Friday News And Views

Take that!

29+ Gets A Boost:

With Surly's introduction of the "29+ platform, there was only one way to do things: Rabbit Hole Rims, Knard 29 X 3" tires, and a frame, (likely a Krampus), to stuff that in. While the Krampus is an awesome bike, it doesn't fit a lot of folk's needs/desires. So experimentations began and custom designs ensued.

All great stuff as well, but there was still only one game in town for wheels- the Rabbit Hole and Knard tires. Now all that is starting to change. Surly has teased a Dirt Wizzard tire, and now we have Velocity's "Dually" rims, which are just now starting to become available.

The Dually is an interesting rim in that it is a 45mm wide dual wall extrusion, unlike Surly's "sorta dual wall rim" which has chambers on the edges and is a single wall extrusion in the middle. The Velocity rim maybe sounds heavy?  Well, Velocity seems to be finding out that the 700c Dually is under 700 grams, which would be really amazing for a rim that wide.

Images used courtesy of Velocity USA

The Dually is also said to have a similar design to the Blunt rims, which work tubeless. Velocity is suggesting that their current blue rim tape will do the trick on these new Dually rims. You might notice that there is no "rim bead channel" extruded into the Dually, (judging from the rendering shown at right), but Velocity has been using a "shelf" design instead. It doesn't work with every tire, but I have had decent luck with the versions I have used. (P-35, Blunt SL)

The Dually will also be compatible with your 2.35-2.4"er 29"er tires as well. It should be fun to see what the 45mm width does to tires. I am betting some snow conditions will be perfect for a 2.4 Ardent, (as an example), on these rims. I used Ardents on P-35's with some limited success on snow. A bit wider rim should do even better and be very good at it. (Oh yeah......I'll be finding out for myself. Stay tuned.....)

T.I.V10:

With the turn of the calendar to Fall, things regarding T.I.V10 will start ramping up. I have been researching new course ideas and making preliminary route choices. Once I have something drafted up I will start recon, but that probably won't happen until next month.

There will also be some thought put into just how I am going to do Registration this time. I have already been getting asked about it, and I reckon it will go live in November at some point. (Clue: 10 years ago this coming November at a certain point in the month an idea was hatched. ) Anyway, look for updates on all that coming soon.

Finally, I am going to start a Trans Iowa related series that will post on Saturdays leading up to the registration for T.I.V10. I will pick out memories from each of the previous nine events and tell tales. Maybe there will be some things revealed that you never knew about, or interesting bits that will reveal how the event has evolved over the years. Look for the first installment tomorrow.

3GR: Let's do this again at the same time and place. Gates Swimming Pool lot @ 8:30am. We've been stopping at Cottonwood Canyon in Downtown W'loo afterward for a treat and a cuppa joe, just in case you want to join in for that as well. We've been getting around the course by either side of  11:00am most of the Summer, so you have an idea on time. Anyone is welcome on any bike, but keep in mind that a wider tire is better, and a road bike will certainly be trouble. See ya tomorrow!

With that I will sign off for today. Get out and enjoy the end of Summer and keep the rubber side down!

Friday News And Views

Take that!

29+ Gets A Boost:

With Surly's introduction of the "29+ platform, there was only one way to do things: Rabbit Hole Rims, Knard 29 X 3" tires, and a frame, (likely a Krampus), to stuff that in. While the Krampus is an awesome bike, it doesn't fit a lot of folk's needs/desires. So experimentations began and custom designs ensued.

All great stuff as well, but there was still only one game in town for wheels- the Rabbit Hole and Knard tires. Now all that is starting to change. Surly has teased a Dirt Wizzard tire, and now we have Velocity's "Dually" rims, which are just now starting to become available.

The Dually is an interesting rim in that it is a 45mm wide dual wall extrusion, unlike Surly's "sorta dual wall rim" which has chambers on the edges and is a single wall extrusion in the middle. The Velocity rim maybe sounds heavy?  Well, Velocity seems to be finding out that the 700c Dually is under 700 grams, which would be really amazing for a rim that wide.

Images used courtesy of Velocity USA

The Dually is also said to have a similar design to the Blunt rims, which work tubeless. Velocity is suggesting that their current blue rim tape will do the trick on these new Dually rims. You might notice that there is no "rim bead channel" extruded into the Dually, (judging from the rendering shown at right), but Velocity has been using a "shelf" design instead. It doesn't work with every tire, but I have had decent luck with the versions I have used. (P-35, Blunt SL)

The Dually will also be compatible with your 2.35-2.4"er 29"er tires as well. It should be fun to see what the 45mm width does to tires. I am betting some snow conditions will be perfect for a 2.4 Ardent, (as an example), on these rims. I used Ardents on P-35's with some limited success on snow. A bit wider rim should do even better and be very good at it. (Oh yeah......I'll be finding out for myself. Stay tuned.....)

T.I.V10:

With the turn of the calendar to Fall, things regarding T.I.V10 will start ramping up. I have been researching new course ideas and making preliminary route choices. Once I have something drafted up I will start recon, but that probably won't happen until next month.

There will also be some thought put into just how I am going to do Registration this time. I have already been getting asked about it, and I reckon it will go live in November at some point. (Clue: 10 years ago this coming November at a certain point in the month an idea was hatched. ) Anyway, look for updates on all that coming soon.

Finally, I am going to start a Trans Iowa related series that will post on Saturdays leading up to the registration for T.I.V10. I will pick out memories from each of the previous nine events and tell tales. Maybe there will be some things revealed that you never knew about, or interesting bits that will reveal how the event has evolved over the years. Look for the first installment tomorrow.

