Three-fourths of team Totally Doable went up to the Napa Valley this weekend for a set of Ride The Lobster training rides. These were hard days; we only managed to go to five wineries and two breweries along the way. We averaged about 10 miles per bottle of wine, which is better mileage than a Prius.
I used the Big Apple 29x2.35 on Saturday, and the Big Apple 28x2.0 on Sunday. I came away liking the 28x2.0–the lighter weight and the better performance on camber might make it my choice for the race. It’s squirrelly when it’s pumped up to its rated pressure (70psi), but with a little softness to the tire it rides really nicely.
Also good info on the 2.35 vs the 2.0. I’ve been reading other threads on camber as the main road I’d hoped to commute on regularly has severe camber in parts and I’m running a 2.35 Big Apple. I’m getting better at handling the camber, but tbh with the amount of camber and all the cars buzzing by etc, it’s not an enjoyable piece of road.
I know it’s hard to quantify, but how much of an improvement do you think the 2.0 is in respect to the handling of camber over the 2.35? Do you ride the same stretch of road and go ‘oh wow, this is more like it!’, or is it only small (but worthwhile) improvement?
On my ungeared 29er, I’ve adjusted to the road camber issue with the 29x2.35; as long as the tire is pumped up to 50psi+, I don’t really notice it much anymore. But on the geared 29er, it can be quite a problem. There was one section of the Silverado Trail with a banked turn that I came into at speed, and I really had to fight the wheel to keep it moving straight, slowing to under 10mph. On the same section the next day, I just carved the turn without slowing. It was a pretty dramatic difference.
The 28x2.0" doesn’t handle bumps quite as well, especially at high pressure; it’s still better than many tires, but not super-cushy like the 29x2.35".
The 29x2.35" is definitely better for anything off-road, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be running the 28x2.0" (or else the Marathon Supreme, which I just received and haven’t ridden on yet) for RTL.
This weekend was a LOT of fun. While Tom and Nancy stayed at a romantic B&B, I camped up at Harbin Hot Springs, which is a perfect way of winding down after a day of riding.
I HIGHLY recommend the combination of wine tasting and unicycling. Staying sober wasn’t an issue since we had adequate distance between the wineries that we stopped at. The logistics of buying wine were a little tricky. A few wineries held our wine that we picked up later, and I managed to stuff a couple bottles in my hydration pack. We did most of the wine tasting on Saturday while riding 40 miles. For those contemplating a similar ride, I’d recommend dropping that down to 30 miles to have more time at the wineries and not be as rushed.
…if you’re wondering what the thing in my hand is, they’re Tom’s socks (clean!!) that we used as a baton.
