DubSix

We have gears.

2007-04-24T12:06:00.000-04:00

Gears are nice, they make getting up hills easier.

If you're a bit more of a hardman or minimalist, a single speed works fine, you just work harder to get up.

OR... you can hop onto this modern marvel.
Oh joy.

Giving some love to our 20inch brothers

2007-04-19T21:39:00.001-04:00

Where you ride

2007-04-18T11:12:00.000-04:00

http://www.lucentproductions.com/

Along the same vein, UrbanCyclist.org wants you to tell them why you love riding in the city.
Keep your eye out for their 'zine, set to drop any day now.

Roadies

2007-04-17T21:19:00.001-04:00

News

2007-04-13T12:03:00.000-04:00

1 step closer to my retirement.
Perhaps the "5 point" announcement was a bit brash, but regardless, it is coming soon.

In other news...
Tomac Cycles has been revived, and will drop new bikes mid-summer with their 2008 line-up. Why do I care? Forget the fact that Johnny T is one of the best mountain bikers of all time, and raced everything from road to downhill. Just take a look at him in action...

Yes, that's a x-up with drop bars muthafuggee!

NJDirt.com on Rip.Tv!

2007-03-20T00:30:00.000-04:00

NJDirt.com's website re-design is turning some heads apparently, and the folks at Rip.tv took notice. Check it: http://www.rip.tv/video/watch/1490/

Fast = Good!

2007-03-15T14:30:00.000-04:00

As skill level improves, speed on a bike will always go up. Some of the msot fun I've had on a bike is trying to pin it through familiar sections of trail. As I've become a better bike handler, I'm more capable of carrying higher speed into and out of turns, obstacles, etc.
Here's a brief but good article on why going faster makes tough sections of trail easier to negotiate.

Retro

2007-03-14T13:08:00.001-04:00

Wham Bam Thank You Jam

2007-03-14T10:08:00.000-04:00

Check out this vid on Littermag.com. It's a highlight reel from the Portland, OR jump event that took place last week.

NJDirt.com is back!

2007-03-12T10:56:00.000-04:00

Mark over at NJDirt.com saw his site hacked last month, but instead of getting bent out of shape he used it as an opportunity to revamp the site over the last 4 weeks.

The site went back online last night and is bigger and badder than ever!

Congrats go to the NJDirt crew, and keep checking back as more good stuff is in the pipeline.

Check out this pic on the top of the main page:

That's myself and Noah from 2005!

I like girls...

2007-03-09T09:55:00.000-05:00

...but i like them better when they ride bikes.

I found this over on another blog, BonesOverMetal.com. Check them out!

What's your excuse?

2007-03-08T17:14:00.000-05:00

It's too cold.
I have too much work.
I hurt my knee.
I don't want to hurt my knee.
I have to go to this party...

Excuses -- legit or fabricated -- act as a sort of glue, stitching our lives together so that our time is used as we best see fit.

Aaron Fortheringham has no use of his legs, and yet he still throws down better than most.
Take a peek, and stop with the excuses. Push yourself hard, crash, and dust yourself off. Repeat.

Rad - The Movie

2007-03-07T17:42:00.000-05:00

If you haven't seen it, now you have no excuse!

Nice Touch

2007-03-07T17:00:00.000-05:00

I really like the ingenuity and execution of this rear disc brake mount.

Originally posted on Sheldonbrown.com, this is a custom built Ingleheart

Down Time

2007-01-23T10:41:00.000-05:00

Time off is good. It grants you a fresh perspective and allows you freedom to pursue anything and everything you wish.
Since the Vermont 50, I've laid pretty low. Very little worth noting in terms of riding, but lots of stuff accomplished which is good. We've had a mild start to winter which allowed most to keep riding through the whole winter.

Now that I'm ready to get back on the bike, winter has has taken hold of the temperature and dragged it way down. As I sit here, contemplating a road ride, I see the mercury is a reading a balmy 27 degrees. Maybe I should have another cup of coffee instead and ride later.

There are so many distractions aside from riding that are equally rewarding. You forget about them until you have down time and take a step back and look at the big picture.
I've been taking a ton of photos, but my manual 35mm SLR just died. Here's a small sampling:

Climbing
Apremont @ Fontainbleau, France

Housework

Late Nights in NYC

Paris

More goodness to come.
Check out NJDirt.com
I've been riding more and more street... Wed. Night Rides are in full effect!!!

Five Point Cycles

2006-10-20T17:37:00.000-04:00

Off to Fontainebleau.

No better way to spend Autumn than in France.
My crew of 5 to be joined by another 6 climbers after the first week, this is going to be as epic as our trip in Fall of last year.

America, f*ck yeah!

Oh yeah, Five Point Cycles is coming soon...

2006 Vermont 50

2006-09-26T10:01:00.000-04:00

Home, but only for a brief spell as I must do laundry and re-pack for another 4 days on the road... this time off to Las Vegas for Interbike.

