Like Jim, I ride my CX-setup bikes anywhere I ride mountain bikes*. Also like Jim, I'll often take different lines with a 58mm knobby than I do with a 35mm CX tire, but I get through it all the same. And this is in Chico, which is at the base of Mt. Lassen, which is the first volcano in the Cascade range. That makes the terrain around here like nowhere else this side of Mars. I nearly never get flats. And riding the skinnier tires makes you a great bike handler, too. :-)
I've ridden up Mt. Diablo with Grant/Mark/Keven from RBW HQ, and I don't recall any of them griping about not being able to ride up the side of a mountain in the dirt on a Legolas or Hilsen. Maybe it's because I was so far behind them... All of which to say if you were to take the Hillborne on dirt trails, the only limiting factor is likely the engine and bike handling skills. Now if you're talking XC MTB racing, that's a different story. Gino * I ride insanely rocky/technical singletrack and doubletrack, forest roads, fire roads, but not big hit stuff. On Fri, Jan 2, 2009 at 5:33 PM, CycloFiend <[email protected]> wrote: > > on 1/2/09 1:38 PM, Esteban at [email protected] wrote: >> I wonder how it would do as a mountain bike. Stout tubing and upward >> top tube slope might make it a good candidate for an 80s style rigid >> bike that rides to the trails. Maybe the 40mm clearance would be a >> weak point, although maybe not that big a deal. I rode mountain bikes >> a lot in college in the early 90s, and just started thinking of going >> beyond the fire trails recently. That Hillborne will be very >> versatile, that's for sure. I got a chance to ride the prototype with >> v-brakes, and it felt as though it could go anywhere! > > I've been enjoying using my Hilsen as a trail monster since my recent C. X. > Hilsen project. My tires have been what I spin on the cross races: a > Michelin Mud2 which is nominally 700Cx30, but tends to actually measure > ~35mm. Mostly out of habit, as I'm used to them, they act in a manner I > expect and they are puffy enough to withstand a lot of abuse for my style of > riding. > > With the advent of "Monster Cross" or "29er" tires, there have been quite a > few tires appear in the 30 - 45 mm range which would give that much more > cush. I would think if you can learn to ride "light", it would give you a > lot of flexibility. My personal belief is that riding a cross bike size > tire on trails really sharpens your skills - it's akin to ultralight tackle > fishing where you have to be very specific in your movements. > > Of course, I have (and still do) spent some time fixing flats on the > trailside. Fewer now, but there is a learning curve. > > I've taken cross bikes or the Hilsen down just about any local trail that > I've taken an mtb. Not with quite the same line or velocity, certainly, but > it generally can be done. > > - Jim > > -- > Jim Edgar > [email protected] > > Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries - http://www.cyclofiend.com > Current Classics - Cross Bikes > Singlespeed - Working Bikes > > Your Photos are needed! - http://www.cyclofiend.com/guidelines > > > "I thought the idea was to waste the rest of our lives together.." > -- Cyril, "Breaking Away" > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
