Comments on: Front End Geometry For 29″ers: Set In Stone- Part II

By: Guitar Ted

Guitar Ted — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:00:56 +0000

AF73: Your suggested Fox fork would be a huge swing to the other side of the handling spectrum, all else being equal. (Head tube angle the same) It would possibly become a handful on longer, techy descents where if you lose your concentration, you may eat it easily.

I would say to try it. It might be your cup of tea, but I would be willing to bet a 46mm Rock Shox with a Maxle lite would be a better upgrade here.

By: AF73

AF73 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:45:27 +0000

Guitar Ted,
I have the chance to get a 51mm offset Fox F29′er for that came off of a G2 Fisher Superfly. I have an Ellsworth Evolve with a stock Reba 38mm offset 2007 fork at 100mm. The geometry of the Evolve is follows:
Size Large
72 Head Angle
73.5 Seat Angle
13.7 BB
24.7 TT
18.2 Chainstays
20.8 Static Fork Length

I have wanted the bike to steer better in switchbacks, as it is sluggish and take a bit more effort to transition and “carve” in the Utah singletrack i ride in. Would that Offset be too much, with my angles, what affects will it have both positive and negative?

By: Rob in Ottawa

Rob in Ottawa — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:49:16 +0000

(kind of off topic) I love the photo of that tire, it looks so large in that photo. It makes me want to go out and buy a set of WW LT tires.

By: Guitar Ted

Guitar Ted — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:35:14 +0000

Mike: No I have not. I’m sure it would work, but I’m not sure you would gain anything by doing that.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:09:33 +0000

Have you ever tried a combination of Slime Tubeless tire sealant and Bontrager Super Juice?

By: Guitar Ted

Guitar Ted — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:51:51 +0000

Mike: Yes, use the Bontrager plastic snap in rim strip and tubeless valves. The valves have removable cores, (You’ll need a small wrench to remove the core) Introduce the sealant through the valve once the core is removed. If you don’t fear punctures, the Super Juice is an excellent sealant and stays in a liquid state far longer than Stan’s does. 3-4oz. is a good amount, but I have used as little as 2oz. and it has worked. The Super Juice bottles are marked and make the installation of the sealant easy.

Stan’s will work, same amount is recommended, and you can expect it to dry out in two to four months time. The tires will still inflate and hold air, but they won’t seal puntures once the sealant dries up.

Another product I have successfully used is Slime Tubeless Tire Sealant. It is similar to Bontrager’s Super Juice, but it also seals punctures better and lasts longer than Stan’s.

All three sealants work with Bontrager tires and TLR wheels.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:45:13 +0000

One more question. Where Bontrager’s Rhythm wheels and Jones ACX tires are both tubeless ready, would I need less of Stan’s sealant than they say in their instructions (2-3 oz.)?
Thanks!
Mike

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:34:26 +0000

Thanks for you advice! I was kind of thinking it might worsen the handling some. I won’t bother with taking out the spacer, then. On our trails with a 29 inch wheel I don’t think I’d really need it, anyways.
On the sealant, I don’t really think our trails really have much in the way of thorns, though there are plenty of rocks (granite is everywhere) at Nine Mile, though I don’t think they’d be the type that would puncture tires much.

Would you recommend using Bontrager’s rim strips and valves, then, with the Stan’s sealant?
Also, I probably won’t change the tires on it until they wear out if I like them (which could be two or three years since I don’t ride everyday–I’m a cross country runner at UW-La Crosse), so will Stan’s dry out where I’d need to take the tires off occasionally to clean them out? Is there any other maintenance things you need to do with tubeless tires? (I’ve always used tubes before, so I don’t really have any experience with them.)
Thanks!
Mike

By: Guitar Ted

Guitar Ted — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:27:25 +0000

Mike: Thanks for your comments.

With 100mm of travel I think your handling will be a slight bit “floppy” in slower speed, picking your way through, types of situations. In higher speed single track, the suspension will often times be into its travel enough that the extra travel won’t be a big deal to your handling. Again, I think slower speed handling is where your choice would prove to give that X-Cal a bit of heaviness in the handle bars when they are turned a bit one way or the other. Climbing is especially where I would notice that.

TLR Bontrager stuff is the bomb. I would use Stan’s sealant versus the Bontrager Super Juice, but everything else about the TLR Bonty wheels and tires is top notch.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:52:26 +0000

Hi Guitar Ted,
I’m planning on buying a 2008 Gary Fisher X-Caliber (completely stock-it’s new) that I’m getting for a good price. I was wondering whether what you would think taking out the travel spacer in the F29 fork and increasing its travel from 80 mm to 100mm would do to its traveling. From your experience with G2 bikes, would that make the handling worse or better?
For what’s it’s worth, I ride mostly in wooded Wisconsin trails, like HPT in La Crosse, WI, or Nine Mile near Wausau, WI. Also, I liked the handling of a HiFi Pro 29er that I demoed.
Also, one other question. Would you recommend running this bike tubeless, and if so, would the Bontrager tubeless set-up or Stan’s work better in my area, if you know either of the trails I mentioned.
Thanks for any advice you can give me,
Mike