3GR: Let's do this again at the same time and place. Gates Swimming Pool lot @ 8:30am. We've been stopping at Cottonwood Canyon in Downtown W'loo afterward for a treat and a cuppa joe, just in case you want to join in for that as well. We've been getting around the course by either side of  11:00am most of the Summer, so you have an idea on time. Anyone is welcome on any bike, but keep in mind that a wider tire is better, and a road bike will certainly be trouble. See ya tomorrow!

With that I will sign off for today. Get out and enjoy the end of Summer and keep the rubber side down!

Bigger, Badder, And Green Metalflake!

Fat tires rule!

By now most bike geeks have seen this. Surly Bikes' newest crazy idea, the "Krampus". (Click on the name for its background) Surly has come up with a way to get around a previous barrier to 29"ers- that being the size of the largest ISO 622 bead tire one could make.

Previous to the Krampus, the largest sized 29"er tires could only be about 2.4-2.5 inches wide. This was due to mold machine constraints. Simply- a bigger tire just wouldn't fit in the mold machines available.

Obviously Surly has surmounted this issue in some way. The tires on the Krampus are 29 X 3.0, which would be the largest ISO 622 bead tire ever made, as far as I am aware. Pretty amazing right there, really, and a fact that is being looked over a bit in the hoopla surrounding the Krampus' arrival on the scene.

A couple of other interesting things stand out to me here. First, the tire, dubbed the "Knard", is said to weigh only 850 grams. Really? If that is true, then it must be a pretty thin tire in the side walls. Why is that? I have handled a lot of different 29"er tires. To get a lot of volume and low weight, you have to spread the butter pretty thin over the toast. I have not seen the 3.0" tire, but I know it can't weigh what they say it does without being pretty thin. For example, I have a pretty burly 2.25" tire in hand here. One I would trust to bash around in rocks, hold up tubeless, and be overall a durable, long lasting tire for general trail riding. Weight? 870 grams.

Get the picture?

So what is the Knard going to be good for? Probably lots of stuff. I'm just saying it isn't going to be very durable, most likely, for hard chargers riding in rock infested places where folks shred tires a lot.

Don't get me wrong here, I am excited about this tire and platform. I really am interested in getting one of these, but it isn't going to be my first choice for bashing into rough stuff. The dirt we have here wouldn't be an issue, most likely, and I can think of lots of places I want to ride a bike like this.

Secondly, going along with the places I want to ride a bike like this- I think the Krampus is the ideal platform for longer, really rough road/back road/fire road riding in a bike packing set up. The tires should exhibit lots of grip, and with the volume, lots of suspension. Plus, a bit lower angle of attack should smooth out bumps even more than a typical 29"er. It appears the Krampus has rack mounts, so frame bag set ups or rack set ups should be possible.

My only issue is that it appears from sneak peeks I've seen that the Krampus is limited to a single front chain ring. That limits gearing choices. Looks like it is time I bought a Rohloff!

UPDATE: Now learning the MSRP on the complete with 1 X 10 SLX drivetrain is $1950.00, available in March 2013. Frames, rims, and tires should be in this fall with a MSRP on the frame set @ $750.00 Total weight for bike as shown = 30lbs. This is said to be Surly's toughest, heaviest tube set yet developed.

Bigger, Badder, And Green Metalflake!

Fat tires rule!

By now most bike geeks have seen this. Surly Bikes' newest crazy idea, the "Krampus". (Click on the name for its background) Surly has come up with a way to get around a previous barrier to 29"ers- that being the size of the largest ISO 622 bead tire one could make.

Previous to the Krampus, the largest sized 29"er tires could only be about 2.4-2.5 inches wide. This was due to mold machine constraints. Simply- a bigger tire just wouldn't fit in the mold machines available.

Obviously Surly has surmounted this issue in some way. The tires on the Krampus are 29 X 3.0, which would be the largest ISO 622 bead tire ever made, as far as I am aware. Pretty amazing right there, really, and a fact that is being looked over a bit in the hoopla surrounding the Krampus' arrival on the scene.

A couple of other interesting things stand out to me here. First, the tire, dubbed the "Knard", is said to weigh only 850 grams. Really? If that is true, then it must be a pretty thin tire in the side walls. Why is that? I have handled a lot of different 29"er tires. To get a lot of volume and low weight, you have to spread the butter pretty thin over the toast. I have not seen the 3.0" tire, but I know it can't weigh what they say it does without being pretty thin. For example, I have a pretty burly 2.25" tire in hand here. One I would trust to bash around in rocks, hold up tubeless, and be overall a durable, long lasting tire for general trail riding. Weight? 870 grams.

Get the picture?

So what is the Knard going to be good for? Probably lots of stuff. I'm just saying it isn't going to be very durable, most likely, for hard chargers riding in rock infested places where folks shred tires a lot.

Don't get me wrong here, I am excited about this tire and platform. I really am interested in getting one of these, but it isn't going to be my first choice for bashing into rough stuff. The dirt we have here wouldn't be an issue, most likely, and I can think of lots of places I want to ride a bike like this.

Secondly, going along with the places I want to ride a bike like this- I think the Krampus is the ideal platform for longer, really rough road/back road/fire road riding in a bike packing set up. The tires should exhibit lots of grip, and with the volume, lots of suspension. Plus, a bit lower angle of attack should smooth out bumps even more than a typical 29"er. It appears the Krampus has rack mounts, so frame bag set ups or rack set ups should be possible.

My only issue is that it appears from sneak peeks I've seen that the Krampus is limited to a single front chain ring. That limits gearing choices. Looks like it is time I bought a Rohloff!

UPDATE: Now learning the MSRP on the complete with 1 X 10 SLX drivetrain is $1950.00, available in March 2013. Frames, rims, and tires should be in this fall with a MSRP on the frame set @ $750.00 Total weight for bike as shown = 30lbs. This is said to be Surly's toughest, heaviest tube set yet developed.