Some bike content

My favorite bike is a 1998 Litespeed Owl Hollow – until now. Maybe. In 1998 I bought this bike – since then it has had 4 different forks, 3 complete build kits and a plethora of odd parts. Every part of this bike has broke – except for the frame. I have owned many bikes, but this one has been the best investment (if you can ever call a bike an investment) of them all. In the last 4 -5 years a few things have driven me nuts about this bike:

1. No disc brakes – since the design of this bike the trails and terrain we ride on have gotten harder and more technical (better) and technology has brought down the weight and price and raised performance, I believe they are a must for the way I ride – was able to correct this with a Specialized DB adapter, a small chunk or aluminum, and a whole bunch of filing. >

2. 2.0” rear tire MAX – 1.9 is best to keep from rubbing the stays. – pretty much the same reasons I gave for the brakes. However, I cannot just widen the stays.

3. It is built for a 3” travel fork – but I have a Pushed FOX that feels like more. But 5" of FOX travel would be nice.

About 2 months ago I had a standing search for a Litespeed Kitsuma on Ebay. - Litespeed made this bike in 2001 only, they had some left over and labeled them 2002. This is a very unique bike built around a 5” fork, 2.5”+ tires, disk brake only, freeride geometry (for the time, freeride now is 7” of travel and a 67 or slacker degree headtube), and weighs just under 4 pounds for the frame. So, fueled by a few beers, being edged on by my 13 year old son that may love riding more that anyone I have ever met, and the fact my wife was not around to stop this little party, when the auction came to an end – I became victorious - I think I have heard that somwhere before. Anyway, berfore this trip I had Chris at Wheelsport East start searching for a couple of parts for my new ride - a FOX 32 TALUS with a 15 mm axel - and a hand built wheel set with DT 420 rims (not sure of the spokes) and XTR hubs - would go with Kings, but I have had a set for nine years (now on my road bike) and I have just had enough of that "I'm getting chased by angry insects" sound any time I coast. - I will post some pics of the project when I return home.