Ride Report & New Tires!
I really like the Black Mountain Monstercross.
What I like the most about the bike is how it rides.
The short top tube and the sturdy rear triangle really makes the bike go fast, the more I pedal. I get a similar feeling of when when I’m riding a track bike.
When putting wide tires that are right at the max clearance, the ride height becomes higher and becomes easier to feel the bike’s geometry.
Even hillclimbs become fun!
I went riding with the Yoyogi Park staff members the other day. I was trying and pedaling a lot to not get dropped by Tara, who was riding the Midnight Special.
I was feeling really good with my new tires I got for this bike.
Here’s a little edit I made from that day.
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Yeah, so I’m really into this bike right now.
Speaking of, Black Mountain just announced their new Monstercross colors. Both Land Rover Green and Piano Black is going to look great
I used ChatGPT and had my Monstercross painted in the Land Rover green. I’m so envious for people who gets to ride this color!
It’s one thing to like the history and culture of a brand, but it’s I think it’s super important that the I like how the bike rides. Anyways, I just wanted to write about how much I’m loving my Monstercross!
However, I like riding trails, so riding in the rain with rim brakes were a bit scary. That is why I’m currently really keen to the Mod. Zero frame.
I borrowed Cent’s Mod. Zero, but it was too big for me, so I’m thinking of getting my own from the next batch.
Cent, who’s ridden so many bikes said that the bike is super good, so it’s impossible for me to not want it.
The Banana Slug color looks nice, but I’m more of a spice guy, so I might go with the Chili Flake. It’s fun thinking about bikes.
I’m always working, feeling like it’s before Christmas.
Okay, let’s get into the main topic.
Ultradynamico just came out with a new tread pattern.
The new tires are called the Brut.
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I’m stoked to announce that they have arrived to Blue Lug!
Here Is the description of the tires from their website.
The BRUT lands between our CAVA and ROSé in tread depth. We wanted something smooth on pavement and yet with a little more bite in the dirt than our CAVA.
-Tightly spaced micro triangles sparkle on pavement, and once tipped onto the one track offer confident braking traction and grip in the technical stuff.
-Technically under 12g of sugar, but in reality a very sweet tire.
-Did you know the triangle is the strongest shape in this dimension?
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Gosh I love Patrick’s style in this pic!
It’s got smaller triangles than the Rose, all throughout the tires but knobs on the side walls are a bit spaced out. The small knobs decreases the resistance while rolling on pavement, but the tires will grip the ground firmly when turning a corner.
If you liked the Cava, but felt a bit sketchy on turns, and felt the Rose and Mars were too knobby, this is a perfect tire.
New size 29×2.1 (700x53c) also made a debut.
For 700C Ultradynamico tires, there was only 45C for the Rose, 2.3″ for the Cava and Mars so it’s a nice in between size.
That said, the new size is a pretty niche size and I feel like there are few options of bikes for it as of now.
The AluMax would be a perfect bike for it, but I don’t own one…Hmm, wait! I have a bike for the tires!
Ta-da!
I wanted to test these bad boys out so bad, I dragged out my colleges to go ride, which I wrote in the beginning of the blog.
The max tire clearance for the Monstercross is 700x50C, but I was able to fit them. It’s super tight and the toe overlap is pretty sketchy, but I love how it looks!
I chose the Robusto compound, which is the toughest of their options since I wanted all black tires. Having this much air volume feels like I’m ridding on clouds.
I’m really interested in the Race compound, the most supple compound too…
They rode great in the trails of course.
I took advantage of their high volume ran them with lower PSI. I felt like they were gripping nice when I was riding downhill.
However, flat gravel paths and pavement is where these tires shine. I never felt this smooth with such big tires.
If you’re going a mixed terrain ride with 80% pavement and 20% off-road, I highly recommend these tires.
Here’s another sample build…
I had the opportunity to install the tires on a La Cabra, right after the tires arrived to the shop. The owner of the bike was looking for tires that are good for riding pavement and a gravel path along the river, so I thought these were perfect.
I feel like they’ll feel awesome for 700C Rivendell bikes.
Brut comes in one size, and the compounds are the usual Robusto and JFF. Race and Rozzo arrived the day after this photo was taken.
Huh? “What’s Rozzo?” you ask?
That would be their new compound. It’s a fusion of Race and Robusto. That’s why the mark that indicates the compound is “⚪︎◇”
They look identical to the Race, but the Rozzo is more durable, making it a great choice for rocky trails.
The side walls are said to be as tough as the Robusto compound. However, while the Rozzo uses a race compound that delivers excellent grip in all conditions, the Robusto uses a carbon-based compound that offers superior wear resistance, giving it the edge in durability.
The RACE model prioritizes flexibility and grip, sacrificing a bit of durability in the process.
The ROZZO offers strong grip, while the ROBUSTO emphasizes durability.
The JFF features a compound that strikes a balance between the two.
That’s the current compound options of Dynamico tires.
A recommended setup is to use the RACE on the front, which offers a supple ride and excellent comfort and the ROZZO on the rear, where durability and protection are key.
It’s kind of nerdy but fun to think that deeply about tires.
If your main motivation is just that the gray tires look nice and you’ll be using them mainly for everyday riding, the more durable ROZZO is the way to go.
The Rozzo compound is now available for other models than the Brut. All tires are now available at Blue Lug!
– Samba
