With a carbon lever that is apparently in the process of being patented, and a low weight of 37 grams (verified by Brokenspokes.org) for the MTB version, the Tune DC 16/17 skewers sets high expectations. And a price to match. Described by Tune as “scheibenbrems- und federgabeltauglich” the skewers can be used with both disc brakes and suspension forks.
Last year we had a pretty cold winter in The Netherlands with heavy snowfall. All over Europe people suffered from this, except for me. Why? Because I put studded Continental Snow Spike tyres on my Fat Chance and could commute without traffic jams and the frustration that goes with it.
Studded tyres work great, but are at their best on icy tracks. In heavy snowfall their use is more limited. I started reading about snowbiking and the famous Iditarod Invitational to learn more about the possibilities for a bike that is at home in soft fresh snow.
Enter the Fatback. Speedway cycles in Anchorage, AK makes a special bike that take 4″ floatation tyres. They are not the only company making snow bike (aka floatation bikes). Other brands making these are Vicious Cycles, Salsa, Surly, 9:zero:7, Moots, Twenty2 Cycles and probably some more. I decided to buy a Fatback frame and parts and started to build something suitable for cold weather commuting as well as a future dream: the Iditarod.
It had to happen: the new and improved brokenspokes.org, the English language continuation of dikkebanden.nl. To come: cycling news, cycling and touring in western Europe and interesting gear.
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