I can see the necessity in learning to add sealant myself as opposed to bringing it into the shop.

I ordered:

Sealant
Plunger/tube
valve stem tool

Is it worth picking up some extra valve stems? Not sure how often those break?

AgLiving06 said:

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I can see the necessity in learning to add sealant myself as opposed to bringing it into the shop.

I ordered:

Sealant
Plunger/tube
valve stem tool

Is it worth picking up some extra valve stems? Not sure how often those break?

---

It's fine to add sealant a few times. But at some point you'll want to clear out the dried bits and refresh the entire system.

Solid set of tire levers. Learn how to work a bead, it will save your fingers and time.

Valve stems are stupid cheap and I always have one around. ***** to clean out dried sealant in a valve if you're not home and trying to add air. Also, store with valves at noon to keep them from clogging. But rotate often if you're not riding a lot.

So I'm dipping my toes into the world of indoor racing during the off season. My FTP is around 300 for an hour, but I'm too damn fat at 190 lbs. I tried my first crit on Rouvy - 1100 feet of Climbing, same amount of descending, four laps and about 7 1/2 miles. Over the 20 minutes on the race, my average power was 295 and that was with four sub 100 W descents. Feel pretty good about that effort, but then I see some guy beats me with a 3.9 W per kilogram / 180w average. Definitely sandbagging his weight a little bit, but basically everybody was at least 50 W lower than me in the race, I'm just too fat. I think if I actually want to podium I need to be sub 180. in order to get there I'm afraid I have to give up all booze and sweets and at that point what's even the point?

Keep the booze. Pedal harder

But for real.

I'm not sure OP's height, but I'm 6'2", 38 and hover around 165-170 - FTP in the mid 3s depending on season. I'm not shy with Manhattans and def have a Dorito/Cheeto/sweets tooth.

Volume is physics. 15 hours of work a week and do what you want.

RangerRick9211 said:

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But for real.

I'm not sure OP's height, but I'm 6'2", 38 and hover around 165-170 - FTP in the mid 3s depending on season. I'm not shy with Manhattans and def have a Dorito/Cheeto/sweets tooth.

Volume is physics. 15 hours of work a week and do what you want.

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I've long struggled to get my FTP higher. I am only 6' and same weight profile as you. My FTP is only 220. I probably don't ride enough though as I split time running and swimming too.

Is this where the mountain bikers hang?

I've been out of the game for 15 years or more (basically since college at A&M) but this latest ****ty ski season made me finally bite the bullet and buy a legitimate mountain bike. Previously, I've been riding my old Diamondback hardtail on 26" wheels on trails around southern Oregon a few times a year.

Mountain bikes have come a long ways! I wound up with a Canyon Spectral CF7. Way more bike than what I need but it's pretty sweet.

For now, I'm just trying to get back into mountain biking shape because we've got a trip planned for Sedona in a couple of months where I plan to mountain bike quite a bit.

Lol, holla from the ski thread.

OBRA kicks off this week. I'm racing Bone Crusher in Madras, OR this weekend. Skiing Meadows on the way home.

I'm doing the full OR XC and gravel series. In your hood, beyond Ashland, Whiskey Run is the destination.

Steens is also super interesting as a destination.

I'll be driving through to Whiskey Tango on Mt. Whitney end of the month. Also skiing Tahoe on our way through!

HMU for any OR MTB questions. I've been to all corners.

Whiskey Run looks sick. Hadn't heard of that one.

Steens is sick. Love it there. Mountain of the Rogue is pretty awesome too, but it's been several years since I've been. Need to be in some great shape for it since the climb kicks my ass.

I've done Mt Ashland a ton but I'm lazy and just get shuttled to the top.

I plan to do some runs at the Phils network in bend in a couple of weeks during a work trip I've got there. I haven't been yet so I'm looking forward to it.

You have an app recommendation for finding and mapping trails? Currently I'm just looking on Trailforks.

I was just at Phil's this weekend, but on 45mm gravel tires. . It's XC paradise, full squish isn't required for 90% of it.

If you go soon, you can connect: Phil's to Skyliners to Tumalo Falls (bike only). The gate is still closed to the falls. No snow. Connect with Tumalo Creek Trail for dirt back to Phil's.


