What to get: MTB edition.

[Tim Kelley]

Here are a few tips to get you going:

[jabberwocky]

Mountain bikes are a bit less size sensitive than road bikes and CX bikes, just because the geometry is more relaxed and you’re moving around so much when riding anyway. Still, try and test ride and get a feel for what works if you can.

I won’t get into the 26/650b/29er debate, other than to say I think its a bit overblown. I mostly ride 26ers and have had a few 29ers. I don’t personally care all that much, though I prefer old-school 26ers for that bmx feel (I’ve not ridden a 650b bike though). The market has definitely shifted towards the bigger wheels over the past few years.

Pretty much anything with fat tires is gonna wipe the floor with a CX bike when you go offroad, and Wakefield/Lake Fairfax are hardly demanding trails. No idea about Sunday River (I’ve snowboarded there many years ago) but I imagine the trails are a bit more technical.

[hozn]

It honestly doesn’t matter. I started with 26″ hardtail (XL frame), later got a 26″ full suspension, then got rid of it all and am left with a 29″ rigid SS. I like 29″ tires, but they can be more to haul around tight singletrack. But I have raced both at Wakefield (an example of tighter singletrack around here) and I was faster on the 29″ … but I was also a faster rider Definitely if you are getting a L or XL the 29″ makes sense; I am less sure about cramming those big wheels in smaller frames, but people do it. Honestly, though, by the time you have enough miles on the bike to appreciate this difference, you will be ready for a new bike anyway.

So buy whatever is cheapest and most versatile. I wouldn’t even bother with hydro brakes on a winter bike, but they are pretty standard these days. Just make sure to get something that isn’t renowned for losing braking power in the cold. I don’t know what that means, just know that a few friends have complained about that. Also think of mtb parts as disposable, so don’t go crazy. Stuff brakes a lot when you crash in the woods. Definitely get tubeless ready rims (and run the tires tubeless).

Enjoy! I love mountain biking most. It is how I got into cycling as an adult and I can’t wait to transition back to more MTB as the kids get older.

My son and I are planning to do the MoCo epic. I think the 8/9-mile route — aiming high; we may not finish it, but it will be epic.

[GB]

+1 for getting 650 wheels if you get a small or medium frame. I have medium with 29er wheels and I kinda feel perched up there.

Biggest downside I see to the 650s is the wheel and tire selection.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@hozn 122734 wrote:

Definitely get tubeless ready rims (and run the tires tubeless).

Interesting, and not something I’d even thought about. The Motobecane I was looking at is tubeless ready (though comes with wire bead tires), so your emphasis on this feature has me leaning that way.

[hozn]

Most rims can be converted to tubeless, but I find it makes life better to get purpose-built products for things like that (easier to seat tires, less risk of burping, etc.). Same goes for tires: you could try converting the quote bead tires, but likely would be next to impossible to seat them without a compressor.

I flatted a *lot* when learning to ride off-road. A lot of that was chasing faster people. But switching to tubeless helped at least eliminate the pinch flats.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@hozn 122766 wrote:

Most rims can be converted to tubeless, but I find it makes life better to get purpose-built products for things like that (easier to seat tires, less risk of burping, etc.). Same goes for tires: you could try converting the quote bead tires, but likely would be next to impossible to seat them without a compressor.

I flatted a *lot* when learning to ride off-road. A lot of that was chasing faster people. But switching to tubeless helped at least eliminate the pinch flats.

With tubeless, were you able to just re-inflate after the sealant did its thing, or do you have to put a tube in?

[jabberwocky]

Tubeless is nice, but I wouldn’t say its necessary. Especially at Lake Fairfax/Wakefield/similar trails. If you’re pinch flatting there regularly you need to evaluate your tire pressure and/or riding technique.

@TwoWheelsDC 122778 wrote:

With tubeless, were you able to just re-inflate after the sealant did its thing, or do you have to put a tube in?

It depends on the system, but usually there will be some sealant in the tire on a tubeless setup, and if the sealant doesn’t do its thing you’re probably gonna have to stick a tube in it. I’ve known people who ran valves with removable cores and kept a small bottle of sealant that could be squirted in, but thats only gonna help if you were dry in the first place. I personally carry a tube and if I get a flat I just pop the tire and put a tube in, then figure out the issue when I get home.

Note that seating tubeless tires without a compressor is a pain in the ass. Sometimes impossible, depending on tire and rim. I can get my DH tires seated with a floor pump usually because the sidewalls are stiff and stay against the rim alright, but the trail tires on stans rims I run on the trail bike are almost impossible to seat without dragging the pancake compressor out.

[Raymo853]

To further muddle things, you also have to watch out for all the various plus, semi-fat, and fat tire sizes offered in 26ers, 650B and 29ers. I would just stay away from any of those and stick to normal tires sized bikes, so no tires wider than 2.4″ wide.

