Anyone gone from 2.8 to 2.6 rear, back to 2.8?

[Camstyn]

I’ve switched over to Michelin Wild Enduro 2.4 and 2.6 f/r on my Pro Race. I’m loving the grip, not loving the pedal strikes. I put a serious wobble in my rear yesterday and going to replace it with an E-Wild for the heavier carcass. Considering going back to a 2.8, which I didn’t love before with the OEM DHR2. Not sure how much of my dislike for it was because of the width or the light/flimsy casing. Any thoughts?

 

[tdo911]

Run the 2.6 in the high setting. Very close to running 2.8 in low setting. You have to run thicker casing being the weight of these bikes plus no need to worry about weight. 2.6 is the best of both worlds imo. Same grip yet easier to lean over without pinch flat issues. Problem with 2.8 is pinch flats are way too common, harder to lean over, squirmish feel.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Been running 2.6 and 2.8 e-wild for quite a long time and loved them. Just switched to DH22's both ends and think they're amazing so far.

Turn really well and just seem to grip everywhere.

I wanted to drop pressure a bit and with my riding style was concerned doing that with the 2.6 wild (the 2.8 rear is like a tank though).

Did a quick ride with the DH22's the other day with 0.5 bar (7 psi) front and rear purely to see how much they squirmed and if they stayed on .. They were actually surprisingly stable. Dinked a bit on a couple of rocks at speed, but not as much as I expected at that pressure, so they hold up pretty well. Keep in mind, they're heavy ! (slightly more than the e-wild 2.8 rear).

 

[leftside]

e-wild 2.6 on the rear of my Decoy, with the bike in high mode. I have a 2.8 e-wild in the garage, but like the current setup so much that I'm in no rush to try the 2.8 e-wild. I'm 175 lbs and tend to run the tires at 25-26 PSI.

 

[Camstyn]

Been running 2.6 and 2.8 e-wild for quite a long time and loved them. Just switched to DH22's both ends and think they're amazing so far.

Turn really well and just seem to grip everywhere.

I wanted to drop pressure a bit and with my riding style was concerned doing that with the 2.6 wild (the 2.8 rear is like a tank though).

Did a quick ride with the DH22's the other day with 0.5 bar (7 psi) front and rear purely to see how much they squirmed and if they stayed on .. They were actually surprisingly stable. Dinked a bit on a couple of rocks at speed, but not as much as I expected at that pressure, so they hold up pretty well. Keep in mind, they're heavy ! (slightly more than the e-wild 2.8 rear).

I have the DH34’s on my Tues, they are fantastic. Slowest rolling tires I’ve ever been on but the grip is insane. They only come in 2.4 though so I don’t want to go that route on the 35mm ID rear rim. 2.6 or bigger.

 

[Camstyn]

Run the 2.6 in the high setting. Very close to running 2.8 in low setting. You have to run thicker casing being the weight of these bikes plus no need to worry about weight. 2.6 is the best of both worlds imo. Same grip yet easier to lean over without pinch flat issues. Problem with 2.8 is pinch flats are way too common, harder to lean over, squirmish feel.

i’m thinking you’re right and I’ll stick with the 2.6. I always found the stock 2.8 to feel squirmish, didn’t get any flats surprisingly with the amount of rocks and trail debris that they would seem to hit and deflect off of. That was what I mainly disliked about it.

 

[YokoOno]

2.6 e-wild for me. Mullet Decoy in Low mode. Fork at 170. It's perfect for rocky/chunky CO.
A large part of pedal strikes is just learning curve and getting accustomed to anticipating them.
Low mode always for handling.

I run Cushcore with rear around 23 psi. I blew apart the OEM DT rim at 19 psi with Cushcore so better safe than sorry for me and my terrain.

 

[Dirtnvert]

When i switched my fork from 160-170 i was running a 2.6 ewild on the rear in high position when i was out pedalling. With the motor out ive been just doing park laps and in the low setting and now have the fork at 180. Feels great. No way ill be on 2.i's again. I want to ditch the 35mm inner rim to a 28 or 30 and run a 2.4 dh 34 or 22 now. The e wild isnt bad, its kind of good, i just think of anything great about it. Its feels like + tires lack precision and are just kind of floaty and vague feeling. Maybe thats the tread though and if there was a 2.6 dh34 or rockr2 itd be better

 

[HOMIE5000]

I’ve switched over to Michelin Wild Enduro 2.4 and 2.6 f/r on my Pro Race. I’m loving the grip, not loving the pedal strikes. I put a serious wobble in my rear yesterday and going to replace it with an E-Wild for the heavier carcass. Considering going back to a 2.8, which I didn’t love before with the OEM DHR2. Not sure how much of my dislike for it was because of the width or the light/flimsy casing. Any thoughts?

How have you got the rear shock set up ?
What sag are you running ?
Are you running spacers in the rear shock ? .
I run 2.6 DHF wide trails DH casing on the LOW setting and not had a pedal strike .
It could be you may not have enough mid stock compression or too much sag .

