Upgrade advice

Shane900

Hi I had my Carreras Vulcan now for few months have put new handlebar grips and new pedals on dr8
I not using on road but going to Cannock chase and hopwas woods .
I have found the front a bit unforgiving ie losing grip in corners and the rear ride a bit harsh.
I know from review that tyres are mentioned to be worth upgrading
But seems bit mindfield and so many choices.
Also while changing tyres can I go tubeless on the standard wheels.
Review also says about wider bars what considered good option as don’t like how feels or steering in corner
I like my grip keen motorcycle trackday so not used to front sliding

The Rookie

What tyre pressures are you running?

Yes the stock tyres are quite a hard ‘plasticy’ compound and much better is available, a pair of Nobby Nic’s for example will work well year round, shed a decent amount of weight and grip better (speed or trail compound), or even a Rocket Ron front and Racing Ralph year for Cannock where you don’t really need much tread.

Stock wheels will go tubeless via the ghetto method using Gorilla tape (google it).

steve_sordy

A better front tyre will give you a noticeable improvement in grip. All I did was to buy the same tyre but with a triple compound instead of a single compound and the difference was astonishing. Money spent on tyres is seldom wasted as long as you take advice first. Take a look at the Continental Trail King, or maybe the Mountain King. Best in the black chilli version if you want massive grip.

Wider bars will give you more leverage to resist the turning forces exerted by the trail upon the wheel. It is amazing the difference a small amount will make. But don't go too wide as there are a lot of narrow tree gaps at Cannock! You can go all the way up to 800mm wide, but 720-740 should provide sufficient leverage. One of the consequences of wider bars is that it makes you lean forwards more. This will move your weight forwards and increase the weight on the front wheel. This alone will give you more steering control. But it may make you feel like you are about to go over the bars when descending. If you get the latter, then you can fit a shorter stem. This will put your body back where it was and sharpen up the steering, all in one go!

You don't want the bars too wide for your build (imagine a 10 year old with 800mm bars), as you won't be comfortable. A good guide for handlebar width would be to measure outside your hands when in the press up position. It's not to the millimetre, but it will tell you if you are a long way out. If you use the bike for commuting, then be very careful as you may no longer fit through those gaps in the traffic.

steve_sordy

Ref tyre pressures:

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tues ... -2011.html

Read the words and watch the video, then go do it!

Shane900

Thanks for advice guys pressure in tyres is 40psi the lowest they can go is 30psi
I forgot to add that they are 2.1 would I benefit with grip with 2.3

Thanks shane

steve_sordy

Shane900 wrote:

Thanks for advice guys pressure in tyres is 40psi the lowest they can go is 30psi
I forgot to add that they are 2.1 would I benefit with grip with 2.3

.........

Is it safe for me to assume that the "lowest they can go is 30psi" is written on the tyre? If so, you can ignore that, it is a CYA statement. Nobody obeys that limit, although it would be unsafe to ignore the upper limit! :shock:

The grip would be better with a 2.3 tyre, other things being equal, because you can use a lower pressure. It will also give you a softer ride and the bike will roll over rough stuff a lot better. (Have you watched that video I linked to yet?)

Before you buy a new tyre, try dropping your tyre pressures. Find a corner that you struggle with that you can session and try different pressures to see how it feels to you. Try a rough flat bit too.

tallpaul_s

Shane900 wrote:

I like my grip keen motorcycle trackday so not used to front sliding

Might sound a strange question but how are you cornering on the MTB? As a fellow (motor)biker you have to realise that pretty much everything you've learnt about cornering on motorbikes is wrong when you're cornering on a mountain bike. On a motorbike you keep the bike as upright as possible and hang off. On flat corners on an MTB you lean the bike right over beneath you keeping your body upright and right over the tyres contact patch.

