I've tried the knobby knife once on a decent IRC M5B, and did one 40 mile loop. It looked similar to yours, except there was some steel belts showing in 2 spots after my ride. I will admit there were a few fast fun sections of gravel IMO, the knobby knife ruins the integrity of the tire, and the short term gains are not worth the damage it does to the remainder of the tire.
I'm lucky that both my gf and I run well off rice so no problems there ... And the tire is sad .... I'm moving on after the last ride where I had to turn back from some trails that needed checking due to a shower... That one cut on that worn out tire actually helped but that was not much of a test ... Just proved that guy sold me a sharp knife really ... I'm gonna try cutting a new tire as it ages ... See if I can get some grip from the tire after it has given up gripping ... At the point where the lugs start rounding and you can feel a little too much slippage and you know you want a new knobby ... Maybe I'll do a thread on what I find out on cutting a tire to increase traction throughout the life of a tire ... I got nothing else much to do ...
I was waiting for someone to bring this up but was expecting an Aussie as I came to know that down there a "fanny" is a "vajayjay" whereas in the States it means ass. Somebody's got it "ass backward". Either way I'd rather not wear one for fear of being called "Tourist"... (and I don't even own knee socks) I think a magnetic parts tray is a good idea but I don't have one so I generally use a small plastic bucket with a rag in the bottom so I can throw the nuts, botls, etc. into it from wherever I am without them bouncing out.
I've been testing this stuff all along here and now gonna wrap this device up and keep moving forward. I've been watching all my tires wear and wanting to cut them but 1st issue, not all tires wear out in such a manner that the way I cut them even can be applied. And as stated here, you can do more damage to a tire than maybe good so why bother? Here's a couple pics on how I get something out of this cutting ...This is an IRC VE-33 tire..soft rubber tire after it has had a few rides and is pretty worn out really .. Hard rubber tires may perform differently under the knife. The problem -- That center lug (and its smaller flanking lugs) is rounded on the leading edge. As long as it is dry here, that lug will grip till they are about flat. But any wetness and it goes bad ~instantly due to that rounded leading edge. The cut. All I do is put an edge on the top of that lug, leaving as much of the rubber as possible. This lug here is so soft, I think that if you cut too much rubber off, that lug will just bend over too easily and the tire will never hookup many times. And, cut down at the base too much and maybe the lug will rip off. You can see the base of knob has that crack and is trying to rip off and you can see the small cut I'm trying to make at the top of the lug. And the side knobs need cutting also but I was lazy apparently. This cutting time is short but may not be worth it for most. It does help my tires to some degree for a day or so because the rounded leading edge here in the mud or wet rocks is really bad ... No way I'd ride that tire with the locals in their ST if wet ... This cutting would give me a fighting chance out there. But if I ride with them and it's wet, I'll have a decent rear tire or I'll ride elsewhere. Here is the testing video after the cut. That road is not overly slick, but it is slick ... I had to jump across across ruts also and the tire hooked up ok I thought.
I love IRC tires when they're new but they sure don't stay that way for long. Your video looks like any number of places I ride. Is trail access the same as over here? Just take off on any trail and see where it goes? I love that...
The IRC rules here and at a good price. I finally found a place that has the 19" VE-33 so I can keep the 19" rim on the TCs a little more often on the trails throughout the yr. The video is just a short climb but mostly all dirt and cool and later it intersects a cool, short ST path that you can ride both ends of ... These type paths are everywhere here. Lots may not be too long but they'll be another cool path just around the corner to connect to.
Exactly the same here. Sometimes you end up on an epic technical trail. Sometimes a dead end in the bottom of a gorge. It's a roll of the dice that sometimes comes up "Snake eyes" (literally)
Here's one more thing I do that seems to work well... I'm using my used engine-oil as chain lube ...A tooth brush is used to apply the oil to both the top of the chain and bottom and on\inside any chain guides on the bike ... I'm either having extraordinary good chain life or something good is happening here. I know my mileage was ~down last yr on riding but I still rode lots with only a few chain adjustments necessary all yr ... I also switched to steel sprockets ...maybe this has an effect also ...
moved away from wax lubes after the second try have been using old oil since. keep an eye on the front sprocket more as it does about 3times the work as the rear.
