Ask the experts

[Huskier]

Back to beating the dead horse of braking: Down country bike. 203 rotors f/r: Insanity? Will subbing a slightly smaller rotor out back get me more life out of the Rekon running out back? I feel like I'm beefing up brakes to ride steeper shit and I'm just gonna end up skidding my rear down the increasingly poor choices being made, thus rendering the upgrade moot.

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[SchralphMacchio]

I think 180mm rotors with 29” wheels is insanity even if you are not bombing enduro tracks, but then again you and I live out west where even the “downcountry” / deep backcountry rides have decent descents.

[toast2266]

If your descents are long enough to get the brakes hot, bigger rotors are worthwhile. Regardless of how steep they are, if the descents are short, smaller rotors are fine.

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[El Chupacabra]

I don't use 200/203 mm rotors on the rear of any bike.

I don't do any lift served DH riding, and the biggest travel bike I have is a 150/130 bike, but I've never felt like I needed gigantic rear rotors. Downieville and similar shuttle rides are probably the longest sustained descent rides I do.

Good calipers, however, are a necessity. (IOW, not SRAM.) YMMV etc.

[jackstraw]

You're running a Rekon? That's a great tire, but xc. Run a DHR if you need brake control on steeps. No skidding with brake modulation and much more control.

[evdog]

203 on the front for sure, including my Spur. That's where most of your braking power comes from and worth it for dissipating heat if not more power.


On the back 203 has always seemed like overkill except for a DH/park bike. I run 160 or 180 on the rear but more because they're cheaper than any other reason. Can't see changing sizes making enough difference to change the life of a tire. Most time on descents I'm using the rear to help control the bike, not generate a ton of braking power.

[jm2e]

I’ve been putting bigger thicker rotors in the back.
I’m not trying to manage power, my Shimano four pot brakes offer plenty of power regardless.
But I’m a back brake dragger. And if you’re worried about wearing out your XC tire you’re probably a back brake dragger too. And back brake dragging on long downhills leads to warped rotors. And warped rotors make noise and wear out pads.
So yea, for me the bigger rear rotor has worked well.


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[jm2e]

People also need to think more specifically about what their unique brake situation is.
If your primary terrain is a lot of up and down with punchy climbs and thirty second downhills, your brakes aren’t heating up. You can still be a complete badass, and this should not affect the pissing contest. But it is different from someone doing three to ten minute sustained downhills with continuous braking. That scenario doesn’t make you a badass and shouldn’t automatically give you props for the pissing contest because it could just be a long dirt road. But it certainly puts a different kind of strain on rotors.
Think about your application.


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[toast2266]

^^^ that.

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[smmokan]

I'm looking at buying a 2-3 yr old Fox 38 (Grip 2 damper) that was never used according to the seller. Will the oil and seals still be good, or do you think it'll require a refresh?

[carlh]

<p>
I run 203 rotors front and back on my hardtail for this but with 2 piston xt brakes, it is not overkill for our area if you ride any longer descents and it feels lacking compared to the 220/200 dominions on my big bike. &nbsp;Plant of long smooth descents here to justify it &nbsp;</p>
<p>

Back to beating the dead horse of braking: Down country bike. 203 rotors f/r: Insanity? Will subbing a slightly smaller rotor out back get me more life out of the Rekon running out back? I feel like I&#39;m beefing up brakes to ride steeper shit and I&#39;m just gonna end up skidding my rear down the increasingly poor choices being made, thus rendering the upgrade moot. Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

</p>

[toast2266]

I'm looking at buying a 2-3 yr old Fox 38 (Grip 2 damper) that was never used according to the seller. Will the oil and seals still be good, or do you think it'll require a refresh?

I bet it'll be fine. Probably sticky for the first ride or two, but it'll loosen up.

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[VTskibum]

^^* especially if you run a 180mm rotor up front, heat transfer will get the oil running smoothly /s


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[Danno]

<p>
Standing bike storage question We do not have any good space in the garage to hang bikes, so looking at a floor rack so that they are not just leaning on each other in a corner. Came across this: https://www.amazon.com/BirdRock-Home...dp/B0853DPM6L/ (reviewed well on outdoorgearlab and gets good reviews on amazon). Additional options? Do not really want to DIY. Have 4 mtbs (2 with 29 wheels, 2 with 26) with tires ranging from 1.9 to 2.5, and one road bike. Also have a cruiser but that has a kickstand. If I went with the above one, would probably get a 3 and a 2 rack.</p>

[jm2e]

Whether or not you buy on or go DIY, the questions are whether it’ll fit an MTB tire and a [emoji638][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji637]]]er wheel.


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[joetron]

On a downcountry bike, I think 200/180 are the good front/back sizes. Those bikes tend to have stiffer suspension and less brake squat, so with a Rekon, a tire not known for its braking dominance after the first ride, a bigger rotor would tend to skid and stand the bike up a bit.


