Dammit’s adventures in mountain biking

Maxxis Minion DHR’s- who knew they rolled less easily than a Hans Dampf/Rocket Ron pairing?

Compared to the Scalpel The Pace has hugely more grip, is much (surprisingly so) more eager to get into the air, and more stable when it’s up there. I think I had pedal strike 3-4 times, which I’ve never had on the Pace, and I had around an inch of travel on the Lyrik that was completely untouched by the red downhill sections.

Very, very close to bonking toward the end so wasn’t exactly sprinting through the loop, but I did wonder what my other wheels with a Magic Mary/Nobby Nic combo would be like in terms of rolling resistance.

Adrian from Pace recommended DHR2 SS as a faster rolling alternative to the Minion DHR which is on there at the moment:

But I'll try the Hunt wheel set with the Nobby Nic/Magic Mary (IIRC) before buying a tyre, and I'll try the DHR's at Rogate next weekend.

Have you been to Rogate before?

No, never been - have you?

No, it didn't appeal too much on the Swift but new bike might be a bit more fun. Didn't realise they had some less ExtremeRadGnarcore trails as well - might pop over. You have to buy day membership?

Semi slicks are great in Summer as long as you are happy with almost all your braking being done with your front wheel, they require a different riding style IME. They also last literally about 2 hard rides/races as the small blocks lose their edge very quickly.

I have (free I think) membership, and then have to pay £10 for a day pass.

What would you have on the front with an SS on the rear?

I've been riding Specialized tyres a lot so Butcher front with a Slaughter rear. I also tried a Schwalbe Rock Razor rear with a Hans Dampf front but that was toast after less than a day of Spanish rocks.

Anywhere that is largely down hill I’ll stick with the DHR’s, what was noticeable yesterday was that unless I took YOLO speed into and through the first corner I was cruising through the following ones, which isn’t the case with for e.g. HD front and R-Ron rear.

I was thinking of Minion SS on the back and DHR on the front, but maybe a DHF?

DHF will be even slower won't it?

I smashed a KOM on a descent in Epping the other week on a HD-F/NN-R combo with Rimpacts and 14/17psi, if that helps. Also was riding NN both ends when we went to Peaslake.

If you're looking for pure speed, a couple for clicks of rebound damping, will keep you more planted.

I was thinking that the Minion SS didn't look like it would have much, if any braking ability if run on the front, so wanted a tyre that would have that attribute. I was assuming that the DHF would have less rolling resistance than the DHR, but more braking than the SS.

Everything is about to turn sloppy, why not leave the existing rubber on for now and get something faster in the spring?

Fair point. Because I'm impatient I guess.

I suspect this is the spot for asking such a question as I'm about to ask...

Have Thule Wingbar Evo. Have hench enduro steed. Which bit do I need to best combine the two?

I believe a van is the current recommendation

I'd forgotten about that update. For parking related reasons I'm trying to move away from the extra-LWB, hi-roof Sprinter I've got and use my R53 Mini for mountain bike toting duties...

Clearly I'm an idiot.

Or a Porsche 911 cabriolet.

561 Outride gets my Pace on the roof, and would do so for the 911 if I got the rest of the roof rack out of Matts garage.

I had the Lyrik serviced, thinking it couldn't hurt after two weeks of downhilling every day, and I had the shock tune in the RT3 established and transferred to a Super Deluxe Ultimate, which was serviced at the same time.

Fork – condition – Excellent
Lack of lubrication in damper side Work Done
 Stripped & Cleaned
 Full Service
 Replaced the damper oil 5wt
 Pressurised to 88 psi
 Tested for performance & Set up
 Rebound from 4 clicks from max – Compression 2 clicks from Min
 During first use the Fork may produce some lubricant from the new seals
Just wipe it off after the ride, this is normal.
Rear Damper – Condition – Excellent
Work Done
 Stripped & Cleaned
 Full service
 Replaced the damper oil 7.5wt
 Fitted 2 polymer shock bushes
 Pressurised to 180 psi & balanced
 Dyno tested
 Rebound from 5 clicks from max – Compression Min
 Tested in water bath to ensure air tightness
 During first use the shock may produce some lubricant from the new seals
Just wipe it off after the ride, this is normal.

Pike or Fox 36 for 150mm?

Neither

Assuming this is for a hardtail. Why would you want a 150mm forked hardtail for Swinley?

It's not for Swinley, but it occurred to me that a hardtail would possibly be better suited to going there from time to time than the big full suspension bike.

Why not Scalpel?