Thursday, January 29

New Bike Porn

The Vassago lives! After an initial build to get a few dimensions, subsequent ordering of more parts and then patiently waiting for Mr.Brown Truck to show up, the Jabberwocky is finally ready to ride for real. I'm not sure if it's quite done yet but it needs some pedal strokes of anger before I can know any more.

Big thanks to Marni and Mr.Nice for the frame, Brady for help with the wheel build and sweet parts I would not have been otherwise able to afford and Dad for the seat, pedals and crankset.

First impressions? It feels light at under 22lbs and there are still plenty of places to trim if I really wanted to spend the money to go sub 20lbs. For a frame that weighs almost 5.5lbs in a size 20" and fork that's not really *that* light by weight weenie standards, it's a pretty good start.

-The brakes are really nice and purdy, I hope they work well as I've been on Hayes for the past few years with zero issues.
-The ESI grips seem interesting, we'll see if they can displace the Titec Pork Rinds I've been using.
-The Thomson Masterpiece is just as nice as my last one and the saddle is the old standby SLR. Salsa bar is the same as the Monocog has and I've got Syntace F99 stems in 90mm and 105mm to try out. I've been using the F99 stem for a few years now and they have held up fine.
-Wheelset is 1650g, Notubes 355's on WTB Laser Disc Lites, set up with yellow tape and will be tubeless once I try out some tires first.
-The fork is the On One Superlight Carbon, should be interesting. Rotor clearance is tight but works fine so far. Weight is 910g with currently some extra steerer tube.
-Headset is a King, cog is a Surly for now, chainring a Salsa, spacers PVC and the chaintug is a Redline cheapo. I tried the built in screws yesterday a bit and let's just say I'm not using them since one is already bent.
-Skewers are Bonti's from the parts bin. Anyone have any recommendations for lightish but nice and strong clamping skewers? XTR? other? No tiny WW skewers please, they won't work out back, I've tried on the Monocog.
-The front 2.4 Conti Mtn King is no bigger than the 2.1 Bonti XDX, hopefully it corners well or it's gone. Other tires I am going to try include the Kenda Small Block 8 (rear), the WTB Nanoraptor (front and rear), Maxxis Crossmark (front and rear) and also maybe the Maxxis Ardent (front). I've also got a 2.2 Kenda Nevegal that I'm going to strip off the back of Marni's bike that I suppose I can try up front too. The XDX looks really nice out back and other than being a little porky, it may very well be my go to rear tire if it rides well and is durable. Boy I can't wait to settle on tires a bit and seal everything up with Stans, I hate tubes.

Without further ado, here are the pictures :D
I don't know if there is any dry dirt around but I'm going to go see if I can find any!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wa Wa Wee Wa!! That is a hottie. I will now resume normal respiration.

grannygear said...

That is sweet, Chris. How tall are you? I have looked at the Jabbers to replace my SS Monkey, but I wish the TT on the 20" Jabber was juuuust a bit longer.

grannygear

Chris said...

I'm 5'11" with a 34.5" inseam. I think the TT is just about perfect for me, just a touch shorter than my Fuels.

Carney said...

HOT!!

Dave said...

I think you'll settle on Dry X front, something else rear. The MKing is nice is nasty terrain, but I bet you'll find it too slow.

Very clean color scheme!

Stefan said...

Dang, that's so brillig it gimbles my slithy bandersnatch and raths my tulgey wood!

Doug said...

Awesome! This was porn worth waiting for.

FixieDave said...

sweetness!

Marni said...

Oooooh lah lah. It appears my husband has found another mistress and moved her into my kitchen. Oh wait, I bought her for you. Does that make me your bike pimp?

Love it! It does, however, need a splash of pink...when and where you will least expect it :)

Jeff Kerkove said...

Looks good! That Conti works well. I ran it at Camp Lynda and use it for all training. Also ran it in the Vapor Trail last year.

Dave said...

Hawt! I love the white theme. I am surprised you did not include your beloved Racing Ralphs in your tire list. The 2.25 RR is my favorite all around 29" tire so far. It is light and phat.

Chris said...

The 29er RR's aren't available in snakeskin though so I don't trust the sidewalls. I've slashed several 26er non snakeskin ralphs. Plus I'm done with $75 tires so I'm trying to get hooked on something cheaper :)

So far I have to say the Mountain King is good! Not the largest volume but it bites well. More testing needed but perhaps I was too quick to judge.

Unknown said...

looks awesome

Laptop Parts said...

This is how shall I say.... A product that I would most definitely love to have around the house, I mean it is beneficial.. Am I right or Am I Right?! Whether some may agree or not, it doesn't bug me to enjoy the company of one of these :)
If everybody has them, I think I should have the opportunity in luxuriating myself with the presence of making this my present! Gotta say, its mainly because how well you've explained everything
It's a great gift except for sometimes, but hey it surely does re-coupe and make up for boring and lost times..