So, I spent a good bit of time and miles on the Maxxis tires and thought it would be good to try something a little smaller next time.

While I wasn’t planning on dropping off the Maxxis quiet yet as I had a replacement for the rear tire so that I could wear the front tire out completely, Murphy the Imp of the Perverse conspired to prevent that. Specifically, I had a great crash at the bottom of a high speed section on a ride and the only replacement tires I could find that would make me happy on that fateful Saturday afternoon were the Eskar.

The added complication that I have to put out here is that in the aformentioned endo I also destroyed my front rim, so it was time for a new wheel build. The new rims are not more than a few millimeters different in width at the bead than the old ones, but the design will impact the setup of the tire. The old rims were DT 5.1d, the new rims are Stan’s Flow. 26er’s all.

So off we go, into “small tire” land for the first time in a long time.

This round will put up the Eskar Control 2.3 2bliss and see how it stacks against my usual habits and riding area.

Initial Assessment

Specialized lists these tires with the following bullet-list of features:

• 420/D1 Control Casing (light but with improved puncture resistance and sidewalls)
• Folding bead
• Dual compound ( 65a center, 55a shoulder )
• Butyl wrapped bead ( for better tubeless sealing )
• 700g weight

For other info, please go see their web page.

The tread looked and felt (in hand) to be a reasonable compromise between rolling resistance and traction. The casing did feel a bit thin to me, but then I am so accustomed to phat tires (2.5-2.6 class) that I know my perception is skewed.

The cost was not unreasonable, but not cheap. At the local shop the tires were basically fifty bucks each before tax. Continue Reading »

This is not a test, do not adjust your set, we have control now …

Okay, seriously, what this is about is a solid long travel fork designed for true Downhill and Extreme Freeride duties which has been incorrectly applied as an All Mountain and Light Freeride fork. A style of riding and enjoyment of riding that formerly was called by the controversial moniker “mountain biking.”

This review is about the 2007 model year version, it is slightly different from the 2008 and 2009 model years.

Back story, Purchase Decision, Options

In the spring of ‘07 I was afforded the opportunity to express some UGI (up-grade-itis) and apply it to my main mountain bike – my Titus Quasi-Moto.

In other words, I received an unexpected bonus from work.

When this bike was originally built up it featured a 125mm travel fork (Fox Vanilla 125 RLC) with a standard quick-release front wheel (Chris King Universal hub). This served very well for just at four years, but over time my riding interests had become more and more “interesting” and there were actually some rides where I thought “would it not be fun to have a bit more travel here?”

So, when the surprise budget afforded it I decided that it would be fun to “max out” the Quasi-Moto and put a long travel fork on it with a 20mm thru-axle wheel. The Quasi was designed for use with up to a 7″ travel dual-crown fork, so this meant that I would be targeting a 7″ travel fork.

Since I also did silly things like XC style riding, and some racing, and lived and rode primarily in a region that did not feature silly things like “shuttle rides” I wanted to find an adjustable travel fork so that I could fine tune the bike setup so that it would be just as at home climbing up as bombing down hills.

I also wanted a single-crown fork as I wanted to have more manouverability than what I perceived a dual-crown would afford, and while not exactly a weight-weenie I certainly did not feel the need to pay the weight penalty of an even heavier work.

This led to the observation that there were few forks that would target into this zone.

Specifically, the Rock Shox Totem and what this review is about.

I also considered forks that only went up to 6″ of travel (e.g. the Magura Wotan and the Fox 36 series) but decided to pass on them as I really wanted to see what all the “long travel” kerfluffle was about.

Continue Reading »

Friday afternoon ramp time. Read more…