Originally Posted by
pathlesspedaled
how wide are your tires? We rain 38mm to 42mm tires...deflated them a bit when things got sandy/gravelly.
also, we really liked the shimano 12-36t cog! Amazing. Could ride in the middle chainring for about 98% of the riding we did.
The tires I'm using at the moment are Armadillo 700x25's, but I'm waiting for my Schwalbe Marathon Plus's in 700x32. Cool tip on the deflating a bit when things the dirt gets loose. Where did you ride that you needed such an incredible set-up? I love my new cassette, going low enough on the middle chain ring is just nice; also the derailleur I had to get with it is a...major upgrade from the Tiagra stock. It's a Deore XT...with rapid action rise or something, I forget what the LBS called it but the shifters work in reverse, for smoother gear shifts and it works. Oh yea, and walking the bike every now and then wasn't so bad. It gave my legs and butt a rest while my arms did the heavy lifting.