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Nitro Mousse Installation

The front went on much easier. Experience helps. I dare say it was easier than putting on a tube.

After removing the front tire and tube I cleaned the wheel with some Gunk-Off and a rag. I didn't scrub too hard, but tried to knock off a few years of grime and debris. I'm not too OCD, so perhaps you can get yours cleaner. I used Tubliss rim tape and followed their directions to complete 3 wraps that run down the middle, a little left, and a little right. The result is below. The tape should keep some debris from entering the wheel, but I really wanted it to seal around the schrader valve and rim-lock holes. This may have been overkill, but it didn't seem to hurt anything so I went ahead.

Stay tuned for 1st impressions from the dirt.

229835



Anybody else here run Mousse Bibs? Do you find that Nitro Mousse's guide yields a good feel? Too soft? Too hard? They suggested a 120/100-18 Mousse for the rear 110/100-18 GeoMax AT and it was a squeeze. I need to reserve judgement until the break-in period is over, but I'm wondering about how it will feel. WFO, you mentioned saving old Mousse's and "shaping" or carving one to attain a preferred pressure feel. Do you have any links to guides on this? Seems like it'd be tough to get it even.

I'm also scoping a replacement setup for Heather's Freeride. It came with Mousse Bibs, part of the reason I'm converting my bike that way too, and they are very worn out. The schrader valve holes were left open, so I'm sure they're dry as a bone too. She has excellent traction with the Mousse and rear trials tire. I think I'm going to use an Motoz Arena Hybrid out back and a Goden Tyre Fatty up front on her bike. Anybody else run these gummy type tires? Do you find the NitroMousse fitament guide to be accurate? At $100/Mousse I'd like to get the right feel wihtout too much trial and error. Thanks for any comments!
 
Great that you're interested in the "Mousse" revolution! Ha! You will have to learn what You like. The Nitro mousse is stiffer than the Michelin and now Nitro has come out with a "Soft" version which I have not tried. (I've never tried the Goldentyre) I prefer the Michelin in my 300/250 and prefer the Nitro in my 500. MOTOZ makes some nice tires. I use the Arena Hybrid gummy ($100.00) on my 500 and the Shinko 525 cheater ($70.00) on the 300. 2 totally different tires. I've had great results from the Dunlop 33S front. I've heard great things about the Goldentyre fatty. Once you run the gummy you won't go back. The enemy of all tires is wheel spin. On my 500 I drilled the shrader hole out and put in a tubeless valve stem. If I want to add some lube I can do so without removing the tire. Many riders like Graham Jarvis drill holes (huge holes) in the bibs. Both Michelin and Nitro are proud of their lube. Grab some of that clear tire shine (silicone) from the auto parts and it will save you money and time. When a Mouse wears it shrinks. Heat is your enemy. When they shrink they can roll over. You can take an old mousse and cut it. Take another piece (section) of a mousse and ADD that inside the tire. By doing this you can save money and also "Tune" the pressure you like. The more you add the stiffer (higher air pressure feel) you get. I prefer a stiffer feel on the 500 because I hit some slab. If you have a stiff tire (like the AT 81) you won't get the same feel like you would with the MOTOZ Arena Hybrid or the 525 cheater. The only way to really find out what you like is to change from one to the other in a relatively short period of time so you can compare. It also depends on what type of terrain you ride on and are you looking for traction or longevity, or both. I want Traction above all else. Period. Falling because I lost traction could send me to the ER (and has)! I'm going to assume you ride at BMRA mostly. Bibs will do you well there. Keep you bike on a stand when in your garage. Bibs will get a low spot when they sit for a while. It will go away after riding a little. Enjoy the fact you will Never have a flat tire eve again!
 
:coffee: I’ll be interested in the mounting and your thoughts after a few rides.


First off, a recap of the hardware I'm running:

Front: Dunlop Geomax AT81 90/100-21
Front Mousse: 80/100-21
Rear: Dunlop GeoMax AT81 110/100-18
Rear Mousse: 120/100-18
KTM 250 XCW - 2 stroke

Spent about 3 hrs on Sunday 3/17 at Barnwell riding the Singletrack with a mix of hurry-up and wait (Heather always makes it through the tough obstacles, but never in a real hurry) and riding very slowly without touching or sitting for 10-15 minutes at a time focusing on tire placement and riding every difficult line clean.

I can say that I absolutely love riding with Mousse inserts. For offroad riding I wouldn't go with anything else. We'll see how many rides i get out of these, but the physiological benefit of not worrying about hitting a sharp edge, being aired down to low, or wondering if pressure needs to be checked is great. I didn't notice any adverse performance associated with the increased unsprung weight. It really wasn't noticeable to me. The tires tracked and held better than expected and had me enjoying upper 2nd gear and lower 3rd gear rails along the single-track. Two-thumbs up!

Next step will be to ride a lot (of course) and then try a softer walled tire like WFO describes above. I imagine that will be even more fun with traction for days. Wheel-spin is the enemy right?
 
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