Air pressure: 90psi, Rebound 15 clicks out from [-], ‘Brain’ set at 16 clicks out from Soft.
I increased air pressure to 120psi. My weight is 74kgs in jocks. Will fit & try out at FGP Dirt crits 25 March evening.
Last week raced the Jamis Exile, in ‘commuter’ setup at the dirt crits. Ironically I found what I thought would be my biggest drawback – the relitively tall for MTB one ratio 42/16 – actually caused me to be dropped on the 2x open flat & fast section of the track, instead of the tighter singletrack. With that gear I found that I was out of the saddle pretty much the whole time grinding that gear, but it was still trucking along nicey, doing my best to keep that momentum going. On those open bits was the problem, where everyone else just changed up to the big chainwheel & loped away.
Also found that I was striking the pedals to the ground in the tight stuff, on reflection it may have been from my paranoia of losing the feeble drive I putting out at the lower speeds & dared not coast to keep my inside pedal up while cornering. The Jamis Exile runs your standard 172.5cm length cranks like all MTBs, so I could not pin it on the bike spec.
I think I almost came last from B grade, but as there was someone behind me at the finish in my class I can put it down as a roaring success & a job well done.
It was still a good thing & will not have a second thought to call on the Jamis again for some more dirt crit action in the future. I ran my Schwalbe Marathon Extreme 2.0 tyres at their lowest rated pressure – 30psi – but they still felt kinda wooden, as if there wasn’t enough volume or plusheness that you would normally feel from your regular dirt knobbie like Schwalbe’s Racing Ralph or Hutchinson’s Barracuda.
On the ride home the headset bearing got all notchy, so I fiddled with them that evening only to realize I needed to replace them.
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