So I got my Clem set up with tubeless knobbies (Spec. Fast Trak 29x2.2) and my wife and I went singletracking with our Clems over the weekend. In general, I was super happy with how the Clem performed as a mountain bike--it was exactly what i was hoping for. Bullet points:
Upsides of long chainstays: -Climbing moderately steep stuff, the long chainstays performed exactly as intended, allowing me to climb with a relaxed upper body position without the front wheel popping up or losing traction. -Descending was equally awesome. Putting my weight back behind the saddle, I felt perfectly balanced, with both plenty of front wheel steering authority and no feeling like I was going to go over the bars. As many have described with long chainstay bikes, that "sweet spot" of balance was really wide. -The low bb and big tires gave me a wonderful "in the bike feeling" that even other 29er's haven't had for me. -One unexpected benefit from the long wheelbase was stability in deep sand. The park where we were riding (Granite Bay on Folsom Lake, CA) has plenty of sandy washes and the Clem just plowed through them with none of the nervousness that one usually feels in such conditions. Theoretical downsides: -While climbing steep stuff, not once did I feel like the rear wheel lacking for traction, at least any more so than normal-chainstayed 29er's I've ridden. -There were a couple of times where I was "threading the needle" between obstacles where I could get the front wheel through but then the rear wheel hit the obstacle (but just self-corrected and rolled right over, thanks to the big wheels), but honestly that can happen on pretty much any bike. -I did smack pedals a couple of times, but again, that happens on most any bike, and the handling benefits of long chainstays and low BB make it a fine compromise for me. On Monday, June 20, 2016 at 3:44:48 PM UTC-7, Zed Martinez wrote: > > I'm running Switchbacks Mark, but mine's totally just noob mistakes. I > never pedal through turns, but I'd also never had a bike where I had to pay > any particular thought to raising the inside pedal before the turn. I mean, > I've scraped the end of a few before, but on the Clem that sucker just > slammed into the ground and about knocked the bike over the first time I > took that little crest lazily. In my case, I guess I didn't so much have to > raise my cornering game as bother to bring one at all. Like masmojo, quick > to adjust for it, but yeah. It probably does come down to both the lowish > BB and the tendency for the wheels to straddle obstacles. No big deal at > all, if amusing for trail users when I forget, but definitely a thing I had > to start paying attention to for the first time as just a commuter. > > On Monday, June 20, 2016 at 5:01:29 PM UTC-4, Mark in Beacon wrote: >> >> Hmm. I have not been riding the Clementine off road and I doubt I have >> your off-road skills. I can see where the bike could get "hung up" >> especially on a grade. But speed bumps with no lean, that would be purely a >> bb height issue, no? Are you guys both running the Compass Switchbacks? Are >> they appreciably less tall than the stock Kendas? >> >> On Monday, June 20, 2016 at 4:26:18 PM UTC-4, masmojo wrote: >>> >>> Actually, the problem I am having is more of an issue with uneven >>> surfaces, although the turning plays into it as well. The further the >>> wheels are apart the more likely that a bump or object can stick up between >>> them and you pedal can hit it while it rotates around. Generally, you you >>> anticipate this and level your pedals until you clear that area, but in >>> said circumstance mentioned earlier with getting the front wheel over >>> objects, many times I will clear it with my front wheel to find my pedals >>> strike the object which tends to suddenly stop me dead in my tracks! I used >>> to race mountain bikes so I have fair bike handling skills, I don't have >>> this issue on any other bike and generally not on the Clementine, but it >>> does bite me from time to time. I've also scraped the pedals on speed bumps >>> which is odd, because I've never had an issue hitting them before. Ive >>> learned my lesson though, haven't done that in a while. >> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
