Salsa Cycles Anything Cage HD: An Update

The Anything Cage HD is a new version of Salsa Cycles "rack" for front forks or down tubes that is designed to carry any "roundish" object. The initial review can be found HERE. There you will learn about the cage and my initial two week test period using the cages on my Salsa Cycles Blackborow DS.

I took note of a comment in the initial introduction on Salsa's site that claimed the Anything Cage idea was rubbish for water bottles or hard cylindrical objects. Claiming that one would have issues retaining such objects and removing/replacing those objects in a secure manner, the commenter was pointing to a soft side type alternative. While that is certainly a valid way to go, the claims of poor security and usefulness of the Anything Cage HD for water bottles or hard, cylindrical objects has been disproven in my experience since I have posted my initial review.

For the test I chose various vessels that had varying levels of rigidity. Stainless steel cylinders, hard plastic "insulated" bottles, and traditional water bottles for cycling were all used during this test. I even packed a water bottle in with some soft outer wear into a dry bag, making for a mixed soft/hard load, to test a "roundish" type load for good measure.

Wrapping the Anything Cage straps twice around the bottles worked great.

I'll admit that one of my reservations in using the Anything Cage HD was a possibility of not having the capability to carry water bottles along on the fork blades. For me, that has been a great way to get water off my back and on the bike, making for a less stressed body after a long day in the saddle. I assumed that if I could make the Anything Cage HD work with water bottles, I would lose the ability to grab a bottle on the go from the fork, but at least I could possibly have that amount of water to switch out to a place I could get at it on the run. I assumed an ability to quickly switch out bottles without unnecessarily undoing the straps and re-lacing them again. If that couldn't happen, I would deem the experiment a failure.

Happily I am able to report that one does not have to totally undo the strapping, if you use the technique I employed. This involves wrapping the Salsa Anything Cage strap twice around the cage, the fork blade, and your bottle, if you use a smaller standard sized bicycle water bottle. One of the claims against using straps like the Anything Cage Straps was that they would simply slide on the smoother vessels used for water and not tighten against them to secure them. This is not an issue at all if one knows how to tighten the strap with a quick flick of the wrist. Once the strap gets a bite on the vessel it can be further snugged up if you desire by tugging, as usual, on the end of the strap. A bonus if you have a typical bottle that features the indentation for an old fashioned cage to retain a water bottle is that you can place your upper strap there to gain further assurance that you won't eject the bottle on rough terrain.

It is also important to note that I did use the strapping going only once around the bottles. This did not affect the stability or use of the bottles with the Anything Cage HD, but the resulting extra strapping was annoying and could possibly get into your spokes while riding unless you secure them. Be careful with that!  Going around twice eliminated that possibility, and probably gave me a bit of extra purchase on my loads.

I tried ejecting the bottles by going over some whoop-de-doos like these and anything rough to no avail.

Verdict: While it is true that I cannot access the bottles in the Anything Cage HD on the fork blades while riding, I can easily slightly loosen the straps by flicking the buckle upward. This loosens the straps just enough to get the bottle out. A new bottle, or the one you just removed, can be inserted into the two loops of strapping formed by carrying the previous bottle and then by simply re-tightening the straps, you are good to go. You can even swap out bottles of different diameters fairly quickly and easily.

Security of bottles held in this manner is not a concern at all. I was not able to lose a bottle, even if I left the straps loose enough to remove a bottle by hand. They did move and "jump" up and down a bit though! Still, if I was careful to strap the bottle in tightly, it never came loose. Even after days of riding. I have total faith in the security of carrying water bottles in this manner with the Anything Cage HD, and it is easy to remove and replace bottles at will, as long as you are stopped while doing so.

By the way, that dry bag with a mixed hard/soft load? Not at all an issue to carry either. So, as a wrap up, there is no real disadvantage to using an Anything Cage HD as intended on a fork blade or down tube of a bike equipped with the requisite triple bosses. If you need to haul a roundish load, or hard side cylindrical objects, as long as they fit the cage reasonably well, you should have no problems getting your cargo safely to your destination.

The Anything Cage HD's came from Salsa Cycles at no charge and I will strive to use my honest thoughts and opinions about these products here and in the future.

Trans Iowa V11: A Look At The Rules Part 17

 Last year I did a historical overview of each Trans Iowa up to T.I.V9. This year I am going to revisit something that I feel many folks have overlooked for a long time; The "Race Rules".

Last week I posted about the self-suported factor and having a "pit crew of one" HERE.  This week I will discuss the use of cell phones for Trans Iowa. Let's look at the rule......


19: A cell phone is highly recommended. Make sure you know how to use it.

Okay, back in 2005 there were still a fair amount of "cell phone hold-outs". Smart phones weren't a big deal, the iPhone was still two years away, and if you had a nice cell phone, it probably was one of those smaller, "flip phones", like the Motorola Razor. They didn't do much beyond allowing you to talk and to listen to music files.

The intention for this rule then was to make sure that a rider could "call in the cavalry" if that should become necessary. Allowing for the prehistoric functionality of those earlier cell phones, and the spotty coverage, we were being rather optimistic here. Essentially, most early T.I. riders were likely really out there on their own back in those days.

That's me on the right calling in a Trans Iowa Radio post during T.I.V6

Slowly cell phones became more useful, and with Trans Iowa V5, I realized that maybe cell phones were becoming a big issue in a few ways. My first inkling was when one of our volunteers showed me his GPS function and maps- right on his phone. So, riders potentially could pinpoint right where they were at, and maybe use that to cheat? I didn't know for sure, but thoughts of riders getting cached supplies and meeting support in the hinterlands suddenly became very real possibilities.

The next thing that I figured out post-T.I.V5 was that some riders were being "coached", encouraged, and cajoled via relatives or friends during cell phone conversations. Suddenly, cell phones went from being a hoped for safety net to an outright way to cheat at Trans Iowa. I sweat over this for a bit, posted admonitions, and eventually had to let it go to a degree, since if someone really wanted to cheat in this manner, they are only cheating themselves. I think a bit of this has gone away since we started having Mountain Bike Radio host the Trans Iowa Radio call ins from riders. A very positive step in cell phone usage!

Next Week: Help A Brotha Out.

Trans Iowa V11: A Look At The Rules Part 17

 Last year I did a historical overview of each Trans Iowa up to T.I.V9. This year I am going to revisit something that I feel many folks have overlooked for a long time; The "Race Rules".

Last week I posted about the self-suported factor and having a "pit crew of one" HERE.  This week I will discuss the use of cell phones for Trans Iowa. Let's look at the rule......


19: A cell phone is highly recommended. Make sure you know how to use it.

Okay, back in 2005 there were still a fair amount of "cell phone hold-outs". Smart phones weren't a big deal, the iPhone was still two years away, and if you had a nice cell phone, it probably was one of those smaller, "flip phones", like the Motorola Razor. They didn't do much beyond allowing you to talk and to listen to music files.

