Bike Build Bling Talk and A Sponsor

WARNING!: this posts has lots of hoochie mama, bling, bike parts talk. Feel free to skip to the end now to just hear me blather about my usual nonsense and use the term "dog dirt".

Getting closer to finalizing my 2nd race bike build for 2007. The Salsa Mamasita will be the frame of of choice. I just got the final geometry info today (Thanks Jason!). Looks like the top tube on the Large is going to be about 1/2" longer than my Dos Niner, so I might go with a 110mm stem to keep my cockpits similar. If anyone wants the 2007 numbers shoot me an e mail and I'll send you the pdf that I got from Salsa.

All parts for the build are either in possession or on order from Team Bikeman.com sponsors SRAM & Rock Shox. I was so impressed with the SRAM X9/X0 mix that I used on the Dos Niner last year, that I'm selling my Shimano drive train from El Santo and going with full SRAM X9 on the Mamasita.

Fork is a Rock Shox Reba 29er with remote lock out and 80mm travel. Then you got'cher XT Crank, Hope Mono Mini Discs, Panaracer tires (for technical courses) and oh yeah the wheels...

For the wheels I gotta give a big thanks to WTB (Wilderness Trail Bikes) for helping me out in 2007. They're making it easier for me to possibly get my hands on their new light weight 29er wheels and some components.

The complete wheels are WTB's new XC 29er race wheels. Weigh in at about 1920 grams for the set and will be available in March.

UPDATE #1: As per discussions in comments. I am of course weighing light weight vs. reliability. This is always big for me since I'm not the most mechanically inclined, and for my type of racing and my budget I need to consider many things. This is not to say that any one wheel more or less reliable or serviceable than another, that I can't comment on right now, I'm just being honest that while I love the thought of a light weight wheel set, when it comes to to build I might be rolling my heavier ones. Still have few months of "build" ideas in me. Time will tell.

The WTB web site doesn't have the 2007 products up yet, but if you want to check out a video of the 2007 products check out THIS link on MTBR.com. Take a look at the Devo saddle too. I like that it seems flatter and wider in the back like my Fizik. Thanks to Dain at WTB for the selection Tiffany for and taking the time to answer my questions. (See update #2 at end of post)

BLING TALK OVER

I'm so looking forward to another year of racing on the Dos Niner and the new Mamasita. I hope I can do justice to the bling the 2007 sponsors help me roll. As I've said before all the high zoot bike parts in the world aren't a damn bit of good if I'm slow as decaying dog dirt (Western PA term for dog sh*t).

Speaking of "dog dirt". Only did an hour on the trainer tonight but after a 10 min warm up, I threw down a 50 minute Zone 4/5 interval. Ouch. The plan was to spin for another few minutes to cool down but I was SPENT! This year I've been TRYING to work on keeping sustained power/force to the pedals for longer durations. Hoping that this will help increase my race pace.

2007 Schedule is almost finished. Still waiting on M.A.S.S. 6 Hour race dates, but I'm looking at doing 3 to 4 races of the National Ultra Endurance Series, and a smattering of 6, 12, 13, and maybe even an 18 hour solo here and there. Most likely NO 24 hour races. Too much jing, and too much planning. I'll share more later in the week as I get more info.

No ride tomorrow. Little mid week R&R.

UPDATE #2 After much thought I have chose to pursue wheels through Team Bikeman.com rather than WTB. I thank them for ther generous offer, have talked to them and hope that someone else can better take advantage of the grass roots sponsorship slot that they had made available to me. They're some top notch folks and will be continuing to support them, just not as a sponsored rider.

Later.