It is...and I couldn't be happier!

"Bang-for-the-buck", it's really mind-blowing. The frame/fork is only $550 list. They've got the geometry right so it handles great both on and off road (it's currently my favorite bike for paved descents...just barely edging out my '86 Bianchi road bike). The rear dropouts are both QR and thru-axle compatible. It can handle 700c tires up to 47mm wide (IIRC) and it appears with a 650B wheel, even wider. Fender mounts (including fork eyelets), rack mounts, 3 water bottle positions, and even a set of top tube mounts for a bag/bento are all included. And the chainstays easily have clearance for even a standard road double crankset (53/39).

I picked up the frameset a few months ago and swapped most of the parts over from my previous MTB frame-based "all-road Frankenbike". As shown, it built up at just a hair over 20lbs. Of course, the Zipp 30 Course wheels and Compass Snoqualmie Pass tires help keep the weight reasonable.

Having ridden a 3T at Interbike last year (so having a point of comparison), I like to call the Jari a "poor man's Exploro" ;-) Yes, it's that good...and it even outshines the Exploro in a couple areas IMHO.

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

My longest ride leading up to the BWR was L'Eroica California in April, which was 123 miles and >8300 ft of climbing, on mixed surfaces (gravel roads, no singletrack)...on a 30 year old steel bike with DT shifters and pedals w/clips and straps ;-)

Then, 2 weekends before BWR, I went on a long-distance overnight trip "around" Santa Barbara County (SB->Ojai->New Cuyama on day 1, New Cuyama->Los Olivos->SB on day 2) with a group of friends. That was a 109 mile/7500ft day followed by a 105mile/5300ft day. That was actually the first time I'd ever ridden back-to-back >100 mile days. I again rode my Eroica bike on that trip...then again, that was also my BWR bike last year.

Both of those "events", along with a general concentration of mixed-surface riding in training seemed to work pretty well for me this year...now if only I had remembered to eat more during BWR :-/

All in all, considering that almost exactly a year prior I was lying in a hospital bed with a fractured pelvis, I was pretty happy overall with how it went for me this year :-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

"Scealves"? Are those made with the covfefe compound? ;-)

Knobbies are over-rated for mixed-surface IMHO...better to go wider with a smooth, flexible tire at lower pressures. You go nearly as fast in the gravel, float better through sand, and go faster on pavement than you would with a slightly narrower tire w/knobs.

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Good stuff, I do think the Jari frameset is a great bargain, especially since Performance pretty much always has it on sale. I've been looking at that type of bike and while I kind of want steel the value of the Fuji is hard to ignore.

Why steel? There's nothing wrong with aluminum, and the frame is likely to be lighter.

I'd only go steel on a bike (and did) if I couldn't get exactly what I wanted and decided to go custom.

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Nothing against aluminum per se, I have an aluminum road bike that has been great with around 20k miles and an aluminum mountain bike that I never use but hasn't had any issues. Steel seems to be the preferred material for touring and bikepacking uses, perhaps because of durability or perhaps because of ease of repair or some other reason but that is definitely a use I would want out of this bike so that is how I've been leaning.

I don't know if any testing but I think Schwalbe G-One are just as fast on the road as the panaracer and off-road they really shine.

it's the G-One i'm getting. i saw several people out there with slates and the first question they asked was what tire i was running. sucker! (they basically replied.) they're all running the G-One.

the only problem i had with the panaracer is on canted trails, and turns on dirt, and only on the front wheel. i was running pretty low pressure, in the low 40s.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I had to get my panaracers down to 28-30 to get them sticky in trails. It was never quite right. The I saw Ted King was running G-One and did a Homer D'oh and got the schwalbe. Other than that the Slate pretty much goes everywhere.

i'm looking at buying G-One microskin allround at starbike for $30-something each. it's about $42 each tire including shipping to the U.S. the tire is this:

40-584 (27.5x1.50)
MPN: 11600792 Year: 2016
EAN: 4026495806541

do we like starbike? is this the tire? i want to set this up tubeless.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

That's the tire and seems like a really good price for the tubeless version. Never heard of Starbike; on Amazon the tires are $62, so a pretty good deal.

