tires ⁽⁴⁾

Patrick March 10, 2024

New Wheels For My Marin Gestalt X12

Huh? Another set of hoops? Didn't the bike already get new ones in November? Yes, but they didn't work well with the tires I wanted to use on the MGX12. So, I spent a week testing between the holidays and concluded that I needed to build a new set of wheels with Light Bicycle AR25 low-profile rims. The new wheels:

• Light Bicycle AR25 rims, paintless UD carbon, 28H, drain holes, laser engraving
• Light Bicycle 25mm rim tape
• Sapim CX-Ray spokes
• Red aluminum nipples
• Red tubeless valves
• Hope Pro 5 Centerlock front hub, 28H, 100x12mm, red
• Hope Pro 5 Centerlock rear hub, 28H, 142x12mm, XDR, red
• Hope Centerlock lockrings, red
• Bucklos RT-MT760 Centerlock rotors, 160mm
• SRAM XPLR XG-1251 cassette, 10-44T
• René Herse Antelope Hill 700C x 55 TC tires, standard casing, tan sidewalls
• Orange Seal regular sealant

Patrick December 29, 2023

Wheel And Tire Testing

In November, I got a new wheelset for my Marin Gestalt X12. Before that, it was using seven-year-old Nox Composites Citico wheels with Chris King R45D hubs. The new wheels had Hope Pro5 Centerlock hubs, Light Bicycle WG44 rims, and René Herse Antelope Hill tires. I enjoy climbing on my bikes and also like to descend. The new wheels were great for climbing, fast on flat surfaces, and smooth on gravel. However, they were not perfect for descending. Specifically, when I exceed 50 kph with head and crosswinds on open descents that are not too steep, the steering becomes wobbly and insecure.

Patrick November 11, 2023

Marin Gestalt X12 On New Wheels

How wide is too wide? My wide tire journey for road cycling started on Compass Barlow Pass (700x38) tires back in 2016. WTB Horizon (650x47) followed in 2018. When I put 650B wheels on my Nordest Albarda, René Herse Switchback Hill (650x48) and Panaracer GravelKing (650x48, 52mm actual) tires took me a big step further on that journey. My Marin Gestalt X12 started rolling on René Herse Snoqualmie Pass (700x44) tubeless “shoes.” This bike has room for much more, so much, in fact, that 44mm looks skinny.

Patrick January 8, 2023

A Pair Of Tires With Bite

When I first set up my Stooge MK5 in March of last year, I mounted a pair of Schwalbe Nobby Nic 27.5x3.0” tires. For 3” wide tires, they were light, coming in under 900 grams. They climbed and cornered well but had one shortfall. As a rear tire, the Nobby Nic performed poorly when braking in steep terrain. The tire broke loose too quickly. I rode into stuff a few times where I had to get off the bike to get down that segment of trail safely. I would have easily ridden it with a better tire. For my second season on the Stooge, I’ve opted to equip it with a more aggressive pair of tires.