The intention for this rule then was to make sure that a rider could "call in the cavalry" if that should become necessary. Allowing for the prehistoric functionality of those earlier cell phones, and the spotty coverage, we were being rather optimistic here. Essentially, most early T.I. riders were likely really out there on their own back in those days.

That's me on the right calling in a Trans Iowa Radio post during T.I.V6

Slowly cell phones became more useful, and with Trans Iowa V5, I realized that maybe cell phones were becoming a big issue in a few ways. My first inkling was when one of our volunteers showed me his GPS function and maps- right on his phone. So, riders potentially could pinpoint right where they were at, and maybe use that to cheat? I didn't know for sure, but thoughts of riders getting cached supplies and meeting support in the hinterlands suddenly became very real possibilities.

The next thing that I figured out post-T.I.V5 was that some riders were being "coached", encouraged, and cajoled via relatives or friends during cell phone conversations. Suddenly, cell phones went from being a hoped for safety net to an outright way to cheat at Trans Iowa. I sweat over this for a bit, posted admonitions, and eventually had to let it go to a degree, since if someone really wanted to cheat in this manner, they are only cheating themselves. I think a bit of this has gone away since we started having Mountain Bike Radio host the Trans Iowa Radio call ins from riders. A very positive step in cell phone usage!

Next Week: Help A Brotha Out.

News And Views: The Day Late Edition!

Ready for hunting season?

Niner Doesn't Do A Fat Bike:

Several days previous to Thursday of this past week, Niner Bikes was teasing a "new model" bike to be revealed the 16th. Rumors were running rampant that they would introduce a fat bike, or maybe a B+/Mid-Fat bike. Thankfully, and wisely- they did neither of those things.

Now I can hear you out there, (well......not really, but it is a figure of speech!), saying something like "why in the world would you think that they shouldn't do a fat bike?" That's easy........because everyone is doing a fat bike. Honestly- there are so many fat bikes now I cannot imagine the marketplace has moved to seeing them as mountain bikes enough to support more entries into the market now. Later? Maybe. Things like the Bucksaw, King Kahn, and Foes new full suspension fatty might start a change there, but it will take a while.

Anywho....Niner basically evolved the three models they waved their wand over, and in a world where most companies are pushing the next big thing, it is refreshing to see a company not only refine, but push mid to entry level bikes in their line ups to new levels.

Carbon rim, knobbly tire, and tubelessness = awesome.

Fat Bike Tubeless:

I recently had the opportunity to build a set of fat bike carbon fiber rim wheels and set the tires up tubeless. Here's my take on the system- the Whiskey #9 rim, and the 45NRTH Vanhelga tires, which are rated tubeless ready.

Whiskey #9 rim: Now this isn't my first rodeo with carbon rims. I've built a few sets dating way back to 2003. I know what carbon rims feel like when built, and I have to say that the Whiskey #9 rims acted more like their metallic brethren than not. They were out of round by a tic, untrue by a tic, and one was slightly less in diameter than the other. All things not uncommon at all with run of the mill aluminum rims, but definitely not what I expected from rims that cost this much and made from carbon fiber. Does it really matter? Well, you should expect better tolerances at these prices, but really, as long as I was able to true it all up- no. It doesn't really matter. It just is. 

As for the tubeless nature of these rims, well they worked perfectly with the Vanhelgas. More on that in a bit....

Vanhelga Tires: Okay, first off, the tread pattern is aggressive, the tread blocks are soft, but they don't just fold over, and the bead talon looked really good from the aspect of being tubeless ready. I didn't weigh these, but they felt reasonably light. Now for mounting. Oh my God! The fit the first time was super tight. My hands ached for two days after mounting these with tubes to set the tape on the inside of the rim well. Oh.......and the rim tape flat out sucks. If you buy Whiskey #9 rims, you will get a roll of this worthless blue tape. Tell your wheel tech, or if you build yourself, be advised, not to use the stuff. I got it to work, but Stan's would be waaaaay better. Why? Because the Whiskey tape is stiff, non-compliant, and wrinkles if you look at it sideways. Trust me, it is one of the worst tubeless tapes I have ever been exposed to. Okay.....now on to the good stuff!

The tires set up with a simple floor pump. I used Dawn dish soap in a straight from the bottle application to the beads to allow them to pop into place easily. I got the beads to set up at 20psi this way. There was zero leakage from the beads or valve stem (Which is the excellent Bontrager valve stem, by the way). I used 6oz of Stan's in each tire and after a couple wrinkles in the tape were sealed up, I had no leakage after 48 hours. Good to go.

The Vanhelgas on the 70mm wide Whiskey rims were about 5mm wider than the 45NRTH Dillingers on Marge Lites and waaay lighter. A worthy upgrade here. These are not my wheels nor is it my bike, but if I get further feedback, I'll pass it along.

Bottom Line: Expensive, but effective tubeless system for fat bikes with a few "wrinkles" that need ironing out.

Snow tested.

Blackborow DS Update Coming Soon:

I have had the Blackborow DS in the snow a couple of times since I got it, but I want to see if we get some truly deep, thick snow cover before I give my final assessment on this new model from Salsa Cycles.

So far, I have seen the bike do things that I was hoping for. It is more stable due to great geometry and wider, grippier tires and wide rims. Those Lou tires have a really good roll on hard pack or pavement, but those paddles really give me greater traction than I've ever experienced on a fat bike before. The "DS" part has been rust free and has given me no worries so far. This is especially good seeing as how I have dealt with wet, "car snow" of late, which is usually the worst thing for bicycle drive trains around here.

Finally, I have taken note of a couple of negative comments left on the Salsa Anything Cage HD review I did and I have tested for those comments. A review update is coming which I think you might find very interesting from the stand point of how the straps work with non-round and smaller water bottle type loads.

Okay- that's a wrap. Have a great weekend and ride yer bikes!

News And Views: The Day Late Edition!

Ready for hunting season?

Niner Doesn't Do A Fat Bike:

Several days previous to Thursday of this past week, Niner Bikes was teasing a "new model" bike to be revealed the 16th. Rumors were running rampant that they would introduce a fat bike, or maybe a B+/Mid-Fat bike. Thankfully, and wisely- they did neither of those things.

Now I can hear you out there, (well......not really, but it is a figure of speech!), saying something like "why in the world would you think that they shouldn't do a fat bike?" That's easy........because everyone is doing a fat bike. Honestly- there are so many fat bikes now I cannot imagine the marketplace has moved to seeing them as mountain bikes enough to support more entries into the market now. Later? Maybe. Things like the Bucksaw, King Kahn, and Foes new full suspension fatty might start a change there, but it will take a while.

Anywho....Niner basically evolved the three models they waved their wand over, and in a world where most companies are pushing the next big thing, it is refreshing to see a company not only refine, but push mid to entry level bikes in their line ups to new levels.

