2019 Kokopelli Epic Adventure

^^^Thanks guys. I'll scale back from the 2.5's the bike comes with.

 

I was going with Maxxis Ardent 2.25 rear and Ardent 2.4 up front on my mid travel Hightower 29'r. A 2.35 Ardent isn't available that I know of. I talked with a young guy ( 25 ish ) at Jenson last Sunday who will be on the same ride with us and rode it last year. He said day 1 is single track and day 2 is about doing long miles. He also said he rolls with 3l of water plus one bottle of electrolytes. This year he was going with less water.

 

Alex of Bikerpelli told me one time that each day on the ride you should be peeing every hour. No matter how much water I drink I have never pee’d every hour. In fact last time I rode KoKo I didn’t pee the first day until like 3:00am that night! So I have no reference to how much to consume.
I know I will be carrying 100 oz in my Camelbak with 8 scoops of Tailwind and a 20 oz water bottle on my bike of pure water and one Clif Bar usually for someone else to eat on the trail. I refill at the lunch stop.
I might do caffeinated in the morning and ride naked in the afternoon.
I’m taco bout Naked Flavored Tailwinds here!!!!

 

I actually like the subtle flavor of Naked Tailwind.

 

For my front tire options I have on hand is a 29 x 2.4 Rekon or a 29 x 2.35 Ardent Race. Both EXO tires. Is the lower tread profile Ardent 'Race' tire a bad choice for up front? Which one would be better for this ride?

 

The Rekon 2.4 is a better front tire all around. The Ardent Race is good and i like it, but I will take knobbier tire up front.

The AR rolls much faster and is a little lighter, but doesn't offer the confidence that the Rekon does.

 

Does anyone bring pads/protection for the sketchy stuff? I have GForm, not sure if I need to bring them or not.

 

I'd go with the 2.4 Rekon, light enough rolls good and grips good. I'll be running Rekons in either 29x2.4's or most likely 27.5x2.8's since I always seem to gravitate back to the fluffy/grippy tires on the Hightower.

 

Whatever you need to feel comfortable. I don't wear them locally, so won't be wearing them out there.

 

I run 2.35 forekaster front and back in True Grit. No issue.
I gravitate to fast rolling tire for the long ride (willing to sacrifice some grip on the techy stuff). There is a chance I might be riding Ikon 2.2 on the back and 2.4 in the front.
There are tons of quality 2.4" tires for the front, I'm not sure how much difference a thread pattern make (Ikon, Recon, Ardent, Ardent Race, Ferecaster........DHF) for the overall enjoyment of the ride.
I think the real tire choice is more critical.

 

Yeah, put year + on a Forekaster....for a soft conditions tire, it handled the hardpack just fine. For me running one of the rear, I did find it squirmed a bit more under really heavy cornering.

 

Decided to go with the 2.4 Ardent in front and the 2.3 Aggressor for the rear. Wanted the Minion up front, but didn't want to go down to a 2.3.

 

Hey all, I am still 'flying' solo to Utah/CO for this ride and am looking to buddy up w/ someone.
My current plan was to leave real early Wednesday morning, spend the night in a hotel I reserved in Moab and buddy up w/ the rest of the iMTB crew to get over to Fruita on Thursday morning? I am open to car-pooling w/ someone, but cannot leave until Wednesday morning.
Also, if I cannot find someone to car-pool with, and end up going solo, maybe someone has others that are going (but not riding) that could bring my truck back to Moab from the start in Fruita on Thursday?
Anyone?

 

Rick,
We “may” be able to squeeze you on the Cathy Watson Moab to Fruita Shuttle Thursday morning. Truck holds 6 comfortably and is booked full as of now. Not sure if it will hold 7.

Mrs. Watson charges a fee of $25 bucks per person for the shuttle. Even I have to pay!

We “could” throw you in the bed of the truck and cover you with the duffel bags. I would consider that a “Stow Away”, but Mrs. Watson sez you are still coughing up $25 smackers...

 

Based on the last time we rode Koko, on the last day instead of 70+ degrees and sunny as usual, it was a cold windy hail storm.

I need a new jacket. My Pearl Izumi trash can liner thin jacket is well... trashed.

For the “just in case it’s” cold weather. What jacket are you guys bringing?
Be nice to get one that can handle some shrub hits on the trail...

