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Thanks @notseanday. 1. Are any pros running DHX front and rear vs. DHX F / DHRII R? 2. When are folks deciding to run an Assegai vs. DHX? 3. Any indication if the casing technology will filter down to EXO+/DD?

Any questions about the DHX or updated DH casing let me know, both were my projects. In general the DHX does everything our current dry tires do, but has more capability for high load high speed conditions. I designed it to excel in the bike park oriented World Cup tracks but still not give up performance in soft or natural sections compared to current dry tires. Ideally I wanted to simply the racers’ tire choice: if it’s dry and fast- DHX, if it’s soft or mixed- HR3, if it’s wet- mud spike. The updated DH casing is pretty well explained...

VINDICATED

I did some digging and found a nice summary Maxxis Minion DHX — new gravity/DH tread aimed at dry, hardpack conditions: Bigger, blockier lugs than before for support and braking power at speed Tighter-spaced center tread for faster rolling on hardpack; bigger shoulder lugs for off-camber grip New L-shaped center-to-shoulder transition Positioned as a fast, dry/hardpack-focused tire — sits alongside the Assegai and DHR II, not replacing them New DH casing — reworked construction across the DH lineup: More rigid butyl bead insert (pinch-flat resistance) Wider casing overlap under the tread New sidewall cut-resistance material Claimed 20%+ gains in cornering...

The test methodology in that Enduro MTB test leaves a lot to be desired. They measured the tires' rolling resistance on a steel drum (bad for measuring any tire) and with all tires inflated to the same pressures (which is bad for measuring radial vs. bias ply tires). Measuring rolling resistance on a large steel drum is like picking tires based on how cool the patch on the sidewall looks. And this section in their article about tire pressure proves that the methodology is whack. They found the same results for all brands of DH tires, too (Conti, Schwalbe, Specialized)...

There is a lot of factors, and I can't comment on that rim. That said I've found the Wolftooth calculator to be an accurate tool for me and simplifies it. It takes into account the bike weight, casing and type of riding. For me I err on the side of caution and put in "enduro, steeps, rocks" for my riding conditions as I live in Colorado (its rocky) and I enjoy pulling for the blind double last minute and sometimes it doesn't work (dumb lines). If your denting rims you need to up the pressure, even 1-2 will do a...

I hate to say this but you need 3. An ebike to ride when you have limited time or its too hot or you think its too wet or you're too tired or because the trail sucks. An enduro or 150ish bike to ride the fun trails and still pedal but also to put into a bag so you can travel to cool places to ride all the good shit all around the world. A downhill bike because it feels so good. The end.

Richie Rude posted the fastest time in A-2 Men's finals, followed by Luca Shaw and Seth Sherlock. Both Richie and Luca went faster than Dane Jewett's seeding time from yesterday. Men's Elite racing resumes with the A-1 riders after the women's A-1 group, which starts a little after 2:30 Pacific time.

To answer your question about swapping wheelsets... yes it's far better then you think it would be. I keep all of the bikes in my families fleet on 200mm sram hs2 rotors and sram metallic pads. There are 7 wheelsets between 6 bikes and of those 7 wheelsets, 6 are dt350 hubs, 1 is i9 hubs, 4/6 of the bikes utilize transmission cassettes and 2 utilize eagle cassettes. I had to shim the brake rotor on the i9 hub with .5mm shims so that I can swap wheels without touching brake calipers. All of the bikes shift fine and no...

Believe it or not, the DHR2 has been the fastest rolling Maxxis DH tire for a long time, faster than the DHF, Assegai, HR2, HR3, Shorty, everything. That's why Greg ran DHR2's front and rear (2.3 EXO casing, I think?) on his World Champs bike in Pietermaritzburg in 2013. It was a gamble to run such thin tires on the DH track, and he famously hit a rock and got a leak on the rear tire in his race run, such that it was completely flat within a minute of crossing the finish line. That was 13 years ago, so...

Respectfully, were you able to change rear spring rate on both bikes? I can see that the V10 has a coil, but I can't tell on the TR11 because the shock is behind your leg. I ask because one of the worst days of bike riding in my life was when I rented a V10 from a shop in Creekside (maybe Coastal Culture Sports? I can't remember) that had a coil rear shock. I hadn't ridden a DH bike in years at that point and had been loving my XL 29" Megatower, so I was excited to see what a...

For what it's worth your experience with the new TR11 and the new RS suspension tracks pretty well with what I've seen. I got my wife a TR11 in the S size and she's a good rider, but wanted a couch with some wheels attached over a lap time hunting machine. I wasn't sure she would ever find bottom on the new boxxer without having to run a stupid amount of sag, but to RS credit she's able to use full travel when appropriate and run the recommended PSI. As for my fox 40. I love the thing but it...

They did the basic setup and both bikes were delivered to me with the transition and santa cruz prescribed setups. TBH, that didn't matter much for me because I always have to do some tweaking off of baseline settings no matter the bike. I didn't really have much choice of where to grab a bike from... when you're in the middle of your trip and in the middle of the day, trying to find a bike to ride immediately, you go with whatever is available. I have no doubt that there are better shops, I typically deal with Arbutus Routes...

@DServy sums it up nicely. I actually rode 3 bikes on this trip, 1 heavily modified enduro bike (XL nomad 6) and 2 dh bikes (L TR11 - L V10), so I got a pretty good chance to directly compare a 175/180 enduro bike to a dh bike. Further helping the comparison, is that WBP is in the worst shape this year for end of July then it has been for the last 6. Overall, I'd say that a DH bike at the bike park is the move. I've only ridden 1 dh bike (a previous gen, 2022 tr11 for...

DH bikes are worth every bit in a bike park like Whistler

My 2 Cents after spending years riding bike parks on an enduro bike but moved to using a DH bike this season is: Use a DH bike. It's so much better. The only comparison I can make is if you're a skier the difference between riding your ski touring gear in bounds vs. an actual resort setup. The whole experience feels way less janky and is way more fun. I'm a firm believer in DH bikes now. this NSMB article sums up the DH bike experience pretty well. https://nsmb.com/articles/downhill-bikes-are-psychotic/

The Crocs are in sport mode, he will be fine.

Holy seat tube angle, Batman.

No, I think no valve stems is a new Trek innovation. Y'all just don't want to give them credit for it.