Carbon rim, knobbly tire, and tubelessness = awesome.

Fat Bike Tubeless:

I recently had the opportunity to build a set of fat bike carbon fiber rim wheels and set the tires up tubeless. Here's my take on the system- the Whiskey #9 rim, and the 45NRTH Vanhelga tires, which are rated tubeless ready.

Whiskey #9 rim: Now this isn't my first rodeo with carbon rims. I've built a few sets dating way back to 2003. I know what carbon rims feel like when built, and I have to say that the Whiskey #9 rims acted more like their metallic brethren than not. They were out of round by a tic, untrue by a tic, and one was slightly less in diameter than the other. All things not uncommon at all with run of the mill aluminum rims, but definitely not what I expected from rims that cost this much and made from carbon fiber. Does it really matter? Well, you should expect better tolerances at these prices, but really, as long as I was able to true it all up- no. It doesn't really matter. It just is. 

As for the tubeless nature of these rims, well they worked perfectly with the Vanhelgas. More on that in a bit....

Vanhelga Tires: Okay, first off, the tread pattern is aggressive, the tread blocks are soft, but they don't just fold over, and the bead talon looked really good from the aspect of being tubeless ready. I didn't weigh these, but they felt reasonably light. Now for mounting. Oh my God! The fit the first time was super tight. My hands ached for two days after mounting these with tubes to set the tape on the inside of the rim well. Oh.......and the rim tape flat out sucks. If you buy Whiskey #9 rims, you will get a roll of this worthless blue tape. Tell your wheel tech, or if you build yourself, be advised, not to use the stuff. I got it to work, but Stan's would be waaaaay better. Why? Because the Whiskey tape is stiff, non-compliant, and wrinkles if you look at it sideways. Trust me, it is one of the worst tubeless tapes I have ever been exposed to. Okay.....now on to the good stuff!

The tires set up with a simple floor pump. I used Dawn dish soap in a straight from the bottle application to the beads to allow them to pop into place easily. I got the beads to set up at 20psi this way. There was zero leakage from the beads or valve stem (Which is the excellent Bontrager valve stem, by the way). I used 6oz of Stan's in each tire and after a couple wrinkles in the tape were sealed up, I had no leakage after 48 hours. Good to go.

The Vanhelgas on the 70mm wide Whiskey rims were about 5mm wider than the 45NRTH Dillingers on Marge Lites and waaay lighter. A worthy upgrade here. These are not my wheels nor is it my bike, but if I get further feedback, I'll pass it along.

Bottom Line: Expensive, but effective tubeless system for fat bikes with a few "wrinkles" that need ironing out.

Snow tested.

Blackborow DS Update Coming Soon:

I have had the Blackborow DS in the snow a couple of times since I got it, but I want to see if we get some truly deep, thick snow cover before I give my final assessment on this new model from Salsa Cycles.

So far, I have seen the bike do things that I was hoping for. It is more stable due to great geometry and wider, grippier tires and wide rims. Those Lou tires have a really good roll on hard pack or pavement, but those paddles really give me greater traction than I've ever experienced on a fat bike before. The "DS" part has been rust free and has given me no worries so far. This is especially good seeing as how I have dealt with wet, "car snow" of late, which is usually the worst thing for bicycle drive trains around here.

Finally, I have taken note of a couple of negative comments left on the Salsa Anything Cage HD review I did and I have tested for those comments. A review update is coming which I think you might find very interesting from the stand point of how the straps work with non-round and smaller water bottle type loads.

Okay- that's a wrap. Have a great weekend and ride yer bikes!

#psyck Part 2

Ahh......so where are all the fat bike tracks?!!

Having been put out of commission for about two weeks and getting very little in the way of "fun riding" in, I have been getting a bit grumpy of late. Fortunately for those around me, I was (mostly) able to keep "Mr. Grumpypants" in check. There were a few unfiltered outbursts, but that seems to be in the past now. In fact, I can say that this flu- or whatever it is- has finally been starting to come out of me.

It has been getting good enough that I decided to risk riding to work on Wednesday and back. I'll tell ya what- that was an eye opener! My fitness has flown South with the birds in search of warmer, and healthier, weather. My heart rate was so intense going up the hill by the water tower that I allowed myself a five minute cool down period. That was going to work. Coming home I took it easy and yesterday I felt fine waking up, so at least I wasn't going backward on my health gains. Another commute to work, and this time I didn't have to take a break going.

Now after work, I was going to take "the long way home", but how long was the question. I didn't want to over do it, but I also wanted to explore what I had been missing the past week and a half or so with regard to snow opportunities on the fat bike. I figured I would find a nicely tracked in trail. As I got down on Hackett going underneath the Trolley Car Trail overpass, I saw a familiar figure with some XC skis and his wife in tow. He said something about my fat bike and said that he had seen "your tracks all over". Well......they weren't my tracks! But that bode well for finding tracked in trail. Only it didn't.

In all my meandering, I found one set of fat bike tracks and lots of ped traffic and dog paw marks. Oh well! I made some tracks, but seeing as how the temperature was 35°F yesterday, and will be that for today and tomorrow, the snow is going to take a big hit. At least I got to get in one decent ride on snow. Who knows what February will bring, but January looks to close out with little to no snow as the forecast looks a bit too warm with no precip coming, at least that's the outlook now. Hopefully my outlook is for better health in the coming days!

#psyck Part 2

Ahh......so where are all the fat bike tracks?!!

Having been put out of commission for about two weeks and getting very little in the way of "fun riding" in, I have been getting a bit grumpy of late. Fortunately for those around me, I was (mostly) able to keep "Mr. Grumpypants" in check. There were a few unfiltered outbursts, but that seems to be in the past now. In fact, I can say that this flu- or whatever it is- has finally been starting to come out of me.

It has been getting good enough that I decided to risk riding to work on Wednesday and back. I'll tell ya what- that was an eye opener! My fitness has flown South with the birds in search of warmer, and healthier, weather. My heart rate was so intense going up the hill by the water tower that I allowed myself a five minute cool down period. That was going to work. Coming home I took it easy and yesterday I felt fine waking up, so at least I wasn't going backward on my health gains. Another commute to work, and this time I didn't have to take a break going.

Now after work, I was going to take "the long way home", but how long was the question. I didn't want to over do it, but I also wanted to explore what I had been missing the past week and a half or so with regard to snow opportunities on the fat bike. I figured I would find a nicely tracked in trail. As I got down on Hackett going underneath the Trolley Car Trail overpass, I saw a familiar figure with some XC skis and his wife in tow. He said something about my fat bike and said that he had seen "your tracks all over". Well......they weren't my tracks! But that bode well for finding tracked in trail. Only it didn't.

