As technology grows it allows bikes to get faster, lighter and more expensive. At what cost?

Recently at the Iceman Cometh one of the top riders was perched on a light and fast steed. Skinny tubulars for a fast mountain bike course. Going into the last corner the rider (JHK) wiped out losing any chance of 2nd place he had. I haven’t seen a report but what are the chances that narrower tire had something to do with it?

A couple years back Bontrager and Cane Creek were testing out carbon 26″ & 29″ rimmed mountain bike wheels. A friend of mine, that worked for Cane Creek at the time, was trying out a pair of the carbon wheels in the mountains of Pisgah. As he crossed a log jam his front rim gave out. Thankfully he wasn’t hurt but it could of been a very tragic accident.

As a mechanic my job was to keep everyones machine running perfectly. This meant rebuilding shocks, bleeding brakes, swapping parts, and finding that PERFECT setup.

I look forward to pushing the envelope in the next year with everyone that reads this. I might wait until my new health care plan kicks in to ride those super light parts but pushing the envelope is what The Bike Lab is about.