Industry Nine Enduro Wheelset Review

I purchased the I9 Enduro wheelset for my Pivot Mach 6 about 2 months ago. My Mach 6 came with DT Swiss Spline 2's (M1700). I decided after talking to a friend that this would be the wheelset for me, I liked what I have read about the hoops, and the hubs. My friend had nothing but great things to say about the torch hub.

Lucky me I was able to get the exact color I wanted directly from Jensonusa.com, I ordered red on red, red spokes and a red hub. Anyways Jenson literally got them to me in two days, but I live in Northern California so I guess that probably isn't shocking.

Out of the box these wheels looked exactly as described. I was a little shocked with how light then felt for being a "bulletproof" wheel. I had STAN FlowEX wheels on my Knolly and these are noticeably lighter. Anyways, they were set up for tubeless, tape and valves pre-installed. I switched over my cassette and put my tires on, used my floor pump and boom...I was ready to ride, of course after I took some pictures of my clean, spotless wheels.

Just a little bit about the different wheesets and hubs I have ridden....As stated above my bike came with the DT Swiss Spline 2 w/ DT swiss hubs. I had STANS Flow EX with Hope hubs on my Knolly and I also tried some WTB Frequency wheels with Shimano Hubs on my Kona. All had the pro's and cons but I didn't think I would find a wheelset that I liked more than my Flow EX with Hope's.....Fast forward to my I9's.

I went for a ride on a local trail that I ride a lot and has a good mix of climbing and technical downhill. I am not the worlds strongest climber so a few hundreds grams in wheel weight doesn't make a difference for me. But where I put wheels to the test is when pointed down, I am not a pro downhill racer but I am fast and I ride hard. I am also not a small guy, I weigh 210lbs so a strong wheel is important to me.

First think I noticed was how solid these wheels felt in the corners, I have demoed a few bikes with carbon wheels and I can honestly say these felt VERY SIMILAR. Next think I noticed was my front tire was a little low, I burped my STANS a few months before on this exact trail and ended up having to jam a tube in my tire. I thought this was going to be a repeat of the that but my tire held strong and didn't burp.

So after a lot of rides and hard hits over the past few months I have a new favorite wheel and hub combo, the Enduro's with Torch hubs are amazing. I have taken them through rock gardens, put them through hard hits, rough landings and hub burning downhills without a hiccup.

If you are annoyed by loud buzzing hubs then this is not the hub for you, I am used to Chris Kings and Hopes, and I would take the Torch any day over them. The hook-up is amazing, maintenance is easy, and I like the loud hub so its a win-win-win for me.

All in all I recommend these wheels and hubs for anyone wanting a carbon feel with out the carbon price. That said these wheel sets are not cheap, they are a premium hand built wheelset but I do think you get what you pay for when it comes to wheels and hubs.

Industry Nine link: http://www.industrynine.net/wheels/8/27.5%22+Enduro

Pro's:
Weight (1680 grams)
Durability
Looks
Comes tubeless ready
Very custom color choices

Cons: (personally I dont thing there are any cons to these wheels)
Price- but you get what you pay for
Hub noise- for some

WTB Vigilante Review

I decided to give the WTB Vigilante's a roll. I couldn't be happier! I ordered the 27.5 tough and fast compound. I put them on my new Industry Nine Enduro wheels (review on them coming soon). Out of the box everything was as described, I inspected the tire thoroughly inside and out, nothing to note. So on to mounting. First thing like many others have said these tires are a tight fit, but manageable if you have some levers and patients.

I set them up tubeless and was able to set the beads with a floor pump, no issues what-so-ever. My first ride on them was in Auburn, CA a few months ago. We were on some prime single track and the ground wasn't great but better then the bone dry earth I have been riding in Marin County. I could defiantly "feel" the tire rolling, the resistance is more than the High Roller II's I came off of but that was expected. Once I hit some faster portions of the trail I instantly felt the hook up and felt a lot more confident. This was the first time ever riding this trail for me so I took it a little slower than I normally ride.

After returning to Marin County I took my bike to some familiar trails and was able to put these tires to the test. I am very impressed with how confident I feel with these tires coming into corners and through out all angles of my lean into and out of the corners, they are also great in hard and soft braking situations, I felt confident braking a little later than normal for sure.

We have blessed with some rain here in Marin so I have been able to ride in some wet/muddy/slick conditions. The vigilante holds it's own, I think the only thing I noticed was on a slow accent (climb) they did build up with mud but once I put the pedal down it didn't take long for them to clear themselves.

These tires have been awesome, I have about 200 miles on them and they are still like new, I don't or try to avoid at all cost riding on pavement so my tires seem to last a little longer than the average.

PRO's:
Price
Durability
Traction
Breaking

CON's:
Weight
Mounting

2015 Pivot Mach 6 Review

Well I took the plunge and purchased a 27.5/650b bike. After lots of research, asking questions and demo rides I chose the Pivot Mach 6. I went with a fairly simple build. XO1 1x11, with RaceFace Turbine crank and Narrow/Wide 30t chainring. I also went with Shimano XT brakes. Fox Float-X shock and Rockshoxs Pike Fork. I put a Giant 150MM dropper as well (more on that in another review).