In all my meandering, I found one set of fat bike tracks and lots of ped traffic and dog paw marks. Oh well! I made some tracks, but seeing as how the temperature was 35°F yesterday, and will be that for today and tomorrow, the snow is going to take a big hit. At least I got to get in one decent ride on snow. Who knows what February will bring, but January looks to close out with little to no snow as the forecast looks a bit too warm with no precip coming, at least that's the outlook now. Hopefully my outlook is for better health in the coming days!

Thinking About The "Rat Bike"

 A Raleigh Willard One at the shop where I work

Okay, if you've been poking around here for a while you already know what I think a "gravel bike" should be like. Not that you should have one like it, but it's been my ideal, if you will, cogitated over many, many miles of gravel and experiences over the years. That said, my ramblings struck a nerve with some folks and in another stunning turn of events, Raleigh actually took some of my ideas and turned them into the Tamland. Then they went and switched the frame and fork materials, spec'ed the bike differently to some degree, and called it the Willard.

Now, when I found out about the aluminum framed, carbon fiber forked Willard, two thoughts immediately jumped into my head- One was that my high school sweetheart's Dad was named Willard. The other was the movie by the same name. If you are familiar with that movie, you know it is a horror flick about killer rats. In my mind, (admittedly, a twisted mass of neurons), the Raleigh Willard is "The Rat Bike". Well, that's my own issue, and not what I was wanting to get into here, so......

The Ra.....er.....Willard Two!

Al-yoo-min-yum. The material chosen to construct the two models of the Willard from, is an interesting choice here. Sure.....lots of lesser expensive road bikes share this material, but they are not going on the "paint shaker-like" surfaces we ride on out here, in general. That alloy stuff has a reputation, ya know, and it may not be true, but many feel that aluminum is a rough riding frame material. I don't think that it necessarily has to be that way, but if you've ever noticed, many companies are not flouting a "compliant aluminum alloy frame" in their marketing materials. I suppose that's got more to do with that aforementioned "reputation" that aluminum has than anything else. That said, I'd like to put my suspicions to rest and see if this, or some other aluminum frame might actually be a nice riding frame set. 

I know- lots of you out there are thinking this is a stupid thing. No way an aluminum frame rides nicely in the same or similar manner as a steel or carbon frame can, right? Well, I am thinking it is a possibility, and maybe, just maybe, this here  Raleigh number can do it. If not the Willard, why couldn't it be another aluminum frame? I mean, look how much an air frame flexes, fer cryin' out loud. I would think someone could figure out how to make a bicycle frame in aluminum do that. Oh wait.......they already did. Vitus anyone?

Anyway, just some crazy thinking around these parts for today. Nuthin' unusual!

Bonus: Here's a cool video I received from a French manufacturer that is pushing the gravel scene in France

Thinking About The "Rat Bike"

 A Raleigh Willard One at the shop where I work

Okay, if you've been poking around here for a while you already know what I think a "gravel bike" should be like. Not that you should have one like it, but it's been my ideal, if you will, cogitated over many, many miles of gravel and experiences over the years. That said, my ramblings struck a nerve with some folks and in another stunning turn of events, Raleigh actually took some of my ideas and turned them into the Tamland. Then they went and switched the frame and fork materials, spec'ed the bike differently to some degree, and called it the Willard.

Now, when I found out about the aluminum framed, carbon fiber forked Willard, two thoughts immediately jumped into my head- One was that my high school sweetheart's Dad was named Willard. The other was the movie by the same name. If you are familiar with that movie, you know it is a horror flick about killer rats. In my mind, (admittedly, a twisted mass of neurons), the Raleigh Willard is "The Rat Bike". Well, that's my own issue, and not what I was wanting to get into here, so......

The Ra.....er.....Willard Two!

Al-yoo-min-yum. The material chosen to construct the two models of the Willard from, is an interesting choice here. Sure.....lots of lesser expensive road bikes share this material, but they are not going on the "paint shaker-like" surfaces we ride on out here, in general. That alloy stuff has a reputation, ya know, and it may not be true, but many feel that aluminum is a rough riding frame material. I don't think that it necessarily has to be that way, but if you've ever noticed, many companies are not flouting a "compliant aluminum alloy frame" in their marketing materials. I suppose that's got more to do with that aforementioned "reputation" that aluminum has than anything else. That said, I'd like to put my suspicions to rest and see if this, or some other aluminum frame might actually be a nice riding frame set. 

I know- lots of you out there are thinking this is a stupid thing. No way an aluminum frame rides nicely in the same or similar manner as a steel or carbon frame can, right? Well, I am thinking it is a possibility, and maybe, just maybe, this here  Raleigh number can do it. If not the Willard, why couldn't it be another aluminum frame? I mean, look how much an air frame flexes, fer cryin' out loud. I would think someone could figure out how to make a bicycle frame in aluminum do that. Oh wait.......they already did. Vitus anyone?

Anyway, just some crazy thinking around these parts for today. Nuthin' unusual!

Bonus: Here's a cool video I received from a French manufacturer that is pushing the gravel scene in France

Pivot LES Fat: One Bike To Rule Them All?

The new Pivot Cycles "LES Fat" hard tail Image courtesy of Pivot

Last year I rode a bicycle that really opened up my eyes. It was a Borealis Echo set up not as a fat bike, but as a 29+ bike and it had a Rock Shox Bluto fork with that same company's excellent dropper post.

Their weren't too many bikes I wanted to keep as a test rider for Twenty Nine Inches, but the Echo, so equipped, was one. I had it up at the Volga Recreation Area, a place where there are big hills, challenging climbs, lots of sand, and chunky rocks here and there. In short, it has every tough feature a Mid-Western trail might have.

The Echo slayed the place, and with the 1X11 drive train and 3 inch wide rubber, it was a hoot to ride. It made me want to ride there all day, and then go find harder places to ride, because it was so capable, like a fat bike, but it was light and nimble, like a carbon hard tail. So... Well, here we have the next evolution of such an idea. Perhaps a "one bike solution" for many people.

The Pivot Cycles LES Fat is a fat bike, of course, but there are several details, and one big important one, that set this apart from many in the crowd. First of all, Pivot designed this to be different from most fat bikes because they wanted it to work with 26" X 4", 26" X 5", 27.5" X 3+", and 29+ wheel sizes. To do this, Pivot realized that 26 X 4 and "Mid-Fat" wheels have about the same wheel diameter, but 26" X 5" and 29+, which are very similar in wheel diameter to each other, are bigger wheels than the first two mentioned. Yes- by a significant amount. Regular fat bike sized wheels and "Mid-Fat" based on 27.5" has a slightly smaller than 29" diameter, while the other two measure out at slightly more than 31" in diameter. Big difference, and this causes handling and ergonomic issues.

Image courtesy of Pivot. (Red arrows are my addition!)

