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Quasi Moto: First Impressions

May 1st, 2008 by Arleigh

While spring has sprung in Charlotte, NC this means lots of wet trails. Wet trails and an injury meant no riding for a few weeks in March and April. Everything is healed now and trails are drying up. I’ve finally ridden these tires a good 75-100 miles in various conditions, on multiple bikes and can say so far - these tires are awesome.

Front - Pretty fast rolling and decent turning. I would not recommend this for damp/wet conditions as there isn’t a lot of tread there. The front is quick to wash out on wet leaves or roots.

Rear - Bites in pretty well for traction climbing. Easy to read and quick to respond when turning. I’ve had it scoot out from under me a couple times but was able to adjust and it dug right in. I was a bit worried about the lack of tread and exposed rubber on rocky rides but they handled descending in the mountains great and no flats yet. (Knock on wood.)

Pair - For fast XC riding or in dry areas. I’ve been rolling mine as rear only for about 2 weeks with a Neo Moto in the front. This is probably how I will leave it except for dry, hard packed conditions this summer.

Clearance - These tires are a 2.0 and look the part. If you have a tight squeeze on your conversion - these will be the tires for you.

Tubeless - I will be giving these a tubeless try in the coming weeks mounted to the new Stans rim. I have heard great things about the Neo Moto going tubeless and I hope this is as easy.

Look back in the coming weeks for more information and reviews on these tires and other 650b products. Riding has seriously picked up and the products are getting the true tests.

5 Responses to “Quasi Moto: First Impressions”

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  1. 1 Mickey  on May 28th, 2008 at 2:03 pm

    I look forward to hearing more about these tires and what you think of them.

    I got to demo a Pacenti frame with a Neo-Moto on the front and a Quasi-Moto on the rear. Two separate rides - Anne Springs and Poplar Tent. I really liked the combination of these two tire and found they hooked up great in corners, rocky and rooty conditions… all in all I really liked the tires a lot and felt they where the perfect tread for the perfect trail conditions I was riding in on these two separate days.

    I didn’t get to experience what this set of rubber will do in slick muddy and very dry conditions, but I suspect they would hold their own well. I do feel the Quasi may break traction some if it is slick or too dusty, but it’s a fast tire and I liked how it handled for the short time I got to ride the demo.

    I’ve been using the Panaracer Fire XC Pros on other bikes for years now… the Neo is exactly what I’ve come to expect out of a good tire. And even if I had more tire selections to chose from, I’d most likely get a Quasi for the rear and a Neo for the front… They’re both good tires.

  2. 2 Boris Sheikman  on Sep 13th, 2008 at 5:30 am

    Where can you find 650b tubes big enough for this sized tire?

    – Boris

  3. 3 Arleigh  on Sep 13th, 2008 at 9:33 am

    Boris,

    You can order 650b tubes through a local bike shop, but I simply run 26″ tubes. Be careful mounting the tires so they don’t pinch.

  4. 4 Boris Sheikman  on Sep 16th, 2008 at 3:01 pm

    Hi Arleigh,

    Thanks for the reply. I have seen some 650b tubes for sale on a few e-shops but they only seem to cover widths up to the 40s. If I am correct, 2.1″ wide tires would be about 53mm. I haven’t come across 650b tubes in that width. My local bike shop doesn’t know the difference between a clincher and tubular (seriously, I am not kidding) so I don’t want to even try asking about 650b. They’ll think I’m mixing it up with 650c.

    I didn’t think about 26″ tubes. Aren’t 26″ tubes smaller (559mm ISO vs. 584mm ISO)?

    – Boris

  5. 5 Pete  on Sep 17th, 2008 at 4:06 am

    People are able to use 26inch tubes in a 29er wheel. So using them in a 650b will be no problem.

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