New Gear

After a year of solid abuse -- despite being built as a race-only wheelset -- my rear rim had to be replaced. Running a 350 gram Olympic ZTR rim makes good sense when trying to build a 24-hour race wheelset. Lightweight is priority one.
I became so addicted to the quick acceleration and nimble fee that I couldn't go back to my ugly workhorse wheels.


When I say a year of abuse, I mean serious abuse. Aside from milage, the wheels have withstood mini-hucks that would leave long-travel contemporaries shaking their heads. Abuse enough to blow my fork 4 times, but I'll get back to that in a bit. The rims stayed relatively true but I would check them for true every 2 weeks with only a few 1/4 turns needed here or there. The problem that eventually grew out of hand was with the super-thin sidewalls where the tire bead seats. I worked dents out each time I put fresh tires on , but the last one showed a fatigue crack in-line with the dent.
Since Stan's NoTubes systems run a lower pressure than a standard tubed setup, the tires will bottom out against the rim more often. Normally a pinch-flat would result, but since we're tubless, its a non-issue. The Olympic ZTR rims' claim of superiority in a NoTubes setup is due to the lowered sidewall height in order to create a tighter seal witht the tire. As a longtime Stan's devotee, I can say their claim is spot-on. I would almost never burp air, even when landing a drop with the rear-end askew. Just based on visual inspection, tires seat faster and better than on conventional rims.
The new rear rim laced up, though was difficult to get round. I'm not satisfied with the wheel being less than perfection, but at 347 grams I can't expect every rim to be an ace. If I can get another year out of it, great.


Along with wheels being abused, the RockShox Sid World Cup that has been on my bike since day-one is being retired. After 4 months of use the for was returned under warranty for a problem witht he Pure damper leaking oil where the remote lockout attached. Due to incorrect front brake routing though, the techs a SRAM wouldn't do the work without getting me to pay for the steerer/crown/uppers assembly first, since the brake cable rubbed a groove into them. I agreeed, and the fork was like new, until 4 months later when I blew the floating piston in the damper . I rebuilt the fork, and life was good until January of this year. Exiting the trails via an old leaf-covered fire road, I struck a rock that ejected me directly off the bike into the gravel. I was fine but the dropout on the right side fo the lowers cracked badly, with the oil leaking all over mother nautre. Again, repaired at SRAM but they wouldn't waranty the fork. At least I got rid of the hideous bright blue lowers.
The fork blew yet again 3 weeks ago while singlespeeding. I'm going to rebuild it and sell... I already have a new Manitou R-Seven Platinum (80 mm, in black) handling the sproing duties up front, and so far so good. The bushings need more break in, but that is to be expected. The Platinum is the top dog of the R-Seven line-up, offering Manitou's Snap Valve SPV dampening. Taking the proven SPV platform dampening to a new level, Manitou recognized that a firmer platform was needed for people on the XC end of the mtb spectrum. As advertised, the R-Seven is surprisingly stable, yet perfectly plush the moment it needs to be. I'm still toying with air pressures, but right now I think I'm riding with SPV @ 100 psi and will go up more since I am currently singlespeed. For the Vermont 50 I will increase the main air pressure 5-10 psi to account for all the added gear and roll with 100 in the SPV

Basura

When I graduated college in 1999, I left behind a case of beer above the acoustic tiles and the 200 channel bliss of cable television.

Today, after a long day of work and play I came home and decided to ditch the TV. 7 years of waning interest came to a crux. Mind you, the TV I own sucks. It is a circa 1991 hand-me-down from the 'rents, 27 inch cathode ray tube that didn't have s-video ports, only RCA. Forget the fact that within a years time the TV has warped the picture to -- in recent viewings -- a distorted lens of the enertainment.
The bottom inch was black. Blank. Nada.
About 3 inches down from the top, about where most close-ups place the hair and forehead (of That Guy on That Show that used to date Paris Hilton's ex-boyfriend), yeah so that section of the screen warps the picture long then the bottom 3rd of the screen fights to fix the problem. So everyone has ginormous foreheads. And tiny dwarf faces.

Basura. Garbage. I chucked it tonight, unceremoniously in the nightly garbage. I put the remote on top. I probably should have kicked the screen in so that some poor bastard doesn't try to drag it up to their apartment.

In the time since I last remember watching regularly over a year ago, I've learned what it takes to run a business, I've found a lost love for solo road rides, I've been downhilling for the first time ever, started to learn to ride street, gone singlespeed to multi-geared and back again (and back and forth too many times). I can speak Spanish now.

So here's the cliched setup as I write this:
I'm getting really excited for the Vermont 50. In bed with my cat and a burrito that's getting cold. I have a luke-warm Pabst (with backup in the freezer), my new book Fuck You Heros and my new Match Videozine #8, plus the last 2 issues of The Alpinist which will likely remain un-loved until I go climbing in France this October. My new bike is being planned.

Life without TV isn't all that bad, huh?"