To allow for a swap of wheels and to keep the geometry mostly the same in all configurations, Pivot designed a special "lower cup" which can be removed to accommodate longer axle to crown measurements and not "jack up" your geometry. (Pun intended- See the image at the right for a visual)

This means that when you use a Bluto fork, and account for sag, you have removed the lower cup and you can retain the same front end angles, bottom  bracket height, and seat tube angle as you had while running rigid. 29+, 5" width tires, and Bluto forks would all be used without the lower cup. Mid-fat and "normal" sized 3.8"-4.0" fat bike rubber in rigid mode would stay with the lower cup in the head tube. Bottom bracket height can be further controlled by the swinger drop outs which go back and up to accommodate a taller back wheel.

 Those same swinging rear drop outs will allow for single speed set ups, or for tweaking the wheel base. Pivot's ported internal routing is cool, and a "stealth route" for a dropper post is also designed into this frame. Finally, an axle standard I thought might prove to become the new "standard" is seen here- 197mm X 12mm through axle rear and 150mm X 15mm through axle front is on this bike. The front wheel will swap straight into a Bluto fork. Nice.

An intriguing detail on the new LES Fat is the e-13 co-designed with Pivot fat bike crank which is said to work with 5" wide tires but still have a "tread width" or "Q Factor" which is  closer to a rear 170mmOLD hub. Pivot says it works for better ergonomic feeling especially in regard to knees and hips. However; they also claim a good chain line with a 5" tire and an ability to run a double front chain ring set up. That I'd have to see.

So, could something like this be your Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall rig? Could the addition of a Bluto fork extend the range of this bike such that you'd never want a full suspension device? Could it be a fat bike, a "Mid-fat" bike, and a 29+ rig so you'd never want another weirdo hard tail? Maybe. The wider bottom bracket is still going to freak out many folks. (Physically and mentally) So there is that big hurdle. Oh yeah.........and the Pivot LESS Fat is expensive! There is that too. But if you can swing the dough, there isn't a bike out there with cooler details that is this versatile. I bet I'd get on with it just fine.

Pivot LES Fat: One Bike To Rule Them All?

The new Pivot Cycles "LES Fat" hard tail Image courtesy of Pivot

Last year I rode a bicycle that really opened up my eyes. It was a Borealis Echo set up not as a fat bike, but as a 29+ bike and it had a Rock Shox Bluto fork with that same company's excellent dropper post.

Their weren't too many bikes I wanted to keep as a test rider for Twenty Nine Inches, but the Echo, so equipped, was one. I had it up at the Volga Recreation Area, a place where there are big hills, challenging climbs, lots of sand, and chunky rocks here and there. In short, it has every tough feature a Mid-Western trail might have.

The Echo slayed the place, and with the 1X11 drive train and 3 inch wide rubber, it was a hoot to ride. It made me want to ride there all day, and then go find harder places to ride, because it was so capable, like a fat bike, but it was light and nimble, like a carbon hard tail. So... Well, here we have the next evolution of such an idea. Perhaps a "one bike solution" for many people.

The Pivot Cycles LES Fat is a fat bike, of course, but there are several details, and one big important one, that set this apart from many in the crowd. First of all, Pivot designed this to be different from most fat bikes because they wanted it to work with 26" X 4", 26" X 5", 27.5" X 3+", and 29+ wheel sizes. To do this, Pivot realized that 26 X 4 and "Mid-Fat" wheels have about the same wheel diameter, but 26" X 5" and 29+, which are very similar in wheel diameter to each other, are bigger wheels than the first two mentioned. Yes- by a significant amount. Regular fat bike sized wheels and "Mid-Fat" based on 27.5" has a slightly smaller than 29" diameter, while the other two measure out at slightly more than 31" in diameter. Big difference, and this causes handling and ergonomic issues.

Image courtesy of Pivot. (Red arrows are my addition!)

To allow for a swap of wheels and to keep the geometry mostly the same in all configurations, Pivot designed a special "lower cup" which can be removed to accommodate longer axle to crown measurements and not "jack up" your geometry. (Pun intended- See the image at the right for a visual)

This means that when you use a Bluto fork, and account for sag, you have removed the lower cup and you can retain the same front end angles, bottom  bracket height, and seat tube angle as you had while running rigid. 29+, 5" width tires, and Bluto forks would all be used without the lower cup. Mid-fat and "normal" sized 3.8"-4.0" fat bike rubber in rigid mode would stay with the lower cup in the head tube. Bottom bracket height can be further controlled by the swinger drop outs which go back and up to accommodate a taller back wheel.

 Those same swinging rear drop outs will allow for single speed set ups, or for tweaking the wheel base. Pivot's ported internal routing is cool, and a "stealth route" for a dropper post is also designed into this frame. Finally, an axle standard I thought might prove to become the new "standard" is seen here- 197mm X 12mm through axle rear and 150mm X 15mm through axle front is on this bike. The front wheel will swap straight into a Bluto fork. Nice.

An intriguing detail on the new LES Fat is the e-13 co-designed with Pivot fat bike crank which is said to work with 5" wide tires but still have a "tread width" or "Q Factor" which is  closer to a rear 170mmOLD hub. Pivot says it works for better ergonomic feeling especially in regard to knees and hips. However; they also claim a good chain line with a 5" tire and an ability to run a double front chain ring set up. That I'd have to see.

So, could something like this be your Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall rig? Could the addition of a Bluto fork extend the range of this bike such that you'd never want a full suspension device? Could it be a fat bike, a "Mid-fat" bike, and a 29+ rig so you'd never want another weirdo hard tail? Maybe. The wider bottom bracket is still going to freak out many folks. (Physically and mentally) So there is that big hurdle. Oh yeah.........and the Pivot LESS Fat is expensive! There is that too. But if you can swing the dough, there isn't a bike out there with cooler details that is this versatile. I bet I'd get on with it just fine.

The Tale Of The Luxy Bar: Revival?

Two rare Luxy Bars from 2011.

Here we go again! more on the old Luxy Bar. To catch up on the story so far, you'd better click in here.

Since that last post more Luxy Bar Lust has occurred, and Brant Richards left On One to start up a company dubbed "Pact Bikes". So....

Tuesday I see a Tweet that the Luxy Bar is coming back and it will need a new name. Anyone going to their Facebook page can suggest a name and if chosen, they will get a new handle bar.

So, I cannot say exactly when this will happen, but Brant Richards has reached out to me and said it is all true. The bar is coming back, in original form, with a new name re-branded under Pact Bikes marque. There will be a U.S. point of distribution for retail sales.

Hang on.......I've been promised the latest information when it becomes available.

The Tale Of The Luxy Bar: Revival?

Two rare Luxy Bars from 2011.

Here we go again! more on the old Luxy Bar. To catch up on the story so far, you'd better click in here.

Since that last post more Luxy Bar Lust has occurred, and Brant Richards left On One to start up a company dubbed "Pact Bikes". So....