Besides those items the bike is stock, DT Swiss M1700 Spline 2 wheels, Pivots proprietary   handlebars and WTB seat. Maxxis High Roller II tires front and back.

I am coming off of a Knolly Chilcotin, hands down one of my favorite bikes. I never had any issues with my Chili except for the fact it had 26" wheels and was a little on the heavy side, again not a big deal to me but it was getting harder and harder to find good deals on tires. Also high quality wheelsets are getting harder to come by. I felt that if I was going to get any money out of selling my Knolly it was time, in reality I was a little late.

So, the Mach 6, a few things that were very noticeable was the weight, coming in at 28lbs with pedals it was 3 pounds lighter than my Chilcotin. It was very obvious on climbs and when pointed downhill, the Pivot felt a lot more responsive (snappy). I think the best analogy would be, my Chili was like a dragster, point it in the direction you want to go and pin it! While the Mach 6 is a Rally Car, very fast and precise, the drivers ability to control it has a lot more to do with how fast and in control you are.

As for climbing both platforms climb very well, the Pivot Mach 6 w/ DWLink suspension is amazing, the Knolly 4X4 is no joke either but when it comes to climbing, if you take everything else out of the equation, weight, rider ability, wheel size etc.. the Mach 6 DWLink is a better climber. I hardly ever lock out the rear suspension unless I am making a steep long fire road/road climb. Very little pedal bob and my wheel seems to keep traction just as well as my Knolly did.

The Pivot Mach 6 feels amazing and light, the carbon frame is very stiff and truly gives you the "on rails" feeling in corners. Being a lighter bike it also give you the ability to easily move it with you feet and body in technical sections, again I think this is something that has more to do with rider ability, but with 6" of travel the bike is still forgiving for poor line choices...

All in all the Pivot Mach 6 is an amazing 6" travel all mountain/enduro bike. I have been asked many times if I will miss my Chilcotin, at first I thought I would, but in all reality I am much happier on my Pivot Mach 6, not only is it lighter and feels great under me it has a wheel size that is much easier to upgrade and work with.

Pedal Review: Xpedo Faceoff 18

I have been using Xpedo brand pedals for a few years now. I most recently switched back to flats. I bought two different models, the Face-off 18's and the Spry. This review will cover the Face-off 18 as I am still testing the Spry (and loving them).

So a little about the brand, Xpedo makes many different pedals that bear different names and have been in the pedal making business a lot longer than most people think. Have you heard of Wellgo? Think of Xpedo's as a high class Wellgo.

Anyways here are the specs from Xpedo: MSRP $99

Weight:	385g
Body:	6061 CNC Aluminum
Spindle:	CroMo
Bearings:	1 Cartridge
Bushings:	1 DU
Pins:	20 Replaceable straight pins per pedal
Size:	99x100x22 (mm)
Colors:	Black/Silver, Red/Pearl White, Gold/Navy Blue

When my pedals arrived I was very happy with the feel of the bearings as well as the light weight feel of the pedal. My bike has a low bottom bracket height and my main concern is a low profile pedal that I can minimize strikes as I am pushing up or down the mountain. The main concern I had with this pedal was its durability. It seemed to have a lot of space for rocks and branches to get caught up in and this did happen a few times. To my surprise no damage besides scrapes resulted from my encounters with rocks and twigs. 

These pedals have a fairly good sized platform but a lack of pins, or should I say the pins lack grip, they are round and flat and when it gets wet out or when I hit that rough rock garden I lost a little confidence. 

I am hard on my gear and these pedals might not be suited for the all mountain/Enduro/Downhill guy.  I think better pins would make a difference. 

Pros:

Price

Weight

Platform Size

Cons:

Durability

Pins (Lack of/pin design)

Thinkness/profile

Bottom Line: I am again an all mountain rider, I like going down trails fast and hard, but I need to climb to get there. I would not purchase this pedal again for myself but think it would be a great upgrade for someone maybe more trail oriented or someone who doesn't want to make that leap to clipless. 

Tire Review: Schwalbe Hans Dampf

(Front after 500 miles)

I have had Hans Dampf 26 x 2.35 TrailStars mounted on my Knolly Chilcotin for a few months now. The Trail Star is the softer durometer tire. I recently purchased a new rear Pace Star, medium durometer. (both pics are of the trail star) I run these on Stans Flow Ex wheels, tubeless of course, 22 psi front, 30 psi rear. (I am a heavy rider)

A little about the tire; they are very true to there size. They come in around 700-800 grams according to Schwalbe. Which is respectable for that large of a tire. So down to the nitty gritty. These tires are great when riding loose over hardpack conditions. I wouldn't put a trail star on the back again as I ride a lot of rock gardens and dry conditions. These tires hook up great in the corners when your air pressure is set right, can get loose if ridden to high...I know thats common sense but these seem to be very touch with just a few pounds to much.

