I'm really enjoying my fat front setup of enabler with bud on darryl. I really enjoy it for my snow free cx rides.
I've experimented with a lot of different tire pressures from too hard to too soft and just about everything in between.
If I have just enough pressure to prevent all but the most serious bottoming out, the traction and suspension qualities are fantastic. Small bumps literally are not noticeable.
BUT...preloading for bunny hops is outrageously awkward! On one of my first rides, I was riding at a good pace and tried to bunnyhop a log that is a bit challenging for me to get over without my tires hitting the ground at about the same time (which i prefer over front tire hitting the ground first), which is to say that it's a pretty substantial bunnyhop for me. The preload caused the bike to pull away from me to the left (as I was leaning ever so slightly to the right) and it felt like I was starting to barrel roll up until the point where I crashed (injury free).
So, now I run more pressure because the trails I ride have a ton of things to hop over and I always have a couple of miles of road riding to connect things together: when I'm riding on the road, I try to get air on anything and everything that won't get me hurt or arrested.
I'm curious about others that have made this trade-off. I also wonder how much this issue varies with tire width, tire x rim pairings, etc.
I've experimented with a lot of different tire pressures from too hard to too soft and just about everything in between.
If I have just enough pressure to prevent all but the most serious bottoming out, the traction and suspension qualities are fantastic. Small bumps literally are not noticeable.
BUT...preloading for bunny hops is outrageously awkward! On one of my first rides, I was riding at a good pace and tried to bunnyhop a log that is a bit challenging for me to get over without my tires hitting the ground at about the same time (which i prefer over front tire hitting the ground first), which is to say that it's a pretty substantial bunnyhop for me. The preload caused the bike to pull away from me to the left (as I was leaning ever so slightly to the right) and it felt like I was starting to barrel roll up until the point where I crashed (injury free).
So, now I run more pressure because the trails I ride have a ton of things to hop over and I always have a couple of miles of road riding to connect things together: when I'm riding on the road, I try to get air on anything and everything that won't get me hurt or arrested.
I'm curious about others that have made this trade-off. I also wonder how much this issue varies with tire width, tire x rim pairings, etc.