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Quick Trek Xcal Tire Fit Question

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bishop29er

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
New guy here. I've been riding my 2012 Trek Xcal 29er with 23" frame for a couple months and I'm officially addicted. I really want to switch to a grippier tubeless tire but I have a question about fit that I can't seem to find an answer for...Will I be able to fit a 2.25 or 2.35 tire on the front/rear?? Bike has a reba rl front fork and bontrager mustang tubeless ready rims. Currently running the stock bontrager 2.2 tires. I really want to give the Schwalbe Hans Dampf a shot but they are 2.35. If not, I might try the nobby nic's with snakeskin that are 2.25. Thanks for any help, I'd really like to get these babies ordered soon!
 
#2 ·
The front you should be able to fit a 2.35. The rear will be determined by the frame. And not all tires are measure the same, even though the sizing says so.

So go for a 2.35 up front and keep a 2.2 or smaller on the rear. Larger up front for grip, smaller in the back for quicker spin up (acceleration)
 
#8 ·
I've got a bontrager xr3 on the rear.....its ok....its the team issue one, so it wore out super fast.....had good traction for the first few months....think i'll replace it with a maxis ikon or maybe one of the new bontrager 29-3 tires i see on some of the 2013 trek bikes....looks like a smaller knobbed version of the 29-4 i've got on the front
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Well, I ended up ordering the schwalbe hans dampf for the front and rear. The design/reviews interested me so I figured I would give it a shot. It's a 2.35 tire, so I'll keep everyone posted on the fit
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
***UPDATE***

So the new Hans Dampf tires came in a few days ago, but the day before they arrived I managed to take a little spill when my front tire washed out and I bent the rim(stock bontrager mustang 29) slightly. Just got the wheel back today and decided to mount the new tires up tubeless. I've never done this before, but luckily there was a pretty good youtube vid from bontrager that walked me through it. Here's my story...
1. Hans Dampf's looked AWESOME in the package. I was very excited to go 29 x 2.35 front and rear, with the trailstar(softer) compound on the front and the pacestar(faster) compound on the rear.
2. Was able to install the bontrager tubeless rim strips and valve stems with no problems at all
3. With a little soapy water I was able to mount the new front hans dampf and get a good bead in about 30 seconds with a floor pump!!! Pumped her up to about 40 psi and POP...sealed
4. Back tire was harder to get on the rim initially but I was able to do it with a tire tool, some patience, and some beer. Pumped it up to about 45 psi with a floor pump and POP...seated nicely

NOW for the bad part...
Front wheel with new 2.35 tire mounted just fine in between the reba rl fork...room to spare. Back wheel was a different story. As u can see from the pic, you can barely see daylight between the new tire and derailer. The tire is still inflated to 40 psi, but I still don't think I'm going to be able to get away with it at normal riding pressure.:madman:
I'm pissed because I worked my tail off mounting these things and it looks like its a no go on the rear. Any suggestions???
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
wrich73 said:
nice switch! Those Expert 1s are terrible...
Click to expand...
Thanks. I didnt have much luck with experts, especially in anything loose. I just wish I could keep the Hans dampf on the rear. I ordered an hd nobby nic ss tr in the 2.25 size...hopefully it fits and works as well.

anybody wanna buy a mounted but never ridden Hans dampf?? Lol
 
#16 ·
bishop29er said:
Thanks. I didnt have much luck with experts, especially in anything loose. I just wish I could keep the Hans dampf on the rear. I ordered an hd nobby nic ss tr in the 2.25 size...hopefully it fits and works as well.

anybody wanna buy a mounted but never ridden Hans dampf?? Lol
Click to expand...
You could always convert to a 1x10 setup....its incredibly easy on the X-Cal, and I haven't come across anything I can't climb running 32/36 that didn't require walking in the first place
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
wrich73 said:
You could always convert to a 1x10 setup....its incredibly easy on the X-Cal, and I haven't come across anything I can't climb running 32/36 that didn't require walking in the first place
Click to expand...
Hmmm...never thought of that! Truly I spend 95% of the time on the middle ring any way. What parts would I need?(newb question)
 
#18 ·
bishop29er said:
Hmmm...never thought of that! Truly I spend 95% of the time on the middle ring any way. What parts would I need?(newb question)
Click to expand...
A few tools and a little patience :) This site is fantastic and Google is your friend, plus its kinda fun. The last time I had touched a bike before buying my X-Cal in June was when I upgraded from cantilever to XT V-Brakes in 1998 on my Trek 8700, so I was clueless when I started.

required---
Allen wrenches, up to an 8mm for the crank
chain tool to remove extra links

Take your chain off first, go to your 32/11 rings and find the KMC locking link (you will know when you see it..) use some needle nose pliers (a Leatherman Skeletool works fine also, which btw with bit kit is probably the best all around tool ever hehe) and apply pressure either between the links with inward force, or pinching the link into an upside down U shape and apply pressure like you are trying to make the U into a T.

