WHEELS

Oh yeah, even if the moving of stuff wasn't a time consuming (and tiring) endeavor, I forgot to mention that the HiFi was out of commission for a bit.  It was wheel-less for about a week.  Just prior to the final race of the season  I attempted to get the HiFi back to tubeless.  I got the rear wheel with no problem... the front was a different story.  No matter what I did air was escaping around the stem.  I even caved and brought it into the LBS to see if they had some voodoo magic that would work.

Nope, shortly after leaving he called and said there was a problem with the rim itself.... I don't get it, I had it set up tubeless in the past.  I'm not sure if somehow the valve hole got worn and out of shape which then wouldn't allow a good seal from the tubeless stems... but I had to race with a tube up front.  Rims were ordered and new wheels were going to be built up.

Arch Ex - in white of course!

 Oh, but please don't think the process was that easy... no no no.  See, to save money I was having the LBS just switch everything over to the new rims.  But I get this call, you see.  My front hub was 28 spokes... the new rim is 32.  Why did the HiFi have 32 in back and 28 in front?  I dunno.  So a new front hub (luckily available at the shop) was bought and the front was laced up - leaving me with an extra (non-tubeless) front wheel.  But boy do they look sweet on the HiFi.

Itchin to ride.  Thing LOOKS faster already!
(pre internet, hence no Mac on the tool cabinet)

 I did get the heads up when I picked up the wheels that after a couple rides they might go out of true - so he told me to just bring the bike in and he'd get them back up and running.  I was glad to get the warning, cause I would have freaked if something went wrong with the new wheels.  So far so good I think.  But I'll get some more dirt under them before I bring it in.

First ride - two thumbs way up!

Does the white actually make the bike faster?
Well... the first aftermarket white thrown on was the saddle.  Faster.... dunno.  But enhanced performance (through improved comfort) yes indeed.  So white saddle correlates to speed.  CHECK.  Second upgrade - white handlebars.  Improved riding position, (somewhat) closer grip, improved handling - translation, I'm placed in a much more "racer friendly" position with the bars - CHECK.  Newly added white rims.  With limited rides, and no visits to previously ridden trails (yet), it's hard to say.  I'd say there is no lack of confidence in the rims.  And the white does look hot - so in the very least there may be a slight psychological boost.  And as we all know there are two sides of riding: the physical aspect, and the mental.  So, if nothing else, the white rims give a mental boost - CHECK.

White is fast - even when it's dirty.