ocnlogan

@GumptionZA: It is a burly tire, for sure. Sort of like a beefier Magic Mary. But it seems to fit into the "you'll probably know if this is a product for you, just by looking at it" sort of category. I live in the PNW. Nine months a year its wet loamy soil, mud, and mossy roots/rocks. And its perfect for that. My previous favorite (and close contender) was the Continental Argotal (DH casing/supersoft rubber).

@GumptionZA: I’ve actually been drawn to burly front tires for winter here. Initially because of they were the only ones that I could get the supersoft compound on. But surprisingly I quite like the feel of a heavy casing up front. And the impact to pedaling isnt quite as large as it would be in the rear. So now I’ve actually found I run DH casings front, and enduro casings rear. I get all the grip and control out of the front tire, and am ok running a lot more pressure in the rear to keep it alive. Currently running a Schwalbe shredda rear/gravity radial/ultrasoft as a front tire, with an enduro soft Kryptotal rear as the rear tire. Sort of weird, but I’ve been happy enough with it that I’ve stuck with that setup for a few years now.

The enduro casing is fine imo. I’ve been on a Kryptotal rear enduro soft for a while, and have had no issues. But the DH casing is the standout of the lineup for me. It’s also suuuper difficult to j stall on my rims for some reason. But other than that it’s great.

I'd watch absolutely watch a Chris Akrigg/Braydon Bringhurst collab.

@sageoggy/@hamncheez Lol, sorry about that, fail on my part as I was trying to read this, and do some work at the same time :D. Carry on team.

I must have missed this one. Which crash are you talking about here? And video where we can see what you saw? Thanks :).

@wolftwenty1: I was mostly just saying “when you see someone overbiked, you don’t know much about them”. It could be they are new riders who are actually progressing on this blue trail. It could be this is their only bike, and this is one of the 3 green trails they ride a year. It could be a physical limitation where having more squish makes it easier to ride. Or any other number of things. So really I was just trying to say it’ seems difficult to judge others on I they are overbiking or not, without other information. For what it’s worth, I agree that people should buy bikes for what they primarily ride, rather than what they aspire to do. I primarily ride blues/single blacks, in the PNW. I err on the side of overbike, but I feel it’s definitely in the right ballpark.

This is a hard one to judge. Many people have just one bike (because they are expensive, or not enough space to store more than one, etc). So many people end up riding bikes not perfectly suited for the terrain you see them on. Simply because they have to split the difference between their riding areas. So yeah, you’ll see me and my monster truck (Kavenz VHp with 164mm travel, that weighs 40lbs, with gravity radial casing tires and coil shock), on green flow trails, or even the occasional axC loop. And yes I know it’s out of its element. But it’s the bike I’ve got. So I ride it on all the rides. The shuttle days on the gnarly trails, and the XC rides with my kids, and everything in between.

I've been talking about this a lot. The "peak" power numbers aren't like 10 second bursts. These bikes are over the USA level limit of 750w (either peak or continuous), for the full duration of what would work out to a ~1500ft climb. That is significant. The Avinox motors are getting closer to pit bike/small electric motorcycle power output levels. And this isn't hyperbole. The pit bikes I have for riding in the backyard with my kids have 2000w output (3000w peak) and 200nm of torque. These are Tuttio Soleil 01's. Given that the jump from gen 1 Avnoix motors, to Gen 2 was 500w of output (1000w peak during short term boost, to 1500w peak, and 120nm to 150nm), it is totally conceivable that the next generation or so of Avinox motors could match the output/torque levels. Also, I've found that many people who haven't either ridden a smart trainer/used power sensing pedals/cranks don't have context for how much effort it takes to match a given wattage. Many cyclists have a hard time outputting more than 250-300w for more than a few minutes at a time. Most people have a hard time sprinting over 1000w, for more than 5 seconds or so. And, this isn't really a dig at Avinox motors. I hear besides the power output stuff, they've got a ton of great features. I just personally would much prefer the 750w limit remain, and get a smaller/lighter version of their motor, to retain a more "bike like" experience. As at a certain point, if you keep adding power, the riding experience diverges away from "I'm riding a bike and its helping me" to something else entirely.

As someone who was interested in finding better F/R balance (after a Kona Process with 425mm chainstays across all sizes), I'm loving seeing more options for people wanting better balance across all sizes. I picked up a Banshee Titan shortly after its release as a way to chase this, and love that it was called out. Great bike. The Raaw was my second choice (too pricy for me at the time, but love it otherwise). Currently riding a Kavenz VHP, and shoutout to them, they have been super receptive to user feedback. They now offer 0, +5mm, +10mm, + 15mm, + 20mm, and + 30mm chainstay lengths available via different dropouts. So you can have your cake and eat it too (choose your own adventure chainstay lengths).