Product Review 2014 - Part 1 of 5

We had access to amazing products again this year. Thought I'd post some of my favorites as a 5 (or so) part post. Enjoy post #1 and feel free to ask questions.

Stan's NoTubes Wheels and Sealant: Having a selection of the best wheels on the market makes life easy. If you have tried to set up tubeless tires on other rims you may know what I mean. 

2015 catalog: http://www.notubes.com/literature/2015-StansNoTubes-Catalog.pdf

This year I ran:
Flows: Turner DHR 26" downhill bike
Crest front/Arch rear: Turner Burner 27.5" all-mountain bike

For rougher terrain on the all-mountain bike I would switch it up between Arches front and rear or even a Flow as a rear wheel. 



Diaz ran:
Flows: Turner DHR 26" downhill bike
Arch front/Arch rear: Turner Burner 27.5" all-mountain bike

For rougher terrain on the all-mountain bike he would switch it up between Arch front and Flow rear or Flow front/rear. 















Why buy NoTubes rims?  Tires seat up tubeless on a NoTubes rim easier than any other rims I have tried. While racing cross-country (XC) I carried a handpump on every flight and set up new tires in hotel rooms in South Africa, Cyprus, Europe and Canada. Having or finding an air compressor, or even traveling with a floorpump, wasn't an option so I sure didn't want rims that required one.

Now that we are racing enduro and riding bike parks, my main concern (in addition to easy setup) is running rims that won't let the tires burp, or worse yet, peel off the rim.  See the details on Bead Socket Technology (BST) and why the NoTubes design is best for speed, cornering and more.

If something goes really wrong and I slam into a rock hard enough that something must fail, I like that to be a small dent in the rim while the wheel and tire are still holding air (no burp, no snakebite in the tire) and such that I will not have an issue setting up the next tire. 

In enduro racing you can change tires between runs but not rims. Rims need to be light enough to race and reliable enough to get you through an entire race weekend.

The 27.5" Turner Burner is the best all-around bike! It can climb more efficiently and descend more playfully and with more control than other bikes of similar spec. The climbing efficiency is due to good geometry and the DW link design. The best part of this bike stems from the fact that owner/designer David Turner gets riders. We don't all like the same headtube angle or the same amount of travel, so he designed a bike that everyone will find to be perfect...  

Before ever riding a Turner I saw an Interbike video of David describing his bikes. I loved how he designed the frames to be versatile and he seemed to be truly knowledgeable and inventive, David was not just repeating the latest marketing jargen. He spec'd the Burner headtube angle based on a 140 to 160mm travel fork and allowed for the use of an angleset. Usually the marketing of a new frame is that it is perfect out of the box, but then you either like it or you don't. Or, the rider doesn't know any better and their ride is limited by the bike.

Ride style, body positioning and other factors decide what is perfect for each rider.  For me (5'5")  the perfect setup is: small Burner, 160 DSD modified Pike (see future post), 50mm stem, 720mm bars and an angleset to slacken it a bit more.  

Photo Credit: Dan Holz

For downhill we rode Turner DHR frames with NoTubes Flow Wheels and RockShox Boxxer forks.


Dowhill bikes are fun, we may even add downhill races to the schedule in 2015...