SOOOO Over it

This weather has really started to wear on me (just ask Jen) and I am so over ice, snow, and cold.  Luckily, I am headed somewhere much nicer soon.
In tow will be my new Rumblefish Elite with another proto drive train=)  I am testing one of the first 30 tooth Wolf Tooth Drop Stop 104 BCD rings (for those that don't know with a 104 BCD the smallest ring is 32 teeth using traditional designs).  The 30 tooth will be perfect for 1x snow biking and it allowed me to run the same gearing range I had on my Remedy out in Moab on my last trip. 

There is lots of other equipment and gear that I will be posting on once I actually get to use the stuff (see my first comments on the weather).  One non-bike thing I am most excited to try is my new car rack.  I went with a Kuat NV rack for my new ride.  As an engineer, I really appreciate the thought put into to the design, and my favorite part is the bike stand extension!


My next update will probably be from the other side of the Rockies....

Whiteout

I attended yet another snow bike race and this time w/ the Family in tow.  The kids and Jen were looking for a getaway weekend so we headed up to the Cayuna Whiteout.  The weekend was fun and the only mistake I made was not bringing my ice racing studs...next year!
The fatbike race was not a technical challenge for the most part, but I still got some good intensity in.  Yes, I got caught on camera trying to cheat the wind by getting in the fat bike TT position. 

Next year I hear they will have more than one short stretch of singletrack.  If so, I will be back.

In Tech news, I have been running a super secret drive train.  It is a standard 10 speed rear, but with my beloved XTR Shadow Plus  rear derailleur (clutch type...I will never run a non-clutch rear der again) and a chain ring from a new company called Wolf Tooth Components.  The super secret part is that w/ this combo, no chain guide is needed because of the wide and narrow teeth on the chain ring which keep the chain more aligned on the chain ring (a  la XX1 but can  be run much cheaper  with XT, XO or X9 clutch type rear der).  There are a handful of us testing these chain rings including some guys aggressively riding dirt in CA and Mike Curiak who currently crossing the AK wilderness with a middleburn direct mount version.   The summary of the testing is that the performance has been flawless with no chain dropping, so go order yourself one!  Check out the sram direct spline mount option that is in development (product page), and recall that SRAM just announce X9 and X5 fat bike cranks.

I hear a carbon fat bike is still coming my way... soon.  Look for the all the details in the next couple weeks.