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How much slower?


MikeyG
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I run 3" tires on my hardtail and I love them.  Do they slow me down?  Depends on the terrain.  In chunky single track, they definitely don't slow me down.  It's like riding a monster truck and you can just lay the bike over when you turn because there is so much grip.  Awesome.  On the ride to the trail, you definitely know that you're really pushing some big tires.  I actually went down to a 2.8" on the back because it's getting hard to find 3.0's and I could feel a slight wallow in the back during hard turns.

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For me, the difference between 3.0 and 2.5 does not feel like much.  I went from 3.0 DHF/DHR on a hard tail to 2.5 Assegais on a full suspension.  If anything, the 2.5 Assegais feel slower to me on the really smooth stuff.  Obviously, there are other factors at play like the wheelset, the suspension, etc., but for me, running tires that wide was just another factor influencing speed, and not an overwhelming one like I thought it could be.    

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Define racer?

 

Does 10th place at the Excrutiation Exam endurance race qualify me as a racer?
https://www.tmbra.org/results/marathon_18/warda/cm40.html

What about 4th at the Dragon Slayer?  If so then yes, racers use 3.0 tires. 

If one has to have a pro license and be paid sponsorship money in order to feed their families, then NO they don't race them.

Hope this helps.  🙂
-CJB

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31 minutes ago, Barry said:

Okay, @CBaron, @CBaron okay. But only one of those is a race! 😡

Fair enough, I get you...but I was in a hurry.  

How about 66 overall in Ouachita Challenge?
http://www.ouachitachallenge.com/2018_OC_Race_Overall_by_Category.pdf

Truthfully, I've not done much racing lately.  But I do love to try and make make my Stache 29+ go fast.  Do I think its the absolute quickest tool for THAT job?...Nope.  But considering the enjoyment I get from what the 29+ platform has to offer for my riding style, I don't think the big tires hurt me all that much.  When I'm pushing myself at my limit in some of these events, I do find that the 29+ platform seems to be at its worse when in a "MTB peloton" type situation.  I.e. when on the road or smooth pack fire road where I'm trying to maintain a high tempo output.  However, on the shorter, quicker, more techy stuff it flat-out shines (for me).   [That is my official response to the OP question]

Cheers,
CJB

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My Tallboy has 27.5 x 2.8 Maxxis Ikons - a fantastic tire for the Central Texas chunk. Noticeably slower on the asphalt! When connecting on the Southies, or a short push up 360 after a Greenbelt excursion, it’s a beat down to keep up with those slimmer tires. Funniest thing is, belting down Hwy 50 to Poncha Springs after Monarch Crest, I actually hit ‘hull speed’ - about at 45 mph. I can’t pedal to push the bike, and it will not accelerate downhill on its own.

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Well, full disclosure: I’m asking for my daughter (soon to be 13). I just bought her a (new to us) bike to get started racing and it came with 27.5 x 3.0’s. Wondering if it’s worth it to get a 2.6 or 2.4 set up to have options for various trail conditions??
The wheel set is wtb st i40’s. The rim seems pretty wide for a 2.4 or 2.6 tire. Definitely on the heavy side.
Am I over-thinking it? I raced BMX in blue jeans in the 80’s and won a shit load of races.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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1 hour ago, MikeyG said:

Well, full disclosure: I’m asking for my daughter (soon to be 13). I just bought her a (new to us) bike to get started racing and it came with 27.5 x 3.0’s. Wondering if it’s worth it to get a 2.6 or 2.4 set up to have options for various trail conditions??
The wheel set is wtb st i40’s. The rim seems pretty wide for a 2.4 or 2.6 tire. Definitely on the heavy side.
Am I over-thinking it? I raced BMX in blue jeans in the 80’s and won a shit load of races.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What are the 3.0s?

