The Official 19" Trials Tyre Thread

[feel the light]

Trials bikes aren't so popular in the USA as in other places, very few shops have the mod tires. UDC has the Maxxis and Onza.

Does anyone have any links, stateside, to buy some of these other tires ?

[Borgschulze]

Just buy them from www.hbtrials.com or www.division8.ca

American's don't pay border fees, so it's no big deal if you buy from Canada.

[mornish]

there is also renegade juggling and compulsion cycles/

[Borgschulze]

Originally Posted by mornish

there is also renegade juggling and compulsion cycles/

Forgot about those.

[TrialsUni]

Originally Posted by feel the light

Trials bikes aren't so popular in the USA as in other places, very few shops have the mod tires.

this has always pissed me off. i wish there were more trials-related sites, and resources for those of us in the USA. makes me wish i was european more and more. they have it easy.

[TrialsUni]

Originally Posted by Sponge

Maxxis Creepy Crawler
42a super tacky compound by Maxxis, extremely sticky and grippy, but can have a 'dragging' feeling.
Bounce- Fairly decent, nothing particularly ground-breaking, but good. Soft and slow rebound. Depends on rider's own personal taste and tyre pressure.
Sidewalls- My pet-hate feature of this tyre, the quality of the sidewall is horrid. Threads start appearing and many in biketrials have torn the sidewalls. Sidewalls are very thin and fold extremely easily which is why many top riders dislike this tyre as sometimes a preload for a no-prebounce gap can just 'loop out' because the sidewalls 'slip'. Very hard to explain, but this is the main reason why top riders stray away from this tyre.
Pinch-resistance- In biketrials, let's just say people HATE this tyre's pinch resistance because the thin sidewalls crush the inner tube inside when they fold like mad. I've known riders on London bike rides to have had 4 pinch flats from Creepy Crawlers in one day. In uni, less is the case, but you may as well know the reputation for this tyre from the bike perspective...

Great post, in general, Sponge! This was needed! I feel that this post should also be in rec.sport to get more attention, especially regarded the amount of beginner questions that go there corresponding this issue.


I did a review of the creepy crawler about two years back, when i switched from the luna. someone commented that most of us only know about the cc and the luna from personal perspective. this is true for me. in my review, i hated the cc, yet i didn't find the luna the best of tires either: http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44056

in some threads of similar topic, i posted my opinions of the cc. i can't find the thread now (too lazy), but ryan atkins debated my position. he changed my mind about the creepy crawler, for a while.

so when my first cc died, i got another. this was after 6 months of riding. after another 8 months i go another. and now i'm on my third.

sponge was exactly right: the cc feels papery. the luna feels boxy and sluggishly stiff.

the cc may be good for beginners or very young, and therefore generally lighter weight riders. the luna could work for the heavier weight riders. that's all i see in those tires now.

Final Verdict on the Creepy Crawlersponge mentioned that 'drag' of the cc. he's right. i have screwed up so many lines because of this tire. i think the tire is too sticky in some respects and too slippery in wet and suffers on surfaces like the marble edd mentioned. the dragging stickyness of the tire is what makes it fold-over on take off so much. the more i rode this tire, the more i watched videos of the top riders frame by frame analyzing their hops to death. how the hell do they get that distance without their tires sucking? i even tried modifying my hopping style. i do a lot of hops forward sif so i can avoid the fold over and drag. now i realize why ryan atkins did so many hops at a 45 degree angle in his videos. for pre-hops the rebound of the tire is somewhat unpredictable because of the fold-over/dragging issue. this tire has hindered my riding, and put a damper on my confidence and judgement in progressing as a rider. i still do believe that the tire ruins the flow of some of my lines, and robs some needed energy. making a line look manifesto clean with this tire involves a lot of wrestling with the tire and my patience. i want my gaps to get bigger and bigger, but this tire won't let me. for bigger gaps sideways i have to compress the tire in an upright position. i can't lean. as soon as i lean, my tire may 'drag' on the surface and launch me in a weird direction. this is not good. i have to launch as if i'm going up instead of lateral, to get bigger lateral gaps, and to get the compression i want out of this flimsy tire. the rebound sucks. it's not a bouncy tire by nature. i don't think it is. when you screw with the psi you can force it into being somewhat bouncy by compressing it hard as hell and quick as hell. it's hard trying to ride trials while constantly trying to remember how to handle the damn tire in different situations. the rebound of the tire mainly depends on how much 'pop' you have as a rider, since you have to do more than your fair share to get onto a ledge. sure, the tire grips like hell in most situations, but the rebound feels flat and 'plasticky.'