Tuesday I see a Tweet that the Luxy Bar is coming back and it will need a new name. Anyone going to their Facebook page can suggest a name and if chosen, they will get a new handle bar.

So, I cannot say exactly when this will happen, but Brant Richards has reached out to me and said it is all true. The bar is coming back, in original form, with a new name re-branded under Pact Bikes marque. There will be a U.S. point of distribution for retail sales.

Hang on.......I've been promised the latest information when it becomes available.

It Wasn't Always This Way

L-R: Jeremy Fry, Mike Johnson, Ron Saul, G-Ted @ the DK200 2010

Recently the Dirty Kanza 200 filled up its registration field limit. It took about 33 hours from the opening of the on-line gates until they filled up every available spot. I had no doubt they would get it done. It is a very popular event. I'd say this event, Barry Roubaix in Michigan, and the Almanzo 100 are likely your most popular events on gravel out there. Each has their own appeal.

The DK200 has been crafted into a "big deal" for the riders that attend. Lots of attention from Emporia, lots of attention from the cycling media, the manufacturers, and the promoters. They all have amped up the lead in to the event, and the experience during the event, to the point that riders say they feel like "rock stars". That's a monumental task to pull off, but Jim Cummins, the Mohns, and LeLan Dains have done it and keep growing it bigger. (For more on the Dirty Kanza 200, where it started, where it is, and where it is going, listen to the Riding Gravel Radio Ranch podcast with Jim Cummins HERE.)

I haven't been to a DK200 since 2010. That was about when the "big deal" started with the event. It was the first year that they shut down the main street we finished on in Emporia and the first where we started downtown. Things were getting big by that point, but by comparison to today, those were small potatoes. The scene now is far more festive, with a bigger production, and a lot more riders. In ten years, this thing has done blowed up, and that's putting it mildly.

It wasn't always this way though.

The start of the first DK200. That's me in white. Image courtesy of P. Jacobson

In 2005, a couple of fellas met up and they planned on doing something like this crazy event they had heard about called Trans Iowa. Joel Dyke and Jim Cummins crafted their event after that model, but they tweaked the thing liberally. In fact, after my trip to this event, I made a move to my Trans Iowa cohort, Jeff Kerkove, that we should change things to reflect some of Jim and Joel's good ideas. While they weren't the first to do a gravel event in Kansas, (that distinction belongs to the now defunct "Flint Hills Death Ride"), they were the first to do an ultra-distance gravel event in that state. Jim Cummins wrote in a thread about the first Dirty Kanza on MTBR.com the following, "Our inspiration came not from the Death Ride, but from Guitar Ted and his Trans-Iowa."

So it was that the Dirty Kanza was to be a long, arduous course set into the Flint Hills where Joel and Jim hoped that they would be able to attract a few "nutcases" down from the Trans Iowa and from other 24 hour mtb events to tackle this challenge. The "scene" wasn't much back in those days. Gravel events were something unheard of, and without the then fairly new tool of the internet, it is likely that you would have never heard of Trans Iowa, the Dirty Kanza 200, or much of anything, for that matter! The thing was, these sorts of events were very much "under the radar" back in 2006.

The registration table for the first DK200

They ran the registration and got 45 souls to put their name on the roster, including myself. I hadn't ever ridden in a gravel event before, and I had trained, planned, and obtained goods to help insure my success. I also was able to hook up with a new acquaintance I had made through Trans Iowa and the internet by the name of David Pals. We did the long trip down from Iowa to see just what we were in for. Information on the Flint Hills was pretty sparse back in 2005/06. Knowledge of tire choices, and any other helpful hints, were limited to the scant bits of information we could derive from folks on MTBR.com and what little info Jim and Joel provided. There were no training camps, no "Dirty Kanza- The Premier Gravel Grinder" website, no nothing. It was dive in- sink or swim for me.

David picked me up at my sister's place in Des Moines and we left on a hot, humid day to go into the unknown. We checked out some of the areas we knew the course would go through, and the heat and winds were rather worrisome. I know it was up around 100 degrees most of that day. We checked in at the Travel Lodge, where we had to hunt for the registration area, which amounted to a round table commandeered by a few of the DK200 volunteers. They were really friendly, and showed us some of the swag they had as prizes. Then we signed in, and went to our room to await the early morning alarm clock warning and then hit the parking lot for the 6:00am start. The rider's meeting happened right there. Just before we took off, and that was that. The DK200 was started.

Early on in the inaugural DK200 and I was all alone.

Thank God it was an overcast day with little humidity and lower temperatures! I remember it being a fascinating ride. It was soooo different than anything I had ever experienced, but I was doing it mostly all by myself. By the time we left the first town of Council Grove, I was on my own until the mid-way checkpoint at Cottonwood Falls. There I was to fish my final supplies out of my bag on my own to get to the finish. Volunteers said the next section was very remote and likely the toughest of all. I took the admonition to heart, bent over to grab something out of my bag, and just about passed out. That was it for me.

Winner Dan Hughes giving Doug, one of the DK volunteers, a smooch after winning.

I sometimes still wonder if I could have finished that course anyway, but I had two small kids and a wife back home to think about, and pressing myself into a remote area, with no means of getting myself out, and with no good reason to put myself into a dangerous situation, well...... It was a tough decision, but probably the right one. 

I rode back to town with Doug where we found the 10 X 10 pop up that served as the "finish line" in the middle of the motel parking lot where we all had left that morning. Not long after, Dan Hughes came rolling in, all dusty, and dropped his bike to the ground, a white Steelman cross bike with Bruce Gordon Rock and Road tires on it. There was a smattering of hand claps and a "good job!" from the six or so gathered there. Dan grabbed a PBR out of a nearby cooler, slammed it, and smiled broadly. I'm not sure he felt like much of a "rock star", but he was, (and still is), in our eyes.

The fifteen finishers started to trickle in, and the stories began in earnest. Lost, defeated by flat tires, and burnt by the Sun, (which eventually did come out), many others that had cut their rides short also joined in the festivities around that pop-up tent on the unforgiving blacktop. Laughter and a sense of camaraderie was evident. Pizzas were ordered and delivered by astonished teenage delivery drivers who had never seen anything quite like the finish of the first DK200.

The final finisher was my traveling companion, and future co-director of Trans Iowa, David Pals, who finished at about 12:30am after being in a spectacular thunder and lightning storm, and then getting hit and knocked off his bicycle by a car a mere few blocks from the finish line. An auspicious ending to the event that has grown up so much, it doesn't even resemble the "back yard barbeque" feel it had back in 2006. Yep, it wasn't always the way it is now, with the lights, the big deal, and what not, but how could it stay that way.......