Vermont was beautiful, and the race was amazing. Peak foliage is still 10-14 days away and the rain threatened to make a mess of everything, but for race-day, the rain held out until the end of the day with a few bursts of rain in isolated spots then sunshine prevailed.

I started in the first wave with Expert and Singlespeed classes. This was my first Expert race and I was not prepared for how fast everyone would be right from the line. With 50 miles of climbing ahead, I assumed a somewhat laid-back start speed for the bulk of us, while the real contenders sprinted off. Instead, most of the people sprinted out and I was left trying to find a fleeting draft to hang in.

The start was quite foggy and sunlight was only enough to barely light the sky, finally starting to light the roads about 30 minutes into the ride. The course was softer than last year, and I felt like I was working a fair bit harder on the dirt roads to maintain my speed uphill. The singletrack was a greasy affair with lots of mud and slick roots. I dabbed a lot in the last 15 miles of singletrack as my composure started to wane to the fatigue of riding a hardtail. I crashed once too, after taking a hand off the controls to sip water inbetween 2 stands of trees in gnarly singletrack. Luckily, nobody saw =)

In the end I finished strong and with energy to burn in just over 6 hours, a 40 minute improvement over my time last year. The course was about 20 minutes longer too, due to the conditions and since they added more singletrack. My goal was to cross the line in under 6 hours... 6 minutes shy, there are a few things that added contributed to not meeting my goal, including stopping to say hello to my girlfriend and helping a fellow NJ rider with a flat tire. I'm more than content with my finish though:
16th place, Men's Expert Senior II division
Total time, 6:06:45

To crack the Top 10, I'd need to shave another 30-40 minutes off my time...
Sandbaggers were rampant, with Sport class riders finishing ahead of some of the Top 10 Experts, and Novice Veteran and the Top 3 Novice Sport II riders finishing ahead of me.

Time to move on...

2006-09-06T23:52:00.000-04:00

Time to bid farewell to my home of 2 years, and to write the next chapter.

To all my friends and clients I've met over my stay at Tenafly Bicycle Workshop, I'd like to say thank you for everything. When I was offered the job in August of 2004 I never thought I'd stay more than a few weeks. I thought I was just helping a friend out of a pinch. Weeks became months and then years, and now I see a good future for me in the cycling world.

If you need to contact me after September 21st, you can email me: weridebikes@gmail.com

See you on the trails!
~r

New Gear

2006-08-28T11:08:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-18T22:46:00.000-04:00

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?"

Project Titus

2006-07-06T00:01:00.000-04:00

Going to iron out the kinks tomorrow afternoon.
2006 Titus Racer-X

I was handed a matte black Racer-X frame and tasked with creating an XC race bike, specifically a bike made to tackle the 2006 Vermont 50 on September 24th. Also of importance is durability, since this bike will likely see a lot of milage and all-conditions abuse over the next few months.

Front to back and top to bottom, we start with a 31.8 carbon FSA K-Force riser bar mounted with Gripshift XO's and Magura Marta SL stoppers. The cockpit is mounted to the bike with a Thompson X4 stem complimented with a matching Thompson Elite set-back seatpost in the back. The stem/bar combo is pleasantly stiff compared to the flexy weight-wieny setup on my personal bike.
The front end is currently suspended with a temporary fork taken from another bike. The 2007 Fox F100X is still a few weeks away. That's why we have the silly stack of spacers... if we cut the steerer, the fork would be useless on its doner bike. Oh yeah, its a 2006 100mm Rock Shox Reba Race.
Gold Chris King headset. I added a Chris King Owl T-shirt to the order for myself and then built the wheels.

Anchored by Salsa Flip-off skewers (steel), the DTSwiss 240s hubs spin a featherweight wheelset. I utilized Stan's slightly heavier Olympic ZTR rims (about 30 grams heavier per hoop than the real-deal ZTR's) and laced them with DTSwiss Competition spokes and alloy nipples. After the last half-dozen wheelsets I've built I've really come to love Wheelsmith's Spoke Prep, which comes in 2 colors which aids in maintaining some sanity when dealing with different spoke lengths. It doesn't hold nearly as strong as blue threadlocking compound, yet still provides confident friction when tensioning and truing. Kenda Kharma DTC tires sealed by a Stan's NoTubes kit & their lightweight (they claim a scant 5 grams per wheel) yellow spoke tape. When talking with the sales rep at NoTubes, he said that it is possible to run their sealant with only the yellow tape and their valve stem. If no rubber rim strip is used, you can save about another 60 grams of rotating mass. I might beta-test this on my own bike, but am somewhat skeptical about the long term airtightness of this setup, not to mention questions about durability. Why even bother selling a rim strip then? hmmm....

The drive line is almost 100% SRAM, with a pc59 chain linking a carbon Truvativ Stylo crankset and a PG-990 cassette. We opted to splurge a bit and put on a pair of Crank Brothers Twin Ti pedals to first round out the the look of the bike, but also shave a little more rotating mass. Just shy of 50 less grams over the Eggbeater SL's, though avoiding the titanium spindle that renders max. rider weight to under 185 lbs. and keeps an extra $125 in our pockets.

