This in from the field…

This picture is from our dealer in Littleton, CO; Arapahoe Cyclery.

If I were to say anything about these pics it would be that it was pretty scary to follow Dave Butler, the bikes owner, down the 1/2 mile portion of trail called “Box O’ Rocks” at the speed we were maintaining. Dave didn’t seem to mind rolling over the grapefruit sized and bigger obstacles, holding on to his Salsa, Bell Lap drops like it was no big deal. As the bikes season winds down and folks at the shop have a little more time on their hands to say “what if”, this is what you get. I promised not to divulge too many details on how this conversion actually works – figuring it out is half the fun anyway. I will say the front shifting and brakes worked spot on during the mile or so I spun around on the bike, so Dave and the boy’s efforts paid off. We don’t want a bunch of copy-cat XXIX+G’s w/drops running around the front range; that’s how the whole 29′er SS thing got started. Now we’re all the same being different.  I’ll just say the bike is cool and sure does sparkle in the late October CO sun, don’t it?

It sure does…it also reminds me of another Raleigh that was out there a number of years ago…

This is what I absolutely love about the XXIX line of bikes.  There seems to be endless combinations and uses for these bikes.  From cutting single track lines, to adding fenders and street tires to make a commuter.  I’m going to build one up for commuting and post about it soon.