Last weekend I helped guide 300 riders as they swarmed over the hundreds of miles of trails around Oakridge, Oregon--Our Backyard. I equipped my Salsa Big Mama (full suspension 29er trail bike) with Continental Mountain King 29 x 2.2 tires, Kenda Superlight 29" inner tubes mounted on the Salsa Gordo rims (35mm wide) for the three days of fun.

I had been using the Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.25, a much higher volume tire, inflated to as little as 21psi. I set the Mt King 2.2 at 27-28psi front and 29-30 rear, which felt solid on a quick test spin. I had four rides of varied terrain my agenda. Perfect for tire evaluation. Little did I know I would also learn more about the effects of rim width, and the importance of tire pressure on suspension bikes.