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1 hour ago, MikeyG said:

Well, full disclosure: I’m asking for my daughter (soon to be 13). I just bought her a (new to us) bike to get started racing and it came with 27.5 x 3.0’s. Wondering if it’s worth it to get a 2.6 or 2.4 set up to have options for various trail conditions??
The wheel set is wtb st i40’s. The rim seems pretty wide for a 2.4 or 2.6 tire. Definitely on the heavy side.
Am I over-thinking it? I raced BMX in blue jeans in the 80’s and won a shit load of races.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

13 yo shredder looking to race will probably want the lightest bike they can get and will trade traction and fun for weight.  That being said, you can certainly get much lighter tires if you get something narrower.  I'd think that you could pick up a pretty cheap 27.5 wheelset that would work with narrower tires for not too much money.  I'm like @CBaron but not nearly as fast.  I ride for fun and to me that means I'll sacrifice a little weight for all the benefits of big, meaty, tires.

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I flip-flop between running 27.5 x 2.8's and 29 X 2.4's on my steel hardtail. I feel faster on the smaller diameter/wider tires but my Strava PR's are mostly set on the 29's. The bike is definitely more playful on the 27.5's. I imagine roll over plays a larger factor than the width in my scenario. Also for reference the 27.5 wheelset cost about 3.5x's the price of the 29's and has 3x's better engagement, but yet I'm slower. This all being said my fastest times on both aren't that far apart. I would say let her do a few races and if she is missing the podium by small increments look into some ways to lighten up the bike!

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Am I the only person that tracks rides/miles on Strava religiously, but has never even looked at time? I have no idea when my fastest times at any local trails are. Going faster never really occurs to me. Maybe because I grew up riding in places with LONG climbs, then long downhills. It was success to ride the entire climb. I've never had a tire wider than 2.4. I think my Bronson can go wider. I may have to try when I need tires again.

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3 hours ago, MikeyG said:

Well, full disclosure: I’m asking for my daughter (soon to be 13). 


Am I over-thinking it? I raced BMX in blue jeans in the 80’s and won a shit load of races.
 

Well then I'd have to say yes, it might be a little bit too much for a young female racer.  When taken into the full context of parameters, your essentially stacking a lot of cards against her: rotating mass, acceleration, moment of inertia, a young female's lack of power output, bike vs rider weight combo, etc..  All that said, if the bikes fits her properly then I'd say let her go at it and see how much fun she has with the events.  If she takes to it all, then you might try sourcing a lighter weight wheel set and a lighter set of tires for racing.  

The one place I think its very appropriate to be a weight weenie is with kids/youth bikes.  When you factor in the ratio of bike vs rider 1lb of weight savings can be notable.  I.e. a 75 lb rider on a 25 lb bike is comparable to me at 165 lbs being on a 54 lb bike.  Kids are just small, their body's are under-developed, and they can't put out the watts to move the proportional weight around efficiently.  

But I will say that if she's having fun it REALLY DOESN"T MATTER.

Cheers,
CJB

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10 hours ago, TheX said:

Am I the only person that tracks rides/miles on Strava religiously, but has never even looked at time? I have no idea when my fastest times at any local trails are. 

This is me, too. I'm more interested in miles, vertical feet, and total number of rides than my best time on a given segment. I do like seeing when I get some trophies at the end of the ride, but I rarely drill into them or even care which ones they are. In the context of this thread, it is fun sometimes to look at some of my best times on frequently ridden segments and try to figure out which bike i was riding at the time.

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10 hours ago, TheX said:

Am I the only person that tracks rides/miles on Strava religiously, but has never even looked at time?

I look briefly at my times after a ride to confirm if my subjective feeling of a good or bad ride matches the objective times. then I forget about the times.

what sticks in my mind is whether I felt good the whole time, if I crashed, if I summited some longer climbs without stopping, and what technical obstacles I cleaned. even more interesting is with whom I crossed paths during my ride, what animals I saw, if I rode someplace new or found a new way to ride an old trail. new street art under bridges is fun. riding new features that indicate that trail elves have been busy inspires me. meeting interesting dogs and seeing families hiking and riding together gives me hope. I stop to take photos of these things and that certainly jeopardizes my PRs! If i ride with an old friend or meet a new one, what did we talk about? if something on my bike didn't work correctly, that makes a good story and a subject to research what to fix or replace. the time stats are quickly forgotten in favor of these things.

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