Dual ply as the name suggests are super tough, if you’ve a problem with single ply then these are the tyres you need, but there’s a catch - they’re heavy and over 1kg a wheel to drag around needs some thought and ideally an uplift. See the post on mid-tyre weights if you’re looking to ride the ups as well as downs.

Minion Fr 2.35 42a - 1100-1100g (2 weighed) average of 1100g
Minion Fr 2.35 60a - 1080-1190g (2 weighed) average of 1133g
Minion Fr 2.5 42a - 1250-1280  (2 weighed) average of 1265g
Minion Fr 2.5 60a - 1230-1250g (2 weighed) average of 1133g
Minion Fr 2.5 UST 42a - 1210-1300g (2 weighed) average of 1255g

Minion Rr 2.35 42a - 1260g
Minion Rr 2.35 60a - 1100g
Minion Rr 2.5 42a - 1220g
Minion Rr 2.5 60a - to be weighed
Minion Rr 2.5 UST 42a - 1260g
Minion Rr 2.5 UST 60a - to be weighed

High Roller 2.35 42a - 1120-1120g (2 weighed) average of 1120g
High Roller 2.35 60a - 1080-1200g (7 weighed) average of 1129g
High Roller 2.5 60a - to be weighed
High Roller 2.5 42a - 1200g
High Roller 2.5 UST 42a - 1290-1290g (2 weighed) average of 1290g
High Roller 2.5 UST 60a- 1120-1170g (2 weighed) average of 1145g

Swampthing 2.35 DPC 42a - 1050-1050g (2 weighed) average of 1050g
Swampthing 2.35 DPC 60a - 1030-1030g (2 weighed) average of 1030g
Swampthing 2.50 DPC 42a - 1100-1190g (2 weighed) average of 1113g
Swampthing UST 2.50 42a - 1030-1040g (2 weighed) average of 1035g

all tyre weights were correct at 24 April 2008 and may vary from batch to batch.

It was supposed to be a 6 week wait but in the end only took about 3 days which left me frantically scraping pennies together to pay for it… behold the Intense 6.6 Slope Style.

I’m not actually intending to ride any Slope Style events on it but it seems like a perfect UK DH machine. 6.6″ of travel, a reasonable 9lb weight including coil DHX 5.0 shock and a moderate 66 degree head angle. Plus I’ve always wanted an Intense since the M1 first appeared but could never afford one (and probably still couldn’t). The 74 degree seat angle should feel interesting. Colour’s Midnight Blue in case you were wondering.

I’ll be building it with the bits off the Kona Chute for the time being which means Magura Wotans, NoTubes Flow rims on Hope Pro II, Titec bits N pieces, and a 1.5-1-1/8 step-down Hope headset. Pics of the finished item when it’s finished.

We’ve moved the shop onto the .com domain (it used to be on the .co.uk one) and shifted this news area onto www.justridingalong.com/news/.

It might not all work properly so if you find a problem, please let me know… jon@justridingalong.com

thanks

This might seem like the most obscure thing I could ever choose to write about but seeing as I get asked it most days, here goes.

The most important thing is thread diameter. Most spokes have 2.0mm threads, but DT Super Comps and some versions of Revolution and Comp spokes have 1.8mm threads. They are not interchangeable.

Then you have a choice of material. Spoke nipples generally come in either brass or aluminium and which you choose depends on your priority for the wheels you’re building. Brass nipples are tough, easy to build (as they will turn easily in the rim and not tend to bind to the spoke) and are easy to true at a later date as they don’t corrode onto the spoke very easily. They weigh exactly 1 gram each.

Aluminium nipples on the other hand have a reputation for being weak and easily corroded which can make the wheel hard to true at a later date, but these drawbacks are usually overstated; as long as they are lubricated when the wheel is built, and you use a top quality spoke key, they should be OK for years. They normally only break when distorted by either a ham fist or a poor spoke key. On the plus side, aluminium nipples weigh less than 1/3 of a gram each which can save 45g of fast-rotating weight in a pair of wheels. Even better, they come in a wide choice of colours.

So the choice of material largely comes down to what you’re using the wheels for. If it’s racing or general XC riding on a lightweight rim then aluminium nipples is usually the best choice, as saving weight at the outside of the rim makes a big difference. If you are using a heavy rim (over 450g or so) you may as well go with the brass spoke nipples for longevity. Wheels which take a lot of abuse (ie, for downhill, jumps etc) certainly should be built with brass nipples; apart from anything, it will be easier to achieve the higher spoke tension such wheels demand.