Bicycles!

mb> said:
Thx bikerector bikerector . Yeah, I follow JOM/Gravel Cyclist. He's hammered the tire width subject quite a bit. Lots of options in 40+mm these days.

Funny you mention the spreadsheet...I started one of those last year. Much easier to compare the VAST array of options that way.
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There are a lot more options in wide tires now. I was looking through some old documents and remembered an article I wrote on cyclocross tires. Back when 32-35mm was big. Everyone racing was on CX bikes with 32mm semi-slicks pumped to the sky. If the roads were loose it was hardtail mtb territory (most people still on hardtails in MI). Much has changed in the 4 years since I wrote this, like bikes called gravel road bikes. Also before tubeless was reliable outside of mtb. Big fan of tubeless for gravel tires, btw. Somewhere around 28-30mm seems to be when I can get tire pressures low enough that when I get a puncture it's not simply a sealant sprinkler head and actually seals up the tire.
http://www.bikewagon.com/blog/cyclocross-tires-what-you-should-know

I will admit, I don't go much over 35mm for gravel tires most of the time. It's not that wider tires aren't better for gravel it's that I rarely have rides that are only gravel and the wide tires aren't as fun on pavement and taking corners fast. There's also the fender clearance thing as my fisti is also my fowl weather bike, until winter. Then it's a felt breed with studded tires and warm beverages.
 
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Lorien said:
got me some knobbies on the ole ebike
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Those pedals look like shin shredders.
 
CF is for a sure a miracle material. I have a road bike in Dedacciai's Scuro HCR and some of the tube walls are as thick as balloons. Despite that the ride is excellent mix of stiff and compliant.

For me though I tend to ding my off road bikes a bit too much so for that CF isn't my first choice. Ti has a true magic carpet ride, that also feeds into power transfer while being very durable, very repairable, reasonably light, and easy to take care of. The only real downside to Ti is price.

Oh and if we're talking tires for gravel make sure to check out what's going on with 650b.
 
In reference to carbon fiber durability, I give exhibit A. This is not chip resistance. This is where frame design comes in as you can make a stupid light frame that cracks pretty easily or some grams and it's able to survive a lot of abuse. The springiness of ti and steel is another reason they work well (toughness vs stiffness (edge retention ;)) . Carbon is like a super steel, it won't rust, can take a beating, and holds a sharp edge... I mean line. To be fair, I only notice frame stiffness in road race sprints where the difference in control over the bike was a game changer for me over a ti CX frame I had been racing, which came about after I buckled the ti in a crash that loaded the frame like the weight drop test (poor frame design). Ran into a downed rider's back and learned how to fly.

https://www.pinkbike.com/video/243228/

650b is interesting and there are a number of the 3T riders using their new aero gravel bike, the exploro. It's awesome but pricey and I sucked too much to get on the team but was on the ambassador squad the year before (3T kit in my sig pic).
 
That's like a Cold Steel kinda bike test. Do not want.

I've been watching people do variants of that test since the mid 90s, never fails to not impress me. All materials can have a seat at the table; the trick is to not fall into the marketing guys little world.
 
Below is my current daily ride (sorry for the stock images). Its a SPOT Brand Ajax. I love it and what's not to love? - Belt drive, internally geared hub and Carbon front folk. Then painted matte black!

Further below is my dream ride (totalling about $16k AUD). The idWorx oPinion Ti in travel spec. It weights about the same as a Volkswagen but has a very discrete battery assisted peddling thingy, is fully titanium and designed for expeditions... Like nothing breaks... ever.

Perhaps one day...
Lawrie

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I bought a Knolly Endorphin Saturday and the UPS truck should be dropping it early this week!
I wasn't going to buy until Spring but the allure of model year closeouts and other incentives was too hard to resist....and I sort of broke my 2013 full suspension Santa Cruz last week and it's getting tired anyway, so it was time.
This Endorphin is spec'ed pretty well, well enough that I can't really see anything that would bug me enough that I would have to do anything other than throwing a set of pedals on it.
Bar width isn't specified and the grips aren't ideal so maybe a swap for my Enve carbon bar and Rogue grips if the width on the new rig isn't ideal.
And the pictured tires are High Rollers but the spec sheet says Schwalbe Hans Dampf. I'm going to guess that the Hans Dampf will be the installed tires. No complaints on either tire, especially for what I paid!
Anyway, I'm excited for this one, my first new bike sice 2014. All of my others were purchased as demos or frame builds with a few dings here and there.
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Lorien said:
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Nice build Lorien!
I was looking at a coil over already. :rolleyes:$$$
I'm getting anxious waiting for the UPS truck to show with mine this week, I got the overnight delivery option from Jenson...just need those Monday morning wrenchers to get this one in a box.
But now it's off to the trails on my Stache 9 while I wait.:thumbsup:
 
Knollys and coil over dampers are not the best combination- Knolly 4x4 isn't particularly progressive, so the damper handles that. The linear rate of the coil over and the linear axle path makes for amazing small bump compliance and traction, but when things get burly, the shock wallows when it's deep into its stroke
 
Lorien said:
Knollys and coil over dampers are not the best combination- Knolly 4x4 isn't particularly progressive, so the damper handles that. The linear rate of the coil over and the linear axle path makes for amazing small bump compliance and traction, but when things get burly, the shock wallows when it's deep into its stroke
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Excellent.
I'm always happy to hear that I don't need to invest in new parts.
And I have a hardtail SC High Ball carbon that needs a rebuild this Winter so that's where my spare change is going.
 
well, I do have a brand new cane creek inline coil for sale which would fit your bike perfectly ;)
 
Lorien said:
well, I do have a brand new cane creek inline coil for sale which would fit your bike perfectly ;)
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Hmmmm.... :)
I'll get an impression on the stock setup and see if it needs any tinkering.
And being a six and a half foot 200lb rider most of my bikes have required a bunch of tinkering to make them fit.
 
Lorien said:
I sure do miss him :(
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Losing a loved and cherished friend is sooo tough Bud. No amount of nice & kind words sooth or dull the pain, but if I had to say something I'd say to live the kind of outdoors life which your Friend Lars would've also liked to live. That way, you will always carry a bit of him with you. Still painful but well worth cherishing the memories :thumbsup:
 
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