Based on current market offerings, if you are 5’7″ or taller, get a non-plus size 29er hardtail. If you are shorter, I am torn between recommending a 26 or 650B. The tire, rim and fork choices for 650B gts better every day, but still does not equal 26 or 29.

I switched to 29ers in 2004 and am pretty much a devotee, but might consider getting a 650B plus in a dual squish trail design. I simply lack the upper body strength to handle a long travel 29er and am being convinced about plus size tires.

[hozn]

I have never had any problem seating tubeless(-ready) tires with a floor pump, on Stans or UST Mavic rims (or one Kinlin rim I converted). Definitely if you’re using non-purpose-built equipment it can be a pain in the butt. But I don’t own a compressor and consider any rim/tire combo that needs one to be not actually tubeless-ready.

At this point I would only use Stans rims on the MTB, as I know they build well, mount up trivially with a floor pump (and have even mounted tubeless tires with a topeak mountain morph pack pump), and [if the appropriate rim is chosen] are very durable; since I am gonna build my own wheels anyway, I will just choose the rim that I like best. Probably laced to Hope Pro II hubs, since I also know those work great and suffer abuse nobly.

As for pressure, it is true that you can pump things up high and not really worry about pinch flats, but I love running 20-25psi and not worrying about what is gonna happen when you push the speed a bit past handling comfort zone. I will say that as technique improved flatting became much less frequent, but I think tubeless is the best thing on the mtb (or cross) after clipless pedals.

You typically just put a tube in if you flat. Or use a plug. The last few flats I have had were pluggable, so no need to unmount tire.

I am actually gaining confidence in road tubeless with this second foray. The ride on my 28mm Schwalbe Ones is really nice at 65-75psi. I might be done with tubes on any of my bikes.

[jabberwocky]

I like tubeless, but I find that I dislike real low pressure anyway because the tires squirm too much under hard cornering. I run ~28ish psi on the trail bike (2.4 Maxxis Ardents on flow rims) and maybe 25psi on the DH bike (2.5 Maxxis Minion DH on Mavic 823s). Both are full suspension bikes though, so I’m not looking to the tires for any cush.

I’d say (good) suspension is the best thing after clipless pedals. But its really expensive. And takes time and effort to dial in.

[Raymo853]

@hozn 122807 wrote:

I am actually gaining confidence in road tubeless with this second foray. The ride on my 28mm Schwalbe Ones is really nice at 65-75psi. I might be done with tubes on any of my bikes.

I was loving road tubeless as well until a friend working for Stan’s saw I was using non-tubless tires as tubeless. That is a way big no no. The non-tubeless tires tend to blow off randomly as the beads cannot handle things tubeless.

[hozn]

Yeah, definitely only use RT tires for RT! All the articles/howto guides/forum posts that I have seen are good about making that explicit. I am glad you didn’t have any catastrophic failures.

[hozn]

@jabberwocky 122812 wrote:

I like tubeless, but I find that I dislike real low pressure anyway because the tires squirm too much under hard cornering. I run ~28ish psi on the trail bike (2.4 Maxxis Ardents on flow rims) and maybe 25psi on the DH bike (2.5 Maxxis Minion DH on Mavic 823s). Both are full suspension bikes though, so I’m not looking to the tires for any cush.

I’d say (good) suspension is the best thing after clipless pedals. But its really expensive. And takes time and effort to dial in.

Yeah, there’s a sweet spot there before things start to squirm on the corners, I agree. I don’t like things getting squirmy either.

I have gotten a suspension fork for the [currently rigid] SS. I’ll really enjoy it until it breaks and then probably switch back to rigid in frustration and disgust, if history is any indicator

Oh, TwoWheels, heads up that mountain biking can get expensive. That bit about “disposable” drivetrains coupled with some potentially very pricey maintenance and repair every couple/few years when it comes to the fork. Definitely do everything yourself, though that can be a tall order / fools errand when it comes to the likes of replacing fork seals. I’ve always chickened out and had that done at the shop.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Well, I took the day off to go with my wife to a medical appt., which ended late enough to make going into work pointless, but early enough to go try out some bikes. Test rode a Trek X-Caliber 6 and immediately fell in love. The bike also happens to fit me perfectly, was a color I really liked, AND Spokes gave me a nice discount due to a tiny blemish on the frame, so I went ahead and put a deposit down. I looked at some others, but, AFAICT, there’s not much variation in bikes at this price point, so I don’t really feel like riding a bunch more is going to be of use, especially since the Trek fit so well. I ultimately decided against the Motobecane because the price was barely lower, with slightly lower spec components, and getting a ready-to-ride shop with free maintenance and nicer components offset the price difference.

The Trek doesn’t come with tubeless ready rims, but when I buy a winter wheel set, I’ll get tubeless, then use the stock rims to mount studs. Now I just gotta sell some bikes to make room in the shed….

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