I managed to work up the nerve to hit the gap that I used to hit on the reg with the Stickle, wanted to hit on a the Vertigo rigid, and then found that the lip had been built up quite a bit the last time I was out there... so, no. Noelle was out leading a ride at BYT, and she stopped to capture the moment for posterity.
As of right now, I'm sorta convinced that the 29" wheels handled the chunk in Pisgah better than the 27.5+ on a rigid bike. I don't know what it is. I plan on trying the plussers on the rigid in Pisgah again at some point, but there was enough nasty, high speed business on Trace Ridge this past weekend to remind me how well the bigger wheels stay on line and well behaved. It doesn't make sense in my head whatsoever, being that the diameters are almost the same and the volume noticeably higher with the 27.5+.
I'm anxious to get the Stickle up in Pisgah. I forgot that one of the benefits of riding suspension that carries over to riding rigid is getting comfortable with speed and learning to read the trail further out.
Duh.
Posts
1 comment:
Good stuff.
"how well the bigger wheels stay on line and well behaved"
Think of it as cars. Small rims with balloon tires are smoother over the potholes, but your handling goes to shit. That's why many sports cars have 19" or larger rims with low profile tires. They corner and hold their line better.
I haven't ridden full + sized tires, but have ridden the Panaracer 3.0 (actually measure closer to 2.7 on standard rims) and the extra volume slows down the handling too much. A full 3.0 seems like it would be way too squishy for me. I always ride Conti X-King 2.4 on my NOX Teocalli hoops. Just enough plushness to take the edge off of a rigid, but not squirrely in the corners.
Post a Comment