Sunday, November 16, 2014

Bring on the Snow

I sold my Fatback snow bike last spring, I wasn't loving the first generation Speedway Cycles wheels (non-welded seam that made it tough to set up tubeless) and it just wasn't easy to justify owning a bike that you may or may not ride more than a dozen times each winter. That all changed when I had the opportunity to try out a friend's 9:Zero:7. I really like the geometry of these frames, they ride more like a regular mountain bike in my opinion, and it just so happened that my LBS had a couple of last year's frames that they were looking to unload. I had read quite a bit about the Bontrager Jackalope wheels, they are really lightweight and fairly inexpensive. I like the fact that they are easy to set up tubeless, especially when paired with the Bontrager Hodag tires. I had it built up with SRAM 1x11, Avid mechanical discs, plus some nice Truvativ carbon bars and seatpost which should soften the ride some. I did a quick shakedown ride on our local trails this morning and I have to say it rides much better than my old Fatback. Hopefully we will get more snow than the past couple of years, we are planning on spending quite a bit of time skiing up in New Hampshire this winter, and  I plan on bringing along this bike to ride the numerous snowmobile and XC trails in the area.

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