Mad Hatter
Likes Dirt
..... but sustainable.
The Single Speed Thread
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.... and fairly common for a 29er. I was running 33-19 but am running 33-20 at the moment to give it a go. Haven't noticed too much loss of speed on the flat but is a bit easier on the climbs.
Really depends on your trails. If you spend a lot of time on the flat then obviously the extra pain on the climbs is worth the taller gear ratio.
A lot of the top SS riders tend to race easier gears (32-20ish), especially on longer races.
36:19 on a 29er is a tough gear and would only be appropriate for a certain kinda course/trail (unless you are sadistic).
Nath8
Likes Dirt
Nice to see another Hong-Fu SS. Glad to hear your happy with it.
Mines coming up to it's 2nd birthday, and I'm still loving it.
Stevob
Likes Bikes and Dirt
You've got some very well thought out component choices there. In particular the Exzentriker EBB, Rotor Q ring and that rear sprocket that's real easy to swap out (name eludes me for now). Nice bike. How do you like the Rubena tyres?
My new ride
21 inch Hong Fu 053 (an older model frame i believe)
Very happy with it so far! It's a bit of an improvement over my trusty 2011 Rockhopper SS
Just gotta dial in the Single air Reba Fork, feels quite different to the dual air fork.
Hauffy
disappearin
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The only advantage I can see of the 36t front sprocket and a larger rear sprocket are extended chain/sprocket wear over smaller sprockets.
32/20 won't be too bad depending where you ride. If you ride different trails you will end up with a range of sprockets in your tool kit. I often run two, side by side on my hub so I can change ratios without pulling the wheel off.
You get better mechanical advantage over the wheel with bigger cogs too. So 36:18 will feel easier than 32:16, even though theyre the same ratio. It's quite noticeable too. If you've ever ridden a 26'' dirt jump bike with micro gearing you'll feel how hard they are to get going because the tiny amount of leverage a 9/10t cog has over a heavy 26'' wheel.
Mad Hatter
Likes Dirt
I also run 2 sprockets on the back. One 20t and an 18t.
Still have to take the wheel off to change but I don`t have to rumage through the tool box to find the other cog.
Cheers.
MH
chrischris
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So you just add or remove 2 links depending on the rear cog right?
Do you reckon my Niner EBB would handle 2 links without altering the chain?
Any Niner EBB owners out there???
slyfox
Likes Bikes
or would a sprung chain tensioner work?
disappearin
Likes Dirt
My Specialized with EBB lets me change between 3 gears without removing or adding links to the chain. Most EBB's will be the same. I run the two sprockets slightly spaced apart, you just loosen the EBB, slide the chain onto the other sprocket and tension it back up. The chain line isn't quite as good this way but it works fine.
Thanks Stevob
I'm pretty happy with the whole setup so far! One thing i have noticed is that the bike is so quiet. I never had chain slippage issues on the Rockhopper but it always creaked and groaned a bit No creaking with the Exzentriker so far...I can recommend the Lunar Bike Quickcog. Very nice to be able to change a cog with just a small screwdriver or such. And the tires? I really like the Kratos tire! It's got loads of climbing grip and rolls and corners well. I have tried a Scylla on the rear but it didn't give me the grip i was after, did roll very well though. They have been 100% reliable over some very rocky and rooty terrain. My other wheelset has a 2.1 Crossmark on the rear and a 2.25 Ardent on the front. I reckon the Kratos front and rear is better allround.
I have changed the seat and pedals and the bike now weighs in at about 9.7kg. Just gotta ride it more!!
chrischris
Likes Dirt
I have a Kratos on the front / Scylla on the rear. I quite like the rear being a little less grippy. I've only done around 400km on them so far - but very happy so far. Lighter than my old Maxxis, but more grip. Time will tell how durable the sidewalls are...
Which MAxxis were you running? I have a Kratos at home but haven't fitted it yet as I thought it a bit heavy compared to my usual setups:
HT - Ikon EXC EXO rear, Ignitor EXO front - ~600gr ea
Dually - atm running Conti race king rear and X king front, but poor tubeless sealing and heavy at 650 and 720gr soon to be:
Racing Ralph rear 580gr - Nobby Nic front 650gr
Keen to try Specialized s-works tyres if they were only a little cheaper
....................In other news still waiting for my Ned Overend to arrive
HT - Ikon EXC EXO rear, Ignitor EXO front - ~600gr ea
Dually - atm running Conti race king rear and X king front, but poor tubeless sealing and heavy at 650 and 720gr soon to be:
Racing Ralph rear 580gr - Nobby Nic front 650gr
Keen to try Specialized s-works tyres if they were only a little cheaper
....................In other news still waiting for my Ned Overend to arrive
Stevob
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Not good. You were expecting that by the end of this week, weren't you? How far does it have to travel?....................In other news still waiting for my Ned Overend to arrive
struggles
Likes Dirt
I have been running an X-king tubeless for just over 12 months and have not had an issue with it. It's even wearing really well after a few thousand kms.
And to correct my post about gearing for the Husky100, I am running 33-18 not 33-16.
Melbourne, but being a private sale on Gumtree I didn't want to take the risk of paying the seller and it not turn up so I asked a mate to buy for me and send it up. He graciously obliged so I'm appreciative of that
A multitude of setbacks unfortunately - he's a busy fellah and crashed his MTB on the weekend, so laid-up for a few days. Maybe by the end of next week?
Now its sealed its been no dramas since (except sealant tends to dry in them over time and I periodically add 30mls), but the sidewalls were both VERY porous and took a long time to seal up at original installed from new - bubbles coming through the sidewalls on both tyres, had to lay flat on each side over night and add more sealant so they are now even heavier
Lots of reports online of the same experience - fair enough they are not UST tyres, but other tyres that are non-UST seem to seal much more easily and not dry out (Maxxis & Schwalbe tubeless ready for instance)as for performance of the Conti's they are great - nice and predictable, loads of grip and roll well, plenty of squish too
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disappearin
Likes Dirt
I picked up a pair of s-works fast tracks a few months ago on sale. They work really well but I managed to tear a sidewall after 2 weeks. Think it was just bad luck as the other one is still going strong.
The sworks tyres have super thin side walls, sort of like the maxxis exception series. I wasn't comfortable running them and tried their control casings instead. Had a couple of fast trak lk rears in control casing and a ground control front. The fast trak lk was in the ballpark of racing Ralph's, ikons etc. but it doesn't really take much to be a decent rear tyre. I wasn't really a fan of the ground control on the front - so now it is on my wife's bike !