Pisgah's Calling

Yeth, I'm bringing three single speeds with me to the Pisgah Stage Race. 

Five stages, three bikes... because... ummm...

It makes sense.  To me.  I'm the one who counts because I'm the one who has to pedal, steer, and push my a bike cycle over 140 miles of Pisgah.  It's just that I can see one bike being better than the others in the different scenarios presented by the semi-unique courses.

What's admittedly a myopically structured train of thought (or lack thereof) is that I just feel like certain terrain would be better with such-and-such bike based on trying to discern where each bike shines between the blurred lines.

Vertigo Meatplow V.7 - a nine year old hardtail with 2014 geometry and a 100mm Fox Stepcast 32

Vassago Meatplow V.9 - a modern geometry hardtail with 140mm Fox 34 and a rear tire insert to make party

Epic EVO SSquish - a Frankensteined full suspension SS with 120/116 mm of travel and full lockout capabilities to make great bike race

On Watts's latest visit to my grumble abode, he saw the two ti hardtails hanging on the rack in the living room, one above the other, and he pointed out the obvious redundancy.

This from a guy who owns many garvel bikes, so...

A man who has to operate his kitchen sink faucet with a screwdriver can afford to have a slew of garvel bikes... apparently.

Looking for a more quantifiable set of data points with which to figure out why I think what I thunk, I weighed the bikes.  The weights listed below are as the bikes were hanging on the wall, flat repair, tools and data acquisition device mounts attached, as well as pedals because you should weigh bikes as they can actually be ridden.

Vertigo Meatplow V.7 - 23.28lbs
Vassago Meatplow V.9 - 25.66lbs
Epic EVO SSquish - 24.27lbs

Now I know a thing I didn't know.  While I'm slightly surprised that the Vassago is almost a pound and a half heavier than my Epic EVO SSquish, I'm flabbergasted that the latter is slightly less than a pound heavier than the Vertigo.  The SSquish bike has heavier rims, a bunch more moving parts, a longer travel/larger diameter fork, a tensioner...

And that doesn't add up to a whole pound?

Granted, tires aren't same same... I mean, same same... but different.

They're all made of  black goop and threads, blown up with earth air, and have a giant yellow logo on them.

The under-biked rig is over-tired and the over-biked jawn is under-tired (or mebbe almost apropos-tired for Pisgah).  To complicate matters further, I'm looking at piles of other tire options, considering taking the liner outta the Vassago (and risking my biscuits) because its current rubber is worn TF out and needs replaced so... and all other manners of mucking about.  

And the Epic EVO SSquish doesn't have a bell, and that's a whole 'nother dilemma IMHOMO.  How am I supposed to "race" without a bell but also how can I justify buying another Spurcycle bell?

Also and the place we're staying in doesn't have a washing machine, so I'll need to pick out five different bike cycle race costumes still.

Less (or is it fewer?) than four weeks to go.