Just swapped out the Jack Browns for some ³700x40² Schwalbe Marathon Supremes for the Rough Riders Ride this Wednesday here in SD, and for the Riv ride up in Redlands this Sat. I wish they measured a true 40mm as they are labeled, but at 37-38ish, they should at least have a bit more cush than the Jack Browns. I had the skinniest tires of anyone on last week¹s Rough Riders ride, and though I¹m proof you can do it with the JBs, my hands/wrists did take a beating over SoCals finest golf-ball sized rocks!
Oftentimes, MTBs are overkill and underbiking does have a way of making tame trails challenging again, but there are plenty of trails that remind me why folks came up with 29x 2.3² tires and suspension! Dustin On 5/10/09 9:06 PM, "David Estes" <[email protected]> wrote: > Aaron, awesome that you got out there!!! I hope we can do a Riv ride this > fall up there, so keep on scouting! > > Funny how Dustin immediately picked up on the implications of the ride, based > on the choice of bike. > > Hey, hope you can make it out here Saturday, a Romulus w/ Paselas will be > right at home! > > David > > On Sun, May 10, 2009 at 8:51 PM, Aaron Thomas <[email protected]> > wrote: >> >> I went on a reconnaissance ride in the Santa Monica mountains today, >> covering some of the trails that could conceivably comprise the Rough >> Riders ride, and I'd have to say that Dustin is right on this one. >> >> I put some 35mm Paselas on my Romulus, which were the widest I had on >> hand. I was able to do the fire trails, though it wasn't what I'd >> consider a good time. And when I peered down the canyon walls at the >> various singletrack trails, I said fuggedaboutit, there's no effin' >> way I'm going down there on 35mm Paselas, much less on a road bike. >> >> A wise decision, perhaps, because when I later encountered a couple of >> mountain bikers at a certain fork in the road where one could opt for >> singletrack down the canyon or remain on the fire trail on the ridge, >> they highly discouraged me from following them down the canyon, even >> as they admired the Romulus and were impressed that it had carried me >> as far as I had without incident. >> >> As it was, even on the relatively groomed fire trails, the 35 Paselas >> slid around a lot on the powdery dirt and sharp rocks and pebbles. >> Over the more hardpacked descending stretches where the dirt is grated >> to aid the traction of park ranger and emergency vehicles, the ride >> quality was jackhammer jolting, making control of the bike nearly >> impossible. >> >> It's clearly mountain bike territory, unless you happen to be super >> skilled at riding road bikes over very rough terrain and bunny hopping >> cervices carved by runoff rainwater. >> >> To top it off, by the end of the ride, my rear wheel (32 spoke Open >> Pro/Ultegra) had come significantly out of true. The ish took a >> beating! >> >> Aaron >> >> On May 9, 6:08 pm, Dustin Sharp <[email protected]> wrote: >>> > FYI, I¹ve ridden with Chris Kostman on a Rough Riders ride here in San >>> > Diego. CK often thinks nothing of doing gravel roads and fireroads on >>> > 25-35s. So I¹m guessing that if he suggests that most people would want a >>> > ³real² MTB for the ride--he means it. And the pace for the ride here was >>> > definitely spirited. >>> > >>> > Dustin >>> > >>> > On 5/9/09 4:54 PM, "David Estes" <[email protected]> wrote: >>> > >>> > >>> > >>>> > > On Sat, May 9, 2009 at 2:06 PM, james black <[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>> > >>>>> > >> On Fri, May 8, 2009 at 22:35, David Estes <[email protected]> >>>>> wrote: >>>>>>> > >>> > I'd love to do it, but the distance and more so the pace they >>>>>>> project is >>>>>>> > >>> > above my ability/endurance... to bad as it would be great. Make >>>>>>> sure you >>>>>> > >>> do >>>>>>> > >>> > it so you can lead us on a Riv Ride come this fall!!!!!!!!!! >>> > >>>>> > >> This ride sounds like it is beyond my ability/endurance as well, and >>>>> > >> the closest thing I have right now to a mountain bike is a road bike >>>>> > >> with 28mm tires and an internal hub gear. And I'm desperately >>>>> studying >>>>> > >> for an exam I am taking on May 19th. But in a few months I would >>>>> enjoy >>>>> > >> meeting some folks for a ride in the Santa Monica Mountains - maybe we >>>>> > >> can chart a course for some of the paved roads and fire roads more >>>>> > >> suitable for road bikes, although I don't know the area well enough >>>>> > >> personally to plan a route without doing research. >>> > >>>>> > >> James Black >>>>> > >> Los Angeles, CA >>> > >>>>> > >> > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