 

https://www.showerspass.com/collections/mens-waterproof-jackets/products/pro-tech-st

I've used this going down Joplin and Palm Canyon.

Packs down small enough. Waterproof and windproof.....has kept me warm on freezing nights in the Santa Ana's.

 

My Pearl Izumi windbreaker has been my go to jacket for the last couple years. I just picked up a new one at the outlet in San Clemente for $20 off of their clearance rack.

They are only going to be open for another few weeks...

 

OK, thanks Mikie, that will work for me, once Mrs. Watson gets to know me though, you may be the one who ends up stuffed back in the bed of the truck!!

 

Damn, looks like another trip to the Pearl Izumi outlet for me. I almost bought one a few weeks ago and decided against it. Now I guess I need to be prepared with more than a light windbreaker. Thanks for the heads-up fellas.

 

Just ordered a set of Maxxis Rekon 29x2.4 WT tires for my Koko bike.
Never tried these but they seem like the perfect balance between grip and low rolling resistance.
Everyone I’ve talked to that roll on them seem to be happy with them.

 

F/R/Both?

 

My friend did not care for the Rekon on the back. Said it did not roll smoothly. He likes the Rekon on the front. Says the Forecaster on the rear is a good combo.

 

You guys are making me think and rethink my tire choices... I love the Rekon in 2.4 front and rear (rear was dual compound) on the hardtail. On the rear it is a very easy tire to get rolling- easier than the narrower Forekaster. The volume makes it a much more comfy ride than the 2.3 Forekaster I had before it. It's also the only tire I'm comfortable with the rear at 20 psi. Never had an issue with the Rekon, and wore out the rear recently... Front is still going strong since last August.

On the Hightower, though, I was thinking the Aggressor in the rear, and the Minion up front... Too much tire? I ran the Minion for the long grueling day at True Grit and the weight didn't bother me.

 

Great combo. A little heavy but the durability trade-off is worth it.

I just ordered up the same combo in the 2.5WT variety. I plan on installing them this weekend. I'll let you know.

 

Steve - I think the Minion is either a 2.3 or a 2.5. I thought 2.5 might be too big, and 2.3 might be too small so that is why I went with the Ardent 2.4 up front for Koko, and the Aggressor 2.3 in the rear. So far I like the combo.

 

Yep... I'm running the 2.3 DHF that came stock on the front of the Hightower, and I have a 2.5 (non-WT) hanging on the garage wall that has only been on the bike for the Cannell Plunge. I like the 2.3, but I do not love it... And I think the 2.5 would kill me without a motor to push it.

And re-reading the Kokopelli guidebook, it seems that they discourage the really aggressive treads in favor of the moderately aggressive high volume tires, like the Ardent you chose. I just ordered a 2.4 Rekon for the front of the Hightower. I'll get it on and see what I think before Koko... Maybe run it down the Motorway or San Juan to see.

 

I rode the Kokopelli from Warner Lake /Porcupine Rim with a 2.4 Rekon F/R. Excellent Moab combo.
Worked great on Slickrock and Mag 7 too.
Ghetto tubeless on WTB i29 rims with 4oz of Orange Seal.

Oops! I actually rode the Kokopelli on Specialized tires, GC 2.3 front/FastTrack 2.3 rear.
Used the Rekons on the other rides...

 

I have the Minion DHR and DHF in the WT version on my black Enduro mounted on Roval Traverse SL carbon rims and I like that setup. The WT versions work most excellent on those wide rims.
Same wheels on my blue Enduro so I suspect the Rekons will be just fine. If I remember correctly, day two has some long sandy fireroad action and the 2.4's will float just fine over that stuff.

 

Yup
I'm very anti-Ardent, or I should say, the Ardent is not a good tire in the Gabes.

 

I'm another running rekons. Was undecided on 29ers vs my fun n fluffy 27.5+ but have decided to go 29ers at least for Koko. We rode Ojai back to back weekends and without a doubt the 29er setup rolls better and takes less effort uphill. They survived Horn trail and so did I so that's good enough for me. Only thing I don't like is they measure small. My 2.4's are only 2.320 mounted on a 30mm ID rim. I rode 2.35 Hans Dampf's(they measure 2.450") on my Ripley last time and they worked great.