Bike check with Matteo

This week I will be doing a bike check on my latest rig.

This is my 2009 Transition Trail or Park (T.O.P)

This is my latest bike and by far my favorite. It's the most fun and simple bike I have owned ever. I will go into the specifics on how my bike is setup for my riding style.

I am running some lightweight but strong custom WTB wheels with a 2.2 inch wide tires. I have a long history of getting lots of flat tires, so my wheels are setup tubeless, meaning instead of having an inter tube, there is just sealant. I got a nail in my tire last week, and after pulling it out, I lost no air. I run around 65 PSI in my tires to keep them stiff and fast rolling on the streets.

I'm also running a custom WTB saddle that is a limited edition seat, only one was created ever like this. It's comfy and keeps away the chafing. My white frame is composed of chromoly tubing. Chromoly is heavier than aluminum, but stronger then steel, carbon, and aluminum. The frame is short, which makes the bike easier to control, especially in the air. Backflips are much easier on a bike that is shorter because the weight is centered closer to the middle, making rotation easier.

A backflip at Shendo's pond

Up front I have a Fox 36 as a suspension fork. This fork is called a 36 because the stanchions (the gold part of the fork) are 36 millimeters in diameter. It offers 100mm (4 inches) of suspension travel up front, while keeping the weight down. I have only one speed, and one brake. This keeps it simple, and the maintenance down quite a bit. The only part I have to replace often on this bike is the rear tire and the brake pads in the back. I like a simple bike so I don't have to keep spending my time and money on fixing it.

I have the bike setup with lots of purple parts. The wheels, chain, and cranks are anodized purple, I really like this look and will continue to buy purple parts to keep the color scheme going strong. 

Now the cockpit of the bike; I have Vans grips (yes like the vans shoe), with 28 inch wide handlebars. These aren't too wide, but not too skinny, the perfect in-between. My brake cable is extra long so I can spin my handle bars in the air for tricks. As you can see in the photo below, The cable is wrapped a few times, but the cable is not too taught. The stem (the part attaching the handlebars to the bike) is extra short for more control over the bike. The more direct the handlebars are, the more general control you will have over the bike.