REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

What kind of trail conditions to expect at Sea Otter

1227 Views 19 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Impy, Apr 8, 2005

zorg

Discussion Starter · Apr 8, 2005

Looked at weather.com long range forecast (I know, it's innacurate), and they're predicting dry weather from tomorrow on through the 17th. Assuming this actually happens, what kind of trail can we expect for the 17th, with all the rain we got this week?

In case we should expect muddy, what tire would work well on the rear wheel? My 2.1 weirwolf ain't too good in mud.

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MVRIDER

· #2 · Apr 8, 2005

zorg said:
Looked at weather.com long range forecast (I know, it's innacurate), and they're predicting dry weather from tomorrow on through the 17th. Assuming this actually happens, what kind of trail can we expect for the 17th, with all the rain we got this week?

In case we should expect muddy, what tire would work well on the rear wheel? My 2.1 weirwolf ain't too good in mud.

What race are you in? For the DH course if it's not raining, hard pack with some (deep) sand traps. I can't really comment on the other courses, but I'd assume it would be similar. A Weirwolf is not what you want on any of it. I'm gonna bring Maxxis Minion 2.5 F/R Super Tacky's, but I'll also try out some Kenda Nevegal 2.35 with the stick-e rubber.

zorg

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 8, 2005

MVRIDER said:
What race are you in? For the DH course if it's not raining, hard pack with some (deep) sand traps. I can't really comment on the other courses, but I'd assume it would be similar. A Weirwolf is not what you want on any of it. I'm gonna bring Maxxis Minion 2.5 F/R Super Tacky's, but I'll also try out some Kenda Nevegal 2.35 with the stick-e rubber.

I'm in the Sunday morning XC race.

fred-da-trog

· #4 · Apr 8, 2005 (Edited)

required number of words

fred-da-trog

· #5 · Apr 8, 2005

As long as the weather's dry, I would expect the XC course to be dry hardpack with some sandy areas, 30-100 yards long. It was similar conditions last year and a small knobbed to a semi-slick worked just fine. I had a last minute flat just prior to the XC start and had to switch a prefered small knob rear to a semi-slick already mounted on a backup rim. I had no traction problems with any of the climbs.

biggz

· #6 · Apr 8, 2005

zorg said:
Looked at weather.com long range forecast (I know, it's innacurate), and they're predicting dry weather from tomorrow on through the 17th. Assuming this actually happens, what kind of trail can we expect for the 17th, with all the rain we got this week?

In case we should expect muddy, what tire would work well on the rear wheel? My 2.1 weirwolf ain't too good in mud.

There's another system headed our way, scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday, according to the channel 2 meterologist.

merlin

· #7 · Apr 8, 2005

Has anyone been on the trail there recently? Last year the hardpack was real bumpy from all the skidding etc, any changes?

Impy

· #8 · Apr 8, 2005

merlin said:
Has anyone been on the trail there recently? Last year the hardpack was real bumpy from all the skidding etc, any changes?

I was there monday and it was so clay'd out mud that my rear tire stopped rotating.

I really hope that it doesn't rain this week!!!

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zorg

Discussion Starter · #9 · Apr 8, 2005

Impy said:
I was there monday and it was so clay'd out mud that my rear tire stopped rotating.

I really hope that it doesn't rain this week!!!

Nice pic!

Then, I guess I should prepare myself for some mud. Going through the tire thread of a week ago, there seems to be a consensus on the WTB Velociraptor in the mud (rear tire only). Anybody tried it at Fort Ord?

DMFT

· #10 · Apr 8, 2005

Geary - 2.1 Epicwolf Front, 1.95 Epicwolf Rear. I think they're called Exiwolfs now though so look for either.

Singlespeed - 2.4 Mutanoraptor Front & Rear.

- I'm expecting more "mud-holes" than just plain old muddy, wet trails. It's been windy lately following these storms and the majority of the place dries rather quickly.

Goose127

· #11 · Apr 8, 2005

Epic Wolf

I am going to go down there tomorrow regardless of the weather since I want to do a pre-ride no matter what.

Two years ago it rained right before the event, the first 1/3 of the race was very muddy and a little sticky. After that the composition of the rest of the trails is basically sand based. It dries out very fast.

I have run the Epic Wolfs and will do so next Sunday if the weather blows. I did not run them two years ago but I heard some guys who did and they had success with it so it may be a good option. They are good tires in dry conditions, the tread hooks up well and they are very light. My only complaint is that the rolling resistance is not the best, but cetainly not as bad as a full knobby tire. If it is dry I am planning on going with a Kenda Karma up front and the Schalbe Racing Ralph in the rear

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Impy

· #12 · Apr 8, 2005

DMFT said:
Singlespeed - 2.4 Mutanoraptor Front & Rear.

- I'm expecting more "mud-holes" than just plain old muddy, wet trails. It's been windy lately following these storms and the majority of the place dries rather quickly.

Thats what I was running Monday too. I really expected things to drain better than they had, I was surprised. If you look closely at the rear tire in the picture you can see that the rear seatstays have carved out a nice rectangular mudcoated tire there (not great for traction!)

DMFT

· #13 · Apr 8, 2005

Very weird - Sun. AM the place was CHERRY then it's a quagmire the next day.....
The rest of Couch was pretty hardpacked though right???

Impy

· #14 · Apr 8, 2005

DMFT said:
Very weird - Sun. AM the place was CHERRY then it's a quagmire the next day.....
The rest of Couch was pretty hardpacked though right???

not sure what Couch is but some parts were just fine. I'm bringing a stick though if it's been raining to knock the mud off

aosty

· #15 · Apr 8, 2005

Are those your new race tires?

Impy said:

DMFT

· #16 · Apr 8, 2005

Impy said:
not sure what Couch is but some parts were just fine. I'm bringing a stick though if it's been raining to knock the mud off

Where that pic was taken is considered the bottom of Couch Canyon.

zorg

Discussion Starter · #17 · Apr 8, 2005

Impy said:
not sure what Couch is but some parts were just fine. I'm bringing a stick though if it's been raining to knock the mud off

You could even use that stick to get rid of competitors, but I digress...

I think I'll buy some mud friendly tire this week-end and will mount it next week-end if the mid week riders indicate that it's gonna be muddy.

merlin

· #18 · Apr 8, 2005

Goose127 said:
I am going to go down there tomorrow regardless of the weather since I want to do a pre-ride no matter what.

Two years ago it rained right before the event, the first 1/3 of the race was very muddy and a little sticky. After that the composition of the rest of the trails is basically sand based. It dries out very fast.

I have run the Epic Wolfs and will do so next Sunday if the weather blows. I did not run them two years ago but I heard some guys who did and they had success with it so it may be a good option. They are good tires in dry conditions, the tread hooks up well and they are very light. My only complaint is that the rolling resistance is not the best, but cetainly not as bad as a full knobby tire. If it is dry I am planning on going with a Kenda Karma up front and the Schalbe Racing Ralph in the rear

Let us know how it goes Goose. I was planning on running Hutchinson Python AIrlight with stans

tjp

· #19 · Apr 8, 2005

Mud tires

would definitely be a compromise there, even if it's wet. The only place that mud justifies a mud tire is couch canyon - the rest of the course is as sandy and as fast or faster when it's wet.

If it's wet, I'd run the bad part of couch (you're going to anyway if it's wet, since people will be laying all over the trail), then enjoy less rolling resistance the rest of the ride.

Impy

· #20 · Apr 8, 2005

zorg said:
You could even use that stick to get rid of competitors, but I digress...
.

Hey! there's a good idea!

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