Monday, April 16, 2012
The Race Course
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
NoTubes Race Gold 29er Wheelset Review
Great Product from a Great Sponsor
NoTubes Race Gold 29er Wheelset Review by Jason Matthews - Cat 1 Rider and TBR Member for 4 years.
Right out of the box the all black wheelset gets a solid 9/10 for looks. NoTubes should have sprung for the Gold Alloy Nipples just to complete the package however, the black Revo Spokes and the black rims with race gold stickers look pretty good to me. Oh yea it comes with titanium skewers adorned with carbon levers. However being the weight considerate guy that I am, I replaced the end caps of the skewers with lighters caps I had laying around.
These wheels definitely score a 10/10 for weight or should I say weightlessness!!! I think the name itself "Race Gold" is pretty cool as this wheelset has indeed set the gold standard for lightweight aluminum 29er wheels. How light you may ask, well how about 1345 grams or 2lb and 15.44 oz for the set vs a standard Crest 29er wheelset at 1575 grams or 3lb and 7.55 oz.
Ok, that is total wheelset weight but what about the weight of the rim? This set has your covered with the rims coming in at a scant 320 grams vs. the crest at 380. That is a distinct advantage in racing - just saying. FYI - you can only purchase the entire wheelset, rims only is not available.
The Ride and Durability
Before jumping into this topic, you should know I am running Maxxis Aspens on the set. I figure what is the point of having a such a lightweight wheelset and running bulky tires, so I mounted (same effort as any other notubes rim) up my 2.1 Aspens from last year that weight in at about 530 grams each with a decent amount of sealant. BTW these tires are my absolute favorite(supple casing, round profile with outside offset lugs) but, the jury is still out as to how durable the sidewalls will be (Think multiple rides at french creek). My bike is an original Air 9 frame, manitou minuite fork, 1x9 drive train (32x34) with xtr,xt mix, carbon, ti bolts and other secret goodies.
With 6 rides on the wheels, including French Creek......
Acceleration and Climbing with these wheels makes your bike feel like it should. I can't think of any other way to put it, the wheels come up to speed and spin easier and faster than any other wheels (26 or 29er) than I have ridden. The hub engagement is very solid and with no problems getting engagement when needed - say on the half pedal strokes when in a rock garden.
Durability, so far has been top notch, these wheels have not complained one bit and are still true and good to go. If any of you know how I ride, I am definitely not the most skillful when it comes to getting over logs and rocks with smoothness. So the fact that these wheels have not had any issues to note says they may be stronger than I was expecting. Honestly I was planning on having to throw these on the truing stand one a month........only time will tell.
Wheel Statistics
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Division: Expert Singlespeed Open | |||||||||
Place | Name | Team Name | Bib | Laps | Total | Lap 1 | Lap 2 | Lap 3 | Lap 4 |
1 | Nick McCormick | TRESTLE BRIDGE RACING | 1842 | 4 | 1:56:40 | 0:11:31 | 0:33:45 | 0:35:17 | 0:36:07 |
2 | Charles Kline | 1710 | 4 | 1:58:18 | 0:11:53 | 0:35:09 | 0:35:35 | 0:35:41 | |
3 | SCOTT GREEN | SPUD RACING | 118 | 4 | 1:59:06 | 0:12:05 | 0:34:57 | 0:35:42 | 0:36:22 |
4 | BILL FEDERER | TRESTLE BRIDGE RACING | 142 | 4 | 2:01:39 | 0:11:55 | 0:36:34 | 0:36:48 | 0:36:22 |
5 | JOHN ROONEY | 127 | 4 | 2:10:11 | 0:12:27 | 0:38:20 | 0:39:53 | 0:39:31 | |
6 | ERIC NEFFERDORF | WOODEN WHEELS RACING | 532 | 4 | 2:15:57 | 0:13:16 | 0:39:36 | 0:40:49 | 0:42:16 |
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
I Love/Hate French Creek Pick One (Oh, and Racing with Teammates)
Monday, May 9, 2011
Traveling Through Time; Racing 'On the Rocks at French Creek'
On the start grid I found myself oddly relaxed as I sat upon my top tube, waiting for the green light. Marcus started his countdown; 3, 2, 1, GO! I had a decent start hitting the singletrack just inside the top ten.
