I spent Friday morning on the Soma with Nokian studs. Last year these tires inspired confidence in their width and grip on ice and snow – especially in mixed conditions. Friday morning was rough. Terrain I would have cruised over on the Pugs slowed me down, had me second guessing my lines, and the (relative) high pressure (25?) and narrow width (2.1!) had me chattering on frozen ground and over frozen post holed trail. It was unnerving and exhausting.
I rode some of the same terrain Saturday morning on the Pugs, and covered all and more Sunday morning again on the Pugs. I’m much more confident on the Pugs – the float of the tires over chop and through mixed conditions is drastic, not to mention the places I could ride with the additional snow that arrived over the last two nights. I didn’t have the bite of the studded Nokians – and I payed for it a few times when the base was frozen and the snow atop simply slid out of my way as I washed out my front wheel several times – but overall it was great to be back on the fatbike. The Soma will get slightly higher gearing and I’ll keep it for fixed winter road duty. With the Pugs in the stable there is little reason to take out ‘skinny’ tires in mixed conditions.
Looks like fun, Mike! Are you guy all healed up?
Getting there. Today was the first morning I’ve felt like I’ve had my lungs and legs back…
Mike, I commented last night but it didn’t post. Glad you got out. I take it that you got sick too? I see Greg was around. Look forward to riding with him too.
Wil – it took – you left it on one of the images…
http://littlecirclesvt.com/2011/01/back-to-the-pugs/imag1304/
😉
Yes, I had a mild and slow morning ride, then family time hang out with friends. Was a good day. Still feeling fatigued from all the sickness that passed through the household – but this morning started to feel my legs and lungs on the bike again.
I second your praises of the Pugster. Amazing. Like driving my grandfathers Ford LTD boat. Pretty sure it might be possible to nap on it during long rides 🙂
john and I started carving out the trails on the “upper deck” in the woods behind my place. i noticed that the pugs hasn’t been up there yet – go check it out. really fun trails up there! my skinny tubie tracks are hard to see, but the MTB tracks are there …
Have seen the tubie tracks. I always get turned around getting up there. End up on unrideable stuff…
saw you hit some of it this morning. i’ll do some more trailblazing – there’s about 5 different ways down from the very top. lot of fun.
Yeah, lots of hike a bike though. I’m just not confident on the techy stuff, even when its dry! More so on the snow in the dark running lights @ 6:30 am!
I really haven’t found any sort of flow getting up or down from there, unless I just fall off the back towards the lakeside. Most every way I get in there I’m off the bike, on the bike, start, stop. Just my lack of tech riding skills, I’m sure. After slicing open my knee though, by myself, back in 2004 in NYS, I just don’t have the same ‘no fear’ of riding in the woods. That ended in a 1/2 hour bloody ride home, then to the ER for 5 stitches. I was lucky I hit where I did – otherwise I’d likely not have been able to barely pedal out.