Snow and gear

Currently there is too much fresh snow to ride in the forest, but in a few days the trails should be hardened enough to give it a try. The XC skiing is currently great, though.

The parts for the Fargo (which has not yet arrived) are now mostly ordered. Below is the plan as well as some random thoughts.

• Mavic A719/XT 36-spoke XT wheels, which should be bombproof. I do have three other 29er wheel sets as well. During the winter a Mavic A119 dynamo disc hub front wheel.
  
• Avid BB5 road disc brakes with 185/160 mm rotors. New.
  
• Tiagra 3x9 STI brake levers/shifters. New.
  
• Deore front derailleur (needs to be slightly modified to work with the STI shifters).
• Deore rear derailleur.
• Thudbuster LT seat post (from the Inbred, which gets an ordinary seat post).
• On-One Midge drop bar. New.
  
• On-One 100 mm stem. New.
  
• Probably a Cane Creek S3 headset or something else from Foxcomp.
• Shimano M540 crank set with 22/32/44 chain rings.
• An ordinary 11-32 cassette.
• I also have a Fizik Rondine saddle, which should be quite comfortable.
  
• Planet Bike Cascadia 29 fenders at some point.
• Shimano M540 SPD pedals.
• A rear rack is also needed at some point.
• The Epic Designs frame bags are really cool, but probably overkill for me. Ordinary panniers, which I already have, should do.
  

Most of the parts I already have, but some must be bought.

Go far pt. 1

A Salsa Fargo frame is on its way from the US. I ordered it through Foxcomp Turku and it should be here in sometimes in the beginning of January. My Nishiki Bigfoot will be retired, at least temporarily, and donate the wheels and drive train to the Fargo. An On-One Midge offroad drop bar is already ordered, but I still don't know which shifters to get. The most likely alternative is the Tiagra 9-speed STI shifters, since I'm not convinced that barend shifters would be good enough. The Fargo should serve me well as a general purpose bike for commuting, cyclocross rides as well as some forest road and terrain touring.

For more info about what the Salsa Fargo is used for, see this video and the Go Fargo and Gnat likes blogs. My ambition level is somewhat lower, though.

Finally winter

The winter is finally here after a wet and dark fall. During the weekend the temperature fell to well below freezing and we even got a few centimeters of snow. The morning commute was extended and performed through the forest.