NEW BIKE DAY! 2012 Felt DA4 with HED Jet9

Sometimes a bike direct from the manufacturer will do the job, sometimes it won't.  This bike was oh-so-close for it's new owner, but the wheels just weren't up to the spec he wanted.  The Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 derailleurs are tried and proven.  The Vision Metron shifters are new but really great, but when rolling on a $4000 bike one needs some nicer shoes sometimes. 

Since we knew he'd be racing on some HED Jet9's, the obvious choice for training wheels was the HED Ardennes.  With the exact same rim width and brake track, it's a simple swap from Adrennes GP to race wheels with nary a brake adjustment needed.

The final change this thing saw out of the box was the addition of a Quarq powermeter, which was transplanted from his previous rig.  Not bad, eh?

Here's the obligatory front glamour shot as I don't think too many people will see the front of this bike all that often.  The Bayonet 3 system on the new DA isn't the most user-friendly to set up, but it's solid and once the fit is dialed really does it's job.  The system allows a ton of bar adjustment as well, which is a huge plus for us from the fitting side.

Sexy profile view sporting her race shoes, this bike cannot be ridden slow.  If you aren't ready to push yourself in your next triathlon or TT, do yourself a favor and ride something else.  Going slow won't reflect well on you or your bike.

Here's a view more similar to what I expect competitors to have of this bike.  It's loud, it's screaming fast, yet it's still a great looking bike.

The HED Jet9 wheels were a compromise between my recommendation and the customers idea of fast.  I said "JET DISC JET9 COMBO!", he said "I don't want a disc", we ended with Jet9 pair.  Fine.  But at least he let me put super-fast Vittoria EVO SC tires and Latex Vittoria tubes on those Jets!

Profile shot with the training wheels.  A simple swap from race wheels, the brakes don't need adjustment, which is one less thing to stress about the night before the race when you pull the Adrennes off and put the Jet9's on.

Continental Gatorskin Hardshell tires make for a great training buddy as they are extremely durable, have excellent puncture protection, but don't ride like stones.  They won't be as plush as the Vittoria EVO SC on the race wheels of course, but they should last for thousands and thousands of miles.

Super-wild seat stay/seat tube junction.  When no brake is needed designers are allowed to run free with what will be the fastest design.  Felt came up with this awesome shape that even if it doesn't work, it looks great!

Dura-Ace rear shifting from Shimano is nice, but I wasn't impressed with Felt's choice of housing length.  This bike will be re-cabled with white housing shortly cut to the appropriate length.

UCI says this one passes snuff.  For most of us this doesn't matter, but it is nice to know if you find yourself in a UCI-sanctioned TT you'll be free to ride.

There it is, go-fast wheels on a go-fast frame.  All it needs is a crazy cardiovascular system to push it down the road!

First Rides: Schwalbe Rocket Ron 29 x 2.25 EVO Pacestar Tires

This year I've made it a point to try as many new 29er tires as reasonably possible.  When I started with 29ers, I loved the Maxxis CrossMark.  The tread is still really nicely designed, but weights of tires has come down a lot in the last 5 years.  At well over 600g per tire, that weight no longer constitutes a race tire in my opinion.

My search stayed with Maxxis originally, and I fell in love with the Aspen.  It's a fast-rolling tire with more cornering grip than the CrossMark with a weight that's almost 70g lighter than the CrossMark, the Aspen was a big hit.

Of course, since I'm on a roll, there's no need to stop with "good enough".  Being a fan of Schwalbe treads on CX tires, namely my FMB Grippo XL sporting the old Racing Ralph tread, I decided Schwalbe was the company to turn to next.  Their tires aren't cheap, which is why I carefully selected the first Schwalbe tread to try.  The Racing Ralph is ever-popular, but with rain predicted when I was placing the order, I decided on the Rocket Ron.

The Rocket Ron 29 x 2.25 EVO with Pacestar tire is much higher volume than I am used to, measuring 2.22" at the casing and 2.32" at the tread.  Being used to a 2.1" tire, this was a change for me.  The height of the knobs was way out of my normal comfort zone having spent so much time on super-fast-rolling XC race tires, I wasn't sure what to expect.  Claimed weight is 520g per tire, actual weights were 525g and 531g.

When mounting the Rocket Ron on my NoTubes Crest rims, the tires popped immediately into place, formed a great seal, and didn't have any sidewall air leaks.

I don't toss this out there very often, if ever, but this is a "hero" tire.  You may or may not have heard of "hero dirt", the kind of tacky soil that makes anyone corner like a pro.  Well, this tire allows a guy like me to have that connected-to-the-trail feeling I assume XC pros feel every day.  The tire also rolls unnaturally fast, with very little resistance.  I was absolutely stunned at how quickly this tire gets you down a nice trail.

On the flip side, the size and spacing of the knobs made me believe this would make for a good mud tire.  Their first ride was in an XC race that probably shouldn't have even happened because of the trail conditions, but it did.  I assume any tire would have been a disaster, but this tire did disappoint that day.  Since then I've found myself on the trail in a couple of muddy spots and the tire has performed respectably but not incredibly.

The Rocket Ron tread is an aggressive all-conditions XC tire.  In my opinion it's not a mud tire, and it's not the absolute fastest XC race tire.  If you need to choose one tire for all conditions, this one will be tough to beat.

As an aside, I have had a few issues with glass on this tire.  I firmly believe the glass that cut these tires would have cut anything, and I believe I just found myself in some bad conditions, but it should be noted that I did get a few cuts very early on.  The tires did eventually seal  with Stan's NoTubes sealant, but it makes me nervous to be riding a tire with a few big cuts and would really irritate me to have these cuts on a $95 tire (EACH!!) if it were my only set.  Again, I think the glass would have cut any tire, but not every tire is $95.

February Roadie Tire Sale

Now through the end of February, pick up a pair of Continental GP4000s, Vittoria Corsa EVO CX or CS (Open or tubular), or Michelin Pro4's and a pair of Vittoria Latex tubes and get 30% off the bundle.