Winter Review Of The Ti Muk 2

A recent outing on the Ti Muk 2

 Last year in May I posted my one year review of the Ti Muk 2. That is still a pretty solid overview of what I think about this bike. However; the Winter of 19/20 wasn't particularly marked by my use of that bike in difficult Winter conditions. I tended to be on my Blackborow DS for those rides. 

This year has been different though. While I have had the blackborow DS out on a few tough, trail-busting rides, the Ti Muk 2 has been used in this manner as well. I thought that with the additional time spent in severe conditions, I might give you some thoughts I have had on this bike and the components that make it up. 

First of all, I have been pleasantly surprised by the capabilities to break new trail and traverse deep snow that this bike has allowed me to do this season so far. I have two specific areas on the commute to work that are basically open, grassy fields. I have burned in a path during dry times, but typically, no one else uses the one trail and only one other fat biker uses the other. When we got the 5" snow fall here a couple of weeks ago now, I thought I'd likely have to start going around on the bike path with regard to the first 'open field' from my house. However; that first day I decided what the heck! I'd give it a whirl and just see. Surprisingly, I made it! Then I tackled the second section as well. I got through that one too. So, I kept trying and I was sometimes frustrated by heading offline or running out of leg and lung, but overall, this has been a great discovery. 

Secondly, I have found that the lower ranges which this particular Rohloff internal hub gear unit has due to its cog/chain ring combo are well low enough. In fact, I have found that even when doing the above difficult trail breaking, I only used the lowest gear once. Pretty impressive! Usually, the lowest gear is far too low, which is about where I would want the range to be. Now, on the high end I seem to be good there as well. I have used the fastest gear several times. Mostly on down hills or with a stiff tailwind, but again, this is about where I would want it to be in the range. I don't see myself spinning out the fastest gear on a regular basis. 

Finally the Cake Eater 4.0" tires have been working great in the snow. I am amazed at how these tires claw through soft snow and grip on ice, but still roll really well on harder surfaces. There is no hint of funky self-steering either. Of course, these are tubeless and that may have a lot to do with things here. But still, for only 4" tires, they have really impressed me. 

Hope that you enjoyed that review. Hit me up in the comments with any questions.

Winter Review Of The Ti Muk 2

A recent outing on the Ti Muk 2

 Last year in May I posted my one year review of the Ti Muk 2. That is still a pretty solid overview of what I think about this bike. However; the Winter of 19/20 wasn't particularly marked by my use of that bike in difficult Winter conditions. I tended to be on my Blackborow DS for those rides. 

This year has been different though. While I have had the blackborow DS out on a few tough, trail-busting rides, the Ti Muk 2 has been used in this manner as well. I thought that with the additional time spent in severe conditions, I might give you some thoughts I have had on this bike and the components that make it up. 

First of all, I have been pleasantly surprised by the capabilities to break new trail and traverse deep snow that this bike has allowed me to do this season so far. I have two specific areas on the commute to work that are basically open, grassy fields. I have burned in a path during dry times, but typically, no one else uses the one trail and only one other fat biker uses the other. When we got the 5" snow fall here a couple of weeks ago now, I thought I'd likely have to start going around on the bike path with regard to the first 'open field' from my house. However; that first day I decided what the heck! I'd give it a whirl and just see. Surprisingly, I made it! Then I tackled the second section as well. I got through that one too. So, I kept trying and I was sometimes frustrated by heading offline or running out of leg and lung, but overall, this has been a great discovery. 

Secondly, I have found that the lower ranges which this particular Rohloff internal hub gear unit has due to its cog/chain ring combo are well low enough. In fact, I have found that even when doing the above difficult trail breaking, I only used the lowest gear once. Pretty impressive! Usually, the lowest gear is far too low, which is about where I would want the range to be. Now, on the high end I seem to be good there as well. I have used the fastest gear several times. Mostly on down hills or with a stiff tailwind, but again, this is about where I would want it to be in the range. I don't see myself spinning out the fastest gear on a regular basis. 

Finally the Cake Eater 4.0" tires have been working great in the snow. I am amazed at how these tires claw through soft snow and grip on ice, but still roll really well on harder surfaces. There is no hint of funky self-steering either. Of course, these are tubeless and that may have a lot to do with things here. But still, for only 4" tires, they have really impressed me. 

Hope that you enjoyed that review. Hit me up in the comments with any questions.

The Return Of Brown Season

The snow melted, the rains came back, the temperature rose, and the mud returned.

Last week at this time I was in full-on winter commuting mode and we had snow all over the place with icy patches to boot. This week? Well, one week later the highs are in the upper 40's, the snow is gone, and ice has been replaced with wet leaves. Both are very slippery and treacherous, but landing on mud and wet leaves beats hitting concrete hard dirt and ice any day. That is, if you were to crash.

The weather has gone to a wet, moist, and definitely late Fall-like feel. it's so weird having had an interruption by Winter, and how that icy cold has basically altered the way the leaves are falling, the way the leaves are decaying, and how that is working into the soil already in the woods. There are patches where the water in puddles is so stained by the tannins from leaves that it is orange-yellow or deep brown. Many trees still have green leaves on them, which never had a chance to turn colors, because we had such a quick, deep freeze a few weeks ago. It's been an odd Fall, for sure, and I am just glad it came back for a bit.

I have a component I needed to test out on my bike, so I went off to Lower Hartman to check out the single track. I'm not hip to the modernized names that CVAST (the local soft trails association) has given these trails. I remember them by their old names. I went down old Shirey Way to a deer trail and bushwhacked through that toward the old "John's Trail", which I have spoken of here before.

John's Trail was a quickly made affair. I recall we laid it out in a day along an old deer trail, for the most part. Oddly enough it was one of the trails that managed to survive all the major floods and is mostly intact as far as its original layout. Only the far West end has been modified from the way it used to be. But no one really cares about any of that anymore. I'm probably one of very, very few people that even knows anything about the old Lower Hartman trails and their origins these days. I don't mean to brag, but all the younginz probably don't have a clue as to the who, what, or why many of these trails were put in back in the 90's. And none of them bother to find out, which is why I say no one cares.

Its as if you were a million miles from civilization, but this is within maybe four city blocks of residential areas.

Well, I had a wonderful pre-work ride. It was almost foggy, drippy, and there was zero wind. One of those days when everything seemed drenched in peace. I almost didn't go to work! (Not that there is much to go for these days, but anyway.....) It was a good respite from the stress which has characterized things in my life of late. Good stuff! I highly recommend a good woods ride on a quiet day.