This post is dedicated to the memory of Joel Dyke, DK200 co-founder. Please consider a donation to the fund to help his family at BigGrin.org

It Wasn't Always This Way

L-R: Jeremy Fry, Mike Johnson, Ron Saul, G-Ted @ the DK200 2010

Recently the Dirty Kanza 200 filled up its registration field limit. It took about 33 hours from the opening of the on-line gates until they filled up every available spot. I had no doubt they would get it done. It is a very popular event. I'd say this event, Barry Roubaix in Michigan, and the Almanzo 100 are likely your most popular events on gravel out there. Each has their own appeal.

The DK200 has been crafted into a "big deal" for the riders that attend. Lots of attention from Emporia, lots of attention from the cycling media, the manufacturers, and the promoters. They all have amped up the lead in to the event, and the experience during the event, to the point that riders say they feel like "rock stars". That's a monumental task to pull off, but Jim Cummins, the Mohns, and LeLan Dains have done it and keep growing it bigger. (For more on the Dirty Kanza 200, where it started, where it is, and where it is going, listen to the Riding Gravel Radio Ranch podcast with Jim Cummins HERE.)

I haven't been to a DK200 since 2010. That was about when the "big deal" started with the event. It was the first year that they shut down the main street we finished on in Emporia and the first where we started downtown. Things were getting big by that point, but by comparison to today, those were small potatoes. The scene now is far more festive, with a bigger production, and a lot more riders. In ten years, this thing has done blowed up, and that's putting it mildly.

It wasn't always this way though.

The start of the first DK200. That's me in white. Image courtesy of P. Jacobson

In 2005, a couple of fellas met up and they planned on doing something like this crazy event they had heard about called Trans Iowa. Joel Dyke and Jim Cummins crafted their event after that model, but they tweaked the thing liberally. In fact, after my trip to this event, I made a move to my Trans Iowa cohort, Jeff Kerkove, that we should change things to reflect some of Jim and Joel's good ideas. While they weren't the first to do a gravel event in Kansas, (that distinction belongs to the now defunct "Flint Hills Death Ride"), they were the first to do an ultra-distance gravel event in that state. Jim Cummins wrote in a thread about the first Dirty Kanza on MTBR.com the following, "Our inspiration came not from the Death Ride, but from Guitar Ted and his Trans-Iowa."

So it was that the Dirty Kanza was to be a long, arduous course set into the Flint Hills where Joel and Jim hoped that they would be able to attract a few "nutcases" down from the Trans Iowa and from other 24 hour mtb events to tackle this challenge. The "scene" wasn't much back in those days. Gravel events were something unheard of, and without the then fairly new tool of the internet, it is likely that you would have never heard of Trans Iowa, the Dirty Kanza 200, or much of anything, for that matter! The thing was, these sorts of events were very much "under the radar" back in 2006.

The registration table for the first DK200

They ran the registration and got 45 souls to put their name on the roster, including myself. I hadn't ever ridden in a gravel event before, and I had trained, planned, and obtained goods to help insure my success. I also was able to hook up with a new acquaintance I had made through Trans Iowa and the internet by the name of David Pals. We did the long trip down from Iowa to see just what we were in for. Information on the Flint Hills was pretty sparse back in 2005/06. Knowledge of tire choices, and any other helpful hints, were limited to the scant bits of information we could derive from folks on MTBR.com and what little info Jim and Joel provided. There were no training camps, no "Dirty Kanza- The Premier Gravel Grinder" website, no nothing. It was dive in- sink or swim for me.

David picked me up at my sister's place in Des Moines and we left on a hot, humid day to go into the unknown. We checked out some of the areas we knew the course would go through, and the heat and winds were rather worrisome. I know it was up around 100 degrees most of that day. We checked in at the Travel Lodge, where we had to hunt for the registration area, which amounted to a round table commandeered by a few of the DK200 volunteers. They were really friendly, and showed us some of the swag they had as prizes. Then we signed in, and went to our room to await the early morning alarm clock warning and then hit the parking lot for the 6:00am start. The rider's meeting happened right there. Just before we took off, and that was that. The DK200 was started.

Early on in the inaugural DK200 and I was all alone.

Thank God it was an overcast day with little humidity and lower temperatures! I remember it being a fascinating ride. It was soooo different than anything I had ever experienced, but I was doing it mostly all by myself. By the time we left the first town of Council Grove, I was on my own until the mid-way checkpoint at Cottonwood Falls. There I was to fish my final supplies out of my bag on my own to get to the finish. Volunteers said the next section was very remote and likely the toughest of all. I took the admonition to heart, bent over to grab something out of my bag, and just about passed out. That was it for me.

Winner Dan Hughes giving Doug, one of the DK volunteers, a smooch after winning.

I sometimes still wonder if I could have finished that course anyway, but I had two small kids and a wife back home to think about, and pressing myself into a remote area, with no means of getting myself out, and with no good reason to put myself into a dangerous situation, well...... It was a tough decision, but probably the right one. 

I rode back to town with Doug where we found the 10 X 10 pop up that served as the "finish line" in the middle of the motel parking lot where we all had left that morning. Not long after, Dan Hughes came rolling in, all dusty, and dropped his bike to the ground, a white Steelman cross bike with Bruce Gordon Rock and Road tires on it. There was a smattering of hand claps and a "good job!" from the six or so gathered there. Dan grabbed a PBR out of a nearby cooler, slammed it, and smiled broadly. I'm not sure he felt like much of a "rock star", but he was, (and still is), in our eyes.

The fifteen finishers started to trickle in, and the stories began in earnest. Lost, defeated by flat tires, and burnt by the Sun, (which eventually did come out), many others that had cut their rides short also joined in the festivities around that pop-up tent on the unforgiving blacktop. Laughter and a sense of camaraderie was evident. Pizzas were ordered and delivered by astonished teenage delivery drivers who had never seen anything quite like the finish of the first DK200.

The final finisher was my traveling companion, and future co-director of Trans Iowa, David Pals, who finished at about 12:30am after being in a spectacular thunder and lightning storm, and then getting hit and knocked off his bicycle by a car a mere few blocks from the finish line. An auspicious ending to the event that has grown up so much, it doesn't even resemble the "back yard barbeque" feel it had back in 2006. Yep, it wasn't always the way it is now, with the lights, the big deal, and what not, but how could it stay that way.......

This post is dedicated to the memory of Joel Dyke, DK200 co-founder. Please consider a donation to the fund to help his family at BigGrin.org

#psyck

1988 Strat Plus- That isn't yellow, by the way!

This hasn't been the start to the year that I was hoping for. It's been off and on again sickness across the entire family. There was one day last week when three of us were bed ridden. Saturday and Sunday were barely tolerable, and the bike riding that everyone else was doing was sure hard to take in as I was feeling awful and needing to rest.

Well, me being me- I don't like resting during the day, or much at all, and I did go out and about a little bit. I needed to drop off my daughter at a friend's house so I took the opportunity to drag my 1988 Stratocaster Plus to Bob's Guitars to see if they had a locking tuner knob for it. One had fallen off and before I could notice it, had gotten lost.

