new terraflex ride report

[Fred_Bear]

got the T-flex on yesterday and road her today. Here are my thoughts.

It sure did kick the bike up about an inch in the rear now I really have a hard time touching. Back to thinking about the kuba link

The knobs are not that bad on the road. A little slippery but I am sure that will get much better after 100 miles or so. I'm running 20 lbs of air.

It feels as if I've went back to stock gearing even though I have 15-47 on there. I'm sure it's because of the height of the tire compaired to the 606 it replaced. I think I will switch back to 14-47 and get some of the snap back. I hope it's not the weight of the tire contributing to the sluggish feel.

Off road, this tire gets loads of traction. I was on hard pack with a few rocks and some (1/2") sand. A little woods riding with leaves sticks and walnuts. Man those walnuts are like riding on giant marbles. This tire rocks off road.

What gearing is everyone running with the T-flex? One more thing, My race sag feels stiffer now. I haven't had a chance to measure it but I don't understand how a tire would affect that. Anyone else notice this?

[danath 34]

maybe since its a taller tire, it feels like the shocks are stiffer since you dont got as low (although you should have the same travel, just you are higher up still)

[Bschu]

I, too have a t-flex for about 2 weeks now, overall as a new tire it was squierrly. Now with couple hundred miles break in, a lot more responsive. On-road and off-road, but really don't trust this tire at high speeds, because of the way it feels. But the best tire for the purpose I've ridden!! I think i'm rubbing my pipe or something in whoops or jumps? anyone else??

[Fred_Bear]

hey Cali-Drz what gears are you running?

[Bschu]

14/47

[Fred_Bear]

ok I did the math-

running a 120/90 I get these rpm's with 15/47 gearing

@70mph - 7100rpms

@60mph - 6100rpms

@55mph - 5500rpms

when I switched to the 150/90 with 15/47 gears I got this

@70mph - 6500rpms

@60mph - 5600rpms

@55mph - 5100rpms

no wonder I felt a big hit in power. Thats lower than the stock 15/44 gears by 100 RPM's

with 14/47 gears on the 150/90 it looks like this

@70mph - 7000rpms

@60mph - 6000rpms

@55mph - 5500rpms

so running the huge T-flex 14/47 gears are near identical to 15/47 on a 120/90. Looks like I'll be changing my cs sprocket tomarrow.

[HalfNutz]

Running that tire with more than 10psi of pressure is just a waste.

[kawidual]

Cali-DRZ, the rubbing is probably your mudflap, its torn 1/2 of mine off already.

[OSITECH]

I agree 20lbs of air is a LOT of air for a Tflex. Get one of those pressurized cans of air, ride the bike to the trails with road pressure, air down to 6lbs for the trails, air back up to your road pressure for the ride home. You really don't need that much air on the road either. That's probably why it feels squirrelly to you. I've ran 6lbs and 0 lbs(forgot to air back up) on the road and could not tell any difference. This tire is not the normal tire so you have to forget the "normal" rules and think Tflex! Andrew

[Fred_Bear]

20 lbs is allot for the road? How much should I run, on road?

[OSITECH]

Remember, this tire is designed to run at 0 psi... so it does not take much actual pressure to stiffen it up for the road. I would say maybe 10-12. Try several pressures and see what you like. Set the pressure and have a friend of your weight sit on the bike while you see how much flex the tire has, then set the pressure so you have just a little flex, not rock hard, not any sag. Then look and see what pressures that is... How much road riding do you do? According to Tom (the designer) the flex will actually gain dirt traction as the center lugs wear a bit, so riding on the road is not a complete loss for the flex...as the center lug shortens,it allows the side lugs to contact the ground when sitting straight up... as if you needed anymore traction with the flex! Andrew

[Fred_Bear]

thanks Ositech. I'll try a little lower pressure. I do ride allot of road. I know thats gunna wear out a knobbie quick. But I dont care. I need the traction when I decide on a whim to go off road. My last tire a, 606, lasted 1200 miles and I still could have got more out of it.

[Bschu]

I run mine around 10 lbs for road use and drop down when pumice riding, I mean normal riding. Can't agree more about riding it on road to expose more lugs. I'm NOt sure about the mud flap, but I hope so. RIDE ON!

[MyFirstThumper]

I run mine at 5 pounds everywhere.

[Bschu]

well, on my back to work after lunch today, i learned how far the t-flex can go. Made a normal right hand turn and leaned I guess too far and whoops there goes the bike, and oh yeah pavement hurts on skin!

So lesson learned, so down on the pavement with the t-flex, or maybe I'm just a bad rider? who knows? Just wanted to share, cheers

[Okie1]

Which tread style and what size are you running?

[Fred_Bear]

me? tread style II , 150/90

[Noppy]

I drove mine with 0 lbs (I collected a nail somewhere) on a Dutch dike and it stepped sideways suddenly, but hey, what can you expect? I lowered the pace a bit and got home without dirty hands!

On they highways I don't take the trouble anymore to increase the air from 7 lbs to something higher. I simply leave it on 7, off-road or 60mph.

I use 14/47 but I'm going to use 13/47 soon.

Noppy

[sireland67]

FREd

I run about 14 psi on the road, and about 5 psi off road.

3700 miles and the tire is still going, .390" leading lug in center and .205" on the trailing center lug.

14-44 gears seem to work the best for me on pavement, 13/47 or 14/47 off road depending on where I am riding.

Cali-DRZ

Sorry about your spill, I found that it takes about 500 miles on pavement to get the lugs rounded off slightly before the tire feels real comfortable.

[OSITECH]

You guys don't forget that the Flex was designed to be turned around and ran backwards. Tom (the designer) said he purposely designed it to be able to run both ways. When the wear pattern starts getting uneven from road use, flip the tire around and you've got a whole new lug on the backside! It was also designed to be able to recut the lugs...Tom designed it to have extra tall lugs for use in the mud/muck, but he thinks it has more traction when the center lugs are worn/cut to half there height... less flex and since the middle lugs are shorter, the side lugs are in contact with the ground when the bike is straight up... this tire should be called a Timex, instead of a TFlex!!! or a Duracell............. Andrew