(Thanks to Todd (I knew him before he was skinny) for my new banner photo.)
In light of the white stuff we received today, I thought it appropriate for a recap:
Before the skiing though, I have to do a few more cross races. Strike that, I have to finish at least one race. I got caught up in the course marking tape mid-way through Heber's race, got thrown on the ground, smacked my head on the ground, and re-opened my Harvest Moon road rash. I admit that even though it hurt, I was a bit relieved to have a good excuse to quit since I was having a tough time hanging. I kept getting gapped in the corners and punished in the wind. At least it was good training!
So what wheels/tires did you use and how did they perform under race conditions? My Ghetto/Raze combo at 50ish/rear 45ish/front felt great. I thought I had lost a little air towards the end because they felt a little squirly on the pavement section, but checking pressure at the end of the race showed that I may have lost a few psi at most.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I hear way to many incidences of rolled tubulars to go that route (ET on Saturday for example).
I rode my Hutchinson/Stans clincher setup on the front wheel and a tubular on the rear. That's because my front tubular was loosing air a few minutes before the start.
ReplyDeleteI was pleased with the clincher front. It was inflated to about 32 psi (according to my pump guage). It gripped well on grass, and didn't lose air. NO BURPS!! I was holding my breath through some of the rutted sections and on the fast off-cambered grass turn. It seems to be working really well.
That said, I can't deny that tubulars on carbon rims are faster than the clincher setup. It could be in my head though. For some, that alone is a good enough reason to deal with the possibility of a rolled tire, and all the hassle involved. I haven't quite decided.
Yeahhh! Get ready to ski (board). Great photos, great memories.
ReplyDeleteI will have to try tubulars at some point just to feel for myself what everyone is talking about.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I'm really intrigued with carbon rims for mtb/cross. I really want to try some of those Edge rims on my Superfly. I need to get in their tester program, otherwise it won't happen for a while.
I ran 50+ in my ghetto tubeless and wish I would of checked the pressure pre-race. Way tooo much.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time seeing any benefit to a carbon rim in MTB and CX racing, except for the manufacturer, they are not all that light and they cost upwards of 4 times as much, they look pretty though.