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Fast Trak 29er tires available THIS WEEK

6K views 58 replies 25 participants last post by  shiggy 
#1 ·
The latest word on the Fast Trak 29er

Received this email response from the Specialized product manager 30 minutes ago (Dec 12, 2005, 11:17am):
They (the Fast Trak 29er) are scheduled for release, they are being inspected at our warehouse, today or tomorrow. Dealers should be able to get them within 24 hours of that...

### ###
Product Manager
Tires, Tubes, Pumps, Cages, Computers
So at the end of the week go bug your local Specialized dealer to order them.

Fast Trak 29x2.00 part #0016-0285
 
#27 ·
shiggy said:
Mostly the 'Shot lately. I need to shoot pics of the latest bar setup.
What ever came about with the Vul-Chester? I was really anxious to see how that bike came out. I've got semi-serious plans for a geared, Midge bar specific 29"er.

Those Midge bars are really nice off-road. I like them much better than my WTBs. The shallow drop is perfect!

LP
 
#28 ·
lanpope said:
What ever came about with the Vul-Chester? I was really anxious to see how that bike came out. I've got semi-serious plans for a geared, Midge bar specific 29"er.

Those Midge bars are really nice off-road. I like them much better than my WTBs. The shallow drop is perfect!

LP
D-rock is still working in the paint job. We are using a new masking film and it has been troublesome. All the graphics and logos are being painted on. No stickers. He wants the finish to be perfect.

Glad you like the Midge.
 
#29 ·
shiggy said:
D-rock is still working in the paint job. We are using a new masking film and it has been troublesome. All the graphics and logos are being painted on. No stickers. He wants the finish to be perfect.

Glad you like the Midge.
Oh man....that should be awesome. Can't wait to see the finished product.

B
 
#30 ·
shiggy said:
Mostly the 'Shot lately. I need to shoot pics of the latest bar setup.
What can you tell us about the ride of the Slingshot? I myself have been very interested in trying one now that they offer a 29'er. It just seems like it would compliment a 29er concept really well.

Also, rumor has it that a Slingshot rides better with a rigid front fork....any comments about that?

thanks in advance.
 
#31 ·
juansevo said:
What can you tell us about the ride of the Slingshot? I myself have been very interested in trying one now that they offer a 29'er. It just seems like it would compliment a 29er concept really well.

Also, rumor has it that a Slingshot rides better with a rigid front fork....any comments about that?

thanks in advance.
Has been discussed in another, older thread. Please do a search or wait until I post the new 'shot pics. Do not want to hijack this thread too much.
 
#33 ·
goneskiian said:
Sweet!

So, how are these tires in the NW winter wet and mud? Not that we've had a lot of that lately, but we might by the time I've got a bike rolling. I'm talking western Washington stuff here.

Thanks!
-Ian
I can not tell you yet. Not a tread I would hold much hope for in the muck. They have been great everywhere else.
 
#35 ·
Great news!

I put a lot of miles on these tires this summer. I like them really well for the rear in the dry Norcal High Sierra riding for the rear. Had the front wash out on me twice, really was surprised as it had never happened with another tire on the 293.

The Fast Trak may be a much better front with the new 29mm Salsa rim as the outside knobs don't touch down much with my TK 7.1's. Wider rims would help this issue, I think.

29erchico
 
#39 ·
Everyone reports the folding Exi's to be some 80g lighter a piece than the wire ones, while being identical otherwise.
It strange how often-remarked totally off claimed weights persist for years and years. Even that no-one just makes sure they make sense. When I was in the bizz, I was always into making sure my documentation was absolutely flawless, hating myself when something had slipped.
 
#40 ·
Thanks Clox. I could have checked the weight myself if the ones that I had ordered had been sent. (Hello Piet!) ;)

I agree that publishing incorrect weights is a widespread problem. If you are going to put the information out make sure that it is correct.

Of course, it would also be nice to see disclaimers included. Perhaps something like: "We shaved away as much material as we could from the clamp to make our seatpost 27 grams lighter than brand X, but production pieces from our supplier haven't matched the quality of the prototypes that we approved, so the clamp is likely to fail even when used on road bikes by people who weigh 60 kilos. As a result we have discontinued this product and have no replacements available."
 