For the first few miles, I felt great sitting in 5th place. Felt great, that is until I was on the rocks at French Creek - literally. At the bottom of a fast decent, I hit a rock garden with way too much speed. My bike went left, my body went right. I slid head first across some rocks while my bike came to rest upside down in the middle of the trail. It's too bad I didn't have a camera. All I've got to show for it are some nasty bruises and abrasions. Luckily the only thing that came home in two pieces was my bike... considering the speed at which I crashed, I'll gladly take the $50 replacement fee for this lever blade...
It took me a minute or so to collect myself, and get back on the bike. In the meantime the race was still going, Mike Yozell and Cameron Dodge caught up. Apparently I looked a bit disheveled because both of them kindly checked in to see if I was OK. Shook up, I persevered and rode with Mike for the rest of the first lap and part of the second. I don't think I ever fully regained my composure out there, and Mike's descending skills were way too hot for me to handle... On the second lap he rode away from me and I was relegated to sixth place for the day. I feel like I was very fortunate to have finished the race and the sixth place finish was a nice bonus.
Looking back on the day, I think Marcus designed the course this year with one intention: to punish people... I picture him sitting at a table on Wednesday night, with a beer in his hand saying: "eff em... I'm making this year the hardest yet." I think he succeeded...
Our Mother's Day recovery couldn't have been more perfect...
Hope you had a good one. I know we did.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Wawayanda Spring Cleaning H2H series #1
I had just about everything I needed prepared and ready to go the night before. It's so nice - and so different from the norm - to not have to scramble the morning of a race. Apparently, some of the good in Kim is rubbing off on me. It's a damned good thing too... we needed to be on the road at 6. BP showed up in our driveway at quarter till.
The drive took us through scenic Bucks County and into the rolling hills of North Jersey. As we approached the venue, I marveled at the menacingly large hills and plentiful rocks. The terrain wasn't nearly what I was expecting, but I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting... Regardless, the landscape had my mind racing and my nerves churning. We arrived a full two hours early for Kim's race at 10:30. I knew she was a bundle of nerves being her first H2H race in years. Fortunately for her, relief was coming soon, whereas I needed to wrestle with mine for almost five hours before toeing the line. Some light hearted joking about Ron's amusing USAC license predicament helped pass the time. I also snuck away to catch Kim on her laps to give her a lil love.
For the first couple miles I was getting jammed up by the traffic. It was frustrating for sure, because I could see Ron slipping away and I knew there was at least one guy away from him. One by one, the guys ahead of me were making mistakes that I could capitalize on. Finally I managed to break free and bridge up to Ron.
Unfortunately, that was short lived because the last third of the lap is mostly doubletrack. I waved by-bye to Ron as he just walked away, pushing the right gear.
Early on the second lap, I traded spots with Brian Lariviere and another guy for a mile or two. On one of the pretty techy sections, Brian took a nice digger in front of me... I went left and made it through unscathed while the other guy got jammed. After that, I managed to almost bridge back up to Ron again. I got to within 10 seconds, but just couldn't close it. The double track struck again and that was the last I'd see of any of my competition. It made for some interesting head games on that lonely third lap. I'd push hard, then follow it up with complacency. I'd get scared, look around and push again. For a while, I was fueled by the prospect of reeling in Ron, but it just never came to fruition. Not wanting to get caught with my pants down, I pushed as hard as I could on the double track. I knew if I was going to loose 3rd, it'd be here. In the end, I found out that Ron was only ~20 seconds up. Damnit... just out of sight.
At the end of the day, TBR brought four racers to Wawayanda and we earned four podium spots. Not a bad showing, not bad at all. We were all pretty destroyed after our efforts on a truly abusive - but super fun - course. This was more technical than any course in the MASS, I think. This place is ROCKY. This place is AWESOME. This place will make French Creek seem kinda tame. See you out there...