Friday News And Views

Vegelatex sealant from Effetto Mariposa (Image courtesy of Cantitoe Road)

 Plant Based Sealant?

I have used Caffe Latex sealant off and on throughout the years. The sealant foams up while riding and seals punctures in a bit different fashion due to the foaming action. I always thought it worked pretty well. It is otherwise a fairly typical sealant formula using latex and a carrier, which is not ammonia in this case, by the way.

Now Effetto Mariposa, the company that makes this product, has a new sealant called "Vegelatex". Yes.....it is plant based. Here is what Effetto Mariposa has to say about this product.

"Most tire sealants employ slowly biodegradable liquid polymers (like natural or synthetic latex) to repair punctures; Végétalex instead contains only plant-based particles and fibers – finely ground olive stones and cellulose fibers – to deliver a tremendous puncture clogging effect. This mix, held together by xanthan gum (produced from simple sugars), fixes punctures ranging from small tire porosities to bigger cuts (up to 5 mm) fast and in a permanent way."

Huh. If it works, then I'm all for it. Effetto Mariposa says this sealant is longer lasting- up to a whole season of use- but they also said that about Caffe Latex, if I recall correctly and ah......not so much. It lasted a long time, but not a year. Anyway, it's an interesting product that - if it is even nearly as good as they say- is something to consider. 

If you want to learn more the site page is here. 

Image courtesy of WTB

WTB Announces Proterra Wheels:

WTB is now offering gravel and trail wheels built in California by hand called Proterra. They have models in inner rim widths for gravel at 23mm and 25mm. A trail offering comes in at 26mm inner width while a wider 30mm inner rim width 'Proterra Tough' wheel is offered as well. 

Proterra wheels in the other widths are designated 'Proterra Light'. The gravel wheels are all 28 hole drillings and the 27mm and 30mm MTB wheels are 32 hole. All are laced to WTB's Proterra hubs using "J" bend spokes and all hubs use easy, no tool maintenance. The gravel wheels are 12mm through axle 100 mm front/142 mm rear spaced while the MTB wheels are 110mm/148mm Boost spaced. 

Wheels will be available individually or as sets. A set cost is $649.90 no matter which model you get. Fronts are $294.95 and rears are $354.95 each. All wheels are going to be available via WTB.com at first since WTB wants to get there wheel building facility going so they can optimize and adapt their systems before going full-tilt and supplying vendors. 

Learn more at WTB.com

Fargo Apex 1. The only complete model for '21 (Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles)

Salsa Reveals 2021 Fargo Model, Frame Sets:

The pandemic has thrown a wrench in a lot of plans and so you may not be very surprised to learn that Salsa Cycles has one- yes one- complete model of the Fargo on offer for 2021.Also not surprisingly, it is a SRAM Apex model. basically 2020 with a color change. The last time Salsa had more than one complete Fargo on offer was 2019.

Other than this abbreviated range, there are no other big changes for '21. You still will be able to get a titanium Fargo frame set, and the steel frame set, but that's all. Prices have inched upward as well. The Apex 1 complete bike is $2399.00, the Ti Fargo frame w/carbon fork is $2999.00, and the steel frame with carbon fork is  $1099.00, All prices are USD. 

Comments: The Fargo is the longest running model in Salsa Cycles range and it is a model that hasn't changed since 2017's Fargos debuted as they are now, pretty much. The only notable change being the carbon fork which is now Boost spaced. So, with one complete, and only a color change, what does this say about the future?

Of course, this can only be speculated on, but there are certainly two things at play here. One- The pandemic brought a renewed vigor to sales of all bikes, but touring/bike packing bikes were a segment that saw significant interest. The Fargo fits right into that scene. However; how much longer will that last? Once things go back to 'normal', and the pandemic is declared over, what will the Fargo's appeal be then? 

It's old in the tooth, and there isn't a whole lot more Salsa can do with the current platform. It's tweaked out about as far as it can go. That is one thing. The other is that Salsa Cycles does not have an electrified mountain bike, or any model with a motor at all. With electrified HPC's all the rage, it wouldn't be a big surprise to me to see the Fargo give way to something full suspension for their MTB range. It could be a bike packing bike, but I doubt it would carry the Fargo name. 

At any rate, good things come to an end, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see the end of the line for the venerable Fargo come in 2022 or '23.

 That's a wrap for this week! Have a great weekend!