It's all yours alone! I refuse to shuttle, but Flagline is the gem of Phil's. Upper is already open out of Dutchman Sno Park. Cog Wild can shuttle you, though, if you don't want to peddle Century. Cascade Lakes still has snow, but they should be cutting the snow melt lane soon. Then you can hop the gate and ride that bike only as well.



https://bendtrails.org/trails-of-central-oregon/bend-trail-map/

Phil's can get kinda boring, though. I would connect to see stuff like Deschutes River Trail towards Sun River and hit Afternoon Delight, etc. - prettier connections and great flow trails down south.

If you haven't yet, take the entire family to McKenzie River / Tamolitch Pool up on the pass. It is the #1 ride and MTB destination in OR. https://bendtrails.org/trail/mckenzie-river-trail/.

ATCA in Oakridge is the #2 destination ride in OR, https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/outdoor-recreation/bicycling/atca/. But it's a haul for you.

Trailforks is kinda it for MTB. If you get into gravel, https://dirtyfreehub.org/, is based out of Bend and has tons of routes. Stuff like the Ogden trail up Newberry Crater is ridiculously pretty: https://dirtyfreehub.org/routes/oregon/creek-to-peak/.

Edit: Don't lock yourself into Phil's. It really can get boring. Just forest on forest. Metolious-Windingo from Sisters has way more tech and in-your-face views of the Sisters. Peterson Ridge for views out of Sisters. Maston is flat, but has awesome cliff vistas of the Deschutes canyon and runs year round. Across the street from Maston is Cline Butte and has the truest downhill, like no thanks for me, downhill around Bend. One and done for me there.

Awesome. Thanks for the long post!

We've camped and hiked at Belknap and done the hike to Blue Pool but never with a MTB, so that would be a cool spot. Would love to do the shuttle thing on that whole trail.

Oakridge isn't too far, like 2.5 hours. We've been meaning to go there and may try that this summer.

Good to know the scoop on Phil's though. I'm mainly just looking for some trails I can knock out quickly in the evenings when I'm there.

I think we might do a summer trip down to Tahoe and Downieville this year.

I feel like I'm already falling into the N+1 trap... I want a gravel bike pretty bad now. My wife would be pretty annoyed after dropping $3k on my Canyon MTB though, so that may have to wait until next year.

Nice, have fun!

You should def hit McKenzie Pass when you're in town. Almost snow free to the top. Gates won't open until June for cars. Super unique ride and you can connect it with Metolious-Windingo for MTB descent.

Eurosport in Sisters logs updates: https://eurosports.us/

Pretty beautiful day. Just a quick lunch ride around Roxy Anne Peak in Medford, Oregon.

It is a beautiful day in OR!

In Madras for Bonecrusher XCO!

Nice!
Good luck! Are you doing the full PNW XC?

Thanks!

Not the PNW series, but am doing the OBRA series.

Make it to Phil's yet?! 2 sport days in Bend are full gas right now.

How'd it go?

Haven't made it to Phil's yet, but I might go next week for a day and try to bring the bike. Looks like the weather might be decent.

P4, Cat 3 19-39.

Last year of getting torn up by teens and 20s.

Madras itself isn't worthy a destination, but the camping was great. East side gets the Cascade sunsets.

Mudslinger XC next weekend. Then PIR crit Mondays start. Then Whiskey Tango on Whitney. Season is starting to heat up! 3 races in Bend/Sisters this summer/fall as well! Always the hit of OR, even just casual or fondo. You should def check them out. Such a vibe.

Enjoy Phil's. I'll be overnighting in Bend on my way down to Tahoe/Bishop for Whiskey. I'll probably be shooting for something around Cascade Lakes. No snow; no cars!

Was a beautiful weekend for the Castell Grind. I am still fat and slow but had a blast.

Planning on taking a week to go to Colorado in early August and either starting or finishing the week with riding Copper Triangle again. I quite enjoyed it last year despite it being 34 and raining the first hour, so hopefully this year will have a little better weather.

Any recommendations of (road) rides to hit up within a reasonable drive of that part of CO?

