Wheels to the Truck Nutz

FWIW, I'm heading to Wheels to the Farm tomorrow... that is to say, I'm heading to Hotlanta tonight so as to be there already tomorrow.

I anticipate good times and a further delaying of the healing processes my body really needs.  Maybe I'll get a cold sore too.  Who knows!?!

Report on Monday... or not.

A few weeks ago, I saw something on BikeTumor about ESI coming out with the new Fit Grips.

I have been a true believer in the miracles that are ESI Racer's Edge silicone grips for quite some time now.  I've never been happier, so I'm interested in seeing if these are molar betterer.  ESI scientists say so:

The increase in price is indicative of molar betterness, for sure, so I asked around on FaceBook to see if someone has had any real world experience with these new grips yet.  As expected, I got much sarcasm, misinformation, a picture of Emily Batty's bike, and probably this (again):

I get that a lot.

Then I got a message from someone at TruckerCo.com, purveyors of "High Performance Bicycle Parts/Quality Aftermarket and OEM."  They carry ESI grips, and more importantly, the new ESI Fit Grips.

I know some things about TruckerCo.  They sell tire sealant in an economical size that comes with a syringe.

I also know that they sell like a million different types of brake pads.

I've been relatively picky about brake pads ever since I started running disc brakes.  Unfortunately, I've always preferred whatever the more expensive stock option was, in the case of Shimano, the metallic version (MSRP @ $30 per wheel).  I've been tempted to try TruckerCo's pads, as they are significantly cheaper... but... I never did.

Well anyways, TruckerCo said they'd send me some ESI Fit grips to try out, and this is what showed up:

I guess they didn't get the memo that my "industry insider douchebag" status had been revoked.

The grips aren't in the picture, because I put them on as soon as I got home.

They're "a cross between a Chunky and an Extra Chunky grip," so we'll see if I like them or not.  I've always liked the ultra-narrow Racer's Edge, but I do like that flange and the grip is pretty narrow where it needs to be.   Time will tell.  I imagine my hands are similar to Emily's, since we're both about the same size (I'm prettier).

So in the very near future, I'm going to try the above products.  I'm confident that the ti bolts with hold a rotor on my hub with great aplomb.

The pink valve stems?  Already mounted and being all stemmy.

The sealant?  To truly test the sealant, I need to start with fresh tires.  Those will be going on sometime in mid-March before the start of the "season," so I guess that's when I'll see what's up with Cream Tire Sealant.

And the pads...

I've been reading up on what they have to say about their pad compounds.

My head says to try the Sintered Metallic first, but my heart says to go with the Organic Semi-Metallic (you had me at "noise is eliminated").  Since I'll probably burn up my stock XTR pads this weekend at the what should be incredibly muddy Wheels to the Farm event, I guess I have a week to make a decision.

I'll do my best to update on my experiences with these products in the future.  Before anyone bags on TruckerCo and starts shouting "support your local bike shop," let it be known that TruckerCo is set up to have dealers if a LBS wants to carry their products.  They started their company out of the back of a bike shop, so they get it... get it?