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BethL
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Nov 12, 2015
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21
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Colorado
I had a maddening conversation about hitch racks at REI today. I had played with their floor sample of the Thule and the Yakima and ruled out the Yakima because the release handle took two hands. I asked the sales guy about the Kuat which something like this:

Me: What about the Kuat?
Him: A Kwat? (I'm thinking he's correcting my pronunciation here) Those sold out as soon as the member coupon came out but you can order it. It's just like that one (he points to the Thule) but holds 4.
Me: I don't need to hold 4.
Him: Oh, then we have those.
Me: But you don't have a floor sample?
Him: Points to the Thule again.
Me: I'm asking about the Kuat, you know, a different brand?
Him: Oh, I thought when you said Kuat you meant quad.

I hate it when sales people at sports stores assume I don't know anything about gear.

Definitely annoying to deal with sales people like that! I see a lot of Kwat racks around town. We got a good deal on a Yakima hitch rack, so that's what we have. We have the kind with the trays, which works well with different types of bikes. We just have two trays now but can expand to four. I love this rack! It's really easy to lower so that I can open the rear hatch. Bikes are so easy to load. We have everything from a 24" wheel kids bike to my 29er. It's actually easy to install on the car using a ratcheting wrench (not the small wrench that comes with it).
 
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coskigirl

coskigirl

Skiing the powder
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Evergreen, CO
I ordered the Kuat in black. I really like the ideas of the foot release and repair stand features. My habit is to load gear before I do anything else when getting back to my car from cycling/skiing and I don't have a repair stand so this will do double duty at home.
 
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coskigirl

coskigirl

Skiing the powder
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Definitely annoying to deal with sales people like that! I see a lot of Kwat racks around town. We got a good deal on a Yakima hitch rack, so that's what we have. We have the kind with the trays, which works well with different types of bikes. We just have two trays now but can expand to four. I love this rack! It's really easy to lower so that I can open the rear hatch. Bikes are so easy to load. We have everything from a 24" wheel kids bike to my 29er. It's actually easy to install on the car using a ratcheting wrench (not the small wrench that comes with it).

I wanted to like the Yakima but the one I tried required two hands to release the trays to carrying mode which is not okay with me.
 

Josh Matta

Skiing the powder
Pass Pulled
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Dec 21, 2015
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4,123
Quite possibly best shoes EVARRRRRRR... I had my last pair for 20 years and I'm only replacing them because the sole is worn out..and that's saying something in a cycling shoe!! :)

See that's what I think!! I got my money's worth..hell I might be buried in them... :roflmao:

68_271_varianti_gallery_pop_MtbDominator7Mega_BlackBlack.jpg

how the hold on wet roots and rocks?
 

scott43

So much better than a pro
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Nov 12, 2015
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how the hold on wet roots and rocks?

Not the best. The rubber is fairly hard though heavily lugged. I expect a softer rubber like a vibram rubber would be better. The are two bosses for metal stud attachment but I think they're too long to be useful for hard surfaces. More for mud.
 

Tom K.

Skier Ordinaire
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I ordered the Kuat in black.

I have at least 5 friends with these. They all love them. When I go to an endurance mtb race, the pits are full of them.

They must be doing something right. From what I've seen, 1UpUSA measures up in quality, but they are priced even higher.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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10,561
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I'm slowly starting my research for a new mountain bike this season. This time it's for real. ( This 2015 thread was just practice)

So, thoughts on 1x for a seriously slow climber? I really like the idea of a quieter bike and fewer mechanical fiddly bits, but a friend of mine said that once she tried climbing with a 1x, she knew she didn't want it. I currently use a 2x with a bash guard. Can a 1x realistically get me as low as the granny gear on a 2x? Or, how ridiculous would my rear setup have to be to get me there? I'm not sure I really ever use the granny or second-to-granny because I like a little more torque. I feel like the handlebars go all wiggly if I'm all the way down in granny.

And how, if at all, does a change from a 26 to a 27.5 or even a 27.5+ change the equation?

I must emphasize again - seriously slow - and weak - climber. I'd like to work on that this season, but realistically I will still be the slowest climber in any group. Downhill, that's a different story.
 

scott43

So much better than a pro
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Not being a jerk, serious question, do you know what gear inches are?

Oh, and wheel diameter changes effective gearing..smaller diameter, lower gear.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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Not being a jerk, serious question, do you know what gear inches are?

I umm ... I have only become aware of them as a thing this weekend. I still need to cogitate.
 

scott43

So much better than a pro
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I umm ... I have only become aware of them as a thing this weekend. I still need to cogitate.

Cool. Coles Notes: Knowing the wheel diameter and front and rear sprocket tooth counts you can compute the effective "gear inch" for each gear. Gear inch is relatively meaningless other than knowing it's a relative measure of a gear's "easiness". There are online gear-inch calculators..I like Sheldon Brown's (R.I.P.)..
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gear-calc.html

So you can compute every potential gear inch for any gearing combo.

