Deli Meat

Three days out and no closer to deciding on whether or not to race the short track on Sunday.  One more thing tipping the scales towards an affirmative would be the recent snow.  The melt really starts today, but temps will keep the freeze/thaw cycle going till Saturday, which means the local trails will more than likely be shite by the weekend.  I imagine Pisgah will be feeling it too.  Meh.

Respect the trail and all that.

Not living in Charlotte and wondering what this wonderful, all-weather short track looks like? 

Wonder no more.



Watch closely and you can see one of my two failed attempts at the totally pointless "pro line" full pull rock pile at 1:50 in 1080HD.

Keen observers will note that the soundtrack plays in the background "won't you be my girl" during my big scene.  I would like to think that was a coincidence.  Yes, I pre-panicked and fail bailed at the crucial shit or get off the pot moment.   

Obviously I chose "off the pot."  Being that I was still "racing," it seemed like the thing to do as opposed to falling over the real line in the middle (where people were still racing-racing) and landing sideways on the opposing boulder.  I don't believe I will try it again (with people standing around).

If you watch the video, you will see that the short track lacks a bit in the technical department, aside from the plethora of braking bumps leading into 90% of the berms.  That said, I continue to be pleased with the Ikon 2.35 as a front tire.  It's faster rolling than the Ardent 2.4 and capable enough to run at the same low pressures with a rigid crabon frok.

photo cred: Eastwood

I'm pleased enough that when it came time to stock up for the 2014 "season," I went deep with the Ikon 2.35.

Not all Ikon 2.35s, but not as many Ardent 2.4s as I normally would think I'd use in a "season" and plenty of Ikon 2.2s for running out back (my favoritist tire for rear use).
There are a plethora of Ikon iterations, thus making the selection of which one to choose difficult.

I wanted the burliest option available, so I chose the one with that was laden with the most acronymnal devices.

3C Maxx Speed EXO TR

What am I thinking?  Even though this is one of the heaviest versions of the tire (don't trust the published weights, I think they're hinky), I'm thinking it will be the burliest of the four options.  EXO sidewalls combined with the slightly thicker rubber that makes them tubeless ready should reduce flat issues and make for a solid choice for rigid happy times.

Stoked to have what I feel like are two excellent options up front instead of running the same tire all the time.  I love the Ardent 2.4, but sometimes I know it is way overkill for the conditions (like 6 Hours of Warrior Creek).

So glad I own a compressor.  Lotsa swapping to do this year.