Thank you for sharing. I will keep an eye out for you at Breck. I decided on Rick XCs for the race. I promised myself I will back off on the rocky sections and take the speed everywhere else. 26 or 28 tooth is an amazing choice for Breck - smart move.
Joe, seen your posts here some so good to see the video.
I did Trans Iowa too haha. That’s a beast.
I’m curious about a couple things!
-
That’s obviously a twisty trail You’re riding there similar to lots of stuff here in Alabama. How hard are you pushing it in the corners? I could see two methods of this with one being riding normally where you always are using the tires traction in the turns. The other way would be to lollygag a bit going into the turns that way your neutralizing the cornering potential of each tire. I would presume the first one I stated because it seems like you’re trying to test overall performance here yeah?
-
I can’t see much of the spreadsheet you have on there… do you have temperature in any weather stuff like that along with the test?
Thx and good luck at Breck Epic!
The 26 is so CUTE!!! It is really weird spinning along at 80rpm and going so incredibly slow LOL. But you know that “beep of despair”? Well with the 26 I’ve got one more gear before hearing it. (I kinda hate that beep)
Lollygaggging. Except for a couple of corners I’m not pushing very hard. I only tap the brakes once per lap. I think this helps with consistent lap times but, it’s true, the way I’m riding the lap isn’t really testing cornering. When the track is running fast and I’m on fast tires I have to work at it a lot more. But it’s a limitation, no doubt. As is…
No and between that and the speed of the track changing I’m not able to compare day-to-day like you are. I think it’s good at “which is faster, A or B” but not at all good for getting a crr.
Is there an easy way to do this? I think I read you had to do something to make golden cheetah work off road. If it’s involved then let’s skip it…but if it’s easy maybe I could start getting a little more serious about it.
Yeah that sounds correct. Interesting about the brakes. That’s good.
As far as getting CRR from it in Golden Cheetah… maybe, but I think I know how in a separate python code i use some. Message me the .fit file (not gpx) and I’ll be happy to give it a shot.
Just a quick note: I switched out to the Pirelli Scorpion XCRC yellow label and have found them to be very fast feeling on pavement, and equally good on dirt, at least on East Coast Carolina’s dirt
2 Likes
I rode everything from the start to bottom of powerline and back today. Course is in good shape. Got a PR going down powerline without pushing it despite having to deal with some traffic. Power numbers are looking decent and feeling pretty good at altitude. I wish I wasn’t carrying a few extra lbs. but it’s not costing me too much time based on segment comparisons from prior years. Weather has been spotty all week, got a good dosing of rain, sleet, and hail today. Today was my last long ride, this coming week will be shorter stuff while still doing a few low threshold efforts on the climbs.
1 Like
Since we’re in the tire thread…..what tires?
Joe
1 Like
Whoops, my brain was in the leadville thread. Well, the switch from race king 2.2 to dub rr 2.4’s has been pretty boring. I guess that’s a good thing. I dropped my pressure a couple PSI (down to 18/16) and it feels better on the chunk and a little more grip climbing compared to the 2.2’s, but I’m probably not taking full advantage on the descents. But I really need to start banging rims a bit to feel where the new limit is and I have no desire to do that this close to the race.
2 Likes
Joe I had no luck with those files you sent unfortunately. Laps are way too long to make good use of with Chung method/aerolab… at least now we know haha.
FWIW if I was doing timed laps of this length I’d do less of them. Prob AA/BB and call it a day. Thx again for sending those!
1 Like
Hi, has anyone used specialized ground control and/or fast trak for xc? Im looking for some wet wetaher grip, i dont want too much drag but really at the minute my confidence is low on the wet stuff so id trade a minute bit of speed for some more confidence and predictability (and therefore, speed, i hope). They look like they fit the bill and as im on a budget i can get a good deal on them if they do suit.
Alternatively, opinions on the schwalbe range? Like i say, more aimed towards slick mud - roots - wet rocks - wet everything and some loose gravel.
29" and max clearance is 2.35"
Thanks.