Did you get the Mavic tubeless rims from Cannondale to replace the stocks rims?

I saw Allison Tetrick won Dirty Kanza on her Slate yesterday running the G-One tires.

Starbike is legit. They're a big sponsor of the weightweenies forum, I think you get something like a 5% discount if you post frequently enough on their forum.

I see from the pics that Ted King ran Clement X'plor MSO tires on his Slate at Dirty Kanza this year. And at Belgian Waffle didn't even ride his Slate but instead his normal road bike.

I was surprised by her result...didn't she DNF BWR? I thought I saw her at the side of the trail at one point...perhaps I was hallucinating ;-)

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

i know nothing about any of this. i defer entirely to you and tom and anyone else. i assume i'm the dumbest guy in the room. but my uneducated guess is that the dirty kanza is a true gravel race (how much pavement?) whereas the BWR is a choose your weapon race, and with 70 percent or so of the BWR on pavement that favors racing the entire thing on a road bike.

i didn't do the dirty kanza, know nothing about the terrain, but i do know that where you find gravel you often find washboard and for 200 miles i suspect the bigger tires and suspension fork would be mighty pleasant compared to the alternative.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Mat won on the Panaracer :)

If you're riding your panaracer gravel king tires (35c or larger) at 40psi, you aren't riding the tire to its true potential and I would love for you to give them a second chance. High pressure is bad for a few reasons. It does decrease pinch flats if you're running tubes, but that's really the only benefit. Lower pressure will make the ride smooth, increase grip, and decrease your rolling resistance on gravel. Lower pressures will also decrease your chances in puncturing the tire from sharp rocks and debris.

At 160 pounds, I ride the 35c panaracer at 32 psi front and 35 rear. It's my favorite "all around" gravel tire, and measures 38mm on my stans wheels.

The 40s, which Mat was using, should be ridden in the low 20s. They measure about 43mm on my stans wheels. This would be my choice in tire for any course with chunky gravel.

Panaracer also recently launched a 38c tire that measures 40mm. The pressure on the 38s should be in the high 20s.

Hmmm. Maybe next time I go on an epic ride with the group I'll throw on the panaracers still on the stock wheels and see how it goes with lower psi. I was riding 32-34 front and back (with tubes since the stock wheels are not supposed to run tubeless) and just didn't see a lot of grip descending on single track (or climbing in any dirt condition) whereas everyone else on more CX tires was having no troubles.

Jesse Anthony won BWR on his road bike with 28mm TL tires. DK requires a dedicated setup; there was maybe 10 miles of total pavement.

Everything from smooth gravel to chunks to sidewall-cutting flint rock and creek crossings. Some parts are challenging no matter what but throw in a peloton and it's tough sledding. More tire is generally better.

G-One is a good tire, prob my fav overall. I rode them to 4th place at Chino Grinder, which has a lot of pavement but was pretty tough in many spots. They handle both really well.

I was hesitant to run them at DK in favor of something with better sidewall reinforcement against flint rock. Next year I might reconsider that.

Tom- Did you use the lighter or heavier compasses? They look like an interesting option

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I used the extralights on BWR. My first foray into the Compass tires was using the regular models...and after seeing the differences between the 2 styles now, AND having gotten a sidewall puncture on the extralights this past weekend, I'll probably go with the regular models in the future.

The main difference between the models is how much rubber is coating the sidewalls. The extralights feel as if there isn't much rubber there at all (i.e. just enough to hold the casing threads together), and based on "butt-O-meter" feel, the regular versions don't appear to be dramatically slower. At some point I'll most likely have a regular vs. extralight roller comparison...

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http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Starbike is good as is Bike 24. The German online stores are generally excellent.

Make sure you get the Evolution Snakeskin version of this tyre. The rear will wear down really quickly on tar but they do roll so well on any surface.

https://www.bike24.com/...;menu=1000,2,103,317

If I had a Slate I would also try the new WTB Byway.

https://www.wtb.com/products/byway