First Look: New Bontrager Direct Mount DH Stem, 3.8'' Wide Tire, and Tubeless Floor Pump
Rhythm Pro DH Stem
Bontrager's new direct mount stem is an item that you'll find as stock equipment on Trek's revised Session downhill platform, and the slightly dropped 47mm long model (shown at right in the photo above) was developed as a direct result of the switch to 650B wheels on the new downhill race bike. Why so? The larger diameter wheels raise the handlebar position a touch, and the stem, along with a slightly shorter head tube on the bike, helps to compensate for that. Weight is saved by the rearward faceplate bolts also doing double duty as mounting bolts, and it comes in at 147 grams. There is also a 30mm option (shown at left in the photo above) for those who either really want to shorten up their cockpit or own one of the latest generation of mega-long top tube downhill bikes that have been designed to be used with a short stem. It uses the same double duty rearward faceplate and mounting hardware, but the super short design necessitates that the forward mounting bolts are hidden underneath the handlebar clamp. MSRP $109 USD.
Jackalope TLR Disc 26 Wheelset and Hodag Tire
The fat bike market is growing faster than expected, something that will likely make a lot of sense to you if you've ever ridden one - they're all about fun, which is why you mountain bike, right? Trek has doubled the size their fat bike lineup for 2015 ( from one model to two!) to include one with a RockShox Bluto fork and higher end components, and that's where you'll spot the new Jackalope TLR Disc 26 wheelset that is also available in the aftermarket. Bontrager wanted to create a relatively light fat bike wheelset without having to resort to an ultra-pricey carbon fiber rim, and the result was the 1,330 gram front wheel and 1,552 gram rear wheel that measure 80mm across. Those weights might not sound impressive if you're used to reading about feathery cross-country wheelsets but are actually very respectable in the world of aluminum rim'd fat bike wheels.
The TLR designation means that they can be easily converted to be run sans tubes if you'd like to, with a small channel round the rim bed that fits Bontrager's existing TLR rim strip, as well as spoke holes that are aligned with it that should make it pretty damn simple. We were told that a tubeless conversion can save quite a bit of weight compared to running a standard fat bike tube, and the fact that the Jackalope rim uses a standard width TLR rim strip rather than the rider having to tape off an extremely wide section of the rim further helps matters. They will be available with 177mm rear hub spacing, and either 135mm QR or 15 x 150mm thru-axle to work with the Bluto fork.
According to Wikipedia, a Hodag is a creature that has the ''head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs set off by huge claws, the back of a dinosaur, and a long tail with spears at the end,'' all of which means that you should likely avoid the Hodag nesting grounds that are said to be found in northern Wisconsin. Somewhat disappointingly, however, Wikipedia also says that the Hodag was a hoax played by a local resident. Bontrager's Hodag is a 26'' x 3.8'' wide tire that weighs 1,244 grams and is said to be easily mounted without a tube due to its TLR casing. Again, that weight might not sound like anything to brag about, but it is competitive as far as fat bike rubber goes. There's a lot more rubber and casing compared to a standard mountain bike tire, and the production numbers are obviously smaller, two factors that add up to its $149.99 USD price.
According to Wikipedia, a Hodag is a creature that has the ''head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs set off by huge claws, the back of a dinosaur, and a long tail with spears at the end,'' all of which means that you should likely avoid the Hodag nesting grounds that are said to be found in northern Wisconsin. Somewhat disappointingly, however, Wikipedia also says that the Hodag was a hoax played by a local resident. Bontrager's Hodag is a 26'' x 3.8'' wide tire that weighs 1,244 grams and is said to be easily mounted without a tube due to its TLR casing. Again, that weight might not sound like anything to brag about, but it is competitive as far as fat bike rubber goes. There's a lot more rubber and casing compared to a standard mountain bike tire, and the production numbers are obviously smaller, two factors that add up to its $149.99 USD price.
TLR Flash Charger Floor Pump
Tubeless tires and rims have improved in leaps and bounds over the last few years, especially when it comes to installation and setup. A lot of this is down to much better tolerances between both, as well as smartly designed rims that make seating a tire much less of a wall punching experience than it used to be. That said, there are still many a times when we've been in the garage desperately trying to use a floor pump to seat a tire, and while there are plenty of tricks to help the cause - building up the rim bed with tape to make for a tighter fit, or removing the valve core so you can move more air faster - there are some situations when a compressor is a requirement. That's exactly what the $120 USD TLR Flash Charger floor pump is looking to solve, and it's hoping to do it by way of a secondary air chamber on the pump that you charge with air and then release all at once to hopefully seat the tire. Here's the process: position the red handle downward to direct air into the secondary chamber before pressurizing it, then pump away until you have a good amount of air in there. Then, with the pump head on the valve, pull the same red handle up to release all of the pressure at once, which happen until the tire and the secondary chamber are at equal pressures. Now that your tire is seated, all that's left is to top it off with using the TLR Flash Charger's standard floor pump function. Does it move enough air fast enough to seat a troublesome tire? We were told that it most certainly does, but we'll have one soon to test how well it works.
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Should have applied for that patent, RC.
common known problem with using Co2 on many sealants like Stan's is that it denatures the solution and makes it much less effective in the long term
sorry for telling you to shut up tho. it was mean
www.amazon.com/Texsport-23115-Double-Action-Pump/dp/B000P9IRVK
cut one tip to fit over the presta valve and you easily fill any tubeless tire.
or this.if you don't want to use the car/truck/van www.halfords.com/motoring/garage-equipment/tyre-inflators-pressure-gauges/halfords-twin-barrel-foot-pump-gauge
both of witch are cheaper than that pump.
www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday-Make-a-Ghetto-Tubeless-Tire-Inflator.html
What you need is a sudden blast of air to seat the bead. For compressors, this means you need a storage tank to fill, then release (like the Bonty floor pump has). Those 12V compressors just give you a steady output of air, no high-pressure blast.
just my $0.02
I will be buying this when it is available because I need a new pump (my Birzman pump sucked from day one).
Simple enough to setup but a little air leakage thus the double tie wraps.
www.pinkbike.com/u/delboyirl/album/GhettoTubeless