Round and Round we Go

I'm quickly losing patience listening to Obama's paratactic speeches... the style just irritates me, and I usually am waiting to hear someone in the background exclaim "Amen brotha!" or that I should stand up and exclaim "Hallelujah"! But most likely my feelings are spurred-on while listening to the endless rhetoric of "change" interspersed with the familiar words of sending more troops to Afghanistan, another $700+ billion dollar "stimulant" package, bailing out people that willingly signed up for mortgages that they shouldn't have gotten in the first place... and so on.

But before I rant too much, or have to listen to another baseball player that has been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, "bravely" come out and lie to us that they had no idea what they were putting into their bodies... we'll just look at some more bike pr0n.

I built up a new set of tubulars, specifically for the new cross bike. I've been lusting after building a simple, reliable, classic set of tubulars for some time now. It's really not that muddy here, so it makes it that much harder to justify the need for carbon tubular cross wheels. Especially when this set could be had for about $600 retail and weigh in at a very respectable 1474 grams. For less than the cost of a single carbon rim, this set includes top-notch DT-240 hubs, Kinlin TB-25 rims, and wheelsmith spokes and nipples. Non-bullshit race wheels here.

Not the first time I've built Kinlin rims, but the first time with this particular model. I was definitely impressed with the way the wheels built up; the rims are very stiff, even with the lower spoke count. And they were as straight and round out of the box as any of the other big name rim brands I've built.

The front hub spins;

The rear hub spins AND has a ratchet mechanism;

Gold nipples were a must, to add a bit of bling, and match some other gold bits on the new bike;

20 radial spokes up front;

20 2-cross spokes on the rear;

I can't wait to glue some knobbies onto them, and see how they roll! Is it time for cross season yet!?