Cannibalism

Silly me, breaking the rules too.

The wheels came off The Goat today. I can't remember the last ride I rode on the Diamondback Outlook (lovingly dubbed Hybridzilla), but I do know that I shuffled things around back in early December, decommissioning 'Zilla. From that point forward, she's rested on her back protected from moisture but left in the cold of my balcony. Today, She traded places with The Goat. Bike cannibalism at its best.

The Forte SlickCity tires came out of hiding, and boy are they in sad shape. Usable, but the tire beads are showing their age. Whenever you have to do anything with these tires, I swear it's like trying to put 24" adult BMX tires on 26" rims. It's hard on the tire bead, it's hard on my levers, and really hard on my hands. When these tires finally give up the ghost, I am definitely buying another set. These have been awesome tires for building a street friendly and quick ATB. Combined with clipless pedals and a cassette with an 11t cog, this bike scorches along quite nicely. I achieved 29.5 MPH on its shakedown run at 93 RPM cadence. Sprints well into the 30s will be easy to come by, and the 32mm 85 PSI tires feel plush compared to my road bike but still glide along the pavement with some efficiency.

With any luck, The Goat won't be on her back for too long. Assuming my wife still has a job this week (very long story), I've been given permission to shell out for that double-wall XC wheelset that JR is selling.


The last half of my 6 1/4 mile shakedown run happened with a really gross mist and lots of wet road grime. She still runs just as well as I remember. The SlickCity tires handle water okay with the exception of really hard braking, so tomorrow's rainy commute shouldn't be much of a problem.

Random Tunage:
Binary Finary - 1999
Binary Finary - ChacMool