New Review: Schwalbe Sammy Slick 700x35

I long for a good file tread.  One that provides minimum rolling resistance but good cornering grip.  Not asking for a lot, right?  Right.

I've long enjoyed the Challenge Griffo XS for training, but cornering with that is akin to riding road tires on ice.  The casing is supple so the ride is smooth, and man does it roll fast.

Not long ago I put a fair number of miles on the Clement LAS, which was awesome.  Great volume, very fast rolling, supple enough, and a nice shoulder that provided some great grip.  Come to think of it, my only complaint was that I was never able to set them up tubeless, but they weren't rated for that anyway.

So here I am, with a file tread I like, but that doesn't mean I should stop there.  Schwalbe's Sammy Slick appealed to me because of the shoulder it offers as well as the luck I've had in the past setting Schwalbe tires up tubeless.  I haven't tried that yet, but the tight bead of these tires I'm hoping will easy to seal up.

The tires are labeled as a 700x35, but set up on my Mavic R-SYS SLR's the casing measured a tiny 31mm, the widest point on the tread was a dismal 32.8.  Bummer since I was digging the idea of a 35mm tire.  Even more of a bummer, the tires are very short, meaning they have very little volume.  Advertised weight was 360g, mine were 325g and 355g.

On a very smooth course, I could see these tires being exceptionally fast.  Unfortunately, on a bumpy course the lack of volume would either force you to stay with low pressure and risk a pinch flat or raise the pressure and forgo grip and comfort.

I'm only a couple of rides into these tires, but so far I can say they roll exceptionally fast when the going is smooth.  The shoulder also grips quite well for a file tread, even when I was doing some hot laps at my favorite hidden gem along the North Branch Trail which offers up a lot of gravel.  The tires are pretty light, so they do spin up fast.

The Sammy Slick strikes me as the perfect tire for The Des Plaines River Trail or if you find yourself hitting some gravel roads.  You'd fly on a smooth and grassy cyclocross course, especially if that course offered some off-camber turns where most other people running file treads would find themselves slipping around.  Unfortunately because of it's narrow size and small volume, I wouldn't recommend these on a bumpy course where the risk of pinch flats would be very high.

Holy Moly! Independent Fabrication XS!

XS Lynskey Helix, Coming Soon.....

A sneak preview of a build coming next week.  X-small Lynskey Helix sporting some beautiful etched logos.  This is a killer upgrade that adds some stealth and durability.  The stock decals seem to hold up fine, but nothing compared to an etched set of DNA logos.

1-1/8" steerer tube and external headset, standard fare which will be plenty stiff for such a small rider.

Beautiful Lysnkey tubing, twisted for this Helix and finished with etched DNA logos.

ENVE fork, can't go wrong with this one.  It has quickly become that standard that builders reach for.

68mm threaded bottom bracket with asymmetrical  chain stays.

One more beautiful detail of a Helix, the clover dropouts.  These are made by Lynskey and reserved for their top models.  Want excellent shifting?  Try a titanium derailleur hanger.

Another nice little touch on the rear brake bridge: a clover carried over from their logo.

This Helix will be rolling on some 2012 Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels and Continental GP4000s tires.

A nice detail shot of the finish on this beautiful frame.  Not only is it durable, but we can care for it in house if something does somehow scratch the finish.

Great detail shot of the Lynskey DNA etched finish.

You know where this one came from.

More information and pictures coming next week....

Lynskey Cooper - XS with SRAM Force/Rival mix

Here's a sweet "little" build.  An x-small Lynskey Cooper with a nice SRAM mix of components, HED Bastogne wheels, Vittoria EVO CX clinchers, and a Salsa cockpit.

This one was built up for a rider at roughly 5' even, with the intent of beginning the journey into road riding.

Titanium frame, Alpha-Q carbon fork, 700c wheels on this x-small.  Normally on a bike this size we'd really lean toward a 650c, but if you already have wheels and want to make it work, we can.

Beautiful decals are easy to replace.  One of the great aspects of Ti and Lysnkey's finish specifically is that we can take care of it in-house.  We have a few tricks to handle scratches, though you'd really need to do some damage to leave a mark on your Ti frame.  We can also order replacement decal kits in a number of colors to customize the frame.

Lynskey uses a beautiful head badge on all of their bikes.  It's also available as a key chain, a nice touch for the cyclist in your life who has "everything".

SRAM Force, a bit of an unsung hero of the SRAM lineup.  The vast majority of the performance of Red at a much more affordable price.

Independent Fabrication Picture Collection

I wish I could say I had built all of these, but this is just a random collection of photos from around the web.  Enjoy.