Jac of Hearts

I was looking at a lower priced Marlin or DS with a manual lockout fork but I ended up with a 2012 DS8.5 which has the remote lockout. I have to say I really love it. It is one of the favorite features of my bike.

Our area goes from smooth roads and trails to rough roads and trails along with some hard pack and gravel trails. The suspension is really good for preventing numb hands. I like that I can switch the lock on and off at will and will usually lock it for climbs to keep the fork from bobbing up and down.

Any others like or dislike this feature?

LeoGrand

Thanks for a really detailed info!

LeoGrand

Yes, on Verve I have 700x45, really like them

LeoGrand

On DS4 2020 XL I will have 700x40

LeoGrand

I really want to try 29x2.0 on my DS4

The Snowman

Has anyone ever converted their DS to be a single chain ring? I use my '17 DS3 for mostly paved bike paths and rarely use the small or medium rings.

I'll be coming up on needing a new chain, chainring(s), and cassette soon and wanted to make a determination now.

BiciMan

I moved to Schwalbe Marathon Plus 45s after a couple of years -like 'em for good.

Jac of Hearts

So what advantage is there in a 40 or 45 vs. a 38?

LeoGrand

I'm planning on my DS4 change front rings to single 34T and rear set to 11-42, or 10-51 if it will be possible...

LeoGrand

45 vs. 38 - I think bike will be more stable on the road, especially if you go over roads cracks or bums

hokiefyd 

In general, the wider the tire, the lower pressure you can run and still maintain a similar rolling resistance and load capacity to a narrower tire. There are many advantages to this, and where and how you ride will depend on whether you really capitalize on those. For me, who rides a lot of gravel and dirt, I love wider tires. I love them so much, I had 50mm tires on my Roam on the stock 700c wheels, felt the overall diameter was too large, so I dropped down to 650b wheels and run 50mm tires. My overall tire diameter is close to a 700x32 or thereabouts, but the width is, well, about 2" wide.

I ride with about 25-30 psi in the front tire and about 40 psi in the rear. I'm 240 pounds, and this pressure is a perfect balance of rolling resistance and comfort for me. Because the tire volume is so large, there's nearly no risk of pinch-flatting, regardless of the terrain I'm on.

More on this is available on Schwalbe's website.

LeoGrand

So 700x50mm tires are too big for DS4 frame? What about 47mm tires?

hokiefyd 

No, that's not what I'm saying. Your DS4 will probably fit 700x50 tires. Just know that as you increase tire size, your bike frame will be higher up off the ground due to the increased width/height of the tires.

My Roam is a large size and I barely had enough stand over clearance with the stock tires, and had even less with the larger 700x50 tires (they raised the bike up by another half inch or so). So I downsized to 650x47 tires to bring the bike frame back down, and still use large volume tires.

BiciMan

The primary advantage is simple: the bigger the tire, the greater amount of air cushion under you. I mainly sought a tire with less rolling resistance than the relatively knobby stock tires (which I believe are 38s), and the biggest tire I could get in a good Schwalbe. The drawback is that -other things being relatively equal or comparable, bigger tires are going to be heavier; I tend to compromise in the greater-cushion direction, though always among an excellent-tire selection, which is primary in any vehicle I ride/drive. For the DS, 45s are probably as big a tire as I want.

neal03

I have a DS 3 with 700x 40 Schwalbe tires. Love them. They give me speed on hard The street and are good for hard pack dirt and gravel.

Jac of Hearts

I am running Bontrager H5 Hard case lites 700c x 38 They have a smooth thread with some knobs on the edges for dirt or gravel. I really like them but was wondering at a larger diameter when it's time to replace them. Although with the wear they are giving me that may be a while.


I picked up a metal fragment at the beach and it never pierced the kelar belt.

drb372

Finally have enough posts to put up pictures of my 2019 DS3. These were taken on a ride today on a local trail.


Northwest Lanc Co River Trail_15 08182019 by Drb 372,



Northwest Lanc Co River Trail_13 08182019 by Drb 372, on Flickr

irek83

Hi,
Autumn is coming to Ireland so I got mudguards for my ds4. I have to do some modifications but I'm really happy with results.

drb372

Looks good! Just curious what make and model they are and what mods did you need to make.

irek83

This is SKS Bluemels Primus 53mm 28" black matt mudguards. I drilled small hole on the bottom of the fork, last photo show how I install fender wire. Back fender is shaking a little bit but overall is good setup.

LeoGrand

Got my new 2020 Trek Dual Sport 4, XL





2020 Trek Dual Sport 4 XL, 700 x 40 tires

Jac of Hearts

You are going to love that remote lockout.

LeoGrand

Will see

LeoGrand

This morning ride

ed h

Picked up a 2017 DS3 back in August 2017. Only real upgrade so far has been the Rockshox Paragon fork. Looking to get a second set of wheels to run a little wider/more aggressive off road tire, as I've been doing a lot of light trail riding lately with it. Can anyone out there recommend a decent wheelset, preferably something thats lighter than the stock wheelset ? Also does anyone know the inner and outer rim width of the stock Bontrager rims ? At the moment my bike isn't at my house. Appreciate any advice.