I've known "Bob" of Bob's Guitars since he worked for another music store years ago where I had purchased this particular Strat from him. He's been through another partnership in a music store from where I purchased my main amplifier, and now he owns this store himself. I've had a "relationship", of sorts with Bob, and he treats me right. For instance, even his employees have paid attention, and they know that I am paying on a new Taylor for my wife's Master's Degree "reward". They found the locking tuner knob, a perfect match, and did not charge me.

So, why do I bring all that up? Well, I was thinking that in this day and age of Internet retail, what online can't do for you is "have a relationship with benefits" like the one I enjoy with Bob's Guitars. Think about that when you look for a local bike shop. And local bike shops- you need to really think about this! 

A "Mid-Fatted" Fargo

 So, anyway, I got to play on the Strat Saturday loudly for a while when Mrs. Guitar Ted and Jacob went out on errands. It was great to have that guitar all back in one piece. Then I hoped for a better Sunday, and perhaps a bicycle ride.

However; it wasn't to be. Still feeling rotten, I had to take it easy again. After a long morning and early afternoon, I decided to fiddle with an idea I had on the back burner for Springtime. I was going to try to fit the WTB Trailblazer/Velocity Blunt 35 wheels on my Gen 2 Fargo. So, I decided to push up the time table on that project and get it done. I had done this on my Gen 1 Fargo as well, but the mud clearances were not the greatest. So, in the interim I have had these wheels on my OS Bikes Blackbuck and on my Sawyer with the belt drive.

Good clearances here.

On the Fargo Gen 2, the wheels went in with no problem, and as a bonus there was better mud clearances! This looked like a much better fit than in the Gen 1 Fargo. I was excited so I got a "permission slip" to get out of the house free for a bit to test out how this combination felt and handled. Nothing big, just a couple miles at most. I popped on some plastic flats so I didn't have to waste a bunch of time with fussy Winter cycling footwear and headed outdoors.

The Blunt 35's with the Trailblazers makes for a decent set up. The tire isn't flattened out too much, and the rim supports the tires tubeless really well. I ran about 20-ish psi, but with the air temperatures in the low 20's Fahrenheit, that was effectively something in the teens. Into some looser, deep snow, and the bike squirreled around a bit, but it didn't want to swap ends like a skinnier tire might. Okay, that fast spin up is there yet for sure, and the resulting lack of momentum as well. Still, you can barrel over some things and the stability and comfort are there also.

You don't get that heavy, slow to accelerate 29+ feeling, but the rest of it seems to be close. When the trails open up in Springtime, I'll know more about the true, off road feel and performance with this bike. I think I will live with these on the Fargo Gen 2 awhile though. The wide range triple drive train is well suited to these wheels, and in my estimation, single speed usage, while fun, wasn't where this wheel type shines best. They just scrub off too much momentum, and while single speeding, momentum is king. So back to 29"er wheels there, and these Mid-Fats on a geared bike. Then I'll decide what I think. These still seem like a good choice for really rough, looser, back road events like Odin's Revenge to me, but if I cannot live with how they feel on gravel then I think my experimenting will be done. If they make it through that, then they stay on. Time will tell.

#psyck

1988 Strat Plus- That isn't yellow, by the way!

This hasn't been the start to the year that I was hoping for. It's been off and on again sickness across the entire family. There was one day last week when three of us were bed ridden. Saturday and Sunday were barely tolerable, and the bike riding that everyone else was doing was sure hard to take in as I was feeling awful and needing to rest.

Well, me being me- I don't like resting during the day, or much at all, and I did go out and about a little bit. I needed to drop off my daughter at a friend's house so I took the opportunity to drag my 1988 Stratocaster Plus to Bob's Guitars to see if they had a locking tuner knob for it. One had fallen off and before I could notice it, had gotten lost.

I've known "Bob" of Bob's Guitars since he worked for another music store years ago where I had purchased this particular Strat from him. He's been through another partnership in a music store from where I purchased my main amplifier, and now he owns this store himself. I've had a "relationship", of sorts with Bob, and he treats me right. For instance, even his employees have paid attention, and they know that I am paying on a new Taylor for my wife's Master's Degree "reward". They found the locking tuner knob, a perfect match, and did not charge me.

So, why do I bring all that up? Well, I was thinking that in this day and age of Internet retail, what online can't do for you is "have a relationship with benefits" like the one I enjoy with Bob's Guitars. Think about that when you look for a local bike shop. And local bike shops- you need to really think about this! 

A "Mid-Fatted" Fargo

 So, anyway, I got to play on the Strat Saturday loudly for a while when Mrs. Guitar Ted and Jacob went out on errands. It was great to have that guitar all back in one piece. Then I hoped for a better Sunday, and perhaps a bicycle ride.

However; it wasn't to be. Still feeling rotten, I had to take it easy again. After a long morning and early afternoon, I decided to fiddle with an idea I had on the back burner for Springtime. I was going to try to fit the WTB Trailblazer/Velocity Blunt 35 wheels on my Gen 2 Fargo. So, I decided to push up the time table on that project and get it done. I had done this on my Gen 1 Fargo as well, but the mud clearances were not the greatest. So, in the interim I have had these wheels on my OS Bikes Blackbuck and on my Sawyer with the belt drive.

Good clearances here.

On the Fargo Gen 2, the wheels went in with no problem, and as a bonus there was better mud clearances! This looked like a much better fit than in the Gen 1 Fargo. I was excited so I got a "permission slip" to get out of the house free for a bit to test out how this combination felt and handled. Nothing big, just a couple miles at most. I popped on some plastic flats so I didn't have to waste a bunch of time with fussy Winter cycling footwear and headed outdoors.

The Blunt 35's with the Trailblazers makes for a decent set up. The tire isn't flattened out too much, and the rim supports the tires tubeless really well. I ran about 20-ish psi, but with the air temperatures in the low 20's Fahrenheit, that was effectively something in the teens. Into some looser, deep snow, and the bike squirreled around a bit, but it didn't want to swap ends like a skinnier tire might. Okay, that fast spin up is there yet for sure, and the resulting lack of momentum as well. Still, you can barrel over some things and the stability and comfort are there also.

You don't get that heavy, slow to accelerate 29+ feeling, but the rest of it seems to be close. When the trails open up in Springtime, I'll know more about the true, off road feel and performance with this bike. I think I will live with these on the Fargo Gen 2 awhile though. The wide range triple drive train is well suited to these wheels, and in my estimation, single speed usage, while fun, wasn't where this wheel type shines best. They just scrub off too much momentum, and while single speeding, momentum is king. So back to 29"er wheels there, and these Mid-Fats on a geared bike. Then I'll decide what I think. These still seem like a good choice for really rough, looser, back road events like Odin's Revenge to me, but if I cannot live with how they feel on gravel then I think my experimenting will be done. If they make it through that, then they stay on. Time will tell.