/awesome-mtb-australia

Awesome MTB Australia Awesome

A curated list of Mountain Biking related links and notes

Travis build status

Contents

Brands

Shops

Accessories and Tools

  • MTB Direct - Massive range of gear and parts, supports locals clubs
  • Pushys - Also massive range or gear and parts
  • 99Bikes - Online shop for retail operations, great range with local pickup options

Bikes

Media

Youtube Channels

  • Jeff Kendall-Weed - Mix of POV riding, instructional teaching, product review and entertainment
  • Berm Peak - Originally Seth's Bike Hack, this channel has it all and is one of the most popular
  • Sam Pilgrim - Just having fun hitting sick jump and displaying his mad skills
  • Worldwide Cyclery - The Shop's Channel with the best product reviews and explainers mix with entertinament
  • GLobal Mountain Bike Network - UK based, entertainment and educational channel
  • GMBN Tech - Explaining and Detailing all the technical aspects of Mountain Biking
  • Pinkbike - One of the original and still one of the best, a bit of everything, full production shows to friday fails and epic rides
  • Backyard Trail Builds - Lots of building features and just having fun riding

Hardware Notes and Tips

Wheel Set

Tyres

  • Tread: relevant to grip and rolling speed/resistance

  • Size: Matched to Rim

  • Width: Run larger front to rear is a great option, allowing rear to slip before front. 2.4-2.6 front and 2.2 to 2.4 rear

  • Compound: Can be single or multiple(hard/medium/soft) make up for both walls and tread

  • Brands -- Maxxis -- WTB -- Continental -- Schwalbe -- Specializsed -- Michelin

  • Construction -- Wide Trail (WT): Optimised for rim width of 30mm-35mm -- Foldable: Foldable beads also keep the tire secured to the rim but are lighter weight and easily transported. The bead is made of spun aramid or Kevlar® fibers. -- Bead: TR means it has a sealant compatible bead which will sit in the rim lip for a airtight seal, internal ring of steel or kevlar in foldable

  • Casing: -- Tips: Choose a casing to suit riding, squirm and pop reduced as casing gets thicker and heavier. EXO+ front DD rear is a great average rider combo -- TPI: The number of threads that cross through one square inch of a single ply of the tire’s casing. Lower TPI gives better puncture, cut and abrasion resistance but is heavier. Higher TPI conforms better to the terrain, offering a smoother, more comfortable ride while reducing the weight of the tire. -- EXO: An extremely cut-resistant and abrasion-resistant material added to the sidewalls of select mountain tires. -- EXO+: combines two of our best puncture protection materials: SilkShield and EXO. -- Double Down (DD): Two 120 TPI casing layers reinforced with a butyl insert -- Down Hill (DH): two layers of 60 TPI casing material used from bead-to-bead, providing additional protection and sidewall stiffness

  • Rubber Compound -- 3C MAXXGRIP: uses the softest rubber compounds to offer the ultimate in grip and slow rebound properties -- 3C MAXXTERRA: intermediate compound configuration, softer and offers more traction than 3C MaxxSpeed, yet provides better treadwear and less rolling resistance than MaxxGrip

Rims

  • Material: Commonly alloy/alluminium or Carbon at the top end, carbon being lighter though more expensive
  • Width: 29mm to 36mm, wider can be more stable though less nible, but no clearly better size
  • Size: 29" rolls great, 27.5" turns easy and lighter, mullet config is an option (f:29", r:27.5)
  • Tubeless: To run tubeless need a tyre bead seat in the rim, rim needs to state tubeless ready

Hubs

  • Rear:
  • Points of Engagement in Rear: is when peadle engages hub to drive wheel, varies from 30-50+, more is better 50+ is ideal
  • Front:

Spokes

  • Number: 24 or 32 spokes common option, majority use 32 for good stiffness amd strength, 24 new option for lighter weight
  • Material: Steel most common, new poly felxible spokes super light weight but very expensive

Tubeless Setup

  • Requires compatible Rims, Tyres,
  • Taping: Clean rim with contact cleaner to ensure tape adhers fully, base layer of electrical tape can be good. Tubeless tape to cover rim well, 1+1/2 coverage around valve hole
  • Value: Ensure tight, sealed fit. Best to use removable valves to allow for cleaning rather than replacing
  • Branding: it's all about the looks, value at 6 and logo at 12, come correct
  • Sealant: shake well, squeeze in at 100ml for 2.6 tyre (less or more for sizes either way) - add ground peper for extra plugging pep. Check every few months, replace 6 monthly
  • Beading: Give the pump the beans to quickly get he air in, soapy spray can help or compresser
  • Cleanup: Soapy hot water to clean tyre between applicaions and garage surrounds

#Suspension

  • Rear -- Type: Coil/Spring or Air Shocks, most common being Air Shocks -- Setup:
  • Front -- Type: -- Setup

Personal Protection

Helmet

  • MIPS: A seperate liner system which can twist and move on impact, implemented different on helment styles
  • Visor: Need for those sunny summer days, bigger the better
  • Style: Depends on riding and weather. Modern extend open face helemt can provide excellent protection whilst stil being cool to use. Full face have top protection from front impact but can be warm

Glasses / Goggles

  • Glasses: Nice on trail rides, riding large lens frameless and allow lots of air to move around and keep cool
  • Goggles: More aimed at muddy and cold condition with large vison space and great protection
  • Lens: In full sun glare protection required, with a brown lens being best for clarity and depth perception. In shade or cloudy day a clear lens which protects from wind but allow full light spectrum through is best

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