Shifting is handled by XT front and X.9 rear derailuers. I used Avid's Flakjacket sealed cable system for roping everything together.

Rider-specific suspension tuning to follow shortly...

Racking up the milage...

2006-06-26T16:30:00.000-04:00

Here are 2 valid reasons for not posting on this blog in nearly 2 months:
1)I've been riding.

2)

I will be racing the Jay Challenge on July 30th and the Vermont 50 on September 34th.
The I'm off to Death Valley to crew for John D'Elia in The Furnace Creek 508

Ian's Gary Fisher Cronus Singlespeed

2006-05-09T13:31:00.000-04:00

BEHOLD!

97.68% done, the bike still needs a 1/2 link in the chain and a tensioner. We're using my Rennen as a stopgap measure and the remaining parts will be here Thursday.

Working with an eBay purchased steel frame ($40) we did our best to keep the parts under $1000, including wheels built by me.

DT Swiss 450 rims laced to Surly New Disc hubs

Salsa Moto Ace bar & stem, WTB headset, American Classic post

Truvativ Stylo SS cranks & BB

Fat America

2006-05-03T01:50:00.000-04:00

The epidemic "grows"

Americans 'sicker' than their English counterparts

* 17:15 02 May 2006
* NewScientist.com news service
* Roxanne Khams

For all the pork pies and clotted cream the English are reputed to consume, they still face less risk of diabetes and heart disease than their US counterparts, a new study shows.

While wealthy Americans enjoy better health than their poorer fellow citizens, this high status fails to confer health benefits to match even the lowliest of their trans-Atlantic cousins. The health of the richest people in the US is as poor as the worst educated, lowest paid among the English.

“Americans are much sicker than the English,” claim the researchers, who are based on both sides of the Atlantic. They came to this conclusion after studying self-reported information about diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other illnesses from about 8000 adults aged 55 to 64 years, half in each country. The information came from government-sponsored surveys.

The team confirmed that this data offered an accurate representation of disease rates by cross-checking it against a smaller sample of clinical data from people aged 40 to 70 years.

The self-reported and clinical data sets each showed how the figures varied according to income and education. The researchers looked exclusively at data from non-Hispanic whites in both countries.
Shock findings

In England, 7.8% of people in the highest income bracket had heart disease, whereas 12.0% of the same group in the US had heart disease, according to the survey data. The lowest income groups in England and the US had heart disease rates of 11.6% and 17.1%, respectively.

The analysis also suggests that while about 6.1% of adults in England suffer from diabetes, the illness affects 12.5% of US adults.

“We really did not expect there to be that big a difference,” says James Smith of the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California, US, who co-authored the study. England was chosen because its population was expected to share many characteristics with that of the US.
Super-sized citizens?

Smith says the fact that all people in England have access to government-sponsored health cover does not explain the differences seen between the populations. He notes that about 94% of non-Hispanic white Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 years report having access to health insurance.

He speculates that dietary differences – and in particular greater consumption of fast-food – could perhaps explain why 31% of Americans in that age group are obese, compared to just 23% of their English counterparts. Possibly more stressful and sedentary lifestyles might also make Americans less healthy, Smith speculates.

While Americans have higher rates of cancer, they are less like to die from it than the English. Researchers say this may come down to a matter of money. In the US $5274 is spent per capita on medical care while in UK, taking both nationally funded and private healthcare into account, that number is just $2164.

Journal reference: Journal of the American Medical Association (vol 295, p 2037)

With that said, The Wednesday Night Ride is on tomorrow night with yet another new rider planning to join. Our own epidemic is growing quietly on the streets of Montclair, New Jersey. Interested? njbike@yahoogroups.com

Time flies...

2006-04-28T01:37:00.001-04:00

As the spring season brought in the full thaw, it also brought in customers which has taken all of my time.

Visted Carl @ Vicious Cycles to peep his new titanum production... The question is, do I go with a purpose-built SS Ti frame or go with an already available Ti Metal Guru?

My trusty (steel) Metal Guru (steel, with lots of paint chips and a minor ding in the top tube, disc-only) is officially for sale.

Here's a photo from the Montclair Wednesday Night Ride (3 weeks ago), with my SS Evil D.O.C. in the foreground:

Back to gears, and hopefully back to getting fit. My SS has made me strong, but I need some time to heal up some nagging aches.

More on Switzerland's Epic

2006-03-27T22:54:00.000-05:00

Ian who joined me on the swiss epic sent the ride details to me via email:

From: Ian
Sent : Monday, March 27, 2006 10:03 PM
To : Bubb
Hey Bubb,

Thanks for the edition to your blog... Here is some more info.

