The Captain Control

As mentioned earlier I had purchased some new wheels for my bike. While true, the spoke tension seemed a bit off and after a bunch of riding the spokes were making a bunch of noise. Not having (nor building) a truing stand and without a Spoke Tension Meter I decided the best thing would be to just take the wheels in and have them sorted out. So, I dropped them off Wednesday after work.

Not only was the tension off, but it was very uneven and the rear wheel needed to be re-dished. I guess this goes along with the disclaimer Price Point prints on the packing slips sent along with wheels:

All wheels come pre built and trued. It is common for any new wheelset to become untrue after its initial use, and is the buyer’s responsibility to keep the wheels trued. Spokes or rims damaged due to inappropriate use are not covered by warranty

Sure, I expected some some loosening of the spokes, but I didn’t think it’d be that bad. I also question if the wheels were that well built to begin with. Lesson learned, I guess: Cheaper pre-built wheels from online may need a bit of work. At least it was only $30 to get both wheels sorted out.

I’ve also been considering getting a set of more-knobby tires, as the Fast Trak LK tires my bike came with don’t work too well on sandier stuff and when climbing hills. They are good for two track and random trail / offroad stuff, but I’ve been able to spin them while seated on some steeper climbs. When picking up the wheels yesterday I also ended up getting a pair of The Captain Control tires, also from Specialized. As can be seen above they (on the left) are a bit knobbier than then Fast Trak LKs (right).

Here is an angle photo of the two tires, but unfortunately the Fast Trak LKs are a bit out of focus. At $39.99 each the tires weren’t cheap, but this seems to be a standard price for tires like this. Hopefully today (despite the rain and stuff) I’ll get out and give them a go. A quick run around the trails at River Bends would be good, and it’s probably not too wet even with today’s rain.

Oh, and one other nifty thing about them: it seems that Specialized offers some manner of unconditional guarantee that the purchaser will like the tires. I was specifically told that if I don’t like the tires to bring them back and pick out another style.