So taking some very general examples, a 2x drivetrain using the granny and 3rd down in the back, you're looking at a 22x28, which is very close to a 1x drivetrain's low gear which is 32x42. Both around 21 gear inches. So..if you can pull a 22x28 99% of the time, you're good to go with a 1x drivetrain. There are other differences, compromises maybe, but in terms of gear range, they're fairly comparable. Some folks like the 1x for the reason you say, simple etc. And some riding is better suited to 1x.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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And some riding is better suited to 1x.

What do you mean? What sorts of riding?

I need to understand this whole 27.5 vs 27.5+ thing, too. Several of my friends are going the fat tire route, which confuses me, because I thought rolling weight was the enemy of all that is holy.
 

Ken_R

Living the Dream
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What do you mean? What sorts of riding?

I need to understand this whole 27.5 vs 27.5+ thing, too. Several of my friends are going the fat tire route, which confuses me, because I thought rolling weight was the enemy of all that is holy.

Thats right. IMHO Fat tires are a fad. They are useful in sand and packed snow thats about it (on ice as well if its studded). On normal MTB trails they are slow and heavy feeling. No substitution for a quality full suspension bike. I dont really get the plus tires (around 2.8 wide), dont know what they are really good for really. I see no need for a wider tire than 2.35 on a Trail MTB with suspension.
 

scott43

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What do you mean? What sorts of riding?

I need to understand this whole 27.5 vs 27.5+ thing, too. Several of my friends are going the fat tire route, which confuses me, because I thought rolling weight was the enemy of all that is holy.

Well cycling is full of compromises... There's a fair bit of evidence that wider is somewhat faster due to less rolling resistance, including lower pressures. Less weight is still important..but you have to balance what works for you.

As far as riding with a 1x, some people are very particular about gear ratios and having the perfect cadence..some people don't care so much about cadence. If you're doing enduro style riding, 1x is probably fine. If you're doing a lot of riding at similar speeds, like fire roads up or down, for long distances, you may prefer more ratios with less overlap so you can find the "perfect" gear.
 

Lauren

AKA elemmac
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So, thoughts on 1x for a seriously slow climber? I really like the idea of a quieter bike and fewer mechanical fiddly bits, but a friend of mine said that once she tried climbing with a 1x, she knew she didn't want it. I currently use a 2x with a bash guard. Can a 1x realistically get me as low as the granny gear on a 2x? Or, how ridiculous would my rear setup have to be to get me there? I'm not sure I really ever use the granny or second-to-granny because I like a little more torque. I feel like the handlebars go all wiggly if I'm all the way down in granny.

Last year I had the debate with myself about going 1x or 2x. Ultimately decided on 2x,mainly because I'm also a slow climber, and figured I use my low gears too much to get rid of them.

I found this video pretty helpful in really outlining pros/cons of each setup.


Maybe someone else here can give an review of it, but there's the SRAM Eagle 1x12, which is supposed to give a wide variety of gears in a 1x setup.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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Thats right. IMHO Fat tires are a fad. They are useful in sand and packed snow thats about it (on ice as well if its studded). On normal MTB trails they are slow and heavy feeling. No substitution for a quality full suspension bike. I dont really get the plus tires (around 2.8 wide), dont know what they are really good for really. I see no need for a wider tire than 2.35 on a Trail MTB with suspension.

My downhill rig does have fattie tires, but that's, you know - downhill.

If you're doing a lot of riding at similar speeds, like fire roads up or down, for long distances,

Blech.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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I found this video pretty helpful in really outlining pros/cons of each setup.

Thanks!

The guy at the shop said he actually had a 1x setup where he put a 52 on the rear, and he can climb things he used to walk. Another friend said the same, and that you can change to a smaller front ring to get the gearing you need. Seems reasonable .... Not sure how careful you need to be about messing with that stuff.

The big new piece of info in the video is that it's not so much about the lowest gear per se, as it is about the fact that you might have trouble finding exactly the "right" gear you want for the climb. Man, it's been so long since I've ridden much at all - shoulder bursitis, then the ACL. My bike should be ready and all purtied up today, so I can start riding and paying attention to how I use my gears.
 

scott43

So much better than a pro
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The big new piece of info in the video is that it's not so much about the lowest gear per se, as it is about the fact that you might have trouble finding exactly the "right" gear you want for the climb. Man, it's been so long since I've ridden much at all - shoulder bursitis, then the ACL. My bike should be ready and all purtied up today, so I can start riding and paying attention to how I use my gears.

Yeah that's kinda my point. The step between gears can be big. So if you have a very particular pedal style and preferred cadence, you may be unhappy with the steps. And it would be most notable on fastish roads where you want to stay in your range. If you're doing technical stuff, you're usually either grinding or doing short drops where you don't really pedal anyway and you won't miss the smaller gear steps. It's a compromise but one many people have no problem making.
 

Ron

Seeking the next best ski
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I am def' one of theose people who climb by feel, I prefer to keep my gear at whatever gear keeps me in "zone of resistance" so I plan to get on a 1x this summer to see if I can climb my regular rides in that zone. For now though, the 2x is perfectly fine. I got my trance down to 27.5 pounds so the cut in weight will not be substantial.

OTOH; I am going to put a wider tire on the trance, 2.5-2.6 depending what will fit.
 

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