r/MEATengines

I've enjoyed the last few months on my Stooge MK4 with pinner tires and no inserts, but I'm missing the damping as I start riding it harder on chunky singletrack again. My back wheel/tire situation is sorted, but I was wondering what everyone in the MEATengine world is doing for front wheel/tire/Cushcore combos these days? I will be running a Bontrager XR2 3" on a 45mm rim. I have ran Cushcore Plus in the past but I'm thinking of just trying Trail or Pro this go around. Cheers.

Hi folks, I’ve been scouring forums and YouTube and articles to understand wheels and what makes a good mtb wheel and, honestly, it all feels arbitrary lol. There always seems to be one opinion countering another.

So, I figured a thoughtful community of meat powered cyclers with a diverse array of bike types could offer some personal experience that might actually match how I ride.

I’m not doing park laps, nor gapping down rock slabs. Angry M is probably the hardest trail in Squamish that I can nearly clean. Otherwise I quite enjoy Nelson’s, psuedos, mad hatter, Fred’s, meet yer maker, and such.

I’ve been riding the same hardtail I learned on for 6-7 years until buying my 1st squish bike last year. It’s a fine bike but I miss the 27.5” wheels of the hardtail. Luckily the squish bike can be setup with Mx wheels.

So I’m looking for a Mx wheelset.

Other than that, I’m not sure what to prioritize. Weight? Carbon? Hub engagement? Is pedal kickback a thing? I’ve never ridden inserts so doubt i need the burliest wheels. Is lateral stiffness of carbon real? Do you feel it on the trail? What’s a good range for hub engagement?

Like are the new oneup wheels good enough? Is there really any reason to spend more for carbon or “better” hubs? Would I feel the difference between a 1700g set vs 2100g?

Appreciate any insights anyone can share 🙏

Came across these bars today. Similar to the Stooge Tracker but a touch narrower with a bit more rise. Price is reasonable too for a bent in USA bar. Had a really good run with S&M parts in the past.

Niche question but has anyone ridden both of these core models? I have a hummingbird but I’m super tempted to grab a solstice frame and swap over most of the parts to give it a try. On paper the differences are: 10mm more travel (130 fork), degree slacker (65hta, 66 sagged), and 15mm more reach (25ish mm longer front center if I remember correctly). I’m curious if anyone’s got any experience with both. Wondering if I’m just splitting hairs really since it’s honestly not super different .

I’ve always rode rigid bikes off road. Still ride my gravel bike on a lot of stuff gravel bike need not apply. I got my first hardtail two years ago and I gotta say the suspension is nice and allows for some more fun imo. When it comes to mtbs, I ride single speed majority of the time. I’m finding myself pretty interested in a 120/120 bike. I’ve never had a full suspension bike which is definitely part of the interest with experimenting. Most people here ride the same ish type bikes as me mostly, but I assume also either also have, or have ridden in the past, full suspension bikes. Did you stop riding them and switch to only rigid/hardtail
Bikes? Do you have both? Do I try one? lol.