We began our journey from Cademario.
An easy double track with some great views to Arosio di Sotto.
Then it was an easy road ride to Mugena (4km).
We made a horrendeous mistake and took a (2,5km) foot path (Sentiero del Castagno).
We had to place the bikes on our backs to make the ascent easier. Then began the killer switchbacks (1km) to A. Nisciora.

Behind and above us was Mt. Gradiccioli the highest mountain in the region. Rich and I were starving and luckily we found some wild blueberries. A grotto awaited us close by. It was self serve and Rich was overjoyed. Wine, beer and fruit drinks were to be had. We wrote our names in the log and moved on to Magnio (1.5km).

Then we were able to ride to an area between peaks called Zottone.
Then we descended and ascended to Mt. Lema (3km). We stopped at the summit for some pieces of pie and cake and chugged some ice tea and sport drink. Rich tended to my wounded heel with some black duck tape I had which worked famously well.

Then began the switchbacks from hell. The trail became slightly more manageable half way down and then we met up with the road (1km) and hit the town of Miglieglia. (2km) We soon take the road to Breno. (2km) From Breno we hit a downhill and uphill back to Cademario (3km).

Rich and I opened a bottle of wine and now I sit here by myself sipping my glass. I enjoyed Rich’s company!

More from Austria

2006-03-23T11:46:00.000-05:00

Big(ger) legs do big(ger) things...

The Americans owned the mountain for a few days and apparently, all the locals knew it. Our German cohorts told us that the everyone knew we were there for a wedding. So I guess they forgave us for singing at the top of our lungs in the streets @ 4am.
30 foot huck

going bigger yet...

finding fun on natural terrain

The bride!

A toast to wonderful times with wonderful people

Bon Jovi, 3am

Right on.

2006-03-22T01:12:00.000-05:00

Preach on , brother!

Having already done a solo 24 before, I knew that this event is not about the mega-mileage rides, the high-tech/low fat diet, or the latest titanium, air-sprung, lefty lockout platypus catheter. The bottom line is this: At some point (and frequently after that) you say to yourself STOP! You either give in to this sensible plea or you ignore it like e-mail spam. My secret training program hones my ability to ignore my better senses. carsrcoffins

Austria

2006-03-20T12:47:00.000-05:00

6 days in Austria was not enough, I'm suffering massive withdrawal.

Not bike related, but in a sense it was...
Many of my biking friends are crossover ski friends too.
If it wasn't for the fitness my bike has given me, my 3 year hiatus from skiing would have left me w/ little skill/strength on the slopes. Instead of sucking, It was the single strongest moment I've ever had on skis.
I have barely scratched the surface of the potential in these legs, and can't wait to huck in some powder again.

oh yeah, the nightlife kicked ass too.

Epic.... avoided?

2006-03-08T00:08:00.000-05:00

I guess I'm just getting old.

On Monday, I threw in the towel after struggling through 10 miles of snow and rode back to the car. On the road, mind you. I dodged a potentially painful solo epic. We all carry our tales of truly amazing anecdotal rides with us everytime we roll -- no matter long ride or short -- and each ride measures up to the yardstick of our Epics.

I was lucky. I had a few rabid biker friends growing up who would do stupid shit and always get us lost. I recall my first true epic: we started in Ringwood, rode through to Ramapo, and rode so far into the trail network there that we found the edge, the end of the woods. Some town in Bergen County, totally ignorant and with no bearings whatsoever. I asked a woman who just walked out of her duplex towards her car, "what town are we in?" When she replied, none of us ever heard of it.

These are our much hallowed and revered rides. We often share Epics with people who are our best riding buddies. Sometimes after the epic, you notice they don't ride with you anymore. I can only think of one* of my epics that a friend mutually shares as one of his.

We started off in the morning just above the city of Lugano, Switzerland, on rental Trek Y bikes. Vintage baby! Begining first on cobblestone switchback roads, we headed up through some local singletrack to some smaller towns and up still to dirt roads. We thought we knew the way. As the path got narrower, it also got much steeper. Here our different pace caused a separation that got wider and each suffered alone. We knew UP was the only way to be going, so we spoke nothing of it and ploded on.
Eventually bikes had to be shouldered and carried, and as the grade increased the trail became a thin footpath. Up and up and up we went, up past the treeline into the grassy slopes.
I was furious at this point, and let my partner in crime know it. Part of it was me pointing the blame, and part of it was me being irrational from being caloric-deficient.
We pressed on and were rewarded with amazing knife-edge singletrack along that ridge a mile away behind & above us. Precariously perched atop bike, a fall to the left would leave you at least 15 feet down (if you were able to arrest your fall on impact) in Switzerland, and a fall to the right would do the same only in Italy. Sweet! I've never been to Italy... Joking aside, we were in a bad spot physically but had to push on. I found wild blueberry patches, and with 15 solid minutes of work managed to scarf down about 1 full handfull. Then we spotted the hut. Oh glorious hut! Stocked with beer, wine, soda & water. We gorged ourselves soda, left some Francs and continued on.