The Cedar Valley has a healthy and active beaver population. Evidenced by this fallen sapling.

I have all my fender action going on here with the Ti Muk 2, which needed testing, and it all came through in flying colors. No mess on me, and mostly none on the bike. I have one more place I want to try a shield for splashing muck and that is behind the seat tube. I think I am going to try to fabricate this out of milk jugs. We'll see. I'm in no big hurry to do that though.

I did note that the Terrene Cake Eaters were slipping on wet rocks and roots under the leaves. Probably due to my "commuting tire pressures". I am not too concerned by this. If I were to lower the pressures a couple of psi, I think that would make a huge difference in the way these tires worked over such things in these conditions. Overall though, I am really pleased with the Cake Eaters. They roll pretty well, and yet they display good grip, and last week in the snow they were mildly impressive, so I am keeping those on for now.

I did stick on the old Revelate/Salsa/Surly frame bag meant for this bike and I have to say that while the quality is good, I am not a big fan of how it was fitted for this bike, and the internal divider is vertical, not horizontal. Soooo...... That's coming off. I really don't need it either, so after a bit of cleaning up I think it's going on the Garage Sale Page here. My purple Bike Bag Dude one is going back on, despite it being not quite right, but then, it was made to fit the 2012 Ti Muk, not the 2015 one! Still, it is close enough and it has a LOT more room than the original bag here.

This bike will be slop-season/Winter ready soon. I have to re-check sealant levels, and then I should be good to go through most of the season to come.

The Return Of Brown Season

The snow melted, the rains came back, the temperature rose, and the mud returned.

Last week at this time I was in full-on winter commuting mode and we had snow all over the place with icy patches to boot. This week? Well, one week later the highs are in the upper 40's, the snow is gone, and ice has been replaced with wet leaves. Both are very slippery and treacherous, but landing on mud and wet leaves beats hitting concrete hard dirt and ice any day. That is, if you were to crash.

The weather has gone to a wet, moist, and definitely late Fall-like feel. it's so weird having had an interruption by Winter, and how that icy cold has basically altered the way the leaves are falling, the way the leaves are decaying, and how that is working into the soil already in the woods. There are patches where the water in puddles is so stained by the tannins from leaves that it is orange-yellow or deep brown. Many trees still have green leaves on them, which never had a chance to turn colors, because we had such a quick, deep freeze a few weeks ago. It's been an odd Fall, for sure, and I am just glad it came back for a bit.

I have a component I needed to test out on my bike, so I went off to Lower Hartman to check out the single track. I'm not hip to the modernized names that CVAST (the local soft trails association) has given these trails. I remember them by their old names. I went down old Shirey Way to a deer trail and bushwhacked through that toward the old "John's Trail", which I have spoken of here before.

John's Trail was a quickly made affair. I recall we laid it out in a day along an old deer trail, for the most part. Oddly enough it was one of the trails that managed to survive all the major floods and is mostly intact as far as its original layout. Only the far West end has been modified from the way it used to be. But no one really cares about any of that anymore. I'm probably one of very, very few people that even knows anything about the old Lower Hartman trails and their origins these days. I don't mean to brag, but all the younginz probably don't have a clue as to the who, what, or why many of these trails were put in back in the 90's. And none of them bother to find out, which is why I say no one cares.

Its as if you were a million miles from civilization, but this is within maybe four city blocks of residential areas.

Well, I had a wonderful pre-work ride. It was almost foggy, drippy, and there was zero wind. One of those days when everything seemed drenched in peace. I almost didn't go to work! (Not that there is much to go for these days, but anyway.....) It was a good respite from the stress which has characterized things in my life of late. Good stuff! I highly recommend a good woods ride on a quiet day.

The Cedar Valley has a healthy and active beaver population. Evidenced by this fallen sapling.

I have all my fender action going on here with the Ti Muk 2, which needed testing, and it all came through in flying colors. No mess on me, and mostly none on the bike. I have one more place I want to try a shield for splashing muck and that is behind the seat tube. I think I am going to try to fabricate this out of milk jugs. We'll see. I'm in no big hurry to do that though.

I did note that the Terrene Cake Eaters were slipping on wet rocks and roots under the leaves. Probably due to my "commuting tire pressures". I am not too concerned by this. If I were to lower the pressures a couple of psi, I think that would make a huge difference in the way these tires worked over such things in these conditions. Overall though, I am really pleased with the Cake Eaters. They roll pretty well, and yet they display good grip, and last week in the snow they were mildly impressive, so I am keeping those on for now.

I did stick on the old Revelate/Salsa/Surly frame bag meant for this bike and I have to say that while the quality is good, I am not a big fan of how it was fitted for this bike, and the internal divider is vertical, not horizontal. Soooo...... That's coming off. I really don't need it either, so after a bit of cleaning up I think it's going on the Garage Sale Page here. My purple Bike Bag Dude one is going back on, despite it being not quite right, but then, it was made to fit the 2012 Ti Muk, not the 2015 one! Still, it is close enough and it has a LOT more room than the original bag here.

This bike will be slop-season/Winter ready soon. I have to re-check sealant levels, and then I should be good to go through most of the season to come.

First Ti Muk 2 Winter Ride

The 'sled-necks" were a wee bit excited that it snowed a touch Sunday night/Monday morning.

Well, you just knew it was coming. Snow! Winter has made its presence known in Northeastern Iowa. Sunday night and into Monday morning, we received about 4" max. maybe 3.5". Anyway, it was an odd snow, since it would have been this powdery fluff, had it happened a month from now. It wasn't though, as it absorbed a lot of moisture from the ground since it hasn't really froze here yet. That kept it from blowing around a lot too, which kept it piled up more than it would have been otherwise.

Sheltered areas had the most snow, but open areas were scoured of the white stuff by 20+ mph winds unless there were ruts or things that the snow could drift behind. A mixed bag of conditions then. Perfect for checking out how this Ti Muk would handle versus the old Mukluks I have ridden.

This would also be the first time in a long time I have used a tubeless set up on snow, and the first time I've used tubeless tires on proper tubeless rims for fat biking on snow. Would that make a difference? These were questions I wanted answers for, even though the snow wasn't much to write home about. So, I planned on tracking in some of my commute to work, as it crosses a couple of grassy, open areas, and goes down a few alleys as well. I didn't want any surprises on Tuesday when I went in for work. I wanted to know what ice conditions might be, and it was certainly cold enough for ice!

Cruising some levee tops.

