69er - Best of both worlds?

I'm always open to trying new stuff on the bike, as long as it works.

I tried Big Al's GF Rig 29er years ago and enjoyed it but couldn't stomach the extra weight when I decided on the Scandal Fixie, so that was a 26er lightweight - 17lbs.

2 years of enjoying the Scandal I thought it was time for a change and a chance tweet secured a front 29er wheel to test from Rich

I run a 420mm pace RC31 rigid carbon fork and the wheel fits in fine

Stem swapped and dropped from my usual high mast position to super low race position to counteract the bigger wheel and it's good to go.

Did 33 miles on it last night and the hand position feels just right.  So far the pros and cons are:

Pros

More stable especially downhill
More momentum - just keeps rolling
More front end grip
Makes you feel like a 24hr racer

Cons

Extra weight - 500gms extra
Slightly slower steering on very low speed stuff
Looks a bit funny

I'll keep riding it as it is then maybe think about lightening the wheel up a bit if I still like it

Sunny Days

Michelin C4 Protek Inner Tube Review

 



I spotted these tubes when they were first announced last year and I was intrigued.

Sounds like a good idea and the numbers quoted sound good - supposedly they also weight 260gms

Ordered some from CRC http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=61939 and the y arrived at the end of May.

My able assistant helped me with the unboxing

Not 260gms at all then!

344gms is silly heavy for me.  My usual tubes are 120gms so these are putting over 200gms onto the bike - as rotational mass too which is the worst place :-(.  These things had better work!

The tubey shaped bits go on the inside of the tread for the magic puncture resealing.  The idea is that the tube is in compression when inflated instead of tension so if it gets a thorn puncture in naturally seals rather than opening up.

The tube's also got glycol slime stuff in it to also heal sealing punctures and a removable valve core so you can refill it with slime.

So the question is - do they work?

Yes!

3 months of hard riding including Mountain Mayhem and all the training rides up til then and I've not had one puncture!  Not one!  Not even a slow flat, or a sneaky garage flat! Zero!

Well worth the money, and, on balance, the extra weight for non-stop riding.

RUBYONONE RECOMMENDED *****

Sunshine After a Rainy Day

Nearly didn't ride.

Glad I did :)