Introducing Velocity Velotape

When we released the P35 last year, it was designed around the growing demand by XC and All-Mountain riders for a wider, laterally stiff rim that did not sacrifice weight. The P35 has met that challenge and then some, providing riders with all the added float, footprint and 'virtual' suspension they have desired. It was no accident that the webbing of the P35 was designed to be tubeless-ready without the need for a molded strip; as many riders have already discovered, tubeless conversion consisted of the use high pressure tape and a valve.

Since the beginning of the year, we have been developing our own tubeless tape kits to sell with the P35 rim. After months of testing, we are proud to finally announce the newest addition to our line: Velotape. Velotape is a kit that includes: 1 - 10 meter long x 24mm wide transparent tape and 2 - high quality tubeless valves with removable cores [enough to wrap 2 29"/700c rims]. Designed specifically to provide a simple and reliable way to convert the P35 tubeless.

This past month we sent out a wheelset out to Brian at Grams Light Bikes, who has recently reviewed the wheelset with the new P35 specific: Velotape installed says this about them:

'They were easy to set up tubeless, with either UST or normal tires, and popped up without any issue. Their blue tape (not yellow!) tubeless system worked well, and I had no issues getting my usual assortment of tires to bead up on the rims. The rear wheel required sealant to hold air, but I use sealant with all my tubeless systems, so it was a moot point. I stuck on a set of Conti Rubber Queen 2.4 UST's the other day, and they popped on like butter...'

Below is our official press release for our Velotape:


VELOCITY RELEASES TUBELESS TAPE KIT

(Grand Rapids, MI) Velocity is proud to announce Velotape, the newest accessory in the Velocity line. Velotape is specifically designed to convert P35 rims and wheelsets tubeless. The kit includes 10 meters of transparent Velotape and 2 high quality tubeless valves with removable cores; enough to setup two 29” P35s. Installation is easy, requiring only a small punch and sharp scissors. Velotape is available through any local bicycle shop or online dealer for around $24.99. Detailed information and installation instructions can be found at www.velocityusa.com.

For use in: Velocity P35 rims/wheelsets
Length/Width: 10 meters X 24mm wide
Included in package: 2 tubeless valves with removable cores and 1 roll of Velotape
Tools needed: scissors and punch

Put that in your Trap

If you haven't made your way over to Urban Velo to check out the newly released May 2010 issue, I highly recommend it. We advertised again with them and this time decided to highlight the new Bottle Trap.

As we've mentioned in the past, we developed the Bottle Trap to replace the Velocage after the machine used to make them continued to break down. It was a sad day to see that decision be made since the Velocage had been with us from the beginning. We were adamant about whatever we decided to replace it with needed to be just as versatile, strong and light as it's predecessor.

The design of the Bottle Trap went beyond our expectations, after getting the prototypes we were blown away with how well they held a bottle in place. And truth be told, it was when we were taking product shots that it was discovered the massive array of containers that fit in it. The Bottle Trap truly allows you to pick your poison for 'hydration'. With a price between $6-$8, depending on your shop, the cost to weight ratio [29 grams], the Bottle Trap is hard to argue against.

In the months since it's release, the Bottle Trap as gotten a number of great reviews/recommendations from across the spectrum of riders:

'I've actually used these cages and they grip your bottle with authority! I highly doubt you will lose a bottle on a rough gravel road using one of these composite/plastic cages'

_ Guitar Ted, TwentyNineInches.com & TransIowa Founder

'I know I want one!'

_ Prolly is not Probably

'The Bottle Trap seem very minimal in the base area that holds the bottle. No wasted material needed. They seemed pretty lightweight to me right away as well so I set them on the scale to compare them to my carbon cages. The Velocity Bottle Traps came in at 30g each which is identical to the Profile Design Karbon Kages '

_ Carl Buchanan, Velo Syndikat


Jeff at Urban Velo did a little write up on them yesterday and to read all of Prolly's thoughts go here. More importantly, go to your local bicycle shop and ask for the Bottle Trap. If they do not stock them, your local shop can order them through most distributors or directly from us.

Velocity Wheelset: P-35 Rims- Out Of The Box

Over the weekend, a nice little out of the box thoughts on the P35 was posted over at Twenty Nine Inches.com by Guitar Ted. We're sold on them and we're sure he'll be once he gets some ride time on them! Enjoy:

Velocity Wheelset: P-35 Rims- Out Of The Box
January 10th, 2010 by Guitar Ted

I remember waaay back as a kid the old Pontiac ads that touted the “Widetrack” stance of their cars at the time. Better stability on the road, they said. Well, that reminds me a whole bunch of the new P-35 rims from Velocity. Wide stance rims give the tires a wider foot print and better grip and stability out on the trail. So the theory goes. That is what I aim to test out on these wheels over the next weeks and months.

But first, let’s take a closer look at what we have here. The Velocity products in this wheel not only include the rims, but also Velocity’s newest version of their hubs. When choosing a hub set for this test, I decided upon a 20mm through axle front and a single speed specific rear hub. The rear hub has a threaded drive side to accept a free wheel. The threaded hub is more a preference in my mind than an advantage or disadvantage. Either threaded or cassette works nicely for me. Moving on from that we have sealed cartridge bearings and the rear hub features a Hi/Lo flange arrangement. The bearings feel very smooth to the hand. The finish looks top notch. The rear hub goes at about 288 grams per Velocity’s site and the front 20mm through axle hub weighs in at approximately 250 grams. The hubs are laced to the P-35’s with DT Swiss Champion spokes using red alloy nipples. Hubs are available separately through any local bike shop. MSRP’s may vary according to the shop you use, but expect to pay about $90.00 for the front hub and about $100.00 for the single speed disc hub.

The hubs are laced by Velocity in house by their own wheel builders. Each wheel build is signed off on by the person who built it. A nice touch. By the way, Velocity will lace your hubs to rims at their Grand Rapids, Michigan facility should you have something you want laced to a Velocity rim. Just contact your local shop for more on that. The builds looked well done. Tensions were great, and everything looked in order.

The P-35 is a rim that was developed in tandem with Velocity by Kirk Pacenti. The rim is described by Velocity as follows: “The P35 is designed for the cross country/all mountain rider craving a laterally stiff yet weight conscious rim that is still tough enough for the occasional Super – D race.” Sounds like an all around use rim to me. And here are the specs on the rim again:
Outside Width: 35mm
Inside Width: 29.5mm
Depth: 22mm

Weight
29”: 595g

Pretty impressive for a 29″er rim. Lighter weight, and a wide inner rim well promise fat, fast tire performance. But will they hold up? That we shall see! As long as we’re on the subject of the rims, I will say that these are designed to be run tubeless. Velocity has decided that for the time being, a Stan’s strip will do for sealing the rim well. That said, they are still working on bringing their own rim strip to market. More details on that when they are released. These will definitely see tubeless usage during our tests. The rear hub attaches via Allen head bolts.

Now for the total weight of each wheel. The front came in at 1030 grams and the rear at 1160 grams. So, no lightweights here, but I figured these would be best suited to more aggressive type riding, and the weight doesn’t bother me in that regard. One has to figure that rims weighing nearly 600 grams each are not going to build up the lightest wheel set!

In the next update I will detail out the finishing touches to this wheel set and hopefully introduce the bike they are going on. Stay tuned!

Note: The reviewed products were provided to Twenty Nine Inches at no charge for review. I was not paid or bribed for this review. I will give/gave my honest opinion or thoughts through out.