Uh oh, need to start saving some money

I was asked this today when talking about 'which bike?', "So what is the 650B like? Have you ridden a 29er? My main concern about bigger wheeled bikes is the responsiveness through fast single track."

So...

I own two 29ers and I thoroughly enjoy them (three if you include my 700c singlecross bike).

After riding the Karingal racetrack a few weeks back on my 29er was tough work. The track has quite a few steep uphill and tight switchbacks. Not wanting to go back to the 26" I thought I'd try the 650b.

I went back to the track last weekend. The Karingal track has lots of singletrack and tree roots galore coming out of the trail in all sorts of places.

The "DefCon1" is fantastic on the track. I like the bike so much I'm seriously considering buying one myself.

The new frames Definitive Concepts are building will have a steeper head-tube which will make it more responsive. I like the way it feels now even though the fitted 100mm suspension fork (X-Fusion Velvet-R) sits higher (slacker) than when I rode it with the rigid fork.

Sliding dropouts gives me the option to fit gears to the bike... not sure I would but the option is there.

Here's a pic of the bike with the suspension fork.


I wonder what the frame would look like in blue?

Hazards of nightriding - eight legged freaks

Riding the mountain bike at night is great fun.
You learn to just let the bike ride through the trail and just ride the bumps and features.
Sometimes however you run into obstacles you'd rather just go around. This one we found in time. I was not so lucky later on when I went through another web... spent the next couple of minutes second guessing myself... the spider is not on me... it's not on me... I'm sure it's not in my helmet either.

650b for the Karingal Race?

Yes... there's a good chance I may be able to use the 650b single speed again.

Definitive Cycles have responded to my request to use their fine bike as I think it is well suited to the Karingal racetrack.

The track has lots of tight uphill switchback turns but still some technical sections where the larger wheel size will be beneficial too.



Not sure how it will be built up... but SingleSpeed is a must..



Now to find a nice fork for the bike too.