Whole Lotta Random Bike Crap...

Figured since I needed to let the fine folks at Bikeman.com in on some of the gear I rolled at Lodi I'd share it with you as well, since all I had to do tonight was mow grass, play with the B-Man and stare at my kankles.

First, the Dos Niner was FLAWLESS! 30 p.s.i. of air in the Relish gave it a super nice feel and 100mm of travel in the Reba was PERFECT! I can't say enough about how good the Reba felt this race. I noticed no issues with climbing or with cornering with the shock at 100mm.

I have to say if you do longer races/rides and don't have your Reba set to 100 you owe it to yourself to at least TRY it. You can always go back if you don't dig the way the bike handles. The shock felt buttery smooth too, with it's fresh seals and oil. Thanks Tom!

The Fire Pro 29 tires were superb. Not as fast rolling as the Ignitors, but a perfect all conditions tire. And oddly they got all sorts of conditions this weekend. We had mud, wet roots, slick mud, ankle deep mud, and then by Sunday a.m. may trails were bone dry hard pack.

So far I've used The Maxxis Ignitor, The Panaracer Rampage and the IRD Fire Pro 29er tires. ALL are great tires for a multitude of reasons. The IRDs just went to the top of my list though. Time will tell of course but after 12 hours this weekend I'm pretty stoked on them.

My new Lake 230 shoes continue to rock in the comfort department too. No toe smush, and no heal flop.

I was happy with my night riding for a change too. Being able to run 2 HIDs helped a lot. But even when I was only running one I felt better and more confident. I guess I just need to do it more and I'll get more comfortable with it.

Having said that, I did get to hook up with Justin from Princeton Tec to check out their new Switch Back Series. While I didn't run them on my bike, we took the SB3 over to some dark single track before the race to test it out, and I must say the SB3 would be the perfect light for me!

It's brightness is nearly as bright as one HID light, but it's light color is so much better that you can actually pick up more of the trail (in my opinion, according to my eyes). The battery is not that light, but the light it's self is light as a feather and you can get a burn time of nearly 7 hours on one 2 hour charge.

I also like features like locking connectors, a solid feel when you push the button, 2 hour charge and more. The only thing I'd add is a 2nd battery allowing one to never have to borrow, lights from folks again.

The SB1 is so small it looks like a light that a proctologist might use for bung-hola inspection. I mean the picts in the catalog must be enlarged 300%.

I'm sure there are folks out there (like Dave Harris!) Making some feather light, supa bright LED lights. But myself I dig out of the box convenience with a known lighting company to back up the product.

Needless to say wheels are in motion to roll these later in the year or next year. Not sure there's any dough in the piggy this year, but next year maybe. It would be sweet to have at the 18 Hours On The Farm though. Thanks for all the info Justin! Hope that stomach gets better soon.

Hot & Spicy Bike News....

I've been getting restless about the fact that I have a box full of brand new parts and no frame for them due to the fact that the Salsa Mamasita is in hot demand and not enough frames can be found to fulfill customer demand and our Team Bikeman.com order.

I started to look at other options, like keeping the Dos as my sole race bike and picking up an El Mariachi to train with. I wanted a lighter hard tail though, so I also looked into frames from Orbea, Niner, On One, and Kona. Many are damn nice frames but not having the Mamasita and without going custom frame like a Quiring or Walt Works, I'd feel like I was just settling. I mean I've been talking and lusting for Mamasita from before it was conceived!

Well, Jason from Salsa posted over on MTBR.com today that a larger shipment of frames should be hitting the U.S. come the 3rd or 4th week of May. I HOPE this will get the shop enough frames to satisfy customers and let the team get theirs.

Now this might not be soon enough for me to have her for The Mohican 100, but at least I feel a LITTLE better about the possibility of having it by mid June and in time for the 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey.

If doesn't work out that we can't get them before mid June, I may just go with an El Mariachi or an orange 07 Dos Niner and try for the Mamasita in 08. I'm hopeful though. Not holding my breath, but hopeful. Thanks to Jason for keeping me and other folks in the loop.

Later.