To give you an idea of the scale of the riding over there check out these photos:

Those tiny little tufts of green in the top right? Scrubby trees bigger than me.
Lets zoom out some...

And now some more...

We survived to the top, where the gondola we saw on the map was supposed to be. The problem was, the gondola wasn't running. It was a weekday. Luckily, much of the ride down was manageable, though white-knuckle all the way to the first town.
From there we had to ride road as the sun began to dip behind the mountains. I think in the end I counted 8 towns we had to ride through to make it home, and there were still some hills to face.
You may have noticed the * above. 2 days later during the same trip we did an 8 hour death march (on road, but on the same POS bikes) capped off with the absolutely most brutal climb I have ever done. 45 minutes of hell with blind corners than made drivers ponder the friction coefficient of their tires and the fortitude of their brakes.

A thank you goes out to Ian & his family for hosting me for an epic adventure.

Project Voodoo: Complete.

2006-03-04T01:02:00.000-05:00

The Voodoo SS was actually completed almost 2 weeks ago, and has seen a handfull of rides thus far.

Here's Dave and his new SS:

There are 2 issues yet to be resolved, the simplest of the pair is the rear cog.
As mentioned during the initial build, the cog was taken from an old cassette and we chose the 21T over the 18T. Dave is ready to "turn the volume up a notch" and roll with a 20T. I have a Surly steel cog waiting to go in next time i get my tools on the bike.

The second issue is a bit harder to solve. The wheels were hand-me-downs from a pile of scrap parts. A co-worker stripped a Gary Fisher Opie since it has the same frame as the the $1200 Fisher GED and he already had an old Azonic Steelhead ready to donate its organs.
Just for fun, he and some others jumped/rode that poor $360 Opie really hard. The bars broke, ending their fun and saving the rest of the parts from certain death. The rear wheel is hammered. It has a big flat spot in it and doesn't stay in true long, so the rear V-brakes have to be spaced far from the rim. That in turn requires the lever to crush your fingers before the brakes do much work. I have a loaner wheel on deck from my personal collection, but also ordered a Salsa carbon brake booster since the seatstay flex isn't helping matters.

On the rear end the Rennen Rollenlager would not sit flush with the Ritchey dropouts, so we went with the cleanest cheap option...

Surly Singulator

Last year I ran a singulator with little luck in either push up/down springs. Soon after installation, a friend adjusted it for me and stripped the spring out. Why they use a hard steel spring secured in a shallow, soft aluminum body is beyond me. I hate poor product design and this is a good example of what not to do. Worse yet, the singulator is not new on the market and this issue has not been resolved, nor have any of the others. For example, to set the spring tension you must use a cone wrench. On the 2 bikes I've installed the tensioner on, both had recessed or "protected" dropouts that left little or no room to get a cone wrench. Even when I could manage to get tension and then fix the 5mm hanger bolt, the bolt would loosen and release tension over time. To top off the list of complaints, the spring tension was never enough to guarantee a drop-free ride on our rocky local loops. I would drop a chain every ride... until i started using a zip tie, just as pictured in the above photo.
Ghetto-fab, but it works better than the Surly spring.

We contacted Salsa to find a green skewer nut for Dave's vintage rasta Flip-offs. The sent him the part free of charge and threw in a bunch of stickers, including the one over the frame hole (which was first sealed with multiple layers of packing tape).

Pedals were put on too...

Building this bike was a ton of fun, and it has got Dave amped to ride.
I might have another SS build in the near future... I can't wait!

I'm Good!

2006-03-04T00:20:00.000-05:00

Like, this is so 2002

Kick back w/ a beverage...

2006-02-28T00:12:00.000-05:00

... relax.

Have a 5 minute zen moment.

Now, carry on...

Dov's Surly 1x1

2006-02-24T17:07:00.000-05:00

The bike was completed yesterday, and ridden for the first time this AM. The verdict:

The Surly exceeded my expectations big time... Thanks again!

~dovi

Here are the specs:

Surly 1x1 frame
Rockshox Reba Race (w/ Poplock remote lockout)
Chris King headset
Thompson 100 mm stem
Thompson 27.2 x 400 mm seatpost
Bontrager Race Lite Lux saddle
FSA K-Force DH handlebar
ODI Ruffian lock-on grips

Avid Juicy 5 brakes (160 mm rotors)
ACS Claws 20T freewheel
Sram PC-1 chain

Crank Brothers Mallet C pedals
Race Face Evolve XC SS crankset
Surly New Disc hubs (front & rear)
DT Swiss Competition spokes & alloy nipples
Sun DS1-XC rims

All of above assembled by me:

New SS to be posted tomorrow...

2006-02-24T00:47:00.000-05:00

This week is all about one speed.
Rode with Dave and his new Voodoo SS on the local Wed. night loop. His 2nd SS ride and he was crushing hills!
Dov's Surly 1x1 is built and ready to roll. Tomorrow morning we'll ride before work & I'll tow the new digital camera along. The virgin SS'er on a virgin bike. In the shop we've dubbed it "The Bruiser" since it is black and blue all over.