Zwift or Rouvy?

With the time change and warmer weather I have started to try to get back into riding shape. I usually don't ride much in the Winter months and do more running. I felt like I was starting to get in a groove again and now we have had a week of rain with more to come. It has me considering an indoor trainer to have something to fall back on when there is bad weather. The hard part is that I have always considered one of the joys of riding is being outdoors so some of that is lost. But something is better than nothing?

It seems Rouvy has "better graphics" and real location rides. It is also significantly cheaper. I don't really care about the online community and racing, not interested in virtual friends. I'm looking for a training that will translate into real world riding. I was also considering the Kickr Core 2 set up.

Any thoughts, suggestions, experience with any of that?

Rouvy if those are your parameters

I would switch over but finishing all zwift routes keeps me coming back for now.

I used Rouvy this winter and definitely enjoyed it. I did some workouts they listed, but didn't really like their structure very much (i.e., threshold / VO2 workouts didn't really match my FTP). So instead, I just did freerides and then ran workouts off my garmin edge. Haven't really used zwift, but I genuinely liked the fact that I was riding real routes, and with the wahoo bike, it felt pretty realistic on some of the hard workouts.

Dirt is starting to dry out in Cleveland. I haven't been riding nearly as much as I'd like because this ******* job keeps getting in the way. Feels great to get out on some single track.

Rouvy bought FulGaz. I'm too deep into Zwift to switch, but I did trial it last year for their "Grand Tour".

I don't like the AR of of Rouvy. FulGaz is real places filmed by real people and the software paces you to the effort.

dave99ag said:

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That's a nice Lauf setup! I'm still running stock, but have definitely been a fan.

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We can fit 60mm on our Laufs.

Schwalbe G-One Speed PRO 29 x 2.35 for race this weekend near Mt. Whitney (washboard and sand). BRR and FlexFit by John tested Crr as the lowest of any gravel tire. They're just ridiculous looking. Normally running 2.25 Burts or Peyote/Torreno XC and they are small comparatively.

Those are HUGE! Curious to know how well they grip.

One ride in, the grip has been great - better than Burts. But, they're so weird. Hard to explain, maybe it's the amount of contact patch or a more roundy tire (vs. boxy MTB), but it's a fight to turn. Switchback single track was an arm workout. But the race is relatively straight and no single track. I'm bringing Burts and will decide day before after some pre-riding.

Bike is so so so noticeably taller and has a hum from the tires.

RangerRick9211 said:

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One ride in, the grip has been great - better than Burts. But, they're so weird. Hard to explain, maybe it's the amount of contact patch or a more roundy tire (vs. boxy MTB), but it's a fight to turn. Switchback single track was an arm workout. But the race is relatively straight and no single track. I'm bringing Burts and will decide day before after some pre-riding.

Bike is so so so noticeably taller and has a hum from the tires.

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Combination of several factors. Front end geometry and higher center of gravity will be the two biggest. Tire pressure also makes a difference. When I run lower pressure on my MTB and gravel bikes, they noticeably "pulls" into a turn more (wants to turn, once a turn is initiated). The can be detrimental for me when riding my gravel bike on the road if it wants to do a tighter turn than I want to do.

I daily 2.25 Peyote/Torreno XC on the Lauf. Typically race 2.25 Burts.

Barzo/Mezcal/Peyote 2.4 on the XC bike.

Sometimes with inserts. Always low pressures, sub 20 and based on Wolf Tooth's. calc (better than Silca, imo). I've got years on MTB tires.

These are just so weird with the profile. It's so tall, less boxy, and certainly geo is different. Just weird, floaty even in corners. It's a descendent of Schwalbe's Big One, which was a beach tire that everyone realized was the fastest MTB tire. Problem was you could never finish without a puncture.

Quote:

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It seems Rouvy has "better graphics" and real location rides. It is also significantly cheaper. I don't really care about the online community and racing, not interested in virtual friends. I'm looking for a training that will translate into real world riding. I was also considering the Kickr Core 2 set up.

Any thoughts, suggestions, experience with any of that?

