Friday, August 14, 2009

New mtb Race bike alert

I've kinda gotten hooked on this 100 mile mtb race thing. I've never really liked the horizontal dropouts on the On-One, and the cannondale was a brutally stiff ride over the long haul. So, what is that perfect long distance single speed 29er race bike? Well, hopefully this one is. It has an interesting rear with flat carbon seat stays and flat scandium chain stays which reviews say is very compliant yet stiff laterally. A few have mentioned it doesn't even feel like a hardtail. The front end is all scandium. The weight is over a pound lighter than my previous frame, has vertical dropouts with a bushnell eccentric bottom bracket for chain tension, and looks pretty nifty to boot!

The frame is made by Salsa and is called "Selma." I built her up a few days ago and will be racing it this Sunday at the darkhorse 40. I'll be sure to report back on how she handles! I'm not anticipating any surprises since the frame is very nearly, we are talking a few mm's here, the same dimensions as the previous Inbred I rode very comfortably in PA a few weeks ago.

Total final weight is a hair under 19 pounds. Three pounds lighter than the On One! Most of the weight was cut from the wheels. I got new rims and spokes last week. Also a new crank is installed, shimano xt, which is probably about 200 grams lighter than the previous Truvativ Stylo.

I can't wait to rip it up on Sunday! I took it out today for a bit and the bike felt great. Fit is exactly like the On One - perfect!

Here are some pics:
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