Sunday, October 14, 2007

Never bring a Switchblade to a cat fight

Pw helped me get the Pugs ready for winter again yesterday. Thanks a bunch Pat! Got the new Switchblade fork and CK wheel installed. As well as the old faithful XTR rear derailer off the 8000 and a new chain. It looks great, and as a bonus, found out that this new front end makes it steer a million times better. I'm not sure of the weight savings yet. The fork is a lot lighter and the hub is narrower and without a disc mount or rotor. I bet I easily saved two pounds or more over the old setup. Now I'm just waiting for a couple more parts to show up next week that should lighten the load even more. Stay tuned. In the mean time enjoy a few photos and a video of our UFC kitties.

Amazingly the tire slips right into the fork at full pressure. I thought for sure I'd have to deflate and work to make it fit.

Plenty of clearence. I think I see daylight in between there : ) Nothing rubs though.

Tight tolerences. This receipt fits right in the gap : )

Jax relaxing after a hard fought win for the 100 calorie snack box trophy.

8 comments:

Brian said...

Looks good Vino.

I can only imagine how much that improved the handling and lightened up that front end.

That's some tight clearance! :)

FixieDave said...

looks good...

kinna looking forward to the snow flying this year ;)

G-reg said...

I'm thinkin you'd get some rubbing if you did use a disc on the front. How flexy is the fork, Cuz that's tight. That paint made of Barney has to be pretty heavy. I'd suggest a respray in Arctic Cat green for some ND/MN winter "camouflage."

Charlie Farrow said...

Hey Dave...thatz a 29er fork right??? Will that fork also fit on your crossbike? (that would be a sweet combo...put some a light carbon flat bar coupled with that fork on your Lemond bike and that could be the winning ticket for the 2008 RED ASS!)... Other ideas for weight savings could inlcude drilling out the Surly rims? Kooing forward to seeing you at the Arrowhead...Let me know your plans...maybe we could share a room(s)
Cheers!
Charlie

Simmons said...

Thanks for the compliments guys. Wait till you see what's next :)

Greg - It isn't very flexy. I don't plan to run a front brake, so hopefull that isn't an issue. I have thought about getting it re-powder coated. I was thinking of a white camo though :)

Charlie - It's the 26er version, but there is a 29er version which would work great for your idea. Might have to look into that after this winter. I have thought about drilling the rims, and pw from the Ski and Bike Shop is doing some R&D for me as we speak :) We'll see how it turns out. Although Kid Reimer from Salsa drilled his out last year and only saved something like 40 grams per wheel. Have you seen the post on the MTBR Alaska forum about the 3 lb titanium frame for $1600? That would be some serious weight savings. Maybe next year :) As for the Arrowhead, I'm currently in negotiations with FedEx management about getting the time off :) I think Rick already has a room reserved. There should be room in a bed or at least on the floor if you don't mind that. I'll find out for sure and e-mail you.

Keep the comments coming.

Brian said...

You better get that time off for Arrowhead...that's your race, man!

Give us a hint as to what's in the cards...

White camo. I like it. Might lose it in the snow though.

Brooks Leedahl said...

your current cyclocross fork is several hundred grams lighter then a switchblade. you'd also be going from 45mm of rake to 38mm.

that would not be good. not good at all.

Simmons said...

Your hint is that it has something to do with pw :)