T7 compound ground controls or fast traks are popular here in Pisgah for wet roots and rocks. Schwalbe speedgrip compound is pretty scary on wet roots in my experience.
3 Likes
Cool thanks! I went for the GC in a 2.35 for the front and a fast trak 2.2 for the rear.
2 Likes
I had a few good race days on the ground controls. They aren’t the fastest, but are pretty good, especially id you can take advantage of them on the descents. The fast track i would put on the rear was clearly faster, but didnt use it a ton. I would swap to ray/ralph for all the bigger races I had time for. Honestly, Id probably prefer the ray/ralph to the ground control in the mud, but that is so dependent on type of mud, etc.
2 Likes
I had Racing Rick’s on my bike for what I was expecting to be a dry day in the Midwest only for it to pour the night before a race. I thought I was screwed, but the Ricks turned out to be very good on the wet rocks and roots. It seemed the small knobs shed the wet dirt and mud and then gripped the wet roots. A lot of others were getting the tale-tell rear wheel slipping as they peddled over them but the Ricks held traction.
3 Likes
Racing Ralph/Ray combo or even a a Ray or Ralph up front with a Rick in the rear feels right at home on damp or wet trails. I have also ridden some Ground Control/Fast Track in the wet and the cornering traction was not good enough for me to try it again. Ten years ago Bontrager had a legit XC mud tire called like Jones Mud X or something like 2.0 or 2.1 and it was bees knees. I don’t do much mud riding or racing but I did a mountain bike TT a decade ago where it poured for 4 hours and that tire was great haha.
3 Likes
I rode the Vitorria Peyote at Leadville this year. It was dry but they really had good grip. I’m not a big mtb’r so I can’t compare them to a lot of other tires, but I was very happy with them.
4 Likes
So, I need some advice.
I am gonna participate in a 110 km XC event. Apx 50% singletrack and the rest smoooooth gravel. The course this year had more gravel than expected. Alpine singletrack, some loose over hard but mostly good alpine singletrack with a lot of chunky rocks. Everybody rides FS, and downcountry bikes are preferred among the common men. The weather until the event looks kind of dry so probably not expecting mud. Almost no roots. 14.00 16.00 and 19.30 int this yt video minutes illustrates the singletrack-terrain quite well (not me in the video).
I have done this event several times befor, but now I am recently back functioning after som health issues and plan to fight against the broom-wagon. I will take all the help I can get. My tire choice was all set until i had a snakebite which destroyed one of the tires. Rekon Race 2.4. f and rear. Now that I have to buy at least noe new tire, and the fact that the course has got more gravel than expected have made me want to optimize more for gravel. I have never tried Aspen but reports say the rolling resistance is very low ant that they work surprisingly well inn singletrack conditions.
1 - Buy a new Rekon Race
2 - Buy an Aspen 2.4 Teamspec, and go Aspen rear and RR Front
3 - Buy two Aspen 2.4 Teamspec, and go Aspen rear and Front
What would you do ?
I have not ridden the team spec but have ridden Aspen 2.4s for the last year. I’d be hesitant to throw on a Team Spec up front from what I’ve heard about them and my experiences with the regular Aspen. Especially with you coming from a Rekon race which has a lot more traction.
I saw some small mud puddles in that video you shared and that’s where a regular Aspen turns into an ice skate, can’t imagine doing it on the ST. I’d go Aspen up front/team spec rear or some other combo. In the dry I like the way the Aspens corner but there is some vagueness to them before they bite.
1 Like
Has anyone tried both Ricks and Peyotes? I have trained on Ricks all season and raced them at Leadville, great tires, very fast, no flats. Rear is about done, so considering either moving my front to the back and putting my Ray up front for more fun riding this fall. I really prefer higher-volume tires, though, so I’m considering grabbing a couple of Vittorias.
The Ray F / Rick R combo is great. its what I used at Sea Otter this year and it was perfect.
I’d love to try Peyotes, but seem to have acquired a lifetime supply of Thunder Burts, so I won’t be buying Peyotes anytime soon.
3 Likes