I found some snow at a depth that made my feet touch the snow at times, so it was fairly deep. I was most struck by this bike's stability in snow. Sometimes changing consistency or changes in the terrain under the snow can upset the bike- especially the front wheel- but this bike seems to be more immune to that. Well, so far anyway. I couldn't fault its handling, that's for sure.

The Rohloff 14 speed internal geared hub has a super low gear and I had spinny gearing for days. That may have been a reason I had more stability? Not sure. The Terrene Cake Eater tires were grippy on ascents of the levee. No issues there. Speaking of the Rohloff, I was also wondering if the weight distribution of the drive train may have been part of the reason for the feelings of stability and traction. I'm certain it has something to do with what I was experiencing. All in all, this Mukluk displayed better handling in snow, so far, and I'll have to report back whenever I can after we have more snow and conditions more conducive to fat biking in that snow.

Stay tuned......

First Ti Muk 2 Winter Ride

The 'sled-necks" were a wee bit excited that it snowed a touch Sunday night/Monday morning.

Well, you just knew it was coming. Snow! Winter has made its presence known in Northeastern Iowa. Sunday night and into Monday morning, we received about 4" max. maybe 3.5". Anyway, it was an odd snow, since it would have been this powdery fluff, had it happened a month from now. It wasn't though, as it absorbed a lot of moisture from the ground since it hasn't really froze here yet. That kept it from blowing around a lot too, which kept it piled up more than it would have been otherwise.

Sheltered areas had the most snow, but open areas were scoured of the white stuff by 20+ mph winds unless there were ruts or things that the snow could drift behind. A mixed bag of conditions then. Perfect for checking out how this Ti Muk would handle versus the old Mukluks I have ridden.

This would also be the first time in a long time I have used a tubeless set up on snow, and the first time I've used tubeless tires on proper tubeless rims for fat biking on snow. Would that make a difference? These were questions I wanted answers for, even though the snow wasn't much to write home about. So, I planned on tracking in some of my commute to work, as it crosses a couple of grassy, open areas, and goes down a few alleys as well. I didn't want any surprises on Tuesday when I went in for work. I wanted to know what ice conditions might be, and it was certainly cold enough for ice!

Cruising some levee tops.

I found some snow at a depth that made my feet touch the snow at times, so it was fairly deep. I was most struck by this bike's stability in snow. Sometimes changing consistency or changes in the terrain under the snow can upset the bike- especially the front wheel- but this bike seems to be more immune to that. Well, so far anyway. I couldn't fault its handling, that's for sure.

The Rohloff 14 speed internal geared hub has a super low gear and I had spinny gearing for days. That may have been a reason I had more stability? Not sure. The Terrene Cake Eater tires were grippy on ascents of the levee. No issues there. Speaking of the Rohloff, I was also wondering if the weight distribution of the drive train may have been part of the reason for the feelings of stability and traction. I'm certain it has something to do with what I was experiencing. All in all, this Mukluk displayed better handling in snow, so far, and I'll have to report back whenever I can after we have more snow and conditions more conducive to fat biking in that snow.

Stay tuned......

Tubeless Maintenance How-To

You're set up tubeless? Great. Do you know about maintenance for tubeless?

Tubeless tires are ubiquitous in gravel and MTB circles these days, but not everyone is running tubeless yet, and many who are don't know about maintenance of tubeless tires. If this describes you, read on. If not, then head on over to your next stop on the internet. (Unless you are just curious about how I do this)

Of course, just having your tires set up tubeless isn't the end of your concerns for your tires. Tubeless set ups require a sealant to seal the tires and to ward off any puncture issues, (hopefully) from sharp objects like bits of glass, thorns, or goat heads, for instance. That said, you can still get a tubeless tire to fail in any number of ways, (Which, by the way, would slay most any tubed tire anyway, so going tubeless doesn't get you a "get out of jail" card, so to speak)

I'm not going to give you the reasons to go tubeless, this article assumes you already have been over that road. No, this is going to give you some ideas on why, and then how, maintenance is done of tubeless bicycle tires. This mostly has to do with sealant, so let's talk about that briefly.

Bicycle tires could be made so they do not need sealant. I've tried those, and, for the sake of brevity, I'll just say you really don't want to go there! Why? Weight. Nuff said.

So, tubeless bicycle tires need sealant. This is typically from two major families of sealant products. There are the latex based sealants and the glycol based sealants. Examples of both would be Stan's and Slime, respectively. The carrier in a latex based sealant is typically ammonia, but in a glycol based sealant it is, well.....glycol, which is a liquid from the same family as your automobile coolants.  Glycol based sealants for bicycle use aren't common, and they act differently than the latex sealants do. Since latex is, by far and away, the most commonly used bicycle sealant, I will be focusing on maintenance for that type of sealant.

Tools needed: A valve core remover and a cable tie, (or Orange Seal dipstick, as shown)

Latex sealant is great stuff, when it is not dried up. Oh......maybe you didn't know, but your sealant has a service life. Typically this can be anywhere from three months to as long as six months. This depends upon the sealant brand, frequency of riding, and temperatures both while riding and where you store the bike. There is no "hard and fast" rule or service interval for sealant. It will vary with everyone. This is why you need to check your sealant levels. I typically go about three months in before I check on my tires. Here's how to do this.

• Tools: First you'll need to have a small width cable tie at least 4" long, a valve core remover, and your air inflation device. (See image above for a visual on the core remover and cable tie/dip stick)

Valve stem at the "six o'clock" position.

Then you'll need to, preferably, hang your bike so that you have no weight on the wheels. Next, you should put the valve stems at the "six o'clock" position, make sure the wheels don't rotate freely from this position, and leave the bike hanging for at least three hours. This allows the sealant- if there is any left- to pool in the bottom of the tire underneath the valve stem.

Once the time has expired, we can safely assume any sealant has migrated to the bottom of the tire underneath the valve stem. then you should open the valve, release as much air as you can- but do not squeeze or touch the tire at all!  This and having no weight on the tires is VERY IMPORTANT so you do not break the seal on the bead/rim interface.

Once the air is mostly out, remove the valve core. I like the Park Tools VC-1 since if the valve core is tight, or gummed up with sealant, you can use a 10mm box end wrench to turn the tool without handling the tire. Hopefully you don't need to do that, but just in case, a tool like the Park one that allows for extra leverage of some sort could be helpful. Bonus: The Park tool also removes Schrader valve cores as well. So if you are running tubeless with those valves, the Park tool will work there as well.

