[Jem7sk]

I was riding my wife's Stache 7 this weekend and it is a great riding bike but hard to pedal. I find myself getting worn out very quickly.

Is the drivetrain cheap/inefficient on this bike or is it just the big wheels and tires? It is totally stock and tubeless.

 

[Le Duke]

I was riding my wife's Stache 7 this weekend and it is a great riding bike but hard to pedal. I find myself getting worn out very quickly.

Is the drivetrain cheap/inefficient on this bike or is it just the big wheels and tires? It is totally stock and tubeless.

Changing the drivetrain isn't going to make a bike pedal any better. A more expensive drivetrain will be slightly lighter, but that's it.

Now, a clean drivetrain is certainly more efficient than a dirty one. And some tires can be more efficient than others.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MrIcky]

I have a 2016 7. Here are a couple things that play into it from my experience:

1st, because of the size of the wheel/tire you are in a taller effective gear. It's like having a 1 tooth higher chainring than a 29x2.3 and 2 teeth higher than a 27.5x3. My remedy with 27.5x2.6 tires feels about the same gear wise with a 32 front as my stache does with 28 to give you an idea.

2nd, inertia- it's marginally harder to spin the wheels up and to bring them to a stop than a smaller wheel. If you are going up a steep enough hill that you are grinding and reaccelerating the wheel with every turn, it can get tiring.

I did put a 28front and a gx12 drivetrain so I could climb better on mine. That didn't have any effect on efficiency- it just gave me more gears. I'm assuming yours has been sorted by now but I did have some problems with the rear hub when I bought mine. It would work loose. That would effect efficiency- but really it just made it unrideable because it would develop enough play to cause shifting issues. You could tell because the rear cassette would be loose compared to the hub.

The flipside too all that is the glorious momentum you can build on a stache. It's a great ride.

 

[Forest Rider]

A smaller diameter tire offers a lower gear, not higher.

Point being, a 27.5+ is still a tad smaller than a 29'er. Therefore, if both bikes have the same gear, the 27.5+ bike is effectively geared lower (a better first gear by very marginal numbers. Definitely not by 2 teeth.

 

[MrIcky]

If I misspoke- sorry- but yes I mean a 27.5 is easier. I recall a 29x3 was about 3% harder effective than a 29x2.3 which equated to a tooth on the front sprocket.

 

[Lone Rager]

The gear effect wheels size only comes in to play in the highest or lowest gear. In between, you automatically shift to compensate.

 

[2old]

Buy an eBike. Let your wife ride the real bike.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[1niceride]

pump up the tires to max psi and try it as a test...some tires also pedal with a lot of drag.

 

[Jem7sk]

pump up the tires to max psi and try it as a test...some tires also pedal with a lot of drag.

I'll give this a try. My Nimble 9 is much easier to pedal and I can ride hard the whole trail without getting tired.

 

[huckleberry hound]

What tires are you running? I have the XR2/Cuppacabra rear with XR4 on the front and it pedals just fine. Some tires are just don't pedal well regardless of size.

 

[Jem7sk]

I have the original chupacabra 3.0 tires.

 

[Jem7sk]

I figured out that the cheap, POS SRAM brakes they put on this bike was failing. The front brake would get stuck... my last ride I was thinking it was even harder to pedal so I stopped to check the brakes and the tire wouldn't even rotate by hand and the lever had quit snapping back into position.

I read there was a recall on these.

I took off the front brake it it pedaled much easier than it did when brand new from the bike shop even with their custom setup.

 

[Jem7sk]

Oh yeah! Took it out yesterday for a proper ride. I've got new brakes on order and am riding without front brake. Here in flat Florida the front brake is not a necessity but I was flying on this bike yesterday so I could see how it would be needed when needing to stop fast but the rear was slowing me down good.

I was riding in the top two gears the whole ride. Very easy to pedal now and the momentum really builds the faster you go. This has got to be the perfect Florida bike. The 29+ tires really make the ride plush for our rooty and small bump sections. IMO a FS is overkill here but a lot of people ride them. I think 29+ is where it is at for this terrain, especially the soft sand where this tire floats right over and grip well.

I really love the fork on this bike too. It is very plush and soaks up the roots nicely.

I was researching and I think it is a 2017 and not a 2016. It is the matte green light colored bike.

 

[pinkpowa]

The Stache is a great Florida bike, my wife loves her 9.6, I just wish it were my size too...

 

[S​​usspect]

I took off the front brake it it pedaled much easier than it did when brand new from the bike shop even with their custom setup.

You really haven't unleashed the Stache until you take BOTH brakes off and get your speed up above 20 mph. That's when things really get lively; try it out and get back to us with a review. 😃

 

[Jem7sk]

The Stache is a great Florida bike, my wife loves her 9.6, I just wish it were my size too...

How much does the 9.6 weigh? I bet it is a nice bike.

 

[pinkpowa]

How much does the 9.6 weigh? I bet it is a nice bike.

Hers is stock but I pulled the dropper for a carbon post, I think it was around 26# when I weighed it a couple years back. About to put the dropper back on and put an XR4 on the front for some adventures out of FL.