Friday News And Views

Random Red Ball and Leaves

Lights; It's that time of year when night riding starts to become a necessity if you want to get some decent ride time in during the week.

Guess what? I don't have a decent light system.

I did get one once, plugged in the battery to charge the lights, and then never got around to using them, well.......because it was summer! So, bad me......I lost the light part. Yep! Got the battery, the charger, the helmet mount, but no stinkin' light head. (I know, I know........way to go Guitar Ted!) I've looked everywhere, but.......nuthin.

So, I am looking for a light system. Here's the thing though- I don't need two billion lumens that burn out in 3 hours. I want a light that will light up the gravel roads, and do okay on single track, and last more than 3 hours, not cost me an arm and a leg, and be easy to use. That's what I want. LED of course, although I hear now that "older eyes" see better with yellower light. hrrumpf! I may have made my fair share of trips around the sun, but I ain't claiming old just yet!

Pacenti TL28 Rim

Pacenti TL28 Rims: Got a news flash yesterday about Kirk Pacenti's newest rim design, the TL28. This one he's doing all on his own, but you might recall that Kirk also helped design the Velocity P-35 rims.

You can check out more about these here, but essentially these are aimed at the XC/Trail rider looking for a tubeless ready rim at a lightweight that isn't skinny. These are targeted to come out at about 438 gms each, (for the 29 inch hoops, 650B and 26"ers will also be available), so that's right in the ball park for lightweight aluminum XC rims. What I find interesting is the 28mm outer/ 23mm inner rim widths. This is a bit unprecedented for aluminum rims, and seems to be pushing the limits to my mind, but we'll see. The other nice thing is that these will be made with single eyelets, so for those looking for a lightweight 29"er rim with eyelets, this should fit your needs.

You'll need to add some Stan's yellow tape and a valve stem, but these should go tubeless just fine. (Assuming the bead seat diameter is pretty tight.)

I'm told these will be available in a bit more than a month through Kirk Pacenti's website, and should go for about $85.00 each.

Stupid Light

How Low Can You Go? Well, pretty dang low, that's how low. What am I talkin' about? Weight, that's what.

I got this Origin 8 Paladin in for testing, and it came all built up, but it was a rather questionable build.

Not that the parts were bad, or sketchy, or even negative, it's just that for a frame and fork like this...... Well, it just begs to be slathered in the lightest stuff. So, with that in mind, the Blunt laced to XT hubbed wheels with rampage tires came flying off, and the old Edge wheels with American Classic hubs I have went right on there. BAM! Three pounds less later, the bike was getting respectable. However; I could throw on some recently acquired Bontrager 29-1 tires at 530 grams each, and BAM! Now the bike weighs 19.1 pounds. Yes- as light as some road bikes.

And the funny thing? I could ditch the alloy seat post, the alloy handle bar, the heavy rubber grips, and the boat anchor brakes and probably lose two more pounds! And that's not even considering that the bike is kitted out with X-9 components in the drive train.

Now, that's all amazing to think about, but I am not going there. I've never had a sub-20lb mountain bike, so I'll need to get acquainted with that first. Then we'll see how I feel about something way below 20lbs.

Okay, that's it, I am out! I stayed up way too late watching some special on George Harrison, so I am whacked. Have a great weekend, and ride your bicycles!