When I first started mountain biking, I figured I'd just use whatever cheap cast-off tires my friends had lying around. Maybe I would pick out the ones that looked knobbier... regardless, I didn't pay much attention to the rubber on my rims.
So the first time I rode the ridge at Massanutten, I didn't really ride it. I walked it. And I didn't ride down Upper Ravine.... I stopped, let the rest of the pack go by, & then tiptoed my way down boulders with my bicycle bouncing around in my hands. Riding that stuff just felt too sketchy-- I couldn't get traction, and my 40PSI tubes bounced over everything like a basketball.
Fast-forward to yesterday. It was my first ride of the spring, one of my first rides post-winter-hibernation. AKA- I'm not yet on my game this season, and my withered legs had trouble even climbing the fire road.
But now I have new tires. Thanks to the dudes at Trek, my hardtail now sports 29-3 team issue 2.35 Bontrager tires.
Despite my winter weight, those sticky donuts got me clean across the ridge. I partied down upper ravine without touching foot to dirt. My tires stuck and rolled, and my tubeless 20PSI smoothed out the worst of the rocky bounce.
For just $150 bucks (a fraction of the cost of a new bike; roughly the cost of a new pair of shoes; or 2 weeks of boxed lunches rather than eating out), my Massanutten foray went from a hike to bike ride. I am now a believer in the power of rubber.
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