Once you get the valve core out, examine it carefully. As stated, most latex sealants use ammonia as a carrier which is corrosive to rubber and metal. Also, there are two places on a Presta valve core which must seal correctly to make the valve air tight. If your valve core is corroded, or if those rubber, (or in some cases, plastic) seals are damaged, or look "collapsed", then just pitch them and put in a new one. Valve issues are a big reason for tubeless problems and you don't want to be chasing down a leak-down issue and find out it was your valve core. Valve cores can typically be purchased at most good bike shops, or on-line. Get some and make sure you do not re-use a corroded core, or one with used up seals. It isn't worth it. One more thing- Obviously the rest of the valve can get corroded and nasty looking at some point as well, but it is much more common to see a bad core first.

Once I cleared off the old sealant from this core, I found it to be okay. Note the white plastic seal.

Now lets take that cable tie, or use that dealie that Orange Seal sells with their sealant, and use this as a "dip stick" of sorts. Make sure the cable tie serrations are intact. The Orange Seal dip stick has these, by the way. Then insert the end of the cable tie carefully until it hits the bottom, which will be the inner carcass of the tire directly underneath the valve stem. Whatever pooled sealant s there will adhere to the cable tie and when you remove the cable tie, you can determine how much sealant is left, if any. Obviously, if it comes out dry, well then- you'll be needing sealant!

I used the Orange Seal "dip stick" to check my fat bike tires.

 In my estimation, if you see less than 1/4" wetness on your cable tie, you need to add sealant. You can introduce sealant in any number of ways, but most sealant brands have small bottles meant for re-upping sealant and will have clear tubes, or nozzles on the bottle that allow you to cleanly introduce new sealant through the core-less valve stem. I use a syringe set up from Effetto Mariposa since I do a ton of tubeless tire set up/maintenance here. I also mix my own sealant, using the "MG Formula" developed by my good Brother from another mother, MG. (Of course!) Here that is, (because I KNOW yer gonna ask)

• Three heaping table spoons of Latex Mold Builder 
• Four ounces of Purple Power windshield washer solvent.
• Mix THOROUGHLY
• Makes enough for two 29" X 2.4" tires. 
• Adjust for smaller/larger tires to taste. 

I checked two of my bikes over the weekend. Obviously one was the Ti Muk 2 with the 26" X 4" Cake Eater tires. The other was the Black Mountain Cycles MCD rig with the 700 X 42mm WTB Resolutes. I found that the Cake Eaters had a little bit of wet sealant yet, but it was only about a 1/8th" on the "dip stick". So, I introduced about 60cc's of sealant into each tire. I could have rechecked then, but I am assuming that will get me by. NOTE- These tires were set up the second week of June, ridden fairly regularly, typical hot weather, and stored in a cool environment. 

The Resolutes were set up at the end of May and I found that they still had about a 1/4" sealant pooled at the bottom of each tire. That bike was ridden pretty consistently through June and July but then it was in the cool, dark storage for the month of August. 

Again- your mileage may vary. I just give you my examples as a data point to chew on.  

Despite running quite a bit in hot weather for a couple of months, the Resolutes didn't need sealant.

 So, if you don't need sealant, or if you had to introduce some, you then, obviously, have to put that valve core back in, or replace the old one with a new one. I cleaned up my old ones, which were new three months ago, and replaced them. Then aired up the tires, and I was good to go after that. 

That pretty much covers your maintenance issues with tubeless that will be the most common, recurring ones. You might, after some time, need to replace the valves. Depending upon your frequency in changing tires, you may need to re-tape your rims. But those things are far less commonly needed.  

Once again, I know I may have missed something you think I should have covered. Maybe I am not as clear as I could be on some points. Perhaps you just have a question you'd like answered. Well, if any of those are true for you, please hit me with a comment here or e-mail me at g.ted.productions@gmail.com 

Okay, I hope that helped someone out there. Thanks again for reading. 

Tubeless Maintenance How-To

You're set up tubeless? Great. Do you know about maintenance for tubeless?

Tubeless tires are ubiquitous in gravel and MTB circles these days, but not everyone is running tubeless yet, and many who are don't know about maintenance of tubeless tires. If this describes you, read on. If not, then head on over to your next stop on the internet. (Unless you are just curious about how I do this)

Of course, just having your tires set up tubeless isn't the end of your concerns for your tires. Tubeless set ups require a sealant to seal the tires and to ward off any puncture issues, (hopefully) from sharp objects like bits of glass, thorns, or goat heads, for instance. That said, you can still get a tubeless tire to fail in any number of ways, (Which, by the way, would slay most any tubed tire anyway, so going tubeless doesn't get you a "get out of jail" card, so to speak)

I'm not going to give you the reasons to go tubeless, this article assumes you already have been over that road. No, this is going to give you some ideas on why, and then how, maintenance is done of tubeless bicycle tires. This mostly has to do with sealant, so let's talk about that briefly.

Bicycle tires could be made so they do not need sealant. I've tried those, and, for the sake of brevity, I'll just say you really don't want to go there! Why? Weight. Nuff said.

So, tubeless bicycle tires need sealant. This is typically from two major families of sealant products. There are the latex based sealants and the glycol based sealants. Examples of both would be Stan's and Slime, respectively. The carrier in a latex based sealant is typically ammonia, but in a glycol based sealant it is, well.....glycol, which is a liquid from the same family as your automobile coolants.  Glycol based sealants for bicycle use aren't common, and they act differently than the latex sealants do. Since latex is, by far and away, the most commonly used bicycle sealant, I will be focusing on maintenance for that type of sealant.

Tools needed: A valve core remover and a cable tie, (or Orange Seal dipstick, as shown)

Latex sealant is great stuff, when it is not dried up. Oh......maybe you didn't know, but your sealant has a service life. Typically this can be anywhere from three months to as long as six months. This depends upon the sealant brand, frequency of riding, and temperatures both while riding and where you store the bike. There is no "hard and fast" rule or service interval for sealant. It will vary with everyone. This is why you need to check your sealant levels. I typically go about three months in before I check on my tires. Here's how to do this.

• Tools: First you'll need to have a small width cable tie at least 4" long, a valve core remover, and your air inflation device. (See image above for a visual on the core remover and cable tie/dip stick)

Valve stem at the "six o'clock" position.

Then you'll need to, preferably, hang your bike so that you have no weight on the wheels. Next, you should put the valve stems at the "six o'clock" position, make sure the wheels don't rotate freely from this position, and leave the bike hanging for at least three hours. This allows the sealant- if there is any left- to pool in the bottom of the tire underneath the valve stem.

