Think Pink Goes Rigid

Yep, that's right, once again I am messing around with bike setups. People that know me well enough understand I have an obsessive behaviour that involves changing up things on my bikes on a regular basis just to try something new.

Recently I had my Fisher Ferrous SS 29er set up rigid and rode it on back-roads mostly. I really liked the setup, but on the trails I did not think it was so great...in fact it downright sucked.

Then on one of my trail rides I had a "duh" moment (or maybe it was a "Doh!" moment) and realized that the fully rigid bike may ride better over the rough stuff with a bigger volume front tire for a bit of suspension effect. But after running through the mental inventory catalogue I found that I did not have a 29er tire larger than a 2.1 in my stock of "stuff". So that led to another inspiring moment within milliseconds...after which I raced home where there was instantly a flurry of activity in the bicycle laboratory. Within minutes the Think Pink Gunnar was transformed into a fully rigid, ultra trim, single-speed.

With the Pacenti Neo-Moto 650Bx2.3 tire up front I headed out to prove it was a worthy ride. Out at Hells Gate State Park I was a tad disappointed at first since the ride was nicer than on the 29er, but still a tad stiff and "boingy" over the rocks. So I let some more air out, then even more, and more, and...until the desired effect was achieved. The end result was an air pressure of 18psi in the front tire...at this pressure the bike was a smokin fun ride. The Pacenti tire is a true 2.3 and appears larger in volume...I never pinch flatted or even came close and my entire body is thankful and I seem to smile a lot while riding it...of course the normal, gentle thrash testing will continue.

One more thing has been brewing in the background here for some time now...his name is Jeremiah, soon to be adopted by Donna and I unless some weird unforeseen thing happens.