---

If what you want to do is get stronger for outdoors, get a Tainer Road subscription and a trainer that supports ERG mode. Create a training plan in Trainer road and follow it. Watch tv while riding. Done, and done.

I'm so irritated about peyotes. They are blazing fast and corner surprisingly well. I run 2.4s on the front and back of my trail bike. But something's gotta give and they have effectively zero durability. Any rock garden and I'm guaranteed to shred them and need to patch. Anytime my tires leave the ground I feel like the sidewalls cave and I burp out five psi. For hard pack flow trails, they are insane, but add in any rowdiness and they don't hold up at all.

I'm thinking about some Schwebel wicked wills as a middle ground.For a while, I ran dissectors, which weren't fast, but they were basically bulletproof, but something with a little less rolling resistance would be nice. I've had the peyotes on for about 2 to 3 months of actual riding and had four flats. Psi I run 23-25 up front and 27 in the back.

This is the way.

I've been a recreational Zwift user for the last year. I get bored riding/exploring the island but I found the group rides and workouts to be engaging enough. I just didn't have the time to keep up with the multiple workouts a week when they hit an hour or more.

I switched to TrainerRoad a month ago and cancelled my Zwift after 2 weeks. I don't even do the structured schedule, but I find their one-off AI workout to be the perfect level of effort. You can set the time you have available and the system will generate a workout for you and a forecasted FTP once you get a trend going.

Also enjoy being able to zone in on the TV or a movie. Despite Zwift marketing itself as the social platform it's not very interactive if you don't have that social network already.

NoHo Hank said:

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I'm so irritated about peyotes. They are blazing fast and corner surprisingly well. I run 2.4s on the front and back of my trail bike. But something's gotta give and they have effectively zero durability. Any rock garden and I'm guaranteed to shred them and need to patch. Anytime my tires leave the ground I feel like the sidewalls cave and I burp out five psi. For hard pack flow trails, they are insane, but add in any rowdiness and they don't hold up at all.

I'm thinking about some Schwebel wicked wills as a middle ground.For a while, I ran dissectors, which weren't fast, but they were basically bulletproof, but something with a little less rolling resistance would be nice. I've had the peyotes on for about 2 to 3 months of actual riding and had four flats. Psi I run 23-25 up front and 27 in the back.

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Tubeless? XC or Trail casing? I've never had an issue with Peyote Race XCs and they've seen plenty of rock across WA, ID, UT, CA and OR. If you're slashing sidewalls, no tire is guaranteed. Line choice at that point.

27/25/23 psi are way too high unless you're a very girthy boy. 2.4s I'm 17 front / 18 rear @ 170#s. You can also try an insert. Vittoria's > CushCore. It compresses when the tire is inflated and has no impact on rolling resistance. Just a few extra grams. But will provide more structure to your tire. I'll run them in the rear for rockier races with fast descents for just that extra cushion.

Dissectors are an Enduro tire. You can't really compare to XC/Trail casings. Dissectors also dissect your face as the saying goes. So.

Peyote is an XCO type tire. I'd never run them on a trail/downcountry bike. It's for hard-pack, non-tech, flow is fine, but nothing where you need grip. Wicked Will = Barzo = Rekon in the other brands. For a true downcountry, pedal efficient to enjoy the downhill, hard to beat any of those. Crr hit isn't that bad in the trail casings for any of them.

Tubeless with xc casing. I run a little higher psi because I'm 205ish so I like a little extra buffer. I've run down closer to 20 just for that I like pressure a little higher. when I'm down at 17/18 that feels way too mushy for me.

As for slashing the tires, that's happening across the tread not the sidewall. I know I'm looking for a unicorn tire, I just find them to be really sensitive to any rock gardens or roots. Same story with sidewall durability. Anytime I go off a table or drop and land at any kind of angle I feel like the sidewall burps a bit.

Anyway, I'm just complaining because they're not in everyday tire for me and I really wish they were. Where I ride there there's enough tech that outweigh the pros. they are absolutely perfect for my favorite trail up here in Ohio, but my everyday trail warrants something with a little more durability. A lot of my buddies ride the mezcal/barzo combo, I may try that or rekons next, though I'm curious about wicked wills.