Once the time has expired, we can safely assume any sealant has migrated to the bottom of the tire underneath the valve stem. then you should open the valve, release as much air as you can- but do not squeeze or touch the tire at all!  This and having no weight on the tires is VERY IMPORTANT so you do not break the seal on the bead/rim interface.

Once the air is mostly out, remove the valve core. I like the Park Tools VC-1 since if the valve core is tight, or gummed up with sealant, you can use a 10mm box end wrench to turn the tool without handling the tire. Hopefully you don't need to do that, but just in case, a tool like the Park one that allows for extra leverage of some sort could be helpful. Bonus: The Park tool also removes Schrader valve cores as well. So if you are running tubeless with those valves, the Park tool will work there as well.

Once you get the valve core out, examine it carefully. As stated, most latex sealants use ammonia as a carrier which is corrosive to rubber and metal. Also, there are two places on a Presta valve core which must seal correctly to make the valve air tight. If your valve core is corroded, or if those rubber, (or in some cases, plastic) seals are damaged, or look "collapsed", then just pitch them and put in a new one. Valve issues are a big reason for tubeless problems and you don't want to be chasing down a leak-down issue and find out it was your valve core. Valve cores can typically be purchased at most good bike shops, or on-line. Get some and make sure you do not re-use a corroded core, or one with used up seals. It isn't worth it. One more thing- Obviously the rest of the valve can get corroded and nasty looking at some point as well, but it is much more common to see a bad core first.

Once I cleared off the old sealant from this core, I found it to be okay. Note the white plastic seal.

Now lets take that cable tie, or use that dealie that Orange Seal sells with their sealant, and use this as a "dip stick" of sorts. Make sure the cable tie serrations are intact. The Orange Seal dip stick has these, by the way. Then insert the end of the cable tie carefully until it hits the bottom, which will be the inner carcass of the tire directly underneath the valve stem. Whatever pooled sealant s there will adhere to the cable tie and when you remove the cable tie, you can determine how much sealant is left, if any. Obviously, if it comes out dry, well then- you'll be needing sealant!

I used the Orange Seal "dip stick" to check my fat bike tires.

 In my estimation, if you see less than 1/4" wetness on your cable tie, you need to add sealant. You can introduce sealant in any number of ways, but most sealant brands have small bottles meant for re-upping sealant and will have clear tubes, or nozzles on the bottle that allow you to cleanly introduce new sealant through the core-less valve stem. I use a syringe set up from Effetto Mariposa since I do a ton of tubeless tire set up/maintenance here. I also mix my own sealant, using the "MG Formula" developed by my good Brother from another mother, MG. (Of course!) Here that is, (because I KNOW yer gonna ask)

• Three heaping table spoons of Latex Mold Builder 
• Four ounces of Purple Power windshield washer solvent.
• Mix THOROUGHLY
• Makes enough for two 29" X 2.4" tires. 
• Adjust for smaller/larger tires to taste. 

I checked two of my bikes over the weekend. Obviously one was the Ti Muk 2 with the 26" X 4" Cake Eater tires. The other was the Black Mountain Cycles MCD rig with the 700 X 42mm WTB Resolutes. I found that the Cake Eaters had a little bit of wet sealant yet, but it was only about a 1/8th" on the "dip stick". So, I introduced about 60cc's of sealant into each tire. I could have rechecked then, but I am assuming that will get me by. NOTE- These tires were set up the second week of June, ridden fairly regularly, typical hot weather, and stored in a cool environment. 

The Resolutes were set up at the end of May and I found that they still had about a 1/4" sealant pooled at the bottom of each tire. That bike was ridden pretty consistently through June and July but then it was in the cool, dark storage for the month of August. 

Again- your mileage may vary. I just give you my examples as a data point to chew on.  

Despite running quite a bit in hot weather for a couple of months, the Resolutes didn't need sealant.

 So, if you don't need sealant, or if you had to introduce some, you then, obviously, have to put that valve core back in, or replace the old one with a new one. I cleaned up my old ones, which were new three months ago, and replaced them. Then aired up the tires, and I was good to go after that. 

That pretty much covers your maintenance issues with tubeless that will be the most common, recurring ones. You might, after some time, need to replace the valves. Depending upon your frequency in changing tires, you may need to re-tape your rims. But those things are far less commonly needed.  

Once again, I know I may have missed something you think I should have covered. Maybe I am not as clear as I could be on some points. Perhaps you just have a question you'd like answered. Well, if any of those are true for you, please hit me with a comment here or e-mail me at g.ted.productions@gmail.com 

Okay, I hope that helped someone out there. Thanks again for reading. 

State Of Tubelessness: 2019

Although most tires I test now are tubeless rated, a rare few are not, such as this Tioga Binary.

Note: For the last "State Of Tublessness" address, see the two part report HERE and HERE. 

It is 2019, and almost every new tire design is tubeless rated now, with rare exceptions to the rule. Road tires being the main category where tubes still rule. However; that seems poised to be changing soon as well.

Perhaps no where else in cycling, besides triathlon, does "race on Sunday, sell on Monday" rule what consumers do. Road racers in the Pro ranks have every item down to the last bit of bar tape and GPS data crunching software scrutinized by the cycling media. The writers of this material, produced from races such as the Tour de France and others, drive sales of gear and ideas to a large degree yet in 2019. While this may not be as strong a dynamic as it once was, it still is a major influencer on consumer's buying habits.

With that said, I noted that several media observers at the Tour were commenting on the uptick in tubeless racing tires and wheel usage at this year's Tour. It may take a few years, but if the product produces wins and is seen as a performance enhancing product, my bet is that road cyclists will be flocking to tubeless set ups within a short period of time. These same roadies probably already own gravel and/or MTB bikes that are tubeless, so the technology is not alien to most seasoned cyclists.

So, anymore, if a company produces a new model of tire that is not tubeless rated, it is an oddity, but that happened recently with Tioga's Binary model which I recently reviewed. While this seems weird, there was/is a really good reason that this didn't show up as a tubeless rated casing. I cannot tell you why that is due to an agreement, just that someday soon, a tubeless Binary will emerge, and no one will remember this first salvo into the gravel tire market by Tioga, as the tubeless rated version will, no doubt, be the one everyone will buy. But suffice it to say that tubed tires will, most likely, always be around. They just won't be the high end, performance models once tubelessness gets figured out.

My new-to-me Ti Muk 2 is tubeless. Fat bike tubelessness is a piece of "cake" now.

So, speaking of "figuring it out".....

