Friday News And Views

CIRREM rig, for better or worse...

Snow! Yes, it snowed again, but ya know......it is still February and all. It's just that it was all looking so good, so dry, and the Orange Crush would have been the perfect rig for the 62 mile CIRREM race. Now I probably should be bringing By-Tor The Titanium Mukluk instead, but I guess I'm going to stick to my guns. Peanut butter roads or no.

Besides, it is all for testing! I just need to get out there in something mucky and dirty to see if these Retroshift shifters are all they are cracked up to be. (You can read about the initial install and thoughts here.)

And it looks as though I'll be getting my wish. The course has been rained on, snowed on, and will have had some melting on it before the event tomorrow. Then it will be sunny and over the freezing mark, so you know it's going to be a big ol' mess out there! I suspect I'll be sacrificing my drive train and bottom bracket at the very least. Oh well! I've got a month to get it all back in order before the Renegade Gents race April 7th.

At least it should be warmer on Saturday than it was last year when I about froze my left foot off. Hopefully I'll just be warm and dirty this time. (Wait.......that didn't come out quite right!)
                                                                                                                                                                                          

Kinda like this, only with wheels and stuff...

Like A Rock (star): Okay, here's a frame that is supposed to be hitting the ground here today, only it will have decals and components bolted to it!

Ya know.....kinda like one of them bicycle thingies! Right then...

Seriously, a Titus Rockstar is supposed to be on a truck to me today for a review on Twenty Nine Inches.  I've no clear idea of exactly what Titus saw fit to bolt onto this rig, so it should be fun cracking open the box when it arrives. I only know a few bits are SRAM and the wheels are pretty blingy, but I'll save all the suspense for next week on TNI. 

A couple odd things about this Titus. First- the model name. I remember when it first came out there were a lot of groans about the name "Rockstar". Well, I guess as far as I am concerned, maybe it's a bit pretentious, but I don't know that it is that big of a deal. I just know some folks were really turned off by the name. That matters too, by the way, because sometimes you buy a bike, or not, based on the name to some degree. (Really. I mean, I knew I would buy a Karate Monkey, just for the awesome name.)

Then there is the carbon rear swing arm and aluminum front triangle. Usually it goes the other way around, but Titus has gotten it backwards, or they got it absolutely right. We'll see, but no one else is really doing this on 29"ers. It's a "Horst Link" sort of deal as well, which should be okay. Otherwise, it seems a lot like a Salsa Cycles Spearfish, at least at a glance. I know someone who has ridden one or two of those besides myself, so maybe I can get a hand with how they compare. (You listening Captain?)

Seems like thre used to be a mid-90's company that did a carbon rear ended full suspension bike with an aluminum front triangle. I was thinking Dagger, or Battle. (Don't even say Cannondale. Those were two wheeled insects, not bicycles!)

Anyway, expect a full on CIRREM report soon with whatever else happens this weekend coming your way Monday at the latest. have a great weekend and have fun!