Removing the trigger and front derailleur is self explanatory, remove screw, open hinge. With your chain off, make sure your rear mech is adjusted properly this is a fantastic video/right up on how to do it. If it is shifting fine, you should be okay for now, but still make sure that when you push the derailleur all the way out (thumb on the X7 pushing) the upper derailleur cog is lined up perfectly with the 36T ring. If its not, there is a chance the chain may drop behind the cassette which can be a real PITA.

Go ahead and put the chain back on. Ride the bike up something steep that would normally cause you to drop to your small ring. Don't worry about trail riding yet, just make sure you are capable (or willing to get stronger) of effectively riding with this set up. Because there is so much slack in the chain, riding on anything bumpy will probably cause the chain to drop, so just something steep and non technical to test it.
if you like it, yay!

Okay, now you have a couple of options.
The cheap one, and the better one. Cheap one is keep your center ring and get chainguide, MRP 1x is fine if you are on a budget.
The MRP should set you back about 50 bucks. If this is what you want to do, it should look something like this when done
Image


This was really your best low cost option until recently, and its what I did at first. In my opinion, the better can be had for about 200 bucks, express shipped.
It consists of :

1. SRAM X9 type 2 rear Derailleur (short cage) You need a new derailleur anyway, and this thing is utterly amazing, like first time you take ecstasy good (*from what I have read that is).

2. Single ring chain ring there are others, but Raceface make fantastic products and this is made of jet fighter aluminum and has badass laser etching on it.

3. BBG Bashwich this will make your drivetrain bomb proof with the type two rear mech. You do not need a lower chain guide running this setup, at all, period. Get a 64BCD (only come in 32T) and 104 BCD 32T Erin is awesome, great customer service and fast shipping--I paid on a Monday and had my bashguards by Friday (from Oregon to South Carolina)

If you go this route, it will look like this:

Image


Image


Image


Image


This setup also allows you to keep your S1000 crankset and GXP BB intact.

Removing the crank is much easier than I made it the first few times. With the chain off, put your 8mm allen wrench in the non drive side arm, ignoring the larger black nut on the outside. Loosen it (bracing the drive side peddle and stomping the allen wrench counter clockwise works fine). The crank arm should come right off with the nut still inside (which is fine).
next, pop the driver side out by tapping the spindle with your palm (if it's stubborn a rubber mallet, or a a Croc sandle and a hammer, you get the idea). Don't mess with the bottom bracket!

Check the drive side crank arm to see if there is a plastic spacer/guard on it...it will most likely be on the crank, so slide it off and put it back into the drive side bracket after cleaning any grime off the bearing seals. The non drive side has a small ring that covers the exposed bottom bracket bearing seals too, but you probably noticed this falling off when you removed the crank arm.

Next, use an allen wrench and remove your smaller and larger rings and replace them with the BBG Bashguards. Next, make sure everything is nice and clean around the bearing seals, then slide your drive side arm through the bracket with just enough force to come out the other side slightly. You don't need to slam it through, tightening the nondrive crank back on will get it in the proper position.

Go ahead and remove the large nut from the non drive crank arm and clean the crank and nuts, then apply grease to anything with threads. Next put the GXP O ring back on, then the crank arm (just enough to attach, no force), put your 8 mm screw/nut and tighten it up. At this point the cranks should spin freely, and there shouldn't be any wobble when you pull/push the crank arms towards and away from the bike. if everything is working go ahead and put the larger outer nut back on and you are done.

To size the chain, wrap it around your 32/36 rings only (ignore the derailleur), pull it tight to remove all slack and add 1 link in length to that. Use chain tool, remove unwanted links. Be careful doing this, I removed too many the first time and ended up having to buy a SRAM 1091 chain because the chain kept breaking where I tried to relengthen it.

Use the pushlock on the type 2 to lock the derailleur forward, make sure you are shifted down as low as the trigger will go (little cog) and reattach your chain.

You should now be done! yay!

Of note, the mechanism on the type 2 is very tight, it requires considerably more effort to move than a normal derailleur so don't be afraid its stuck or that you will break when you take it out of the box.

I hope this helps!

Eh, I spent so much time doing this I am probably going to post it as a how to for anyone else looking to do this.
 
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Sickmak90
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