the final piece

When I first got the Motobecane hardtail, I sold the OEM wheels (I also swapped out the bars, stem, and seatpost). In their place, I used my Stan's 355 Race front wheel, which I had been using with the RIP only on race days. I did not have a ready rear wheel, so instead I shared my Stans Flow / Hadley wheel between the RIP and the Moto. Swapping wheels is a bit of hassle, and the Flow / Hadley combo is a little porky for a XC hardtail-cum-race bike.

The solution? A Stan's Crest rim on a Chris King hub w/ DT Swiss spokes. Mike built it with his usual care and the wheel (w/o tire or cassette) weighed in at 890 grams. I put a Small Block 8 on (the Flow had a Kenda Nevegal). The total weight difference (tire and wheel) was 400g or nearly a pound! As a result, the bike feels more balanced front to back, and more zippy. The rear is smooth like butter.

Mike starts building in the evening

And works into the night

Pretty light for a 29er wheel. This does not include the cassette.

Suddenly singlespeeding

Actually, the single speed conversion took a while, it was losing the derailleur that happened suddenly. In engineering, failure testing is the process of finding the limit of performance by going past it. The same principle applies for bike skills, like cornering. Which is why I low-sided after losing the rear tire in a loose, sandy right turn. The sand was a curse and blessing, though, because it made for a soft landing. My rear derailleur managed to find a cobble, though, and sheared off at the hanger. The derailleur hanger is like a fuse; it's cheap and designed to break, sacrificing itself to save the more expensive derailleur and frame. Thank you, derailleur hanger. So, now what? I was <5min ride from the trailhead. Except that I rode to the trailhead, another 25min via 52 from Mast Blvd. Diana had ridden to work, so she wasn't coming to pick me up. There was only one option: single speed conversion, a classic trailside repair right up there with using a dollar bill as a tire boot. I was riding the hardtail, so it actually worked pretty well. I ended up in 2x5, which was good for riding up a long hill on the way home.

Not good

Better

race bike: arrival and setup

The RIP9 has been a good bike for exploring world of xc and enduro races. But it's a lot of bike for most of those courses, and I got interested in having a light, hardtail, 29er. After considering a few options, I settled on the Motobecane Team Fly29er: <24 lbs, titanium frame, Reba Race fork (100mm), and quality components (full specs). It's available as direct order only, which is a little nerve-wracking but an incredible deal.

I swapped a few things:

• Thompson seatpost for OEM Ritchey post (too short)
• 90mm FSA stem for OEM 115mm Ritchey stem
• QR seatpost clamp for stock non-QR clamp
• FSA SL-K bar (660mm wide carbon bar w/ slight rise) for OEM 570mm wide Al Ritchey bar - ridiculously narrow, I think my road bars are wider.
• Stans wheelset (front: 355 Race w/ AC hub, rear: Flow w/ Hadley hub) from OEM Vuelta wheelset

The bike arrived just after we left for a long weekend out of town (a neighbor accepted delivery). Oh, the waiting.... The bike was well packed and arrived in good shape. The welds were neat.

Though well packed and fully assembled, it needed some work. The cranks, BB, and steerer had not been greased. Mike tuned it up:

As equipped (for now):