Project 10 - Update #1
Back in August, I posted Project 10 and today, I bring you the first update. If you didn’t read that, you can go read that post here. Otherwise, I will give you the super abbreviated version; Cut 10 pounds off each my bike and my body to do a big and challenging, all day bike ride. Why? Just for fun and give me a bit of focus.
First, an update on the body weight. I am happy to report I am consistently weighing in down 8 lbs from the when I wrote that initial post. I do fluctuate between -6 to -10 pounds down but it’s pretty stable at -8. Yeah! Most of this has come from doing a better job managing my food intake. The first month and a half or so of this project I was also quite active as well, especially when we were in Colorado. Overall, I am happy with this progress.
Second, an update on the ride. In short, it did not happen. I had a one day window for what I wanted to do and frankly the weather and permitting did not comply with my plan. Instead, I got 3 straight days of 50-60 miles rides in Colorado and Utah. In the end, I actually rode more miles and think that it all turned out for the best. FWIW, Fruita and surrounding area is utopia for long mixed surface rides. I am truly blown away and want to go back. I loved it so much, I didn’t even ride my MTB in Fruita. Yeah, it’s that good.
Lastly, let’s get to the bike. Overall, the bike is just over two pounds lighter with some gear/component changes. Admittedly, I got side tracked with building something else during this time so it took some time and $$ away from this project. That is just how my brain works. For this update on the Stargazer, I changed up the following; new Whisky Parts Co #9 MCX+ carbon fork, new wheels built by Ben at Heath Creek with Whisky Parts Co carbon rims and DT Swiss 350 hubs (built from old hubs and rims I already owned) and swapped in a Garbaruk cassette (taken from my gravel bike). All in all, I shed over 2 pounds from my trusted, Tumbleweed Bicycle Company, steel Stargazer that I have been riding now for almost 3 years. Note: I also bought a new carbon drop handle bar, but installed it on another bike. Again, that’s just how my brain works.
The Desert Roamer
So here it is. The updated Tumbleweed Stargazer all set up for desert miles. I think it all looks pretty good and gosh darn it, does it ride amazingly well. I chose the Stargazer to take to Colorado and Utah for a number of reasons. One of those is that it just may be the most comfortable bike I own. I’ve written about it before and my Stargazer was my favorite bike of 2022. I love this bike. It just works for me. It isn’t the lightest nor is it the fastest, but it sure does work well for me. Since I was planning on doing a big ride that had an off road feel, I left my Cane Creek eSilk stem on it. This bike gobbles up the miles. I also took this bike to Colorado for a month two years ago and did a lot of gravel/mixed surface riding as well as a couple days on The Divide Route. It was a perfect choice for that, but I can tell you shaving two plus pounds off this bike brought just a bit more liveliness and get up and go.
Before we get too far and you go off to order this carbon fork for your Stargazer, it’s important to understand that this is not a one for one swap. Meaning, you can’t just buy this fork, install, swap brakes/wheel over and ride off into the sunset. It also has just a bit different tire clearance, fork rake and axle to crown measurement. But, if you are like me and have the right components to swap over without too much additional expense, it can provide a significantly lighter fork. So…Let’s talk fork, wheel and brake specs.
Currently, there are no carbon forks that match the stock fork included in a Stargazer frames. The stock fork is amazing and versatile but not the lightest. It has a 440 axle to crown, 55 rake, MTB boost axle spacing, generator light routing, rack mounting, 3 pack mounting and clearance for big big tires. (I have run 29” x 2.6s comfortably). The Whisky Parts Co #9 MCX+ fork has completely different specs. It is a 430mm axle to crown (-10mm), 47mm rake (-7.5mm), road/gravel axle spacing, generator light routing but no crown hole for light mount, 3 pack mounts, no rack mounting an clearance for 29” by 2.3” tires. Lastly, the brake mounts are not the same either. While both are set up for flat mount, the Whisky is positioned just a bit different and will use a larger brake rotor if you simply move the brake over from the Stargazer. To be specific, the Whisky fork uses a 180 rotor with a 160 brake mount. Yeah, a lot of changes. The bike does ride a bit different. Estimated trail figure in stock consideration with a 55m tire measures 83mm trail/78 mechanical trail. Estimated trail figure with the shorter, shallower Whisky fork is 88mm trail/82mm mechanical trail. Honestly, it rides really well either way with the difference being that the longer measurement with the Whisky fork is a bit more stable feeling. I felt the bike was perfect with the stock fork and is good enough with the new carbon fork. Note, one other thing to consider when going to shorter and shallower fork is clearance. This could impact your clearance with the under the down tube 3 pack mount, cargo and tire. See photo below.
Make sure you have clearance!
I am sure some of you may ask that with all those compromises, why did I make these changes? Simple, to make my most comfortable big tired (29 x 2.2”) bike lighter and faster for my planned one day event and gravel/mixed surface rides while in Colorado. Honestly, had I planned on being out on the Divide again or doing any kind of bikepacking and overnights I would not have made the changes I call out above. But for my intended uses and experiences, the changes were spot on. The set up was flawless. So here are a few more pictures of the the set up. Note: this is optimized for carrying maximum food and water for a long, long day.
With all those technical changes out of the way, let’s get to some pics. I simply had a blast with this rig. It was exceptional on this trip and for how I used it. Honestly, I would not change a thing for this trip and how I intended to use it. Perfectly perfect for me and what I was doing. Enough said. How about some pics from some of my rides on this rig, the experiences had and the set up?
Click on any image to go to slideshow mode!
What’s next for Project 10 Update #2? Personally, I am going to strive to meet my -10lbs of weight loss. On the bike I have big big changes coming. The steel frame is finally going to replaced with a titanium Stargazer. That change will drop another 2 pounds. I am going to geek out on components too. I’ll install that carbon bar I purchased and lighten up the stem, seat post, and tires. Lastly, I intend to really geek out with my bag set up. I will likely sew some new bags out of ridiculously light material. Honestly, I don’t think I can get all 10 pounds out of the bike but we shall see just how far I go and how far I push it. I probably won’t finish this up until next spring gravel season. The next time you see this rig, it is gonna look quite a bit different! Stay tuned.
Lastly, if you have any questions, please drop me a comment or note and I’ll do my best to respond and get back to you!
Note and disclaimer - I purchased every part of this bike and set up with my own money with one exception. The Tumbleweed Big Dipper drop bar was provided to me during their testing period. I love it and still use it.
