Going Skinny & Fat
Fargo is getting two new sets of sneakers this week. First I am going back to 700x35 Schwalbe Marathon Supremes as my main form of road tires. I love my 2.0 Supremes and think they are one of the best all around tires available, but I want something a bit faster for simple road travel. The 2.0's are solid on pavement and hard pack dirt roads, gripping nicely and rolling fast. The 700x35's are going to be a little bit rougher but will add some speed to my upcoming road trip on the Fargo.
Next up will be a pair of 29x2.3's for dirt trail riding, something I have been doing a good deal of lately. While the 2.0 Supremes are adequate for short trail riding, it is certainly not their forte, so I will move up to something bigger and with tread. When I get back on the road I will simply switch things out. I have to say, the ability to do this type of switching on the same set of 29er rims is one of the great benefits of having a 29er bike. It would be easier if I had a separate set of wheels built up, but in the end, it is not too difficult to just switch out the tires when needed.
As I alluded to in a tweet, I believe this next stretch of road work will be the last big haul for the Fargo on pavement. I plan on converting it back over to a single speed, which is how it was originally built up when I bought it. My replacement for the Fargo is still in the works, but suffice it to say it will be a bit more along the lines of a cross bike or a gravel grinder (aka, Salsa Vaya), something lighter and a bit faster. I will still set it up as an ultra-light bike-packing rig which should make for a great bike on road and the occasional rails to trails type surfaces.
While the Fargo has worked well as an all around bike, I would like to make it a bit more of a trail bike, more along the lines of it's intended DNA. Going with a bike that is a bit lighter will mean I am more limited in where I ride, but I have found that for most of the touring I am doing right now, pavement and hard pack roads are the primary surfaces I am travelling on. More details on the replacement as they evolve.