"Progressive" hardtails - yay or nay?

[SchralphMacchio]

I’m about to throw on oval ring on mine, not much else to do when PM2.5 has been between 400 and 600 ug/m3 all week!

[bagtagley]

I think get used to it is part of it, or maybe more like adjust. You get used to the butt kicking some but you also end up spending more time out of the saddle, especially pedaling through crud.

I tried low pressure when I installed inserts and it felt way more harsh to me than running normal pressure. Hard things would compress the foam and it almost felt like the wheel was being held up.

[Bushwacka]

I run super low pressure 200lb, 35mm rim 2.6 x 29 BLCK DMND casing. Literally rode yesterday at 15psi, no roll over , no dings, and no pedal bob. How the hell do you run 32 psi?

[iriponsnow]

Seriously.

[toast2266]

I run super low pressure 200lb, 35mm rim 2.6 x 29 BLCK DMND casing. Literally rode yesterday at 15psi, no roll over , no dings, and no pedal bob. How the hell do you run 32 psi?

He rides faster, in rougher terrain?

[SchralphMacchio]

More like, his tibia are reinforced with dual density foam and he rides with a mouthpiece to handle all the chatter!

[HAB]

One of my tibias is quite thoroughly reinforced with titanium, but I don't think that's helping with the vibration damping unfortunately.

The bike setup definitely isn't cushy. I just find myself needing to run a fair bit of air to keep air in the tires, particularly in the back of the hardtail. Inserts help, but I still bed need DD casings or equivalent too, and all that gets heavy.

[bagtagley]

Heavier but worth it. Speed and a touch of reckless abandon tend to smooth things out - on any bike, but especially on a hardtail. Add to that the occasional chatter induced blurred vision and smacking your wheels into shit becomes an occupational (recreational?) hazard. At least if you’re a hack like me.

[HAB]

Heavier but worth it. Speed and a touch of reckless abandon tend to smooth things out - on any bike, but especially on a hardtail. Add to that the occasional chatter induced blurred vision and smacking your wheels into shit becomes an occupational (recreational?) hazard. At least if you’re a hack like me.

I've run Cush Core in it before. It didn't reduce the air pressure I found myself wanting to run by all that much, and while it does mute some harder rim strikes and the like, it wasn't worth it for me personally. YMMV.

I do have a set of the Tannus inserts sitting on my workbench to try out, but I haven't gotten around to installing them yet. Not doing any riding for a bit until the air quality improves anyway.

[Bushwacka]

HAB what width rims/tires?

[HAB]

25-30mm rims (DT EX 471 and 511, We Are One Unions). Tires in the 2.3-2.4ish range for the most part.

[fastfred]

I rub one out every night thinking about my first ride on this bike
need to get another pound off the bike so it's less than 22lbs

https://spotbikes.com/collections/bi...32155013382178

[supermodel159]

^^ damn, pricey HT.

[Bushwacka]

its carbon fiber and stupid light with good geo. I just spent 3k on a Steel single speed build......

[teleposeur]

ooh she ugly!

[GeorgiaSnow]

Forgot to share a pic when the Taival finally arrived (late August). It is FUN.


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[GeorgiaSnow]

Also, per the above conversation, running that reardhr at about 25psi with airliners. Love how damp this bike is for a hardtail but could be more the frame and wheels than the tire psi. 30mm iw ex1501’s (last years aluminum, not the new carbon ones).


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[Bushwacka]

how much more air volume would 35mm rim with 2.6 bring you? any math nerd know how to figure it out?

[caulfield]

how much more air volume would 35mm rim with 2.6 bring you? any math nerd know how to figure it out?

approximately https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torus#Geometry

you gotta measure R and r for any of your rim/tire combos though and then you're left with a useless metric because who finishes a ride and goes "that would have been better with 10% more volume"

[toast2266]

approximately https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torus#Geometry

you gotta measure R and r for any of your rim/tire combos though and then you're left with a useless metric because who finishes a ride and goes "that would have been better with 10% more volume"

And the metric is even more useless since there's a +/- 30% size difference between different brand's 2.6's, so it's impossible to compare without buying and mounting all of them.

[snowaddict91]

Anyone been on the new Giant Fathom 29 yet? Numbers check out and seems like a pretty good deal, other than the Giant Fork which I'll just switch out if it sucks.

[SchralphMacchio]

Hardtail fanatics ...
Any of you running a coil fork?

Whenever I’m riding the Pedalhead on really rowdy or rough stuff, I have two thoughts:

1) No rear suspension = weak rear braking traction = get bigger badder brakes up front. Right, I’m already working on that, will try bigger rotor and if it’s not good enough I’ll try 4 piston.

2) The bike feels like it wants a coil shock. With the rear wheel skipping around on chunder and dynamically loading the fork with a double whammy (rocks coming up from below and rotational torque pushing me down from above), I wonder if it’s worth putting a coil up there whenever I find one at a can’t turn down price. Like a used or clearance Ribbon or Z1 coil ... What say you - definitely worth it, or just unnecessarily lighting my money on fire for my 2nd bike?

[toast2266]

Hardtail fanatics ...
Any of you running a coil fork?

Whenever I’m riding the Pedalhead on really rowdy or rough stuff, I have two thoughts:

1) No rear suspension = weak rear braking traction = get bigger badder brakes up front. Right, I’m already working on that, will try bigger rotor and if it’s not good enough I’ll try 4 piston.

2) The bike feels like it wants a coil shock. With the rear wheel skipping around on chunder and dynamically loading the fork with a double whammy (rocks coming up from below and rotational torque pushing me down from above), I wonder if it’s worth putting a coil up there whenever I find one at a can’t turn down price. Like a used or clearance Ribbon or Z1 coil ... What say you - definitely worth it, or just unnecessarily lighting my money on fire for my 2nd bike?

I'm not running a coil, and I don't think I'd want to. I end up riding pretty far over the front on the hardtail, just to try to keep things smoother. I definitely nose in pretty hard on landings. I run my fork a touch firmer on the hardtail than the squishy bikes because otherwise I get too deep into the travel. And I think the more linear feel of a coil fork would be a problem for that same reason.

But I dunno. Extra suppleness always sounds nice.

[Crusty]

Forgot to share a pic when the Taival finally arrived (late August). It is FUN.


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Feel like you need a wider car.

[SchralphMacchio]

I'm not running a coil, and I don't think I'd want to. I end up riding pretty far over the front on the hardtail, just to try to keep things smoother. I definitely nose in pretty hard on landings. I run my fork a touch firmer on the hardtail than the squishy bikes because otherwise I get too deep into the travel. And I think the more linear feel of a coil fork would be a problem for that same reason.

But I dunno. Extra suppleness always sounds nice.

Heh, interesting.

The answer is obvious then. Linkage fork! Supportive yet supple, and doesn’t screw up your geo quite so much as it gets deeper in the travel.