Time off isn't just good for the body in terms of recovery, its good for the soul too. I'm giddy about riding again. Maybe I'll rebuild the FXR next Fall... it is just taking time off.

Until tomorrow, peep this kid and his dope new SS

broken.

2006-02-18T21:39:00.000-05:00

In times where it seems freeride reigns supreme, I have to give it to this poor XC rider who pulls the sickest riding I've seen in years.

SS again...

2006-02-18T17:23:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist.
A slow day at work and SS's on the mind.
A customer saw the recent SS Voodoo Project and ordered a custom-spec'd Surly 1x1.

So here's mine, converted in about an hour with some help:

Long Term Test: Fox Submachine Glove

2006-02-15T15:56:00.000-05:00

I destroy gloves.
Coated with dirt and mashed between my palms and the grips, worn frequently and washed once a week, gloves could be the single hardest working piece of gear I own. On average I trash 2-3 pair a year, but these gloves are the hardest used pair to date, and after 9 months they are still going strong.

I'll be the first to admit, I am a glove snob and in recent years, have not tried any brands aside from Fox. Most shops carry the brand in stock, so for me it has been a no-brainer buy. Formerly a fan of the Fox Sidewinder, I was upset to see Fox trade the tried-and-tested double layer palm for the cheaper single layer Clarino synthetic leather palm. I cannot own a single layer glove: re-read line #1 for reference.

That said, before I get into the nitty gritty on why the Submachine is the best darn pair of gloves ever, let me explain the short-comings of my past gloves.
The biggest gripe is blown stitching. I've had gloves unravel at the seams in the first week of riding. I cannot for the life of me explain why companies put soft rubber bumpers on the knuckles, under the guise of "protection". Rubber is for condoms and tires, not for gloves. It inhibits the breathability, limits flexibility and comfort, and they don't do anything for figner protection. Maybe the people at Fox think that with tough looking rubber pads on the knuckles you get some street-cred, and should any hikers mouth off you'll be showing them the action side of the gloves.

Gladly, The Submachines have no padding... What they do have is a massive terrycloth thumb and back area, handy for winter rides where your nose runs faster than your tires and for wiping the chocolate Hammergel from your lips. If your thumb gets too crusty from an hour of snot-rockets, guess what? You have a second one, so get those boogers off your nose you freak! The rest of gloves' back is made from a stretchy spandex-like fabric with an urban cammo motif. Ugly, but with just enough snugness to keep your hands perfectly cradled in comfort and thin enough to breathe on hot days, I'll take ugly any day. Oh, did I mention they are great when the weather is cool? Well now I did, so stop wondering.

The comfort of these gloves is what really sets them apart. I wear them at work often since I have to be outside in the cold while testing bikes. I wear them when driving too, keeping a thin barrier between me and the ice-cold steering wheel. I wore them while shoveling out (3 days in a row now) both work and home driveways.

These gloves won't do your taxes, but if you let them I figure they'll do just about everything else.

SS Update

2006-02-11T19:31:00.000-05:00

Joe Murray rocks!

He wrote me back within a day... how's that for customer service???
Whatever Dave decides to do with his Voodoo, I wanted to applaud Joe and Voodoo Cycles for showing me that the love runs deep int he MTB community. There are so many new brands out there that neglect customers. Out of sight, out of mind i guess.

The SS is nearly complete... the headset we chose isn't working out and we still need to get a legit tensioner on there. Should have it done and rideable for our weekly Wednesday Night Ride.

Also in the works, a home movie documenting our Wed. night rides, a tradition that goes back quite a number of years. (I've been riding with Dave since about 1993)

The Snow Storm of 2006 seems like it isn't much of a blizzard, and seems like it won't affect our riding too much.

Building a Single Speed: part uno

2006-02-09T18:41:00.000-05:00

For the past 2 winters, I've converted my Vicious into a single-speed. My former boss David who moved to open a shop in New Mexico was an avid SS'r so I joined the ranks on a whim.

Today I started passing the on the proverbial sprocket to a totally different Dave, owner of this original 1997 Voodoo Bizango:

killer headbadge

The Bizango was retired many years ago and left to collect dust... a night ride left the frame damaged, when one of the old heavy Niterider waterbottle batteries tore the cage and braze-on out of the frame. At that point, circa 2000, Voodoo was out of business. (although the brand was resurected, ~~they won't honor the old warranty according to Dave. Y'all at Voodoo reading? Contact me if you change your mind)~~

tis' a shame...

The current Voodoo Bizango is welded from a Reynolds 853 tubeset, which is an air-hardened micro-alloy steel that gets stronger at the welds with better grain structure than some older steels. My 'cross bike is 853 and it rides like a dream.