If you look at the arms on each photo, it's exactly the same position but the complete opposite, if you understand!


vs


You may already know this but sometimes it can be hard to undo years of how you've been doing something

Shane900

Hi guys thanks for replies
Yes pressure are what on tyres and have watched video so will try lowering pressure first before I buy I was just asking about tyre with as it was a recommendation on the review of the bike .
Yes steep learning curve after years on racetrack but I love my grip so anything I can do how ever small to get that the better so cheers for all the advice
Regards shane

The Rookie

Drop the pressures first, if money is tight change the front tyre first, but don’t be tempted by a wider tyre that’s just as bad for the purpose as the current ones, buy a decent tyre.

steve_sordy

Shane900 wrote:

...........I love my grip so anything I can do how ever small to get that the better so cheers for all the advice ...........

Then for an excellent all year round tyre with terrific grip, yet (amazingly) relatively low rolling resistance, go for the Continental Trail King with the black chilli compound. The 2.2" wide is all you need and it keeps the weight down too. They also go tubeless if you use sealant.

http://conti-tyres.co.uk/mtb/trail-king-2-2

As one of the other members said buy the one and put it on the front. If by some chance you find it not enough then get a 2.4" and put the 2.2 on the rear.

How wide are the rims (internal)? You don't want to overwhelm the rim with too wide a tyre.

The last one I got was from Alpine Trek
https://www.alpinetrek.co.uk/continenta ... 5-faltbar/

andyz

Impress! Thanks for the useful piece of advice!

Shane900

cheers guys and only £18 from halyards bargain

Regards shane

The Rookie

NO, that’s another cheap plasticy one you’ve been advised to avoid. You have to get a quality tyre or your back in the same boat.

steve_sordy

Well spotted Rookie!

Shane900, you have to be careful with tyres. They can be by the correct manufacturer, have the correct name, be the correct size and be no way a fake, but be the wrong tyre completely. The Conti TK I mean will have the word "Protection" or "Protection Apex" in the title. It will not be a wire bead tyre. It will be tubeless ready (TLR). It will never be sold for £18. RRP is about £44 but if you look around you can get one for about £30 like the one at Alpine Trek I pointed you to.

All Conti tyres with black chilli compound, sold anywhere in the world, are made in Korbach, Germany.

Many is the time I have been on the point of buying a tyre, but at the last minute spotted something that alerted me to the fact it was the wrong spec. (I thought it was too cheap!)

Shane900

Cheers guys I did think wow that’s cheap compared to what you had shown me but the name was right so how the hell do they get away with that .

Regards shane

steve_sordy

Shane900 wrote:

Cheers guys I did think wow that’s cheap compared to what you had shown me but the name was right so how the hell do they get away with that ...

This is not the fault of Continental, they provide all the information needed on the packaging. The retailers can't be arsed to put the relevant info on the web page. I operate on the basis that if it doesn't actually say black chilli compound or bcc, then it's not. Wired bead on a tyre is a reliable guide that it is not bcc.

Shane900

well i done my tyre pressures and went for another ride up the chase
the follow the dog part was allot better and had allot more confidence although still had the front giving me warning signs but allot better .i moved on to the monkey trail and this was a bit of a step up for me as bit more technical i guess.
So with combination of little tiredness and trying to improve i binned it on the one corner got the cut shins to prove it lol all good though
so i will be getting new tyres and just out of interest does anyone know what the diff is between the new continental mountain king II and the original is ?
but all in all a good venture out and a big improvement from last time.

Regards shane

steve_sordy

Tyre pressures rule!

It is the cheapest upgrade of all.

CitizenLee

Not sure on the difference between Mountain King and Mountain King MK2 but I've had the original version and also Trail Kings and found the TKs offered better grip in the corners. Be sure to get the BCC/Apex Protection version though, as mentioned above.

I'm currently running Schwalbe Nobby Nic Snakeskin Tubeless (2.4 front / 2.10 rear) which I find are really great all rounders, handle low pressures well and are lighter and less draggy than the Conti TKs. Scwalbe Hans Dampf Evo SnakeSkin TrailStar are another one to look at. They're possibly one of my favourite front tyres and great paired with a Nobby Nic on the rear.

I find bike-discount.de or Merlin usually have the best prices