alumrock12

some more questions out of curiosity...

so lately, the place i've been biking at has gotten considerably dryer than i'm used to it being... as a result, it seems i'm loosing a lot of grip and a lot of confidence in my tires on the tight steep switchbacks as well as the downhills....

can someone help explain what tires are best for what types of dirt (ie. sand, hardpack, clay, mud) right now i'm running panaracer dart/smoke in the front and back... i'm kinda looking for something not too expensive, but will give me good grip during the dry dusty months.



NEXT QUESTION>>>>

anyone know the difference between the different types of interchangeable lenses they give with sunglasses? the orange, brown, green? what types are good for what lighting? just curious...

MattP.

Paging shiggy!

mtnbiker66

Try some Maxxis Larson TT's. I wear amber or yellow glasses. They work great in all lighting.

probable556

I run the same tires and it has been VERY dry this spring in VA. I would consider switching tires, but I know it will be back to the muddy slop I am used to soon.

Yellow lenses are excellent in overcast conditions and provide excellent contrast, even in very low light. They also work well in the woods where there is no direct sunlight.

BLIZZ

Besides good tires, you could try lowering the air preasure in the front tire a bit, and don't forget to lean forward to get additional weight on the front tire durring turns.

alumrock12

hm, i'll try lowering the psi before i get on the trails (i bike to my hills) now, if you lean towards the front, won't your back tire loose traction?

Jeremy D. Swain

In climbing yes, but I believe he's talking more about "cornering" When you turn you want your front tire to have as much traction as possible to avoid "washing out"

food

As I understand it (as was explained to me a while ago), regular lenses (dark/grey) for bright lighting conditions, yellow/amber for overcast conditions, blue for varied transitions between shade and sun areas, and clear for just protection (in case you don't like the high-contrast of yellow in overcast conditions).

Al.canoe

I went to Stan's NoTubes conversion about two years ago to get traction and light weight (low rotating mass). In the soft, sandy conditions of our present north Florida drought, I use 26 psi front and 29 rear. I ride about half time on rocky hardpack in the N Georgia & Tenn mountains and there I use 30 and 32. You get far better traction and more speed not to mention a better ride. I like ramped medium knobbies like the Ritchey Excavaders for all around use.

The Excavaders just went out of production so I stocked up. They cut through the wet leaves in the fall and don't do too badly in some limited snow and frozen mud I got to try last January.

I use orange lenses as they filter out the blue providing better detail in shadows and during cloudy days. The blue doesn't focus at the same place on the retina as the rest of the color band tending to blur the vision a little where the light has a strong blue component like in shadows and cloudy days. For non-bike use I prefer polarized Gray.

Since I had to have prescription glasses, I had the orange pair tinted so they would block 50% of the light as opposed to the more normal 70 to 80%. That's more than adequate for woods use and provides even better vision, especially on very dark days or late in the day.

It takes a pretty good optomotrist place to have a lab good enough to tint glasses. I'm furtunate to have a friend who runs such a lab.

Other colors such as amber, brown, yellow also work by filtering out the blue but to different degrees. I just like an orange tint best for all around. However in places like Moab where there's no trees, I'm mostly useing polarized grays.


Al

Bike Lover

Interesting about the orange lenses. I have always liked my orange lenses best for mountain biking as it seems to have less effect between dark and light than other colors. I gave yellow a try for a while but the muted tone of orange was much better/easier on my eyes and seems better than the yellow in the transitions.

born2bahick

I always liked the yellow or amber lenses too! Although for me, some of the brighter yellows seem to wash out colors, giving a flatter depth perception. this year I'm trying a transition lens that starts amber and goes to grey as the light intensifies. So far it's wonderful, time will tell!

jabberwock

I use Optic Nerve Glasses.
Nerveusa.com
You can order them from there. The glasses are well made, sturdy, good looking, and inexpensive. Go with the shindig or the membrane. Both are great.