Made in the USA of Tange Ultimate Ultralite steel

Joe Murray

As far as parts were concerned, we had a mixed approach. Some borrowed parts, some new old-stock, some brand new. To start, I lent Dave my old CODA cranks from my retired Cannondale F2000, as well as a 10 year old octalink BB that spins smooth as new. These were mated to a Blackspire 32T DS chainring. All of these were originally used on my first SS project in late December 2004.

Next I pressed in an old and simple Aheadset, and we're using a Vicious Cylces rigid fork to steer the front end. This fork came from a custom painted bike, but the owner Michael decided to run suspension up front so the fork has sat unused for several years. He let it go for a song and both parties are thrilled to see it going to good use.

For wheels, we took some Bontrager Dual Duty mtb wheels that originally came on a Gary Fisher Opie. Mark, a shop employee who bought the Opie only wanted the frame, as it is the same frame on Fisher's top of the line G.E.D. and put on parts he stripped from his Azonic Steelhead. Heavy and cheap, but they are free so who are we to argue?

To finish of the wheels, we used Dave's old Salsa rasta-colored skewers, and dug deep into my collection of cassette spacers to space out his cog for a nice straight chainline. I raped a used cassette for the 21T cog, but since it has ramps on it, we'll change it out once we figure out what gear Dave wants to push. The cassette also had an 18T available, but I figured that would be too much to push up hills since Dave doesn't ride much in the winter.

ghetto fab

That about wraps things up... we're waiting on parts (tomorrow?) to finish the bike off. A 26.8mm seatpost, bars & stem, and other assorted goodies to come. I'm loaning out my Rennen Rollenlager until Dave decides which tensioner he wants.

Part 2... stay tuned!

Video of the Dirty Dozen

2006-01-29T22:42:00.000-05:00

During the race i would often hear a rustle in the trees. Spectators would be hiking in the woods for good vantage points, sometimes I'd see a flash or hear the snap of a shutter. To my surprise, some of these dudes were packing video cameras, and they pieced together a ~3 minute video of the race. See if you can spot Bubb's 3 cameos ;)

The Truth Hurts

2006-01-23T21:37:00.000-05:00

I came to a realization early on this time.

Somewhere around 5 hours in, I realized how bad this was going to suck. The heavy pondering of what's next? You're questioning yourself, and starting to suffer. The weary fatigue has yet to come, but you know it is coming. Like some blood thickening chemical that is slowly building up from your excess consumption of crunchy water mix. Now that sticky energy mix you so desperately rely upon pumps in your legs, slowing you down.
The shit that coats your lips, and after 2 laps of forgetting to put some on when in your pit stop, you finally remember to put some lip balm on. All of this is weighing heavy on your head, because there is no shelter, no place to hide...
The Truth Is, everything is going to get worse. Get over it, and ignore it any way you can.

After that I was plugging lap after lap and having fun to mask the pain, to distract my brain from questioning my motives for continuing. Ok, it is fair to admit that I'm a bit of a lunatic, but I sang in a really off key voice any song I could think of for a few laps. That backfired on me though, when I kept repeating the chorus of a song, so I switched to making up my own lyrics. I learned how to dial in corners to exit with blistering speed with sound effects that I would provide. Every time the trail dropped away suddenly, I would air it out instead of rolling through, and I would pull wheelie drops off the plywood/2-by-4 water crossings. I learned how to air it out and cross up my bars when dropping into steep sections, something I ahven't ever done in 15 years of trail riding. I contemplated my future, my life goals, and my love(s) lost. The Hurt in my life cannot be hidden when I have been broken down to this degree, you have to stare it all in the face and examine it all in precise, agonizing detail. The faces of your past, staring back at you waiting for your answer.

The mental game cannot be trained for like the physical. One cannot spend extra hours on the trainer or log additional miles to prepare the brain for the inevitable mindfuck you experience when on a bike for this sort of duration.

This is The Truth, The Answer.
This is my edge.
This is how I win.

Now time to clean the steed

Jersey Represent!

2006-01-22T21:23:00.000-05:00

In 11 hours, 53 minutes I logged 11 laps (~10.5 mile course) to win the Solo Sport division at The Dirty Dozen!

When I checked in after lap 10 (my goal was to do 10 laps) I was in first place, but the timekeeper told me that at the start of lap 10, the 2nd place dude was only seconds behind me. I had wanted to quit, but I couldn't let myself give up 1st place that easily. If I was fighting for 2nd/3rd I would have called it a day and been happy. I cranked really hard for the entire lap, blowing any reserves I had left and cramping horribly. I did not get passed by a single rider but in the last 1.5 miles a light appeared behind me and I had to assume that I was being chased down... The final climb is 3/4 of a mile from the finish and I screamed my way up the hill. Literally.

I may have been the one to pedal for 12 hours, but I owe this win to the Matus family from Giddings, TX who worked as my support crew for the entire race. Not only did they put me up for 2 nights but they also drove me everywhere, gave me moral support during the race, and helped me out with the odds and ends of race logistics. I have never had so much help during a race before and each time they aided me they gave me minutes of advantage over my competition.
A beautiful family, they are truly blessed to have each other.

