Conditions?

how do you test?

same conditions, same food intake? same amount of sleep?

when the engine is human there are sooo many variables....
 
martin said:
how do you test?

same conditions, same food intake? same amount of sleep?

when the engine is human there are sooo many variables....
Click to expand...

agreed .. it's not like we're talking laboratory conditions here .. but if you ride 3 times with a rigid fork and all three times come in 1 to 2 minutes faster than 3 times with a suspension suspension fork, it tells me something

if you're coming in faster sometimes with one fork and faster sometimes with the other fork, then it probably means the fork doesn't matter much
 
i would say you're more comfortable and maybe confident! that stiff front end is giving you the feedback you need to carry more speed.

they're done similar things in formula one, where it is ALL science and maths... something as simple as making the drive more ergo/comfy and his times dropped significantly.

are you doing the 18 or the 6 at LM?
 
soundz said:
Maybe not between different parts of same quality but, there is a difference between a rigid fork vs suspension .. steel frame vs aluminum of the same price range, 20t cog vs 19t vs geared. At least I've found I can be 2 minutes faster on the LM course with a rigid fork vs suspension. That is significant for racing. If I find I can be even 30 seconds faster at 20psi than 40psi, then I might as well do it. Add it all up, it can be a chunk of time.
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Just ride more instead of worrying about this stuff, that will do more for you races times than worrying about part selection. However, I can tell you right now, you should be able to go faster with gears and if you aren't, you aren't using them properly.

Also, riding a rigid fork compared to suspension has nothing to do with faster times.
 
martin said:
are you doing the 18 or the 6 at LM?
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I'll be doing 6.

I think me being faster at LM with the rigid is because front end is like 2 pounds lighter, so I'm climbing faster and LM doesn't have enough rocks to throw me off with a rigid. 2 pounds of weight won't make a difference on a bike? I dunno it's not like I have a ton of experience riding so maybe it is the way I'm using the different forks, but it works for me.
 
soundz said:
I'll be doing 6.

I think me being faster at LM with the rigid is because front end is like 2 pounds lighter, so I'm climbing faster and LM doesn't have enough rocks to throw me off with a rigid. 2 pounds of weight won't make a difference on a bike? I dunno it's not like I have a ton of experience riding so maybe it is the way I'm using the different forks, but it works for me.
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Yeah, the weight makes a difference, but are you that serious about it that you will be changing forks out for different places you ride?
 
Soundz... dont discount the toll that the beating takes on your body. A rigid fork may be lighter, but the smoother suspended ride is easier on your body too. Something to take into consideration. But if your only doing a lap, i doubt it really matters...
 
stb222 said:
Yeah, the weight makes a difference, but are you that serious about it that you will be changing forks out for different places you ride?
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Just takes 10 minutes to swap out and I'm pretty sure after KVSP, I will be switching to the suspension for rest of the races. Not sure about 909 .. haven't been there, but I've seen some photos of 909 and looks like it has some rocks?

At some point soon, I'll have 2 bikes, 1 rigid and 1 suspension, so it won't matter so much. But yea, on my race bike I'm gonna swap it depending on which race is coming up. But to answer your question, for normal riding no I don't get that anal and swap every single time.

jShort said:
Soundz... dont discount the toll that the beating takes on your body. A rigid fork may be lighter, but the smoother suspended ride is easier on your body too. Something to take into consideration. But if your only doing a lap, i doubt it really matters...
Click to expand...

Yes, for normal riding I've found I found I like to have some squish. Even LM .. there is a lot of rooty bumps so riding suspension is more enjoyable for me. I rode rigid at CR after the Tymor race and it was beating me up pretty good.
 
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Conditions

WOW!! Talk about a thread getting trounced upon! lol.So how much rain did Six mile get yesterday.Too muddy today.Heading down to LBI today, and was thinking about stopping here.If too muddy I may check out Wharton for the first time.
 
kidzach said:
So how much rain did Six mile get yesterday.Too muddy today.
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i plan to at check it out around 6pm or so... crossing all my fingers that it isn't too bad.

if anyone wants to volunteer to check it before that time post up here 😀
 
soundz said:
Maybe not between different parts of same quality but, there is a difference between a rigid fork vs suspension .. steel frame vs aluminum of the same price range, 20t cog vs 19t vs geared. At least I've found I can be 2 minutes faster on the LM course with a rigid fork vs suspension. That is significant for racing. If I find I can be even 30 seconds faster at 20psi than 40psi, then I might as well do it. Add it all up, it can be a chunk of time.
Click to expand...

you need a wind tunnel.

that rigid versus suspension fork speed thing i find surprising. you may want to revisit that and play with your fork settings. i've had both rigid and hardtail set ups on my singlespeed, and i was definitely faster with a hardtail in the long run. especially when you start adding up more laps. the fatigue that comes with riding rigid adds up fast - especially at race pace.
 
gmb3 said:
In case you missed it, i am old school so no tubeless. But yes, tubeless can be run at way lower psi than a normal tire. I've never tried tubeless XC tires. On my DH bike though i have tubeless and i managed to pinch flat my TIRE multiple times which sucks even more because those freaking things are expensive. I run tubes in them now.
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Wait until I see you next time. I'm gonna convince you to go tubeless. I'll help you with the conversion.

Rode 6Mile today for the first time with the ghetto tubeless setup using a home brew sealant recipe. The difference is unbelievable. You ride the twisties pretty fast at 6Mile with your high pressure and tubes. Just imagine what you could do if you could go tubeless.
 
just got back from 6mr...

it was wet in some corners, but totally sexy the rest of the time...

sun just came out so if you got time hit it now =]


note - looks like someone did some heavy duty maintenance on the first power line area. the grass is cut and the Mr. T tree is gone. they moved it to the side.


mister_tree.jpg
 
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martin said:
note - looks like someone did some heavy duty maintenance on the first power line area. the grass is cut and the Mr. T tree is gone. they moved it to the side.
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The power company does this on occasion. It can be both a blessing and a curse when they come through.
 
I was very surprised when I saw how they cleared that section. The log added character to the entrance to the twisties. RIP already dead log!
 
yah that log was a pain in the arse...

It would have been fine were it perpendicular to the path, but that goofy angle was goofy
 
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