Heading to the City of Brotherly Love

This coming weekend, November 9th and 10th, the Philly Bike Expo is on and it promises to be bigger and better than before. We'll be there (booths 1010/1009) with a selection of built up bikes- Pass hunter, Campeur, Polyvalent and a Camargue - along with a display of parts and accessories for folks to look at and ask questions.

 A shot of last year's show- courtesy Bina Belinky

The show is in a larger venue this year, The Philadelphia Convention center, so more room to walk about and see all the cool stuff on display, plus, it's right in the heart of Philly. Close to the Reading Public Market and all the other places that make Philly a great place to visit for a weekend.

The show is Saturday 10 to 6 and Sunday 10 to 5.

For more details, go to  www.phillybikeexpo.com

 Hope to see you there.

Rinko Headset in Action

Ryan sent over some photos of his new Rinko Headset in action at the "Matsumoto Station is Nagano prefecture after four wonderful days in the Japanese Alps."

Lunchtime Passhunting

by Igor

Casey and I took the Passhunters out for a afternoon jaunt around a local park.

Trails were empty except for a few fishermen. Stopped at the water for some Brie, Chianti sausage, baguette, and hydration. Enjoy!

Frame Comparison

With all of these new frames coming out (Pass Hunter and Camargue), we decided it would be helpful to put together a frame comparison matrix. The frame comparison tool can be found on our tech page (and below). While you're over there you may notice that we also put up the geometry for the Pass Hunter. Astute readers will also notice that frame comparison matrix contains some yet unreleased geometry for the Camargue.

The Pass Hunters should be in within a week or two. Our distributor in Thailand already received Pass Hunters and he sent us this picture of the frame he intends to build up for himself.

It looks like the Crazy Bars should be here around mid-November.

Frame Capabilities

Frame	Passhunter	Polyvalent	Campeur	Camargue
Max tire size with fenders (Intended Tire Size) [mm]	32	38	38	54(2.1")
Wheel Size	700c	650b	700c	Size 56, 59, 62 - 700c (29") Size 47, 50, 53 - 26"
Brake Mounts	Cantilever	Cantilever	Cantilever	Cantilever
Rear Dropouts	Vertical	Horizontal	Vertical	Horizontal
Kickstand Plate	No	Yes	Yes	No

Geometry Highlights

Frame	Passhunter	Polyvalent	Campeur	Camargue
Trail (With Intended Tire Size) [mm]	56	37	56	56
Chainstay Length [mm]	435	445	460	Size 56, 59, 62 - 460 Size 47, 50, 53 - Pending Testing
BB Drop [mm]	75	67	82	Size 56, 59, 62 - 70 Size 47, 50, 53 - 40

Mounting Capabilities

Frame	Passhunter	Polyvalent	Campeur	Camargue
Rear Dropout Eyelets	1	2	2	2
Seatstay Eyelets	Internal	External (spool)	External (spool)	External (spool)
Fork Dropout Eyelets	1 - lower	2	2	2
Mid-fork Eyelets	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Water Bottle Cage Mounts	2	2	3	3

Chris's Afternoon Off

Testing the Camargue, Part Deux

by Igor

Chris tasked me with giving the 29er Camargue a good thrashing at Rosaryville State Park. I’ve ridden those trails many times with my single speed hardtail and full squish. This bike can be characterized in one word: addicting.

Its full rigid nature means that you have a much stronger connection to the ride and terrain. No pedal bob means that you can negotiate obstacles with more confidence and choose your lines deliberately, as opposed to just rolling over and losing speed. Choosing your lines makes you a better and faster rider, especially when negotiating obstacles and climbing varied terrain. The 56mm mid-trail design makes for an ultra stable and confident ride when going around curves: no diving or understeer.

The Alfine 8 was a very cool experience. Shifting without pedaling was great even though I had to click several times to increase tension, as opposed to how other Shimano trigger shifters perform. There are a few downsides. The 8-speed, 20T sprocket mated to a 34T front ring gave enough range for a lightweight ride, but not enough, as Casey mentioned, for a loaded rig. An 11-speed or a Rohloff would be a better fit for bikepacking with an IGH.

Enough geek speak, onto the pictures!