After about a year-and-a-half of consideration, I finally picked up a pair or two of Maxxis Ignitors.  I’ve ridden a fair number other tyres (note that while some of these tyres were purchased in the U.S. as ‘tires’, I’m writing this in Australia, so they’re now ‘tyres’), but I haven’t been that happy with any of them.

Of the tyres I’ve recently ridden, the Larsen TTs were fast on hard pack but way to unpredictable in loose corners and mud.  The Hutchinson Toros were nice on the front, but too slow on the back.  The WTB Prowler 29 SLs were predictable but slow and heavy, the sidewalls proved a little weak, too. Finally, the Crossmark came the closest, but they still gave up too much in the mud and didn’t seem to offer much over the Larson TTs.

While in the U.S. (or the ‘States, as it were) I rode Eric’s Turner Burner with 26×2.1″ Ignitors in what I’d call moderately-slippery mud as well as dry-ish hardpack.  I was so impressed with the Ignitors that I  finally decided to buy some.  I got a pair of Ignitor 120 tpi ‘Exception Series’ 26×2.1″ tyres for the Eriksen and a pair of Ignitor 29×2.1″ 60 tpi tyres for the Kona.

The 26×2.1″ Ignitor Exception measures in at a predictably-puny 1.785″ mounted without tubes on Mavic 819 rims.  The missing 0.215″ of tyre width certainly explains some of the 260g (a little over a half pound) weight savings over the old Crossmark/Toro combo.  Aside from the sizing discrepancy, the 26″ Ignitors mounted easily and inflated with some Stan’s sealant without too much coercion.

The 29×2.1″ Ignitor measures in at a shockingly-accurate 2.039″ mounted with tubes on Fulcrum Red Metal XL 29er rims.  Even with an honest tyre size, the 29″ Ignitors saved 200g (a little under a half pound) over the old and notoriously-heavy 2.1″ WTB Prowler 29 SL tyres.

In the process of swapping the tyres on the Kona, I also removed a link form the chain (the Kona is a SS with sliding Paragon-like dropouts) and shortened the wheelbase by more or less 1″, assuming the PC1 chain didn’t already stretch too much.

I took the Kona out to Fox Creek (home of the Foxy 1000) and had a unplanned riding buddy for the entire one-and-a-half-hour ride.  He kept cutting the switch-backs so I couldn’t always keep up, but I did pass him on the downhills.

Overall, the changes were transformative. I don’t know if the shorter chain stay/wheelbase or the Ignitors made the difference, but either way I’m very happy.  I’ve yet to take the Eriksen out on the dirt with the new tyres, but I think I’ll be pleasantly surprised when I do.

Update:  I swapped the 26×2.1″ Ignitor Exception tyres for a pair of 26×2.35″ Ignitor ‘Maxxpro’ tyres.  I don’t know what ‘Maxxpro’ means, but I’m guessing something along the lines of ‘heavy’.  Anyway, the Ignitor 2.1s, which were actually ~1.8″ wide, were just too small, and these Ignitor 2.35s measure in with a nice 1.97″.  Aside from the increased size and weight, these new ‘Maxxpro’ Ignitors seem to have much thicker sidewalls, and as a result sealed up much more quickly and required about half the Stan’s sealant that the smaller Exceptions took.  Here’s a comparison of the key specifications:

Ignitor 2.1 Exception (left) & Ignitor 2.35 Maxxpro (right)

Ignitor 2.35 Maxxpro (left) & Ignitor 2.1 Exception (right)

Last weekend I raced in the Foxy 1000, a 100km enduro race with the claim to fame of 1000m of climbing in each of the four laps.  The race covers much of the single track and fire roads at Fox Creek, and if you’re good at math(s) then you’ll have noted that it climbs over 4000m/13,000ft.  The 2010 course map is below, or go to the Garmin Connect site for an interactive map and elevation.

While the course map and elevation plot do provide good insight into the course, they do not show some important details.  The first half of the course was far more technical and difficult than the second.  The lap starts out with long, steep climbs, and includes downhill runs that were technical and in pretty rough shape after a very wet winter.  The second half on the course had a very fast fire road descent where I hit just under 60kph, though I’m sure others were much faster.  The elevation plot makes the last climb look a lot worse than it felt.  Despite the apparent grade, it was decidedly relaxing compared to the earlier climbs.

There were several classes ranging from the full four-lap 100km down to 75, 50 and 25km options.  I decided to take my chances in the 100km ‘Men’s Open Grade’.  There were a total of 12 in my class, and a total of  47 racing.

My first lap went well.  The climbs were nice, and the downhills were fast and fun.  Looking at the results, I completed the first lap in the eighth fastest time.  The second lap also went well, but by the third lap the fatigue of the downhill was taking its toll.  My second and third laps were much slower than the first, which isn’t so surprising.  At the end of my thrid lap my time was six hours forty-five minutes, and the prospect of another run down the downhill didn’t seem appealing.  Instead, I opted to finish at 75km and watch the rest of the race with some chips and beer.

Overall, I’m happy with my performance.  My official time for my three laps and 75km was 6:45:16, with my computer showing a total ride time of 6:29:37.  The 15 minute discrepancy would be for a water bottle swap after the first lap, and a brief lunch break (half a PB&J and a banana) after the second lap.  Full results are available on the official Foxy 1000 site.  Next year my goal will certainly be to finish all four laps.

Equipment Updates: The Specialized MTB Comp shoes were great. In stark contrast to the old Shimano shoes, I had zero foot pain and am quite happy. As for the bike, the Eriksen worked flawlessly the entire 75km. The drivetrain didn’t have a single fault and the brakes didn’t complain. From a mechanical perspective it was an uneventful race. Though, I will have to say that I replaced the rear derailleur cable and housing, replaced the brake pads, removed and lubed the crank/bb and spent a significant amount of time aligning the chain keeper prior to the race.

For those who are interested in tires/tyres, I used a ~50% worn Maxxis Crossmark 2.1 on the back inflated to 28psi and a fairly chewed-up Hutchinson Toro 2.15 on the front inflated to ~25psi. Neither tire/tyre is “tubeless”, but both are being used as tubeless with Stan’s sealant. The Toro was probably overkill for the course, but it worked well. The Crossmark climbed very well despite significant wear in the center on the tread– I’ve been riding on the road from home, through the city, and up into the hills a lot recently.

I didn’t have any flats or other issues with the tires/tyres, though I did bottom-out the rear tire/tyre once on the first downhill. Having had my share of pinch flats in the past, this impact certainly felt like it would have resulted in one had I been using tubes. +1 for tubeless.

Thanks and photo credits to FBQ for the race photos.  See more race photos of the Foxy 1000.

A few weeks ago I rode several of the trails at Fox Creek.  I rode the ‘Fox Creek XC’ track, then west on ‘Human Projectile’, through the Kangaroo Creek Campgound, up the ‘Thomas Hill Climb’, then around on some of the tracks in the middle, then to the east side on ‘The Big End’ and finally back up  The Guts’ and/or ‘Ridge Run’.

From my first ride, I’ll say that the east side is a lot more interesting than the west. The ‘Fox Creek XC’ track is pretty good, but it is easy to get lost and end up on a fire track or in a loop you didn’t intend to repeat.  Overall, Fox Creek is a nice area, but I’ll have to ride it a few more times to get a good impression.  The first photo is a panorama from the top of the Thomas Hill Climb Lookout.  Here are a couple more photos:

Thomas Hill Climb Lookout

Somewhere in the middle?