how hard do i ride? not as hard as the top riders, i'm a few steps behind their aggression and progression. but, if i ride for 4 hours a week, i'll more than likely need to rotate the tire. i only weight about 140lbs. i'm not particularly tough on parts, but this tire cannot handle my trials riding as much as i want it to, in terms of wear.


oh, and for those people that can't see the threads, where are you looking? they hide under a very thin coating in the sidewall. we're not talking about them showing through in the tread region, but at the side of the tire where the creepy crawler logo is. if you can see the little threads under the black coating, or feel them, there's something wrong with you or your fluke cc tire.





at this point in time, i loath the tire. i also loath my alex rim. these two do not help to make a great trials wheel. i'm ready for change. to ween myself off the tire i'm probably going to grab an eagle claw and then go to a try-all. i plan on switching to a try-all rim as well. i want a better tire and a wider, stronger rim.

thanks for listening,
evan

[Danni]

Excellent posts in here. Thanks so much for taking the time sponge!

Another thing to note for Canadian riders buying tires, or really anywhere that is cold, is how the rubber compound reacts in the cold.

Tryall stickies turn rock hard below zero. It really is aweful.
The CC is pretty bad, but doable.
The monty is better than the CC.
The luna is the best.

[Spoonthumb]

anyone know were i can get a luna in the usa, and the cheapest place for try alls

[mornish]

Originally Posted by Spoonthumb

anyone know were i can get a luna in the usa, and the cheapest place for try alls

get a luna from www.bedfordunicycles.ca


you can get a tryall from division8, renegade juggling, and compulsion cycles.

[Spoonthumb]

Originally Posted by mornish

get a luna from www.bedfordunicycles.ca


you can get a tryall from division8, renegade juggling, and compulsion cycles.

do you know which of the tryall places are cheaper offhand?

[manon1wheel]

Originally Posted by Spoonthumb

do you know which of the tryall places are cheaper offhand?

i think $40 dollars from renegade is a reasonable price.

I ride a try all its awsome. the try-all in my winter weather is perect. its 50 degrees right now and it has just the right amount of stiffness and bounce. it is really hard to fold it over unless your going all out on a long gap.

in the summer i find it really really soft, but still bouncy and stiff enough to get a good hop. but it is 114 degrees outside, and you can cook an egg on the sidewalk.

[Danni]

Originally Posted by manon1wheel

i think $40 dollars from renegade is a reasonable price.

I ride a try all its awsome. the try-all in my winter weather is perect. its 50 degrees right now and it has just the right amount of stiffness and bounce. it is really hard to fold it over unless your going all out on a long gap.

in the summer i find it really really soft, but still bouncy and stiff enough to get a good hop. but it is 114 degrees outside, and you can cook an egg on the sidewalk.

50F? That's not even below 0C. Haha, come ride here where it's -20C with your lovely try all.

[manon1wheel]

no thanks.... id rather stay in my comfy 50 degree weather.

[Spoonthumb]

Originally Posted by Danni

50F? That's not even below 0C. Haha, come ride here where it's -20C with your lovely try all.

i rode my maxxis CC in -10 up in maine and gosh it sucked...lol it was practically crunching....

[brendan]

Originally Posted by Danni

50F? That's not even below 0C. Haha, come ride here where it's -20C with your lovely try all.

i never thought of that constraint... i guess the luna would be the least affected by it... damn riding at -20c... i guess i'd have to break my rule of always riding jumperless...