Monday, December 29, 2014

BREAKING NEWS!!! from TEAM ROBOT

The Sun Ringle Doublewide gets a new lease on life, this time in carbon.


In a related story, Australian company Bouwmeester releases innovative new solid-profile carbon rim. When reached for comment, industry experts believed the rim's solid-profile "may allow the rim to buck the trend of expensive carbon rims cracking when they look at or are in the general proximity of rocks."

When pressed, industry experts also added the subsequent qualification, "but probably not."

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aren't HR2s pretty much the worst tire in the world to use on wide rims?

Anonymous said...

I'm on similar width rims and the 2.3 is terrible but the 2.4 works well...the casing is wider than the tread on a 2.3..that said Im going back to a narrow rim in the rear at least

Anonymous said...

Mega wide rims are fucking stupid. yeah if you run punter pressure then it will help your tires from falling over, but it will also mean your rims will get destroyed that much easier. Did we not go through this like 15 years ago? Jack the pressure in your tires newb!

fasia said...

I designed the HR2 and yes they screwed up on a few things with that tire. The center knobs were supposed to be taller and have a little more meat to them. It was intended on being a soft conditions tire not an intermediate. As it is, its a decent tire on a narrow rim. On a super wide rim it would be gross

Anonymous said...

fasia...the 2.3 minion works horrible as well on the i30 rims..I think it's more of a tread width issue than profile issue...like I said the 2.4 HR2 works pretty damn good on the i30 rim..that said I think you just convinced me to go back to i25 up front as well

fasia said...

hahaha sweet! I've used the HR2 on the front with a Stan's Arch EX quite a bit here in the BC interior. Its a good tire but it could have been really good. The treads all around were supposed to be bigger than they are, save for the shoulder lugs. In reality an unknown idiot (read: non bro) in the mtb industry doesn't get a lot of say in the final product!

I really don't know who is trying to convince people they need super wide rims. it makes sense if you have structural sidewalls like a moto tire, but a single ply mtb tire just doesn't work right on a really wide rim. I think they could address the bead/sidewall area of the tire first and foremost, then make rims less wide (again).

Anonymous said...

I really hope maxxis has something up their sleeve for 2015 but I'm afraid the abomination they call the griffin might be it...I was an exo 650b minion in 2.4 and 60a! I go through so many tires as it as I cant run soft compounds..I feel like they are falling way behind..how about some larssen tt center tread with some dhf sideknobs! Back in the day they had allot more options as far as size and compound went..I think they have been sitting back riding the minions success for too long

fasia said...

I actually suggested to them a dh version of a larson with larger shoulder lugs. Not a chance I was told. I also wanted a short spike, but again I was told not gonna happen. Now we have the shorty. Go figure. I am guessing that nobody that designs the tires actually rides mtb's.

Anonymous said...

"how about some larssen tt center tread with some dbf sideknobs"

Anonymous said...

Hey fasia..How about a by riders for riders crowdfunded tire company...msrp's in the 48$ range and a full range of compound/size and tread pattern options...seems like most of the tires are made in the same few factories...just need a designer and someone who has experience doing business in Taiwan..cut the marketing BS and keep a minimal staff..bet there could be some $ to be made and fill a big hole in the market...

fasia said...

Totally! I would love to do that/see that. Look at Vee Rubber Trail Taker. Super cheap but are good performers. I actually like it better than the HR2 and its generally half the price. Then there's CST. Same exact rubber as Maxxis (since they own Maxxis). Way cheaper. Now if they could only make a decent tread pattern. Now if those two can provide less expensive rubber then why can't another brand? Schwalbe and Mavic (Michelin) are out to lunch with their pricing. I think there is room in the market for a serious player. The problem is that not every good rider knows what makes a good tire but tire companies still want that pro rider's name on the sidewall. That has to stop. You have to draw from anyone who has good ideas.

I was told by a Maxxis guy that tires were made to look good or interesting. No one really thought about stand up braking, cornering, front vs rear. They just placed knobs so that it looked good. You still have these smart dummies making stepped knobs, triangular shaped knobs, offset knobs, huge center channels on rear tires, diamond shaped knobs, circular knobs.... and the list goes on. Stop looking for pro racers' names and get the engineers out of the idea stage.

fasia said...

oh, yeah, forgot. Tire molds are stupid expensive. You'd better have some serious capital just to have one model.

Anonymous said...

OP here; I do use the HR2 almost exclusively (socal) and love it, it's just way too square for a wide rim. Funny it's being used in the adverts.

Anonymous said...

If people can get a 36" tire made, I bet a crowd-funded tire company would be possible

http://www.unicycle.com/unicycle-hardware/tires-tubes-rim-strips-and-valve-caps/26-29-36-inch-tires/vee-rubber-36-tire.html

wydopen said...

I would really love to do something like that..I don't want to work my whole life at something that doesn't excite me..you really only need 4 models if you are going after the dh/enduro/trailbike market..hardpack tire..intermediate, a spike that can be cut to a mid spike and a rear specific semi slick type tire...Just need to offer different casings and durometers..If fasia and a few other people with something to bring to the table want to talk about it more shoot me an email.. asm215 (at) gmail (dot) com...I feel there would be a huge market for a more competitively priced tire that doesn't have the stigma of some of the brand names already doing so...There is no reason a 50$ tire can't work better than a 80$ tire..I think the mtb market is missing a no nonsense tire company who forgoes the BS marketing names and offers strait up products that work..

Anonymous said...

I'd give $100 to someone doing a kickstarter for good, affordable MTB tires. You'll need just 499 more donors to get that first mold. :(

wydopen said...

I know several aerospace grade machine shops personally..molds could be had for much less than 500gs I'd bet..

wydopen said...

Whoops..added a zero but yes I think that machining could be done for around 10k..especially if someone is on the team who can write the program..

fasia said...

I have a name!

Team Robotic tires.

lol

wydopen said...

charlie gets the first pro model...

Cosmic Rubber said...

http://youtu.be/V0P3oQWo22A

not a tire guy said...

I seem to remember something about $5k for a mold from Vee rubber.

Anonymous said...

5K for a mold and say another 10K for a short run of tires seems pretty cheap imo.

mtg said...

I agree on the tire topic. Super wide rims are for people that can't corner, at least with the current crop of tires. If you run a rim setup that turns all of your knobs into center knobs...learn to corner.

This new tire company idea that would only sell tires made for people that know what's up would be awesome. The name would clearly need to be Kidwoo Industries, though.

Side note, I find it ironic that to leave a comment, you have to verify that you aren't a robot. Har har har.

wydopen said...

Bros...I was serious about the tire company..it's totally doable...Id do it by myself but I don't know how to design tires haha

fasia said...

I'm just coming off a failed business so I'm not about to start another one anytime soon. Best of luck though! I can be a consultant if you'd like! hahaha

Anonymous said...

Do it direct sales style and I think you've got something here.

mtg said...

Designing the tires would be the easy part, launching a new company is the hard part.

wydopen said...

fasia..yea but it will be different this time..you will be using/losing random strangers $ ;-)

wydopen said...

mtg..how about using an existing company?..hint hint haha

fasia said...

direct sales all day. Keep the price low and fixed (no sales).