.
Anyone else think the side knobs look an awful long way down the side on those Spesh 2.8's? May just be the angle of the photo, but looks like you'd need one hell of a lean angle to get those into play.
It's worth bearing in mind how much the tyre will deform as you sit on the bike, and as you lean it over, and what shape that deformation will take. I suspect those side knobbles will 'sink' closer to the ground once a rider is on board.
Might be like the old Maxxis High Roller. Lean, slip, slip, slip, panic, grip.but looks like you'd need one hell of a lean angle to get those into play.
I bought a topeak digital gauge ages ago. Track pump is close but with scale to 120PSI, hard to tell diff between say 15 and 12. Which in chubby terms is the difference between compliance/grip and bouncy terror. The gauge on my compressor is at best a guide to the fact that there is air in the tyre.
I'm tempted to drop the pressure on the front tyre on the Solaris a bit more. Just to see what happens. It can't be any grippier, surely?
Oh and I REALLY want Schwalbe to make a magic mary in 2.8 for the sloppy season. Looks like we might have to be satisfied with a 2.6. One of those on the front and a hans damf on the back might be a good combo.
I bought a topeak digital gauge ages ago. Track pump is close but with scale to 120PSI, hard to tell diff between say 15 and 12. Which in chubby terms is the difference between compliance/grip and bouncy terror. The gauge on my compressor is at best a guide to the fact that there is air in the tyre.
Ah - yes. I've got the Topeak Mtn high volume / low pressure, which tops out at around 60psi. Makes the gauge that bit more accurate.
Oh and I REALLY want Schwalbe to make a magic mary in 2.8 for the sloppy season. Looks like we might have to be satisfied with a 2.6. One of those on the front and a hans damf on the back might be a good combo.
I suspect a little more clearance and a little less width won't be a bad thing... 😉
yeah I was thinking that too 🙂 Be fine on my Solaris I reckon and the Mojo (not that I'm taking it out in winter, it invalidates the Californian warranty!) but it'd drop the flaremax too much Cy reckons. I have some cheap 29er wheels to solve that problem.
It's one of the reasons I made The Project compatible with both; the idea of a 29er wheel, mud tyres and LOADS of clearance pleases me.
Any pics of this 'project' Neil?
Clearance wasn't the issue last night. Grip was. Rekon's were fine on the (very wet, it never stopped chucking it down all day and all through the ride) roots and the thin mud, but hitting a patch of thicker mud, they just filled, aquaplaned and went sideways. Instantly 😉
Not ridden in conditions like that for a bit, but definitely wouldn't want to be doing it often on that combo. Magic Mary and Hans Damf on the spare 29 wheels might be coming out a bit sooner than I expected.
Also have a DHF/DHRII WideTrail combo on another set of spare wheels as the Ibis won't take 29. Doubt I'll fit them tho as I can't bear to take that bike out when it's so horrible. Appears to have been designed so mud is directed into every bearing at maximum velocity!
No recent shots - am picking up mk2 frame in a week. Looking forward to it - the mk1 has been up with the builder to be used as a yard stick, so not had any hardtail fun for a while.
There will be some stuff on the usual social channels soon 🙂
marked
How are everyone's tyre holding up then?
Bridger/Trail Boss 3.0 27.5+ on the Stache look like new. Not been ridden that much but definitely a good set of decent 3 season tyres at reasonable prices. 13R/11F
Rekon/Rekon 2.8 27.5+ on Mojo3 and FlareMax. Definitely the best plus tyre I've ridden. Still rubbish in mud tho. Apparently the 2.6 is better. I'm not risking £80+ to find out! 16 PSI F&R
Nobby Nic 2.8 27.5+ on the Solaris Max. I've been grudgingly impressed with these tyres. Running them with increasingly low pressures and they have fantastic grip and are nicely damped for the hardtail. Have definitely hit the rims a few times but they've survived and without any of that traditional Schwalbe 'knobs falling off the side. 12/12 and I wouldn't want to go any lower. At 15 tho, properly bouncy and noticeably less grip.
How's everyone else getting on?
What are you using to check pressures Alex?
My Top-Peak digital gauge
TOPEAK.COM I probably should calibrate it with something else, but at least I know it's a fixed reference point for all the bikes...
Thanks.
Another £20 to spend then, hooray!
Worth it tho. Bought it originally for my (ex) fat bike. But use it on all the bikes now. It has a nice feature so you can release air to a defined pressure. Which is great as my compressor gauge is clearly not connected to the air line based on it's random positioning of the needle!