Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

Is running a enduro rear wheel (or pair of wheels) on a hardtail bridleway smasher a silly idea or am I just getting lost in industry categories? Seems like running a fat tyre on 30mm internal rim might be quite nice for the chalky terrain I normally ride.

industry categories

You must buy upcountry wheelset immediately!

Seems like running a fat tyre on 30mm internal rim might be quite nice for the chalky terrain I normally ride

I believe @umop3pisdn rides a setup like that in a similar part of the world?

I am similarly relatively local to Bedgebury and have enjoyed it on numerous occasions. I’m not technically gifted though, so I never felt I needed a more technical challenge. Surrey clearly has the goods but sod driving on the m25 just to go cycling.

Depending on what you’re after and where you are there is an impressively dense collection of bridle paths on the ridge between igtham and Sevenoaks (and beyond to limpsfield) which are fun to explore, but not technical at all.

I’ve always heard bluebell hill mentioned, outside Maidstone, but have never worked out how to access the trails that are there.

Sounds interesting - IIRC (maybe wrongly) you're 75kg? Asking a somewhat personal question as (if that photo is your shock) I've got a 500 lbs spring at 79kg, and I'm wondering (ahead of my measuring stick arriving) how much travel I'm using.

That's the spring that came with it, which is almost certainly too soft for my weight. I've got a 450 and 500 coil in the post, most likely the 450 will be right for my weight plus a fair whack of HSC. I'll see how the 500 feels but suspect it'll be too stiff

I'm also debating to try a progressive coil further down the line, once I've found my base spring lbs

It definitely looks cool as fuck, which is the most important thing

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When I spoke to TF Tuned about rising rate coils they said "they're marketing", but I'd like to try one. I admit I estimated what my riding weight would be using total guesswork.

Although I'd want to do a deal more riding on my 500lb spring before picking a Valt from this range: 400-488lb, 450-550lb, 500-610lb

@sacredhart Not sure a 30mm internal is enough for proper fat - I've got a nominal 3" tyre on a 35mm internal and is comes up more like 2.8-9".

I had a 2.6 on a 30mm internal on the back for summer and tbh it wasn't quite wide enough - and felt super draggy, though the squish was nice. Gone back to 2.35 on the rear for winter, mostly for clearance (Clarance).

This is 29", not sure about B+

I'm interested to see how this goes. I asked them the same thing and they were like -"just get a DB Air CS and it'll feel like a coil."

The Nukeproof triple cable guides fit the Flaremax if you're looking to replace the plastic cable guides.

Dual springs are pretty common in off-road motor sport, I'm surprised they're not a thing in MTB.

"just get a DB Air CS and it'll feel like a coil."

I was told that they don't advise coil, after some people tried it and used the wrong spring, so the coil bottomed out and binded before hitting the bumper, I think. "Just stick with the air shock it came with"

Which to me reads "just don't use the wrong spring, and it'll be fine"

It feels amazing already, quick spin up the road just now confirms it's all working. I can initiate travel just resting my hand on the saddle, which is fun

Dual springs

??

Actually I suppose I'd logically go for the 450-550 spring. My current one is a 502.

Correcting this as I just spoke to TF Tuned - if you ride a ~500lb linear spring then the progressive spring should start at that, so 500-610lb would be the one to go for.

This looks absolutely sublime and furthers my desire to build a coil front and rear fs Marino...

End to End ? its designed for horses so its really not that fun to ride in one go because the gradients and surfaces are not ideal for riding quickly. Id ride the peaks 200 instead for a similar challenge with better trails .

I ordered a Valt to see what it’s like, maybe we should have a spring library or what we all have in case it would benefit people trying to dial in what works best for them?

Ffs why do mtbs have to have so many different options? Won’t somebody think of the indecisive people? I’ve waded through most of the choices I need to make, but I’m stuck on the question of short or mid travel. Will it make any real difference? Will I regret feeling overbiked or will I find myself thinking “the rear shock, it does nothing!”?

Can someone just tell me what I want please? With enough authority that I just nod my head and do what I’m told. Ta.

Can you do sweet jumps?

I’m looking at peak 200 at the moment as a challenge for my 40th. Looks bloody tough

Lol no, my wheels are either firmly on the ground or somewhere over my head.

When you say short do you mean 80mm or 130?

Get a trail bike in your size that you can afford. It’s the mid ground between xc and downhill. Ride it and then decide if you are continually over or under biked or if you have found the Goldilocks bike. If it ain’t right sell it and buy something more suitable, if it’s right then buy magura brakes and spend the rest of eternity bleeding them and having a bike you can’t ride.

This is probably the best buyers guide I've ever read