I got a new Yeti 7 last Friday and got it built up over the weekend. However, I have no where to ride it!

Anyways, I got some pics of it thought I’d post them here.

I went with a shorter stem than what it came with and swapped the wheels for my trusty DT Swiss 1750 but besides that everything is the parts pick from the Yeti website. You can find out more about this bike at www.yeticycles.com.

I’ll be sure to post and update when I get some dirt on the tires…

-James Wilson-

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DT Swiss has their US headquarters around the corner from my facility and a lot of local riders sport their wheels. They have also been a big supporter of local mountain biking so when I decided to get a new pair of wheels for my freeride bike I went to see what they had to offer. After talking with them about what kind of riding I was doing they suggested a  FR 2350 wheel set and after throwing those sexy red wheels on my bike I put them through their paces for the past few months.

My 2350’s have a 20mm through axle up front and a 10mm through axle hub in the rear. The rear skewer screws down using a cool system that lets you crank down tight on it and then set the “handle” out of harms way. You can get the rear in 135mm or 150mm spacing and upgrade to a 12 or 15 mm through axle if you need.

Around Grand Junction we have some seriously rocky trails. We have some pretty big jumps and drops at The Ranch. We also have some of the best lift access riding in the country within a few hours drive. Add it all up and you have a serious proving ground for any wheel set.

Now, I’m not going to bore you with a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo. You can find all of that out by clicking this link. I do know that I like that they don’t require special tools to service and the Star Ratchet system is pretty trick, but at the end of the day if it don’t translate into a better ride then none of that matters. Instead, I’ll tell you what I’ve learned about these wheels over the last few months -

I do know that they certainly roll better than the stock wheel set I had. Super premium bearings and shedding a few grams makes a noticeable difference on the trail. The extra speed and smoothness is noticeable and welcome on a 43 pound bike.

I also know that getting a 10mm through axle on the rear stiffened things up considerably. Once you use one of these you’ll never want to run a regular skewer again. It just feels like a noodle once you get used to the extra stiffness.

More importantly, I also know that I have pounded the living crap out of them and they have stayed strong and true. I even had a mishap where I cased thelanding on a 30 foot hip and had my derailer thrown into my spokes. The wheel came out fine – I did not even have to change any spokes!

I’ve spent 3 days at Keystone and 1 day at SnowMass since I got them and they have yet to show any signs of the high speed pounding those places put on your wheels. I have overshot every jump at the Ranch (I have a problem with going too fast) and have only needed to tighten a few spokes here and there.

I have also avoided getting a single pinch flat which is pretty good. I run relatively low air pressure for around here – usually about 35 psi – and have heard rock hitting my rim without consequence. The rims have also avoided flat spots, something I have heard a lot of riders ask me about. Yes, the softer metal helps you avoid pinch flats but it is not so soft that the rims get whacked too easily.

They are a bit of a pain to mount brand new DH tires on but once the tires have broken in a bit and the sidewalls aren’t as stiff they are much easier to deal with. Of course, when you don’t get that many pinch flats you don’t have to worry about constantly taking tires on and off unless you ride a different tire every time you ride.

Sure, you can find cheaper wheels but if you want a wheel set that rolls fast, stays strong and true and resists pinch flats you’d be hard pressed to find a better option. They look sweet, too, which is always nice.

DT Swiss is also a great company that stands behind their products. I’ve had to deal with some bad companies in this industry and I can tell you that paying a few bucks extra to know that there will be an intelligent person who cares about helping you on the other line when you call with a problem is huge.

I’m also riding a pair of their 1750’s on my trail bike I’ll report back on. I was just so impressed with how well these wheels have stood up to the abuse I’ve dished out I wanted to let you guys know about them first.

-James Wilson-

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There few pieces of gear that changed my life as much as my 5-10’s did. I ride platform pedals all the time and while I love riding them I always had issues with keeping my feet on them.

For a while I was buying some $10 shoes from Payless that would work for about 2 months before the soles got ripped apart and then I would buy a new pair. I tried skate shoes as well but I still had issues, especially if they got wet.

I lived in Hawaii at the time and getting your feet wet and muddy as part of the ride was not uncommon. No shoe I tried would work worth a crap if they got wet or muddy and I had some pretty hairy situations thanks to that fact.

Enter the Intense Sticky Rubber shoe. I first saw them at Interbike and knew I had to try a pair. The soles looked durable and the dude at the booth said they were made of the same rubber they used in mountain climbing shoes. Sticky rubber sounded very promising to me…

I ordered a pair and when I got them I knew that my riding was about to change. I put them on and went for a pedal around the parking lot and found that I literally couldn’t get my feet to slide off the pedals. In fact, I had to pick my foot up just to twist it a little so I could adjust the position. It was pretty insane after experiencing all the other shoes and their pathetic attempts to keep me on my pedals.

Sure enough they also stood up well to wet and muddy conditions. I could cross a stream or step down in some mud and when I put my foot back on the pedals they stayed put. Maybe not as well as when they were dry but much better than anything else I had tried.

After Intense stopped making them I lost track of how to find them for a few years and even had to buy a pair of Etnies when my original sticky rubber shoes finally wore out.

One day my wife was on Zappos.com and found a pair of sticky rubber mountain biking shoes from this company named 5-10. Seems that this mountain climbing shoe company made the original shoes for Intense and they started to sell them on their own after Intense stopped carrying them. I was stoked and ordered 2 pairs, just to be safe.

I can not recommend these shoes enough. I think that every new rider should start out on platform and that every rider on platforms should use these shoes. They even let you get better power transfer when pedaling because of how well they stick to the pedals. All in all they are well worth the investment as they stand up to a lot of use and you’ll get at least 1+ years use out of a pair.

They now come in a variety of colors and styles so you won’t look like the black shoe drone army that was developing there for a while so you fashionistas out there can find something to match your bike. I have to admit that I have not tried the offerings from other shoe companies but I can not believe that they are better than 5-10’s. If you haven’t tried them give them a shot, especially if your still rocking the $10 Payless shoes…

-James Wilson-

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