Another Pugs Day- a review of sort

Sand and mud... mountain bikers all over have been coming up with the best combo of tires to ride through these as quick and smooth possible.

Came to the realization that when it gets all caked up axle deep... suspension is a liability rather than an aid. As it proves time and again this morning, it was hilarious as I turn around at each squeal to see one or more behind me go ankle/knee deep in the goo. From all the washing off at the end point... apparently I missed a couple of the folks face planting too.

Me? Never had to even so much as put my foot down, the Pugs simply roll away on everything.

Yes, big tires definitely roll better. One up against normal 29er.. contact patch on the 3.8 Larries made a huge difference. There was a couple of close ones but these fatties allowed me to trackstand long enough in the goo to muscle the front out and torque the rear up and away in time... The suprremacy of the almost 10cm of stability literally left everyone else in the mud and of course all they made were squiggly lines in the sand as tormented suspension get sucked down while trying to follow the Pugs railroading a straght line in front.

Spanning between the now retired Endormorph 3.7 to the new aggressive Nates 3.8... think I like the 3.8 Larry as a good in-between. Not sure how much more the Nates will grip the rear end but as I like running pretty low pressure on fatties, can't help thinking too much bite from the knobs might actually be another hindrance. It also looks to add on a fair bit of bumpy-rolling resistance from the profile. Meantime the Larry lets me slide out enough before it finds back proper grip and I like the playful manner in which the bike steers as a result. Might have a go with a Nates up front if one comes along cheap though... There's a whole long article on the Nates here but comparing the terrain differences in there and here I'm just of a little different thought. Moreover rear end of the Pugs is on the heavy side of things with the Large Marge now.

Well well,  again its gravitating towards spending moolahs on the bike even if its just "another" tire. Truth is.. the Pugs has cost me the least amount of dollar upgrades. Everything that didn't come on it the day it was brought home from WarVirus place were all parts and bits lying around.. and right down to the recently donated Fleegle bar, courtesy of Peke. Last change up was my hybrid XT brakes ported over from another bike.

Snapping Jo dropping down the chute in style. 

To be honest I wasn't so sure about attempting it on a rigid at first, Fat rubbers or not, this is steep, leave-litter-loose and a fair bit more eroded than the pic shows but yea its doable... Just follow the usual procedure.. Commit, GO... and leave those brakes at home.

End of ride... we saw a couple with a cam-mounted RC quadcopter. Couldn't resist asking to take a look at the remote viewer... Wow! Think I want my new toy now ;)

Hauled more than usual in me latest trail gear pack to test things out as well. Could have easily doubled the water ration with more gears too if it was ever needed. Yup... look like I'm ready for my  planned adventure... and next week is a super long weekend.

No, chancing and checking out the hover-cam incidentally has nothing to do with my thoughts here.. Just  enjoying my resurrected sense of exploring and "recon trips".... always on the lookout to exploit even the smallest bits, find an obstacle/ challenge, natural or man-made all around my area.

Maybe its the impending doom of the little free space left as ugly apartment blocks from all the new development start  rearing their ugly torso high above the ground by now...

Guess there really isn't much choice... with the influx of immigrants here, living density is just gonna start getting more like Hong Kong. Targetted for 6.9 million by 2030 (excuse me but that's just fucking madness for an island of 700 sq km if you ask me) in Feb this year.. the construction frenzy just gone into total overdrive around here... Oh they are gonna put another 21 000 units right  in front of my main door in the next 2 yrs.

Doesn't leave much to the imagination eh and of course I won't be viewng any more green open space for sure. Just wonder if those new "neigbours" prefer curry or tofu? Pretty sure I won't be needing binos to see into their dining table.. Oh wait.. rather not and hopefully I'll be back in Canada by then... Yea.