by MikeK » Sun Jun 17, 2018 7:06 pm
'Tis steel, but I think I'll just put it in the recycle bin. I was going to make something like a wall hanger, but space is a premium these days.
I saw your tire pressure on the other forum, I think you should go a lot lower as well.
FWIW I actually run the same pressures tubes and tubeless - 23 front, 26 rear. I run 2.4s in the front and 2.2 in the rear, so sometimes more in the rear if it's rocky and I'm getting rim hits. We don't have a ton real rocky terrain around here, and where it is, it's busted up shale and round rocks. A couple areas of sharp rock tech but I've never had an issue on it... can't go fast enough through it to cause any issues. I also regularly hit 2-3' jumps and drops... like pretty much every ride and I'm in your weight range, and ride a hardtail or rigid bike, and don't hit my rim. You can definitely run that low tubeless and even on some tube tires. I like the feel of tubeless better though - the tire flex feels more uniform. I also ride pretty fast on the dhs - I regularly hit 25-30 mph on singletrack, and usually am in the top 40 for Strava on descents, so I'm not pussyfooting.
Terra is the biggest factor though.
And as far as rolling resistance, even the pro XC racers are running pressures in the 20s. If you get a modern compound tire it will have a hard compound in the center and softer on the side knobs to optimize RR and cornering grip. I really like the Maxxis Ikon as an all-around XC tire. It's a tire I use on pavement, gravel, dirt and rock and it's fast and has really, really good grip. My trail bike, which sees very little pavement has more aggressive tires (Conti Mtn King) but I'm not really in love with them. The have more braking grip and bite in looser dirt, but on hardpack like our trails usually are, the Ikons are better.