The Turner Sultan

Ok, I know it took me way too long to get this bike built up. Yesterday afternoon was finally my first ride on the new Sultan and I still have perma-grin.


Rick's Basin Trails at Targhee

I am really happy with the way the build turned out and very happy with the final weight: 26.4 lbs with the race wheels on. Not bad for 4" travel 29er. I will trim the brake lines a bit more and play with the bar height but I am very close with my initial measurements. The new Sultan is only .1 lbs heavier than my 26" Turner Flux, mostly due to the "every day" wheelset I have on the Flux.

Initial impressions:
1) I didn't "feel" any slower on steep climbs and stayed in the same cogs as I normally ride on the 26" Flux
2) I felt more comfortable cornering on this bike
3) Rolling over boulders and ledges was easier
4) Riding at a moderate pace, I turned out back to back laps as fast or faster than I did in the WYDAHO race on the 4th.

Targhee's new beginner downhill trail

Almost as exciting as the new bike was the new trail I rode yesterday. Targhee is building three lift-served downhill trails and the first one completed is the "beginner" trail. It just so happens that the beginner downhill trail is also an awesome xc trail if you ride it uphill. I didn't make it all the way up but I climbed steadily for 25 minutes and then turned around and ripped it downhill. Yeehaaw! This is going to be great trail to hone my singletrack skillz as it has a little of everything. Just don't ride it uphill if the lifts are running!

Heading down to Park City this weekend for 10 hours of intermittent fun, speed, pain, and suffering...probably in that order. JayP and I are teaming up in the Park City Perfect 10. Talk about performance anxiety!

Goodbye old friend

It is time to put the 5 Spot frame up for sale. I still love this bike but after riding Chris E's Turner Sultan last fall I knew I wanted to try a 29er and that meant one bike had to go to make room, in the garage and the wallet, for a new bike. I will use a lot of the parts from the 5 Spot in the next build.


Speaking of the next build, look what showed up from Big Wheels Colorado. Mike C. was runs a tight ship and I was impressed with his responsiveness and turnaround time. Plus, he knows a little bit about endurance racing so I trust his recommendations.


This wheelset is only 150g heavier than my DT Swiss/King/Sapim build on my 26" Flux.


I have also wanted to experiment with tubeless and this wheelset will let me run the "goo" or run tubes. I bought three sets of tires to try out:

2.25 Schwalbe Racing Ralph - 560g
2.1 Schwalbe Little Albert w/SnakeSkin - 600g
2.1 Bontrager DryX - 700g

More on the new build later...