#41 ·
shiggy said:
Just bettered the setup of these bars

I will post new pics in a new thread after I mount the other part I obtained from Padre.
Wow, Shiggy. Beauty in the eye of the beholder and all, but I gotta tell ya, although I've admired the way you've built your bikes for years now, I never thought I'd be telling you "Great looking bike there!" ;)

BTW, which bars are those?
 
#43 ·
My two cents...

goneskiian said:
Sweet!

So, how are these tires in the NW winter wet and mud? Not that we've had a lot of that lately, but we might by the time I've got a bike rolling. I'm talking western Washington stuff here.

Thanks!
-Ian
Having ridden one of the proto sets all summer and fall for racing marathon events, I would say the wet and mud are the tire's weakness. I raced a very dry 12 hour solo on them and couldn't be happier. Incredible grip, ride quality due to the big volume and supple casing and not even a hint of pinch flatting while running them around 30 -32psi on my Mustang rims with 26" Specy Turbo "light" tubes. I am around 160-165lbs in the heft dept, and they feel really great in the dry on my rigid SS. They were weak in the wash-out and rear climbing traction dept. in the wet and sloppier conditions I experienced in some other races. But they do communicate pretty well before they disappear out from under you.

OGG
 
#44 ·
RobW said:
Wow, Shiggy. Beauty in the eye of the beholder and all, but I gotta tell ya, although I've admired the way you've built your bikes for years now, I never thought I'd be telling you "Great looking bike there!" ;)

BTW, which bars are those?
Thank you. The bars are Nitto North Road (thinwall CroMoly) with about 6" cut off the ends. MTB diameter.
 
#45 ·
shiggy said:
Thank you. The bars are Nitto North Road (thinwall CroMoly) with about 6" cut off the ends. MTB diameter.
Yeah, the Avid? levers really caught my eye, I do believe I'm going to give that setup a try...
 
#48 ·
Yes, reports are it will the same thing. Wide and same ca 600g weight. Changing a winning team would only have caused more expenses anyway, I'd guess. Our test reports have been pretty positive.

I had one wash-out crash with the FT, but admittedly in the exact same spot of trail as my previous wash-out, a year earlier with a Bontrager AcX front. I also found the FT excellent in dry conditions, very capable and predictable even deep sand, and would have loved to have tried it in thicker dust over hardpack, like the Athens Olympics where these 29" FT's had almost been used. Weakest point probably climbing traction, but for a race tire it was more than exceptional in that respect.
 
#49 ·
Specialized makes nice tires

Before I altogether abandoned riding my 26" hard tail, I had switched to Specialized tires. I had just bought a Fast Track Pro and it is pretty good but,...

Not as good as their Roll-X. Now that tire is almost perfect for my style of riding here in the midwest. I had some Roll-X front and rear on my rigid Bianchi Boss and it was great. Rolled really fast, great traction and cornering and lots of cush factor. My few rides on the Fast Track (26' version) didn't have quite the cornering of the Roll-X.

But I'll buy some of the 29" version anyway! I bet they'll be sweet on a rigid 29er singlespeed.
 
#50 ·
Cloxxki said:
Yes, reports are it will the same thing. Wide and same ca 600g weight. Changing a winning team would only have caused more expenses anyway, I'd guess. Our test reports have been pretty positive.

I had one wash-out crash with the FT, but admittedly in the exact same spot of trail as my previous wash-out, a year earlier with a Bontrager AcX front. I also found the FT excellent in dry conditions, very capable and predictable even deep sand, and would have loved to have tried it in thicker dust over hardpack, like the Athens Olympics where these 29" FT's had almost been used. Weakest point probably climbing traction, but for a race tire it was more than exceptional in that respect.
I have used the Fast Trak 29 on deep dust over hardpack. Worked great. Tires with bigger/wider knobs were sliding on the same trails.
 
#51 ·
A bit of a hijack, but could Specialized be releasing this tire in part because philip Mierhagger (Or how ever you spell his name), will be returning to racing this year and riding for specialized?

Maybe he wants a 29'er?
 
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