One of my biggest pet peeves about fat bikes for the first several years that these beasts were available on a wide scale was that the tire and wheel technology was from the dark ages of cycling. Rims were horrible, tires were department store quality, and getting anything to set up tubeless was.....yeah, RIGHT! That was a whole garage-science fair time in fat bike history right there. The Rube Goldberg machine-like manners in which one had to engage in to set a fat bike tire up tubeless was, in a word, ludicrous. Happily now we can leave all that behind since "real tubeless tires" and wheels exist which make all that nonsense unnecessary.

This was never made more clear to me than when I set up my Terrene Tires Cake Eaters on the Whiskey carbon fat bike rims recently. The set up was super easy to do. They have performed above my expectations so far, retaining air better than my tubed fat bike wheels and tires, while rolling far easier than those old dinosaurs. There probably is no better candidate for tubeless tires in the bicycle world than fat bikes. The amount of tube scrubbing tire is just one reason why. I have some past experience with this as well.

I had set up some fat bike tires as tubeless back in the day using some, ahem!, rather sketchy techniques that including double sided mounting tape, Gorilla tape, and several hours of labor to achieve tubeless Nirvana. And it was "worth it" as far as results. The conversion saved a tiny bit of weight, but in terms of rolling resistance, the effect was greatly noticeable and made riding a fat bike far easier than with tubes. However; once the sealant dried up and the tape started to fail, well...... It was too much hassle to keep it maintained, so I went back to tubes until, one day, I could use proper tires and rims. And let me tell ya, it is still really worth it. But now, the maintenance part is super easy. Tubeless tires and rims for fat bikes are the way to go, hands down.

While the effects of rolling resistance lessen as the tube/tire size decreases, it is still there. I have a friend who just went tubeless on his gravel bike and was amazed by the way it rode better. So, while there are several benefits to this way of doing things, we can not ignore a few of the downsides. There are some major bummers, and therefore tubeless tires for bicycles still is not going to be for everyone. Futzing with sealant, maintaining the sealant levels, dealing with a different way of tire to rim interface, and having a few "no go" fits and difficulties with that sort of thing can really put people off. For some, especially those who are familiar with the "Ways Of The Toob", straying from the familiar path is just not tenable. Better to have your peace and sanity than a few less watts of rolling resistance and ride comfort.

Look for further musings on tubelessness in the future.

State Of Tubelessness: 2019

Although most tires I test now are tubeless rated, a rare few are not, such as this Tioga Binary.

Note: For the last "State Of Tublessness" address, see the two part report HERE and HERE. 

It is 2019, and almost every new tire design is tubeless rated now, with rare exceptions to the rule. Road tires being the main category where tubes still rule. However; that seems poised to be changing soon as well.

Perhaps no where else in cycling, besides triathlon, does "race on Sunday, sell on Monday" rule what consumers do. Road racers in the Pro ranks have every item down to the last bit of bar tape and GPS data crunching software scrutinized by the cycling media. The writers of this material, produced from races such as the Tour de France and others, drive sales of gear and ideas to a large degree yet in 2019. While this may not be as strong a dynamic as it once was, it still is a major influencer on consumer's buying habits.

With that said, I noted that several media observers at the Tour were commenting on the uptick in tubeless racing tires and wheel usage at this year's Tour. It may take a few years, but if the product produces wins and is seen as a performance enhancing product, my bet is that road cyclists will be flocking to tubeless set ups within a short period of time. These same roadies probably already own gravel and/or MTB bikes that are tubeless, so the technology is not alien to most seasoned cyclists.

So, anymore, if a company produces a new model of tire that is not tubeless rated, it is an oddity, but that happened recently with Tioga's Binary model which I recently reviewed. While this seems weird, there was/is a really good reason that this didn't show up as a tubeless rated casing. I cannot tell you why that is due to an agreement, just that someday soon, a tubeless Binary will emerge, and no one will remember this first salvo into the gravel tire market by Tioga, as the tubeless rated version will, no doubt, be the one everyone will buy. But suffice it to say that tubed tires will, most likely, always be around. They just won't be the high end, performance models once tubelessness gets figured out.

My new-to-me Ti Muk 2 is tubeless. Fat bike tubelessness is a piece of "cake" now.

So, speaking of "figuring it out".....

One of my biggest pet peeves about fat bikes for the first several years that these beasts were available on a wide scale was that the tire and wheel technology was from the dark ages of cycling. Rims were horrible, tires were department store quality, and getting anything to set up tubeless was.....yeah, RIGHT! That was a whole garage-science fair time in fat bike history right there. The Rube Goldberg machine-like manners in which one had to engage in to set a fat bike tire up tubeless was, in a word, ludicrous. Happily now we can leave all that behind since "real tubeless tires" and wheels exist which make all that nonsense unnecessary.

This was never made more clear to me than when I set up my Terrene Tires Cake Eaters on the Whiskey carbon fat bike rims recently. The set up was super easy to do. They have performed above my expectations so far, retaining air better than my tubed fat bike wheels and tires, while rolling far easier than those old dinosaurs. There probably is no better candidate for tubeless tires in the bicycle world than fat bikes. The amount of tube scrubbing tire is just one reason why. I have some past experience with this as well.

I had set up some fat bike tires as tubeless back in the day using some, ahem!, rather sketchy techniques that including double sided mounting tape, Gorilla tape, and several hours of labor to achieve tubeless Nirvana. And it was "worth it" as far as results. The conversion saved a tiny bit of weight, but in terms of rolling resistance, the effect was greatly noticeable and made riding a fat bike far easier than with tubes. However; once the sealant dried up and the tape started to fail, well...... It was too much hassle to keep it maintained, so I went back to tubes until, one day, I could use proper tires and rims. And let me tell ya, it is still really worth it. But now, the maintenance part is super easy. Tubeless tires and rims for fat bikes are the way to go, hands down.

While the effects of rolling resistance lessen as the tube/tire size decreases, it is still there. I have a friend who just went tubeless on his gravel bike and was amazed by the way it rode better. So, while there are several benefits to this way of doing things, we can not ignore a few of the downsides. There are some major bummers, and therefore tubeless tires for bicycles still is not going to be for everyone. Futzing with sealant, maintaining the sealant levels, dealing with a different way of tire to rim interface, and having a few "no go" fits and difficulties with that sort of thing can really put people off. For some, especially those who are familiar with the "Ways Of The Toob", straying from the familiar path is just not tenable. Better to have your peace and sanity than a few less watts of rolling resistance and ride comfort.

Look for further musings on tubelessness in the future.

Interesting Commutes

I've been commuting mostly on the Ti Muk 2 as pictured here of late.

