Gear Notes: August 26

About Gear Notes

Gear Notes is a weekly recap of what I’ve been riding and reviewing over the previous week, as well as quick first impressions of products prior to their full reviews. It’s a supplement to our formal gear writing that’s meant to keep you all, as readers, in the loop with what’s coming down the pipe.

What I rode last week

Schwalbe Radial Tires

Last week I mentioned that I had a set of Schwalbe’s new radial construction tires in hand, but my only impressions so far were that they smelled good. Since then, I’ve managed to get several rides in on them. Not enough for a full review, but enough to start getting a feel for the tread pattern and construction.

The tread pattern is great - easy to get along with, predictable, lots of traction. There’s a reason this is a popular layout. And so far the construction feels…special. I’ve been consistently bumping up air pressures every ride, and right now I’m at about 8 PSI higher front and rear than I’d usually run in in a gravity casing tire. And they don’t feel “too hard” or skittery, or any of the things I’d expect to be an issue at nearly 30 PSI. They deliver so much traction, so consistently, it’s pretty cool. Lots more to sus out here, but the results so far are great.

How do they pedal? Like you’d expect soft, very knoby, DH casing tires to pedal. Not great, but that’s not the point. And right now I don’t think I can tell any negative difference due to the casing construction.

Specialized Stumpjumper

I promise I’ll get the full review on this bike out soon. I just have a lot of questions, that have been hard to answer without access to a correctly sized coil shock. But I’ve still been riding it a fair bit, and it’s still delightful.

Getting back on the Stumpy after a few weeks riding other bikes was a good reminder that the Fox Genie shock does have something pretty unique going on. I most notice it on flat, rooty sections of trail, where I expect the rear end of the bike to get hung up, and yank my feet. Instead the Stumpjumper is shockingly quiet feeling in those situations.

My one beef: I wish you could mullet this bike without buying a separate link. Several other brands have figured out flip chip adjustment ranges that allow you to run a smaller rear wheel without buying a new link, and I wish Specialized was on this program too. But I bet sales data indicates that there are very few people in my boat on this one.

Shimano Saint Brakes

I still love Saints , but figured it was worth noting that I had a front pad contamination issue last week. Might have been my fault, regardless, it made for a scary ride on a trail Dylan, our social media guru, built. Pads have been replaced, and so far the bike is riding great!

What I’m looking forward to riding this week

Fox Transfer 240 mm Dropper Post

It might be old news, but I just finally got my hands on Fox’s new 240 mm Transfer dropper post. Initial impressions are very positive, I’ve got it bolted to my Steezl, and I’m stoked to ride it this week. For bikes with more than 150 mm of travel, I’m pretty dang sold on 240 mm dropper posts, and it’s great to see more options on the market

Saris Modular Rack

I just got my hands on a rack based on the Saris MHS (Modular Hitch System). Out of the box, it’s really, really nice. The MHS base is a solid, pivoting base that fits both 2” and 1.5” receivers, with a built-in adaptor, and then you can bolt whatever accessories you’d like on top. I’ve got two of their DUO trays on it right now, but you can also swap on cargo carriers, or similar. So far, all the components feel really well-designed and solid, and I’m stoked to use this rack more.

Gravity Laps
I’m headed out for some bike park time next week and I can’t wait. I don’t actually have much gear that needs reviewing in this context, but I’m stoked to go ride big bikes with my friends. So I’m sure I’ll come back with some shoe, apparel, and helmet reviews.