05/10/2008

Princeton Tec Switchback 3 Lights

I love night riding. It's best with a full moon and moderate temps but It can be a blast when the snow falls light and powdery or when it freezes up solid. There's something about riding challenging trails at night that can make gnarly moves more manageable. Maybe it's the way your perspective focuses because all you can see is what is directly ahead. The only thing that can make night riding as fun as fixing a flat in the rain is a poor light system. Finally we're seeing the quality go up but for many years riders dealt with finicky switches, poor connections and hardware and poor battery life. The prices have begun to come down and thanks to technologies like Li Ion and NiMH batteries along with LCD and HID bulbs that use much less energy burn times have gone way up.  It's a much better time to become a night rider than it was just a few years ago.

I've been using a Princeton Tec Switchback 3 for my last four night rides.  This is not a feather weight 'in a pinch' sort of lightset.  On my scale the entire system weighed 890 grams - almost exactly two lbs.   I haven't done a burnout test yet but aside from once when I didn't close a connection properly (entirely my fault) I haven't even seen this system dim even slightly after over three hours on high power.  Princeton Tec claims a burn time of 6 hours on high, 12 on medium and 50 on low.    I haven't spent much time yet in the lower settings but both would get you down the hill in the saddle. 

Thus far I have been using the Princeton Tec Switchback 3 as a helmet light but it comes with a handlebar attachment as well.

.Recently I was using another lightset that is small and light and provides adequate illumination.  The problem though was that the beam tone was too warm to provide contrast on the ground.  It was difficult to tell where a root ended and the ground began.  The Switchback emits a very white beam that produces really strong contrast.  It also puts out some nice lumens. The bulbs are 3, 3 watt LEDs and are focused to provide a nice wide viewing area - which is essential if you want to carry any speed. 

All the connections on the Switchback are slick and professional looking.  Many lightsets are Jerry rigged together with off the shelf parts but this Princeton Tec has a very high feel - from the locking connections to the cords battery and the on/off switch. After a longer initial charge the fill up time is reduced to a mere two hours.  Two hours charge for six hours burn time?  How does that work?

Opening the box was another pleasant surprise. Everything you could ever need and more is included; mounts for your helmet and your bar, a 12 volt car charger, Euro and North American charge cords and an extension cord for the unit. A nice feature is that you can leave the bar mount and helmet mount in place and the unit quick releases from either one.

The Princeton Tec Switchback 3 costs the same on both sides of the border.

About the only change I would propose is adding some horsepower to this system - in the form of a few more watts.  It would make sense to have a higher power setting that lasted 3 or 4 hours (18 watts!) for those times when you really want to tear down hill.  Maybe next year? 

It's about time this happened. The coolest thing about Princeton Tec lights, from a Canadian perspective, is that they are priced the same on both sides of the border.  Sadly even Canadian brewed beer is cheaper south of 49 - as though it came from some parallel economic universe.  The single lamp Switchback 1 well set you back $199, the 2-lamp Switchback 2 is $289 and the model I tested, the Switchback 3 is $379

For more info roll over to Princeton Tec's slick intraweb home at switchback321.com

Roval Traversée Wheels - By Specialized

Some have a weakness for blondes, slot machines or whisky.  For me it's wheels.  I exaggerate but let's just say I'm pretty tickled when a new set of wheels arrives in a brown truck.  When I saw the Traversée wheels in Madrid - and rode on them - I began to get a powerful hankering to try a set.  They're here now but I haven't had a chance to mount them up and roll them out.  So far I've been able to fondle them enough to give you some particulars about what makes them special.  First of all you'll see the weight.  1590 grams is the weight of some single downhill tires and that's gravity's pull on the entire wheelset. That's light for XC wheels, let along rollers made for all mountain pleasures.

I confess to returning to my weight weenie roots.  At 1590 grams the Roval Traversée Wheelset are just about bang on their claimed weight on my scale.

The front wheel is propped up by 24 spokes - 16 on the rotor side and 8 on the other.  The spokes are straight pull and it looks like lacing one up would take about 10 minutes with a beer in one hand.  The wheel itself can be quickly swapped between quick release, 25mm thru axle and 20mm thru axle.

I've seen riders use these in some rough conditions so I'm optimistic about their willingness to take a punch.

If you like you can run these as tubeless (they arrive complete with valves and rim tape for the purpose) but I plan to put tubes in them and some relatively light 2.5" tires.

The rear hub is supported by 28 DT Swiss straight pull spokes.

The front hub needs only 8 spokes on the non-disc side and 16 on the other side where the forces are much higher. The black cap pops off easily to become a QR front hub or to use Specialized's 25m system. The 20mm plugs are pictured.

After I get some trail time on these I'll let you know how they make out in real world conditions.

South of the border this swanky set of wheels will set you back $830.  I don't have a Canadian price yet.  Or you can get them attached to a Specialized S-Works Enduro SL

I could only find the Traversée wheels on the Specialized site in Greece - have a look here.

WTB Rocket V SLT saddle

I have been a fan of WTB saddles for some time but this particular example has made me a disciple.  It's very light - 220 grams - but it's not a bare bones saddle.  The padding is excellent and comfortable without being cushy. The love channel will keep your pecker perky and there is even a cutout on the underside to further relieve pressure where pressure should always be relieved.

The Rocket V SLT is light, tough and very comfortable.

It boasts titanium rails and a nice long straight section for adjusting your fore and aft positioning.  I've been using one for close to a year, swapping it from one bike to the other, and it has stood up quite well considering how wet our wet seasons have been the last couple of years. 

220 grams is quite an achievement considering how comfortable and well built this saddle is.

A bonus is that this is Steve Peat's saddle of choice - which means it's fast too.  In Canada the Rocket V SLT saddle is in the neighbourhood of $170 and you can pick it up for $150 in the lower 48, Alaska and Hawaii.

WTB was founded in 1982 in Marin County - where they are still based.  In 2007 they celebrated twenty five years making parts for mountain bikes.  For more on WTB and the Rocket V saddle punch wtb.com

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