My commute to the bike shop where I work hasn't changed much at all for 17 years. You'd think by now I'd have seen a lot of stuff, but really, besides seeing LeRoy from time to time, things are fairly boring. LeRoy is a guy that walks in the area of my commute everyday. I don't see him all the time, as our timing varies, but when I do, he gives me a hearty, "Hello!", and we often high-five each other, and even chat once in a while. But yeah, that is about the extent of my "excitement". That's changed dramatically this year, for whatever reason.

I guess it started last year when I saw the guy on a motorcycle blasting down a part of the paved bike path, but this year it has been pretty much non-stop weirdness. From strangers on the bike path doing unmentionable things to seeing a car on the side of the bike path just the other day with two lost people aboard. Why that car ended up there, I've no idea, but later on I saw how they exited and got back to the highway by climbing an embankment and cutting across a grassy field. Don't ask. I have no idea what was up with that.

Then my route has been disrupted as well. University Avenue in Waterloo is under construction. About a good quarter mile of my route is unrideable now so I have to detour around the mayhem of construction vehicles, piping, and other flotsam and jetsam created by the wave of construction going on. Just yesterday I had to dodge a big D9 Cat which was pulling out a stuck dump truck from a dirt hole it sank into. Several days I have had to bunny hop one foot diameter plastic pipe laying across my path which is being used as part of the new infrastructure for the new road being put in.

With all the wet weather we have had and the uncertainty of my route from day to day, the Ti Muk 2 has been pressed into commuter duty. No matter what I'm up against, the big, fat wheels can handle it. Mud, dirt, cutting across rough construction areas, or just cruising new bike path. It all is done capably and calmly on the Ti Muk 2. The new Terrene Cake Eaters roll really smoothly too.

The Rohloff drive train is pretty interesting. I have learned that thinking of this bike as having a clutch has made shifting easier. I spin the bike up, stop pedaling, shift two higher gears up, pedal, and so forth. Downshifts are similarly done and just hesitating a hair makes those shifts come easy as well. Just like pushing in a clutch on a manual shifted car. Anyway, that's how I think of it. Now I can zoom right along and shift willy-nilly whenever I want. It took a while to get the hang of it, but it works great.

At least the commuting rides have become interesting and fun. I never know what I might see, (and some of it I haven't wanted to!), plus the constant change along University Avenue is keeping me on my toes.

Interesting Commutes

I've been commuting mostly on the Ti Muk 2 as pictured here of late.

My commute to the bike shop where I work hasn't changed much at all for 17 years. You'd think by now I'd have seen a lot of stuff, but really, besides seeing LeRoy from time to time, things are fairly boring. LeRoy is a guy that walks in the area of my commute everyday. I don't see him all the time, as our timing varies, but when I do, he gives me a hearty, "Hello!", and we often high-five each other, and even chat once in a while. But yeah, that is about the extent of my "excitement". That's changed dramatically this year, for whatever reason.

I guess it started last year when I saw the guy on a motorcycle blasting down a part of the paved bike path, but this year it has been pretty much non-stop weirdness. From strangers on the bike path doing unmentionable things to seeing a car on the side of the bike path just the other day with two lost people aboard. Why that car ended up there, I've no idea, but later on I saw how they exited and got back to the highway by climbing an embankment and cutting across a grassy field. Don't ask. I have no idea what was up with that.

Then my route has been disrupted as well. University Avenue in Waterloo is under construction. About a good quarter mile of my route is unrideable now so I have to detour around the mayhem of construction vehicles, piping, and other flotsam and jetsam created by the wave of construction going on. Just yesterday I had to dodge a big D9 Cat which was pulling out a stuck dump truck from a dirt hole it sank into. Several days I have had to bunny hop one foot diameter plastic pipe laying across my path which is being used as part of the new infrastructure for the new road being put in.

With all the wet weather we have had and the uncertainty of my route from day to day, the Ti Muk 2 has been pressed into commuter duty. No matter what I'm up against, the big, fat wheels can handle it. Mud, dirt, cutting across rough construction areas, or just cruising new bike path. It all is done capably and calmly on the Ti Muk 2. The new Terrene Cake Eaters roll really smoothly too.

The Rohloff drive train is pretty interesting. I have learned that thinking of this bike as having a clutch has made shifting easier. I spin the bike up, stop pedaling, shift two higher gears up, pedal, and so forth. Downshifts are similarly done and just hesitating a hair makes those shifts come easy as well. Just like pushing in a clutch on a manual shifted car. Anyway, that's how I think of it. Now I can zoom right along and shift willy-nilly whenever I want. It took a while to get the hang of it, but it works great.

At least the commuting rides have become interesting and fun. I never know what I might see, (and some of it I haven't wanted to!), plus the constant change along University Avenue is keeping me on my toes.

Ti Muk 2 Upgrade Path: Part 2

The Cake Eater 26" X 4.0" tires on the Ti Muk 2

Last week I outlined my "upgrade path" for the Ti Muk 2. As I stated then, the first order of business was to swap out the tires. I received the Cake Eater tires shortly afterward and set them up this past weekend.

Now, when I picked the bike up from Sam, I had no idea if the tires were set up tubeless or not. We never got around to talking about that. But when I dismounted the 45NRTH tires, I found out that they were set up tubeless. This was a process I was dreading a bit, having dealt with taking off fat bike tires set up tubeless at the shop where I work at. I knew about the Mulefut rims and how hard they were to deal with. But we just don't see a lot of Whiskey rims come through, so I wasn't experienced with that rim myself. Not tubeless anyway. So, I was really hoping that these weren't going to be the dreaded Mulefut experience. Thankfully, they were actually easier than some 29"er rims I've dealt with.

I did have to patch up the tape job on one wheel a bit, but overall, the set up was straight forward. Tip: When mounting up a fat bike tire first place the wheel inside of the carcass of the tire. Both beads should be outward of the rim. Then start working over each bead until it is inside the rim well. This technique is far easier than using the traditional mounting technique most of us use to mount other tires.

The Cake Eater tires are about 300 grams lighter a piece than what I was running. I used the "MG" home made sealant and the tires never weeped, burped, or did anything odd. They held pressure overnight. So far, so good.

I rode them to and from work yesterday and the smoother ride was readily apparent as was the speed. I was running about 10psi, but I think I can go a pound, maybe two lower and get some more smoothness out of them on harder surfaces. Coasting downhill was faster and so I know the rolling resistance of those 45NRTH tires was much higher. The Cake Eaters are not as voluminous nor quite as wide as the Flow/Dunderbeist tires I was using. Obviously, they also are not as knobby either. That's all to the good for my purposes for Summer and Fall riding.

