Posted the following on the iBOB thread: Took the EX version of this tire on the dirt roads of northern VT today. About 7 miles on class 4 road and 10 miles on maintained dirt/gravel.
I'm 175 lbs. After about 5 miles settled on Front at 35 PSI and rear at 45 PSI. I'll take some photos of the tires, but don't have a scale. Tread is smooth like Jack Browns. Take following assessment with a grain of salt, as I switched out Marathon Supremes when I put these on - so the difference is rather drastic. That said, I have ridden EL Barlows on the same bike about a year ago, so appreciate the supple tire revolution. Overall, they do what a supple tire should do, and do so as well as EL Barlows for a fraction of the price. Much of the road chatter and noise typical of the Supremes is significantly dampened by these beauties. And I also noticed great grab while climbing through and cornering in the loose stuff, i.e., performance subjectively akin to EL Barlows. I went with the EX because of where I ride and hope for longer life. A friend of mine has the SLs and I plan to swap out for comparison sometime in the next month when its convenient. His SLs are on a bike used on predominantly pavement; my EXs are on a bike used on predominantly dirt roads. If you've never tried a supple tire, these are a great entry. If you've worn out your beautiful Compass tires, these would make a good cheaper alternative. TIME WILL TELL whether or not they're durable. On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 12:22:52 PM UTC-4, hsmitham wrote: > > Thanks for the feedback Luke. Beautiful build. Great to see you did the PR. > > Tail Winds, > > ~Hugh > On Oct 14, 2015 9:06 AM, "lukeheller" <helle...@gmail.com <javascript:>> > wrote: > >> Oh yeah, it shimmys with or without the saddle bag by the way. But I put >> a lot of effort into front loading that bike to reduce shimmy. I only use a >> saddle bag on it for 1200's or unsupported 600kms. >> >> On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 12:04:20 PM UTC-4, lukeheller wrote: >>> >>> This custom 700c NFE shimmys. >>> It's about a 60x60. >>> Seat tube angle is 71.5. >>> Fork rake is ~75 >>> >>> The shimmy isn't a problem unless i let go of the bars *AND* lean >>> backwards. But then, it is a problem. >>> >>> I use a TOKEN needle bearing headset. That helped but didn't fully >>> remove the issue. >>> >>> Different tire sizes/suppleness affects shimmy. I run 700x35 kojacks. >>> Shimmys with no hands on bars leaning back. >>> If I run it with 700x28 marathon plus, shimmy is significantly reduced. >>> But those tires feel dead so I don't ride them. >>> I'd be curious to see what those fat supple beasts would do to my shimmy >>> problem. Probably not help! Yet I'd like to try them. >>> >>> On Saturday, October 10, 2015 at 6:53:59 PM UTC-4, Mike Schiller wrote: >>>> >>>> Shimmy on an NFE?... I'd like to see that bike and how it's >>>> loaded/built. My Matthews uses similar tubing ( 8/5/8 OS) and geometry >>>> as >>>> the NFE and I don't get any shimmy at all. The NFE has a similar tubeset >>>> to >>>> a Hilsen BTW. So either they have too much weight up high or something >>>> else is going on. >>>> >>>> back to original subject... I'd love to try those tires on my Bantam. >>>> It was designed around 44 mm tires and fenders. Wonder it they are >>>> tubeless >>>> compatible? >>>> >>>> ~mike >>>> Carlsbad Ca >>>> >>>> On Saturday, October 10, 2015 at 11:22:41 AM UTC-7, hsmitham wrote: >>>>> >>>>> So yes!! I've been thinking on these same lines. I like the Elephant >>>>> NFE but have heard even with the low trail fork there's some shimmy. >>>>> Never >>>>> ridden one myself. I love the idea of a bike with a light tube set >>>>> capable >>>>> of running 42mm+ CX & slick tires. I suppose some are calling it a >>>>> monster >>>>> cross. Just thinking about my ultimate adventure bike. >>>>> >>>>> ~Hugh >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the >> Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/aEYyD3bnppc/unsubscribe >> . >> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to >> rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com >> <javascript:>. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