 

[Nasty Nick]

I've bee super happy with 2.3 aggressors and 2.3 dhr ii on my 32 id rim. The bike feels way more responsive and precise. I have no issues with climbing or braking traction, even in loose over hard so cal conditions. The 2.8s felt so vague. Really dumb "innovation" if you ask me.

 

[YokoOno]

I've bee super happy with 2.3 aggressors and 2.3 dhr ii on my 32 id rim. The bike feels way more responsive and precise. I have no issues with climbing or braking traction, even in loose over hard so cal conditions. The 2.8s felt so vague. Really dumb "innovation" if you ask me.

I agree with the "vague" impression.
I went to 2.6. Then I destroyed the stock i35 rim.
Now i have a i30 rim and am running a Kenda ACG Hellkat 2.6 and am digging it.

 

[ziscwg]

How have you got the rear shock set up ?
What sag are you running ?
Are you running spacers in the rear shock ? .
I run 2.6 DHF wide trails DH casing on the LOW setting and not had a pedal strike .
It could be you may not have enough mid stock compression or too much sag .

I think the Decoy comes with the shock a bit under tuned for mid-stroke support. This leads to pedal strikes or a harsh ride. Once I replaced my shock with a DVO Topaz, things were much much better. Since the Decoy has a progressive suspension, setting up the shock with a more linear spring curve does wonders. It's one of the reasons a coil does so well on a Decoy. When you tune the shock progressively with spacers, you get plushness, but little mid stroke support which leads to pedal strikes.

I like the bike in the LOW geo setting. Flipping it to high and then putting a small tire on (2.6) does not seem like a good combo. Maybe it works, and I may try it someday. For right now, a solid 2.8 rear at the right pressure with a tougher casing works great for the jumps, rocks and roots.

 

[HOMIE5000]

I think the Decoy comes with the shock a bit under tuned for mid-stroke support. This leads to pedal strikes or a harsh ride. Once I replaced my shock with a DVO Topaz, things were much much better. Since the Decoy has a progressive suspension, setting up the shock with a more linear spring curve does wonders. It's one of the reasons a coil does so well on a Decoy. When you tune the shock progressively with spacers, you get plushness, but little mid stroke support which leads to pedal strikes.

I like the bike in the LOW geo setting. Flipping it to high and then putting a small tire on (2.6) does not seem like a good combo. Maybe it works, and I may try it someday. For right now, a solid 2.8 rear at the right pressure with a tougher casing works great for the jumps, rocks and roots.

The rear shock comes with 3 spacers, its extremely progressive. Adding more bands will make the shock more progressive especially in the mid stroke , internal spacers add mid stock progression and increase the mid stroke platform on the progression curve. The spacer dont effect just the end of the stroke .

You have to think about it like this . At the end of the stroke the bottom out resistance is at its highest. As you add bands you are bringing the bottom out resistance down the stroke cure fuming up the platform, so the beginning middle and end of the stroke firm up , the platform of the stroke is getting firmer . The HSC dampening + or - counters bottom out resistance.

Getting dampening on rebound to prevent pack down as well as getting the right sag to desired mid stroke is key .
The problem is people dont understand how suspension works nor have the skill set to ride fine tun-able suspension. Most people should be buying the basic , sag, rebound , compression dampening shock thats set and forget.

I run a 2.75 wide trail Minion DHF in the low setting, I have tuned my suspension correctly and have not had one rock strike .

 

[urastus]

The rear shock comes with 3 spacers, its extremely progressive. Adding more bands will make the shock more progressive especially in the mid stroke , internal spacers add mid stock progression and increase the mid stroke platform on the progression curve. The spacer dont effect just the end of the stroke .

You have to think about it like this . At the end of the stroke the bottom out resistance is at its highest. As you add bands you are bringing the bottom out resistance down the stroke cure fuming up the platform, so the beginning middle and end of the stroke firm up , the platform of the stroke is getting firmer . The HSC dampening + or - counters bottom out resistance.

Getting dampening on rebound to prevent pack down as well as getting the right sag to desired mid stroke is key .
The problem is people dont understand how suspension works nor have the skill set to ride fine tun-able suspension. Most people should be buying the basic , sag, rebound , compression dampening shock thats set and forget.

I run a 2.75 wide trail Minion DHF in the low setting, I have tuned my suspension correctly and have not had one rock strike .

yes, I think you're right. I'm light on suspension so took the tokens (2) out of the shock so that I can run reasonable sag - 30% @ 150 psi now. I was @ 115psi and who knows what sag. It is much better now. Re rebound; I found myself bouncing around on slow manoeuvring rocky stuff so added rebound - it's kind of the only place I've noticed it though. And damping - if I'm going to hit some jumps or drops I add damping to the forks and use the pedal bob thing on the shock . That stops me from bottoming out, mostly. That's the limit of my knowledge.