We have similar conditions to yours in Prescott, near San Diego, California, and I have ridden extensively in Arizona. There are a number of tires that claim to be hardpack and dry-condition specialists, but there is only one that has proven itself to be capable in all forms of arid trail conditions - sand, slick-rock, marbles-over-hardpack, gravel, and loose shale. I also assume, by your pressures and pinch flat problems, that you are not riding tubeless - which is an absolute necessity in the Southwest. Buy some 2.3-inch Maxxis High Roller II tires and install them tubeless with a Stan's kit on both ends of the bike. Start at 30psi up front and 32 psi in the rear and I think you will recover your mojo and start enjoying one of the best states in the US to ride a mountain bike. - RC |
How the West was won: many tire makers claim to have the magic tread pattern that can find grip on loose, rocky and hard-packed soil, but none can compare to the Maxxis High Roller II. They aren't the fastest, nor the smoothest tire, but in dry conditions, High Roller II's rule. A great many riders in the arid Southwestern US run them front and rear.
I'd recommend going with the 12-36 tooth cassette to start, since it sounds like you're due for a new one anyway. That way, if you are looking for even easier gearing in the future you'll still be able to drop down to a 30 tooth ring. I will warn you that even with a narrow wide ring you might still end up needing to run a chain retention device of some kind since you don't have a clutch type rear derailleur. The clutch mechanism helps prevent the chain from getting bounced around enough to pop off of the front, which can happen even with a narrow-wide ring. You might also want to consider what it would cost to upgrade to a 10 speed set up. It will probably add another $100 or so on top of what you were already planning on spending, but that will give you a clutch rear derailleur and one more gear. Plus, once you move up to the 10 speed world you'll have the option of purchasing a conversion kit that will allow you to create an 11-42 tooth cassette, just in case the 32 x 36 ends up not being easy enough. - Mike Kazimer |
The good news is that your fork is not broken, but the bad news is that the bottom-out dial atop your BoXXer's left leg is always going to be a bitch to turn when the fork is pressurized. The trick to getting the dial to turn easier is to let the air out of the fork, but be sure to use a shock pump to note exactly how much pressure you had it at before doing so in order to keep from having to start setup from scratch. It's a pain in the ass, no doubt about it, and RockShox knew that as well because it has been replaced with a much simpler and lighter system for 2015 in the shape of the Bottomless Tokens first employed in the Pike - simply add or subtract the volume-reducing spacers to tune the ramp-up that you're looking for. Yes, you still have to de-pressurize the fork, but at least it shaves both weight and complication. Your 2014 fork is already running the new Charger damper, and you can upgrade it to 2015-spec (minus the new fork lowers) by installing the new Solo Air Spring system that features a revised spring curve and the aforementioned Bottomless Tokens. The new Solo Air Spring assembly retails for $188 USD, and it looks simple enough to install that you might not even have to pay anyone to do it for you. - Mike Levy |
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That said, maxxis HR2 are really good tires if you want to swich, might just be a bit overkill for a XC bike...
Works flawlessly even with air in the fork. I didn't make that up either, as Shawn Cruikshanks told me to do that and I believe he knows what he's doing! (just in case you'd worry about your fork)
From now on i drop the pressure by half and adjust the knob.
Page 51 part 37
www.sram.com/sites/default/files/techdocs/2013_rockshox_spc_rev_b.pdf
In this case, it is not 'What would Jesus do?', but 'What would Jared do?' Run tubeless for Enduro, that's what.
But seriously, reallybigmantis has a really good point. I would say go forth and experiment and find the right rim/tire/tubeless system/pressure combination for you. As long as you are willing to sacrifice having to carry a spare tube for when your experiment goes wrong, you may end up with the ultimate system for you. It took me years to get mine dialled, and I will never run tubes again.
But go on being a sheep and not understanding why anything works the way it does, and just buy the crap people flash in front of you.
Otherwise you may come across as nothing more than a reactionary loudmouth, and you wouldn't want that would you(?)
I wasn't trying to offer an alternative tire choice or tell everyone that highrollers suck and you shouldn't use them for those conditions. They are a good tire in those conditions, a lot of people can attest to that and I'd agree. My problem is with the lack of reasoning or justification provided for why you should pick those tires. He literally describes nothing about the design/construction of the tire that makes it better for those conditions, so it's either his opinion, which isn't proper advice, or it's paid advertising, which again isn't proper advice. This is an advice column, not a sales floor.
Wait for it...............
Highrollers are good tires in these conditions, a lot of people can attest to that, even I will tell you that, but if you don't know why you shouldn't be proclaiming it as god over other tires. That sales bullshit and doesn't belong.
But if you want to think I'm crazy for wanting people to give actual advice and not sell you a product, ok, I'm loonie.
Could you enlighten me as to how you have decided to evaluate the relative likelyhood of the above two positions and how you have reached the conclusion that the advice given here about the HR2 falls into the second category rather than the first?
It's like we are agreeing about everything, but focusing on different points. I AGREE what he posted was probably one of those two things. In your other post replying to me, you asked me to provide specific metrics (30psi of this tire on these trails over X days, so on and so forth) for tire performance comparisons- THAT'S ALL I WANT FROM THIS ARTICLE! The complete lack of any defining facts to support his "professional" argument for Maxxis Highroller's god-like abilities is not acceptable. Tell us exactly what it did better, and tell us why it did that stuff better.
It's possible RC doesn't exactly know why the High Rollers perform better, he just knows they seem to when he rides them compared to other tires. That's fine, not everybody knows how things work, but it comes across as incredibly fanboy when he doesn't justify anything he writes and just say it's the best by far. He is in a professional situation where he should be giving justifiable, as minimally biased advice as possible, and he didn't do that at all. Either he is not informed enough to provide proper advice on the subject and is instead submitting his personal opinion, or he has someone putting money in his pockets to say something about them. Either way, this should not be in the article.
You could have stared in your first post with "It's possible RC doesn't exactly know why the High Rollers perform better, he just knows they seem to when he rides them compared to other tires. That's fine, not everybody knows how things work, but it comes across as incredibly fanboy when he doesn't justify anything he writes and just say it's the best by far"
Instead you chose these words: "So how much did Maxxis pay for you to push their product here? Because that's some grade A bikeshop bullshit and not actually helpful to the rider."
It betrays you Sir. It is hardly polite is it. It is hardly going to allow others to think of you as someone with a valuable point to put across is it. And it hardly makes the point you are suggesting you were attempting to make.
In addition, as gshep points out, the advice given here is "based on years of experience in the industry and in the saddle. ". That is worthy in itself, even if he does not explain the mechanics of the reasons why he believes the HR2 works best, and would work best, for the person who has asked.
At the end of the day, there are more than enough varied opinions coming from the journos on PB to convince me that people are giving their considered opinions after countless hours of riding a wider variety of bikes than any of us could hope to; go ahead and look back at the long term reviews of PB contributors and you will find both positive, negative, and supportive reviews as well as those that give advice of products to avoid and the reasons why. Of course, all journos are at risk of being overly positive ir negative about products, however it is about time that the readership of PB gave these people a modicum of credit, and at least the benefit of politeness when questioning their opinions.
Grade A Bikeshop bullshit? Learn a little respect, or you will be given very little of it yourself, and rightly so.