Picked up a couple new Bontrager toys over the past week. A pair of The new 29-3 Tires and a sweet pair of the Rhythm Team Issue World Cup Gloves (Shh, the “World Cup Team” version don’t show up on the Bontrager site, but I have it on good authority that your local Trek dealer can get ‘em for ya even if you’re not a team rider) To put the gloves to the test I first took them up to Highland Mountain Bike Park for six hours of Free-ridin’ craziness on a Trek Session 88 Demo bike.

I did some stuff up there I would never have dreamed of doing on my XC bike. The gloves are lightweight and comfortable, they look great, but I half expected to see gaping holes in them by the end of the day. But no, they held fast, they didn’t even look worn after six hours of heavier than normal abuse. And speaking of abuse, my hands, which I thought would be blistered like my riding partners by my last run were fine, I mean they were in perfect shape.

The no velcro strap deal is pretty cool too. My Nomar Garciapara-like habit of opening and closing my velcro straps nervously was tough to forget about, but I got used to the elastic, uh…whatever the part of the glove is that goes around your wrist. Two awesomely gloved thumbs up for these things, get a pair, you won’t be sorry you did.

Ever since I heard about these tires in Stork’s post I’ve been waiting to get my mits on’em. So far this year I’ve been alternating between the Mud -X’s and the XR-1’s. Often the Muds were overkill, while the XR-1’s were sometimes underkill. The 29-3’s are just-the-right-amount-of-kill for all sorts of varied conditions.

I didn’t bring these guys up to Highland with the gloves but I did take them out on a five hour stomp through a bunch of diverse terrain. It’s been raining non-stop around here, so we did hit some pretty good mud, they actually did quite well in that stuff. They rolled super-fast on the road, wound up quick on the climbs and stuck-fast through the corners. 34 X 18 is my “I don’t know what the hell I’m getting into gear” and now I have a pair of tires to go with it. These things won’t suck in any conditions and in the right conditions they will shine.

Oh, I didn’t get all The Highland Free-Ridin’ out of my system, me The 29-3’s, and The Superfly went for a little flight…and almost wound up going for a swim in the process.

Super Flight from thom parsons on Vimeo.

Gear Reviews, Observations
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