29ers 29ers 29ers

This may be an obvious post, but I want people to know about this.
29ers are 700c mountain bikes. The tires would be like 700x60s. Big tires. Big rims.
The 29er technology is finally catching up to the frame builders who reached their stride really quickly. If you haven't ridden a 29er in the mountains, you need to.
Advantages:
They roll over things more easily.
The foot print that the larger tire makes is much larger (25% and up)
Climbing is easier because of the last 2 listed
Because of the size of the tires and wheels, suspension is much less necessary for the rough stuff.

Disadvantages:
Still not much of a selection on tires and forks
In tight singletrack techy sections, you may find you need to go slower to clear quick turns.

All in all, if you are over 5'7" you may be a candidate to go faster with less effort. We are getting in Kona Unit 29ers for demo and I would love to show off the ti black sheep that gets parked at the shop. We believe that if you go on a familiar trail that is not ski lift style, you will go faster. The builder for Black Sheep went about 15% faster on his favorite loop in Fort Collins, on his first ever 29er ride. That was enough for me to be impressed.

Favorite 29 tires: Maxxis Ignitor
Favorite 29 frames: Black Sheep
Favorite 29 rims: Salsa Delgados (I hear rumors of Mavic soon...)
Favorite 29 fork: Black Sheep (lots of healthy flex)

Have fun. Go ride.

Cool off plus Interbike

It got damn cold. Glove cold.

We still have not received the Giants yet, though we did get the 2007 catalog. I see atleast 2 bikes that I *must* own. By the way my stomach dropped when I saw them, I am getting an OCR C1 (or C0). The debate is still out on which MTN bike I want, but the Reign X0 looks like my push-up-hills-cause-i'm-too-lazy-to-climb-but-not-too-lazy-to-decend bike. It might climb though. I'm not terribly skilled, having fun while riding is my strong point. Not too fast uphill, and I'm clum-zay going downhill. I will make up for my weakness through my purchase.

Interbike is a week away. I'm excited about seeing the new 29er stuff, specifically the tires and rims... the frames are all going to end up the same eventually. I will do my best to update the website (http://www.salvagetti.com) and here with new and interesting stuff. I get to play at the dirt demo on Tuesday and will be at the show for the rest of the time. I hope to nail down some great lines for 2007, but I'll have to wait to tell you exactly who it is.