Why indeed.
My 29er 24 spoke Industry Nine on Nox Farlows have been going on strong for two years. I think I checked the spoke tension... once? I've bottomed the tire to the rim on rocks and roots and whatnot multiple times, and there's not one noticeable ding. I've never gotten through one entire "season" of rigid single speeding on an aluminum rim with the same positive experience. Didn't matter which aluminum rim I was on, I put some regrettable nasty on them.
So when I decided it was time to try 27.5+, I got a set of 32 spoke Industry Nine built on Nox Kitsuma rims. I didn't wanna sabotage the experience by building up a tank set of wheels setting the whole thing up for failure because I'm hauling an extra pound of rotating weight (that I'm eventually going to dent and ding as well).
So why something else now?
Had the Kitsuma 29" rim existed when I had my first set built, mebbe I wouldn't feel the need to do this, but it didn't. I love extra volume up front when rolling rigid, and I've had two mismatched sets of Industry Nine Enduro™/Trail wheels in the past.
But the Kitsuma rim was not a thing two years ago. It is now.
And this time, I went all in.
Boost™ makes me think too much about resale and upgrades and parts availability and extinction. I don't know if it needed to exist, but after hearing a Pivot guy defend Super Boost™? He made it sound not so stupid. I don't think I'm in a position to judge.
Mostly because it does not affect me if I just let myself be happy with what I have... well, now. You know what I mean.
With my other two wheel sets, I went with a geared free hub, because... resale. It's hard enough selling pink wheels, but when I get the single speed specific free hub? Let's just say that it takes a very particular buyer to want them when I'm moving on to something else.
I've decided that the Vertigo Meatplow V.7 is going to be around for the foreseeable future. Time to double down and get the wheel set that I'd want on it if I were building this bike like I were gonna keep it forever.
Farlow rim again in the rear because I run a 2.2 Ardent Race. I've tried a tire that narrow on my 27.5 Kitsuma rim in a pinch, and it was a no bueno. When Nox says, "Note: If you are planning to run 2.1-2.3" XC tires, you will be better served with one of our narrower rims," they mean it.
The Kitsuma does what I want up front tho.
Shit. I went outside and got better images last night.
No fish eye.
Or mebbe none of this matters, because...
one of the biggest reasons I really wanted to get these wheels was the upcoming 29 X 2.6 Rekon+.
Those guis...
So I went from a 1,490 gram wheel set to a 1,670 (still lighter than the 1,710 gram Enduro™/Trail set up from three-five years ago). I had guessed a 150 gram jump with the addition of 16 spokes and the heavier rim, and 180 grams is just a small pile of paperclips heavier, so ok. If I think about how much weight I lost with the Ergon SMR3 saddle and the loss of a 10-15mm of alloy spacers...
So many thinky thoughts.
The never-ending quest for the most perfect simple bike cycling machine.
Looking forward to getting to the mountains this weekend on them and then PMBAR with Watts the next weekend. 2017 is gonna be all the buenos.
Posts
5 comments:
as a very particular buyer, I totally dig the new set. Looking forward to the Dick Bike Profile articles.
I love this kind of stuff.
Dicky, if you were 190lbs like me (racer, usually ss) would this drastically change your plan/thoughts??
Not one bit.
I imagine if I could fit a bigger rear tire in the back (at your weight), I would.
But I'd stick with this wheel set. It's what I've always wanted.
So...you made me look up Super Boost and now I'm totes confuzed. Isn't it the same thing I've been doing for a decade (not on SS bikes)? Stolen DH technology. A 150 or 157 Thru with a single ring in the outer position? The only difference I can see is that they've spec'd a special hub that no longer has equal length spokes and therefore has a tension imbalance.
Post a Comment