Tom.. That beastie is rapid. nice!
I used to have my bike set at 100 but I found with my set up it would cut back too quickly and I couldn't ride the terrain I want . I try to keep it under 105 as much as I can. Maybe the Nuc will assist w that.
New Shoe review...
So going from the Bridgestone to the Michelin
70/100x19 Michelin Starcross soft
I set it up with my usual 12 psi, Running a moto tube. right out of the gate I instantly felt the difference between the 2 tires. the M403 has a softer feel on pavement. It as a squishy character on pavement especially on higher speed turns. While I never thought that the tire was going to buckle or break loose it just doesn't feel as connected at the Bridgestone did on tarmac which could be because the Bridgestone was pretty warn out but also the lugs on the Starcross are super squishy. I did some fire roading and then added a bit more tire pressure 13psi. The jello feeling was still there but pushing it in 25-35 Mph sweepers it never let go. I defiantly had to get used to the feeling and for fast fire roading the Bridgestone is probably better. It almost felt like had low tire pressure. I've ridden with this tire on dirtbikes and never had this feeling but Im using a front for a rear bla bla bla....
I found that I have to adjust my suspension because of the character of the tire. The soft sidewalls and soft lugs made the ride much more compliant. It did what I wanted it to do which was to help out with high speed square edge rocks and quick shock travel. I never felt like the tire was going to break loose even when upping the speeds. The tire felt much better with more weight over the front in high speed turns.
As far as climbing goes, while on the bike the tires have about the same level of grip which is because the motor does not have enough power to break them loose while climbing a hill. In fact even when doing doughnuts the tire was much harder to break loose. On the other hand when pushing the bike up hill, Much like the Bridgestone the Starcross make the bomber into a tractor.
On down hills the grip levels esp when braking are fantastic. Braking modulation is a bit more specific but the braking limits are defiantly higher.
On rocky stuff the rear wouldn't buck up as much and tracked better Vs the Bridgestone which allowed me to keep higher speeds.
In sand the Starcross wins hands down. Much easier to control and goes where you want it to. Of course all of this makes sense because the tire was designed for soft conditions.
When I first had the Bridgestone I ran it at 15 psi and eventually dropped it to 12psi (I weight 165lbs) I will probably wind up around 13-14 with this tire.
If you ride offroad this is pretty bad ass. A little looser than the Bridgestone but once you get used to it the limits are a bit higher.
If you want to do more higher speed fire road stuff.. the Bridgestone or maybe the Starcross medium.
