Little By Little

For the last week or so Mpls has been getting a few inches of fresh snow every couple days.  The snow, along with enough local fat bikes to pack the tread, has created a nice base on many of the local trails.  This weekend I made sure I rode some singletrack.

I got in 3 fun laps at Wirth on Saturday, one solo and two with a buddy.  The trail was in great condition for fat tires with a fairly packed tread between 1 and 2 feet wide.  It always surprises me how much smoother the trail is in the winter.  The uphill rock climb, which is tough in the summer, is a piece of cake with a good snow base over it.  

I also got out for a quick ride on Sunday. This time just to the Minnehaha Falls and back to get some photos of the morning's fresh snow...

A few buddies of mine have taken some really cool photos from below the falls recently and I wanted to go see it for myself.  If you are in the area, you should go check it out.  

I spent Saturday night relaxing with a beer and the parts for my 29+ front wheel.  The wheel built up nice and solid (and quickly).  The 29+ rim and tire fit perfectly in the custom Waltworks fork.  

The Rabbit Hole rim is frickin' sweet.  It's crazy how light this wheel is for being so big and wide.  In fact I like this wheel so much, that I plan to eventually build up another one for the rear.  The Fargo should be awesome with a Knard/Rabbit Hole combo in front, and a Saguaro 2.2/Rabbit Hole in the back.

For any 1st generation Fargo owners out there that are curious what fits and what doesn't, here's what I tried:

Stock frame and fork will fit a "standard" tire on a Rabbit Hole.  The fattest 29er tire I have is a 2.2 Geax Saguaro.  It had a good amount of clearance in the fork, but the frame was a bit tighter with about 1/4" clearance on each side.

The Knard on a Rabbit Hole is a no go; the tire has (at best) 1mm clearance on each side in the fork.  Way too tight.  I didn't even try the RH/Knard combo in the frame.  

According to some posts on MTBR, a Rabbit Hole will fit in the stock fork if it's on a "standard" width rim.  I'm a bit skeptical though; the Knard is significantly bigger than a standard 29er tire.  

I'm not sure how any of this changes (if at all) for a Gen 2 Fargo.

Go ride a bike...