Jamie is an old friend, and being a Kiwi (from New Zealand) and from Dunedin (way down south) he “appreciates value”. It just leaves more cash in your pocket for beer! He had just jumped on the 29er bandwagon, and whilst he loved the momentum, and “rollover” we all hear about, he felt that his old 5.5 inch travel 26 inch wheeled trail bike would be better suited for marathon racing and endurance. Him, getting old and all …
Being a Cannondale with a long travel Lefty fitted, we were bound to a Lefty hub. One of our own XLR8 9mm Disc rear hubs was selected. Some good New Old Stock silver alloy rims were found in the deepest recesses of the warehouse, and the tubeless ready results are as you see here.
He’d been lucky enough to get a nice new warranty frame recently, and as a result had upgraded most parts. Just the wheels remained. We talked and decided that an wheelset circa 1600g would be the right combination. This would save about 500g from his bikes weight, and would be immediately felt in acceleration and climbing.
Strong, Light, and “Good Value” – who says you can’t have all three?