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[El Chupacabra]

<p>
Standing bike storage question We do not have any good space in the garage to hang bikes, so looking at a floor rack so that they are not just leaning on each other in a corner. Came across this: https://www.amazon.com/BirdRock-Home...dp/B0853DPM6L/ (reviewed well on outdoorgearlab and gets good reviews on amazon). Additional options? Do not really want to DIY. Have 4 mtbs (2 with 29 wheels, 2 with 26) with tires ranging from 1.9 to 2.5, and one road bike. Also have a cruiser but that has a kickstand. If I went with the above one, would probably get a 3 and a 2 rack.</p>

I've seen some vertical freestanding bike racks too - seems like that could save some more floor space. Basically same function as if you put big hooks in the wall or ceiling.

[XtrPickels]

<p>
OK Fork nerds. I upgraded my FIT4 Stepcast 34 120mm to a new GRIP SL Damper. I ordered directly from Fox and packaging says 120mm Stepcast 34. Spent more time than I&#39;d like to admit getting the Push to Lock remote to function appropriately. After much frustration, got it to function as I&#39;d like. Set out on a driveway spin to test. 1. Fork top out extremely harshly - no matter the pressure or rebound damping settings (unless molasses slow) 2. Fork pressure needs to be very low to get ANY sag. I&#39;m currently at 50psi which is lower than the lowest recommended. Felt like there was no pressure in the negative spring. Pulled the top cap on the airspring and couldn&#39;t see the dimple to equalize pressure. Measured the full travel with no pressure and got 100mm Pulled the lowers, cleaned everything and re-greased. With only the Air-spring attached via the bottom stud, (e.g. damper shaft not attached to the lowers): I get 120mm of travel I can see the equalizing dimple The stud of the damper does not show through the hole in the lower to thread on the nut After compressing the fork and screwing the nut onto the damper stud I get 100mm of travel I cannot see the dimple. Did I somehow get a damper that&#39;s too short? It seems they make a 100mm Stepcast 32 GRIP SL damper. I don&#39;t know if they make a 100mm Stepcast 34 GRIP SL damper. I&#39;d love for it to be something else because I don&#39;t want to go through the exchange and reinstall hassle and I was really looking forward to riding with warm weather this week.</p>

[XtrPickels]

Nevermind - The new damper isn't compatible with my model year. Whoops.

Anyone need a GRIP SL Damper for a Stepcast 34 that's not 1st Gen?

[Roxtar]

Standing bike storage question We do not have any good space in the garage to hang bikes, so looking at a floor rack so that they are not just leaning on each other in a corner. Came across this: https://www.amazon.com/BirdRock-Home...dp/B0853DPM6L/ (reviewed well on outdoorgearlab and gets good reviews on amazon). Additional options? Do not really want to DIY. Have 4 mtbs (2 with 29 wheels, 2 with 26) with tires ranging from 1.9 to 2.5, and one road bike. Also have a cruiser but that has a kickstand. If I went with the above one, would probably get a 3 and a 2 rack.

I&#39;ve been using the Wilworx stands ever since my bike shop days. Excellent quality and low cost.

[Danno]

Good to know. I just bought these to try out: https://a.co/d/1KXo1pQ

[Huskier]

On a downcountry bike, I think 200/180 are the good front/back sizes. Those bikes tend to have stiffer suspension and less brake squat, so with a Rekon, a tire not known for its braking dominance after the first ride, a bigger rotor would tend to skid and stand the bike up a bit.


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Yeah this is the direction I ended up going and is perfectly adequate, no hit in performance that I can tell. Skinny rotor out back too. Although I will ask a stupid question: I thought the benefit of a bigger rotor was to increase the effective moment arm of the brake relative to the hub, thus increasing stopping power and ability to modulate? Is this not true?

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[J. Barron DeJong]

Yeah this is the direction I ended up going and is perfectly adequate, no hit in performance that I can tell. Skinny rotor out back too. Although I will ask a stupid question: I thought the benefit of a bigger rotor was to increase the effective moment arm of the brake relative to the hub, thus increasing stopping power and ability to modulate? Is this not true? Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

More power, yes.

More modulation is probably more personal. It can be hard to modulate if a brake is too powerful since it is overly sensitive, but it can also be hard to modulate if the brake is too weary, forcing you to squeeze the lever very hard.
Larger rotors also have more thermal mass as well as more surface area, so they run cooler.
In the automotive world rotor size is chosen for the required cooling, and then the calipers (piston area) are sized to provide the required braking torque.
I have had the thought before that for guys who drag their rear brake and overheat their rotor it could make sense to run a really large rotor with a two pistons caliper. Wonder if anyone has ever tried that.

[jackstraw]

My AXS dropper wouldn't stay up with weight. Just was going up an down. I didn't know if it was mechanical or electronic. Checking the app my battery was almost toast. Got home and changed the battery and good as new. I ASSumed if the battery died the thing would just lock in the up or down position. I didn't think the thing would act like a yo-yo.

[Yukonrider]

Really it just stays open with a dead controller? I had mine die once and I used the button on the seat to operate the valve, put it in the up position and went on my semi-merry way. Then I taped a pod battery in my downtube somewhere to avoid that experience.