The biggest complaint I have about the Hans Dampf is the price and the durability. Durability will be an issue with any "soft" tire though so I just choose the harder compound (pace star) for the rear. The tread pattern is excellent and has been used by many name brand companies.

Pros:
Great selection, 3 or 4 different durometers
Good cornering, transitional tread is great
Easy tubeless set up.
Fast Rolling

Cons:
PRICE ($70 on Arts)
Durability
Air Pressure sensitive.

All in all this a great tire from a great company, if you are not worried about dropping $70 per tire and you understand that softer, grippier tires mean less life you won't be disappointed. I personally am going to try the Magic Mary's next. I want something similar but a little more aggressive so I the MM's will fit the bill.

(Rear after 500 miles)

Picking the Right Mountain Bike Tire

Well the age old question....which mountain bike tire should I buy? This is actually easier than you think. There are a few things you need to consider. First and foremost what kind of riding are you doing and second what is the trail condition? Are you riding in superb hero dirt every day or are you riding on the dry loose over hardpack that you see a lot here in the Bay Area?

Another thing you need to think about is your budget, as we all know there are tires out there that can run upwards of $90 each. What makes these tires $90, well one thing is, people buy them so why not charge that much if people will pay for it.

The next biggest thing in the price difference is the tires durometer, or hardness, in most cases a softer tire is going to "stick" to the trail better, but with softer compounds comes left tire life, they will wear out faster. But on the other hand a tire that is harder might last longer but it won't grip the trail as well.

Another thing that I have learned over the years is all the big name tire companies copy each other....I know crazy right...but look at some of the favorite tread patterns out there, Schwalbe Hans Dampf, WTB Vigilante, Kenda Nevegal, Conti Trail King, Maxxis High Roller...Not exactly the same but close enough.

With that said I think the next thing you need to look at besides price is how well they fit on your wheelset, for example, the WTB TCS line of tires is extremely hard to get on and off a Stans Flow EX.

So, back to trail conditions. If you are an all mountain, trail rider and riding on loose over hard pack I would take a look at a tire that has a medium to soft durometer with good transitional treads, these are the knobs between the edge of your tire and the center knobs. These transitional knobs will help prevent that loose feel while cornering. Schwalbe Hans Dampf is a great example of this. In the summer I run the PaceStar compound (Medium) on the back and the TrailStar (soft) on the front. This seems to work well on loose over hard pack conditions.

I am not a Schwalbe fanboy by any means, they came on my bike and I can get them at cost, if I had to pay full price I would not use them, I would most likely run on some Maxxis High Roller II's.

SOOO to recap;
1. Budget
2. Type of Riding
3. Trail Conditions
4. Wheelset compatibility
5. Durometer

Don't forget you can find similar tread patterns from all manufactures, you like most things in life are paying for the name and advertising.

Big Rock Trail Review, Lucas Valley, Marin County

Big Rock trail head is located in Lucas Valley. You can't miss it, off US 101 you take the Lucas Valley exit and head West. When you see a "big rock" on your right park. You will see the trail on the North side of Lucas Valley Rd, and a trail to the South. Big Rock is to the North, again, next to the big rock. Loma Alta Fire Rd is to the South and we can touch on that trail later, it leads to the infamous "680" trail. 

So once your all geared up and ready you can begin your 1400 foot climb to the "Towers".  It is around 3.5 miles from the Rock to the Towers. This trail is not technical but it can test your stamina and legs. A VERY FIT and VERY FAST rider can get to the top in 30 minutes or less. An average rider can expect anywhere from 45-70 minutes to the top. 

Well over half this ride is on open singletrack, only the top 1/4 is fire road. I did this trail as an up and back but it can be a very long loop if you decide to go past the towers and ride the ridge trail East, there are tons of trails and possibilities so to keep this simple I will just discuss the up and back. 

Back to the trail, it is a very well groomed trail, nothing technical, just some steep sections and some leg burners. I wouldn't say this is a an advanced climb but maybe a little intense for beginners or younger kids. 

This like most trails is a multi-use trail and is used more by hikers than Mountain Bikers usually. OK, so back to the trail, so once you fight through the singletrack leg burners you come to a wood fence (see picture) and you have an awesome view of Lucas Valley as well as Skywalker Ranch....you feel relieved and happy....you saddle back up and pedal around the corner and see the Fire Road "wall"....ughhhh, thats right you have about half a mile of fire road left with three steep short sections to battle through...you can see the towers...just focus and pedal you will be there before you know it. 

Once to the top you will ride past the big tower and from there you can look to the North and see all of Novato or to the South and see all of Lucas Valley, great views!! 

Now the fun begins, you get to go down what you just pushed up. Great sight lines and not technical. It is easy to get going very fast and like I mentioned before there will be hikers so be careful and ride with control.