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| A Rooster in the USA soon? Why yes! |
The rolling chassis is a great start to a build and consists of a frame, fork, and Velocity Dually Comp wheel set with Magura MT-6 brakes. For more details, see the site here.
I am not connected to Colorado Specialty Velo or Singular Cycles in any way, but I do happen to know some of the principals involved in both companies, and they are nice fellas. Besides, the bikes are really nice, and I have seen and briefly ridden a Rooster proto, which is going to be a sweet 29+ rig. It's different than either the Krampus or ECR, and I think it would be a great Mid-West single track machine. Heck, my buddy MG is even racing one, so you know they can handle the twisty-turnies!
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| Raleigh FS Prototype as seen at Sea Weasel (Image Courtesy of Raleigh) |
Raleigh FS Prototype:
While I had known that Raleigh was fixin' to get back into the full suspension mountain bike game again, I was a bit surprised by the model they put on view at Sea Weasel last weekend. It is an XC oriented rig, which makes sense, because Raleigh actually has a history in XC that goes back a long way. (Remember the Tomac Signature XC hard tail?)
Anywho.....Raleigh proffers up this rig which looks like a mash-up of a Salsa Spearfish, Specialized Camber, and with a dash of old Gary Fisher HiFi thrown in for good measure. In other words, it may be a fine bike, but there doesn't appear to be anything remarkable about it. Still, it is nice to see Raleigh trying something in the world of mountain bikes beyond steel hard tails and the carbon hard tails they have been doing for a while now.
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| Panaracer "Fat B Nimble" (Image courtesy of Panaracer) |
More fat tire stuff is coming down the pike than you can shake a stick at. One of the single biggest complaints of fat bikers for years has been the high price of rubber. Fat bike tires traditionally have ranged from $100.00 a piece on up to $250.00 a piece for the ultra-cool studded examples.
That seems to be something that is going to change. Panaracer has said that the 120TPI version of this tire will retail for under a hundred bucks and the 60 TPI version may be around $60.00. You might be thinking, "Yeah, but they probably weigh a boatload and don't roll well. " Not so fast, partner!
Initial reports say the 120TPI versions are under 1300 grams each and that they roll fantastically well. Panaracer also has traditionally made some of the highest quality tires for reasonable prices for years, plus they usually can be set up tubeless with little issue. If all of that pans out with the Fat B Nimble, then we're looking at a tire that will revolutionize pricing and competition for fat bike rider's greenbacks. I see no reason to look elsewhere if they are going to hit on all cylinders with these meats. (Well, unless Maxxis and some others follow suit with their pricing structures!)
Oh yeah, did I mention that this Fat B Nimble will also be a 29+ tire? Yes.....that's what Panaracer is saying. UPDATED: See comments by Panaracer's Jeff Zell below
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| Shazbot.....Nano Nano |
The gravel road tire selection is getting very interesting of late. Now we have WTB on the verge of putting forth another choice in rubber in their soon to be available Nano 40 tires. These will start showing up in stores and shops in May-June, so I am told.
However; I happen to know where 5 sets of them are in the US right now. That's right, they are here at Guitar Ted Laboratories but I can't touch 'em! Nope, these are earmarked for Trans Iowa prizing and the fastest 5 riders will each score a set of these tires. I suppose that if you'd like an early set of these, you could hang out at the barn where the finish line is with a stack of cabbage and see what kind of deal you can make with the winner!
These were supposed to go to OEM clients for inspection, but five sets were "stolen", (The WTB guy's words, not mine!), from that batch and redirected to Trans Iowa. So, as of now these are the only ones up for grabs. Don't ask me anything about them! I put them in a box and sealed it up so I won't be tempted!
That's a wrap for Randomonium this time. Thanks for reading!
6 comments:
Woohoo! I'm a big fan of Panaracer tires, so this is great news!
Ted, thanks for the nice feature on the Fat B Nimble! Sorry I didn't have more time to speak with you at Otter. I think I may have given some confusing information and want to correct that here. We won't be making the Fat B Nimble in a 29 x 4.0. We are looking at Fat 29's, for sure. 29 x 3.0 or a little larger. But mot for sure in the Fat B Nimble tread. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused!
Jeff Zell-Panaracer
@Jeff Zell: Thanks for the comments. I don't mention a "29 X 4.0" tire in the post, but thanks for pointing out that Panaracer is thinking about 29 inch "fatter" tires. Whatever tread that might be in. I had heard "29+" for the Fat B Nimble, which would be nominally 29 X 3.0".
Take acre and I hope to see you around again somewhere!
Sure thing, Ted. You take care too!
Hello,
By any chance do you know if WTB have improved their Nano's 2.1 for greater durability? I believe I've scene you mention that the recent Nano tires were not built as of old Nanos regarding durability. Recently somebody posted on Fargo Group on FB was that WTB has listened to the public outcry on durability of the Nanos and made changes. Have you heard or read any such changes? Love these tires on my Fargo but have been burning through them in recent 18months. Thanks dude. Love the site.
sean
@Mike Grant Fitness: I haven't heard that anything has changed on those tires yet one way or the other. I have been testing some Ninelines and they seem to be fine in the durability department. (TCS versions)
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