So, the next bit to get is a rear rack. Then I will tidy up the generator light wiring. My friend Tony came into the shop and looked at my light mount. He has a similar one and Jones Bars as well. He advised me on a great way to mount the light mount and how he ran the wiring. So, when I get the rack I'll do that all at once.

That should about wrap up the upgrades. the fork? Meh....... I could live without that, and the expense is more than the benefit I might derive from it. Plus I have a fork made from metal. I like that idea. So, I am leaning toward not getting that upgrade.

More soon......

Ti Muk 2 Upgrade Path: Part 2

The Cake Eater 26" X 4.0" tires on the Ti Muk 2

Last week I outlined my "upgrade path" for the Ti Muk 2. As I stated then, the first order of business was to swap out the tires. I received the Cake Eater tires shortly afterward and set them up this past weekend.

Now, when I picked the bike up from Sam, I had no idea if the tires were set up tubeless or not. We never got around to talking about that. But when I dismounted the 45NRTH tires, I found out that they were set up tubeless. This was a process I was dreading a bit, having dealt with taking off fat bike tires set up tubeless at the shop where I work at. I knew about the Mulefut rims and how hard they were to deal with. But we just don't see a lot of Whiskey rims come through, so I wasn't experienced with that rim myself. Not tubeless anyway. So, I was really hoping that these weren't going to be the dreaded Mulefut experience. Thankfully, they were actually easier than some 29"er rims I've dealt with.

I did have to patch up the tape job on one wheel a bit, but overall, the set up was straight forward. Tip: When mounting up a fat bike tire first place the wheel inside of the carcass of the tire. Both beads should be outward of the rim. Then start working over each bead until it is inside the rim well. This technique is far easier than using the traditional mounting technique most of us use to mount other tires.

The Cake Eater tires are about 300 grams lighter a piece than what I was running. I used the "MG" home made sealant and the tires never weeped, burped, or did anything odd. They held pressure overnight. So far, so good.

I rode them to and from work yesterday and the smoother ride was readily apparent as was the speed. I was running about 10psi, but I think I can go a pound, maybe two lower and get some more smoothness out of them on harder surfaces. Coasting downhill was faster and so I know the rolling resistance of those 45NRTH tires was much higher. The Cake Eaters are not as voluminous nor quite as wide as the Flow/Dunderbeist tires I was using. Obviously, they also are not as knobby either. That's all to the good for my purposes for Summer and Fall riding.

So, the next bit to get is a rear rack. Then I will tidy up the generator light wiring. My friend Tony came into the shop and looked at my light mount. He has a similar one and Jones Bars as well. He advised me on a great way to mount the light mount and how he ran the wiring. So, when I get the rack I'll do that all at once.

That should about wrap up the upgrades. the fork? Meh....... I could live without that, and the expense is more than the benefit I might derive from it. Plus I have a fork made from metal. I like that idea. So, I am leaning toward not getting that upgrade.

More soon......

Ti Muk 2 Upgrade Path

 

Now that I have had the Ti Muk 2 for a bit I have a few things I want to get upgraded/straightened out on it. One thing is going to happen very soon here, the next thing fairly quickly, and the third thing probably not for a long time- if ever. 

The imminent upgrade happening is tires. the Ti Muk 2 came to me with Flowbeist and Dunderbeist tires which are great for traction but have a LOT of "rolling thunder", and they can be a lot of work on harder surfaces. Plus, I probably should save these for Winter and true off road.

So, I have a set of Terrene Cake Eaters coming. Lower knobs. Still has traction, but more for drier conditions and not bad on gravel. I have a big idea which a couple of other guys are wanting to join me for and those 45NRTH tires are just too rumbly and slow for this idea. Once those tires come in I will probably go tubless on the Whiskey carbon rims and see how that goes.

The second upgrade, which will happen soon is getting a rear rack. The reason for the rack is to get that rear generator light away from the rear tire and off that seat stay. It is in a position now that almost guarantees that I will destroy it. So, a rear rack settles that issue, and allows me versatility in carrying stuff, maybe even using panniers. The only question is what rack? Obviously the Salsa Alternator Rack is a good choice. If I can find a 170mm spaced one. Then I like the looks of the Tubus, but OMG! The thing is a tank. I don't need anything that gnarly. But anyway, whatever I get, I can then put that light on the back where it belongs and have a lead dress for the wiring that is tidy and safe.

The final upgrade is being considered, and I know what I want, but it will be so expensive, and not 100% necessary. I'm thinking about the fork. Salsa has a Kingpin Deluxe Fork with dynamo routing. Obviously that would really clean up the routing for the front end and make it more protected against harsh conditions. But.......five hundred clams. Ouch!

Stay tuned......more soon.

Ti Muk 2 Upgrade Path

 

Now that I have had the Ti Muk 2 for a bit I have a few things I want to get upgraded/straightened out on it. One thing is going to happen very soon here, the next thing fairly quickly, and the third thing probably not for a long time- if ever. 

The imminent upgrade happening is tires. the Ti Muk 2 came to me with Flowbeist and Dunderbeist tires which are great for traction but have a LOT of "rolling thunder", and they can be a lot of work on harder surfaces. Plus, I probably should save these for Winter and true off road.

So, I have a set of Terrene Cake Eaters coming. Lower knobs. Still has traction, but more for drier conditions and not bad on gravel. I have a big idea which a couple of other guys are wanting to join me for and those 45NRTH tires are just too rumbly and slow for this idea. Once those tires come in I will probably go tubless on the Whiskey carbon rims and see how that goes.

The second upgrade, which will happen soon is getting a rear rack. The reason for the rack is to get that rear generator light away from the rear tire and off that seat stay. It is in a position now that almost guarantees that I will destroy it. So, a rear rack settles that issue, and allows me versatility in carrying stuff, maybe even using panniers. The only question is what rack? Obviously the Salsa Alternator Rack is a good choice. If I can find a 170mm spaced one. Then I like the looks of the Tubus, but OMG! The thing is a tank. I don't need anything that gnarly. But anyway, whatever I get, I can then put that light on the back where it belongs and have a lead dress for the wiring that is tidy and safe.

The final upgrade is being considered, and I know what I want, but it will be so expensive, and not 100% necessary. I'm thinking about the fork. Salsa has a Kingpin Deluxe Fork with dynamo routing. Obviously that would really clean up the routing for the front end and make it more protected against harsh conditions. But.......five hundred clams. Ouch!

Stay tuned......more soon.