I’m not really surprised that Santa Cruz is working on a carbon version of their successful downhill rig the V10. They’ve been working their way through their line up carbon-ating a bevy of great bikes to make them lighter and stiffer:
When I first built up my Surly 1×1 with 26″ wheels I needed a fast, comfortable tire I could bomb around town on and not get a ton of flats without spending a lot of cash. That’s a tall order for a tire. I had never used the Specialized Fatboy 26″ x 1.5″ rubber before, but the price was right so I gave them a shot.
They stayed on my fixed gear for 4 weeks until I moved to 700c hoops. The Fatboys definitely lived up to my expectations. They are made from very supple rubber which makes them fast and comfortable to ride. They are big enough volume I didn’t have to run them at uber high pressures to support me and my bike. They are grippy enough to rip around corners without concern. And they were flat free even though I ride through a lot of debris downtown…as a point of comparison the 700c Continentals I replaced them with got a flat in the first week of riding the same streets.
If I was going to stick with 26″ wheels I’d still be running the Fatboys. In fact I put them on my GF’s commuter/errand mountain bike and she loves them. If I was sticking with 26″ wheels on my 1×1 I’d still be riding on Fatboys – although I’d have to buy a new set as my GF isn’t giving them back.
If you are a commuter using a mountain bike with 26″ wheels and want a speed upgrade without sacrificing comfort, grip or flat protection give the Fatboys a shot.
Pedros Vice Whip does only one thing, grab a cog or cassette and hold onto it, but it does it really well. In the past I’ve used chain whips to hold onto a cassette while I loosened the lockring and to be fair they work, but they are a bit of a pain the butt to put on and to stay in place. They are also quite bulky to store and use.
The Vice Whip is a small precision made tool that works just like a pair of vice grip pliers to lock onto any 3/32″ cog from 11T to 23T in size. Once it’s locked on it’s not coming off! That means less futzing while you are working on your bike and no skinned knuckles when your tools slip in the middle of applying some serious pressure.
I can be cheap and I resisted buying high quality tools for a long time, but every time I do get a professional level tool in my hand it’s easy to see why the investment is worth it. Especially 10 years later when those tools are going strong and paying back your investment with a smile after every use. Once you’ve held the Vice Whip in your hand you won’t be reaching for a chain whip ever again!
The only downsides to the Vice Whip are the fact it isn’t cheap and it won’t fit 1/8″ track cogs. If you take a long term view on the price it’s worth it for a tool that works this well and will be around in 10 years.
I gotta be honest with you – in all my decades of cycling I’ve never owned a nice floor pump. I seem to always buy something cheap and use it for a while until it breaks and then buy another bargain floor pump. I know that I’m not really saving any money and that it doesn’t make a ton of sense, but it’s one of those things that you do without really thinking about it.
So when I had the chance to review this sweet Lezyne floor pump I was excited and a little worried at the same time. Just picking up this bad boy reeks of quality and attention to detail. I knew it was going to be hard to go back to my old plastic floor pump after I was done the review.
The Lezyne CNC Floor Drive pump is constructed from custom CNC machined aluminum. The fit and finish is amazing and the pump works like a dream. The operation is quiet and smooth. The stroke is nearly effortless and fills large volume tires or high pressure tires easily.
The gauge is easy to read and goes up to 220 psi…a lot more than most folks would need. The aluminum feet aren’t huge, but provide a stable base to pump aggressively when you are in a rush.
The pump head is a simple screw on unit for a secure seal. This takes a second or two longer than the slide on and clamp style pump heads, but it’s more secure and will never pop off while you are working. Lezyne does offer a slip on Presta valve adapter as an aftermarket add on if you are like me and don’t use many Schrader valve tubes.
The pump head is reversible to fit Scheader and Presta valves. This takes a second or two longer than pumps with dual valve inputs, but nothing can break. My existing pump will work with both types of valves, but about 50% of the time when I put the head on a valve it pumps air to the empty valve port and I have to adjust it a bunch to make it work.