THANK YOU!!!!

I haven't felt well all day. My systems are all haywired, and I hurt all over.

Post-race notes:
- padded gloves rock. You lose control, but you gain comfort. I have no hand-related issues that usually plague me post-race.
- my heart rate was normal in the first few hours, but I struggled to keep it below 155 for the first 3 laps. After 6 hours, my heart rate worried me as it was below 120 at times, and below 135 most of the time. I don't know the reasoning for this, but I need to find out.
- more chest and abs work needed. my training regimen has included a lot of that and I've felt an incredible improvement since last summer's races.

<edit - I had planned to do this race with music. Not just music, but like all 12 hours tuned in just enough so I didn't drown out the trails. I had soldiered up a backup battery pack for my iPod 40gig (3rd gen) I stupidly forgot the iPod at work so I went without. The trails at Bluff Creek were so crazy that if I had headphones in I think I would have crashed a lot. The trails are so different from anything I've ridden, composed of mostly dry hardpack. EVERYTHING was fast, and in your face. Most of the trail would wind from one curve into another and another... there were no straights. The ground was pebbly, but some spots were hard clay and fast dirt. On the turns you'd have to listen to ground to hear when your tires were starting to break free. The balance so delicate to master... In the later laps my morale improved dramatically because I was starting to get the course dialed that despite the discomfort and pain in my legs, i could have some amazing fun.

I'm kinda down on racing right now because the costs are really high and I don't really have a firm grasp on my motivation for being a "racer". Gonna take a step back for a few months. Ride, just for fun.
/>

Ask Bubb

2006-01-22T21:14:00.000-05:00

max said...

Hey Bubb, I found your blog looking for Vicious Guru info..
Can you tell me what kind of rear tire clearance you get on that sweet thing?
blog out.

1/21/2006 6:42 PM

Well Max, Riding an average XC type rim I can easily fit a Kenda Nevegal/Kinetics 2.35" tire with room to spare. I think this is the maximum size I'd run though, as a 2.4 might rub in some instances. Just FYI, i run either Stan's Olympic ZTR rims or Bontrager Maveric rims (race/everyday) depending on what wheelset.

I love my Metal Guru!

Wagons west

2006-01-19T23:19:00.000-05:00

This is only my 2nd long-distance trip for biking.
The first time I'll be riding further west than the NJ/PA border in fact.
15 years of MTB riding and I still am a noob, still green to the 2 wheeled word out there.

Texas bound for The Dirty Dozen in Warda, TX. The weather looks great, maybe even too warm. I'm packed and nervous. So much to worry about, I already forgot my iPod at work, even though I spent many hours soldering and re-soldering different home-made backup battery packs until I made one that is perfect. Oh well...

First Look: Shimano M225 shoes

2006-01-16T16:53:00.000-05:00

Farewell my beloved Sidi Dominators.
It has been a 14 year love affair that is about to come to a close. My first pair of bright blue and neon yellow Dominator 2's (which lasted 5 seasons) stayed on a few more years in my closet, even though they were worthless and covered in duct tape. They served me so well from the day I ditched toe clips back in the mid-1990's, that I could not bare to throw them out. They even moved from one closet to another as I moved homes, but finally found the bottom of a waste basket on the 2nd of such moves a few years back.

The latest pair of Sidi Dominator's I owned were ridden hard for 1 season but I had no idea how much power my beat-up soles were giving up until I tried on a new pair last week. Mine were just plain 'ol worked over. I can't see spending $229 (MSRP) each season for new shoes, so I've opted to try a new shoe, the Shimano M225 which is $169 (MSRP).

The silver shoes, garish compared to the black Sidis, feature 2 wide velcro straps for the forefoot wih a ratchet-style buckle and strap across the top of the foot. All 3 straps feel comfortable and most importantly, feel like they do a good job of working independently. Too many shoes on the market offer mulitple straps that when cinched tighter, create slack in the other straps... which leaves me to wonder, what is the point of having so many then?
My first thought was that no mesh/synthetic shoe will fit as well as the Lorica (synthetic leather) Sidi uses. I would size down a 1/2 size with Sidis to allow for stretch and the glove-like fit I grew so familiar with. The M225 seems to have a slightly higher volume toe box than the Dominators, which works well with my flat feet that over-pronate. The heel too feels wide, a problem for me since I have a narrow heel, but I've opted to remove the stock shoe liners (which come impregnated with a minty-fresh smell, nice for those with swampfootitis, or a different unsightly foot ailement. Wash 'yo feet heathen!) from day-1, and use custom molded Sole Ultra insoles. The insoles are thicker than stock, so the overall shoe volume is decreased. I'm also testing a pair of SuperFeet insoles (green) this week to see what feels better. The former offers a more comfortable feel, but the later grants more positive support. Either way, both have iron-clad return policies so I can return whichever one I like less for a full refund. At $30-$40 a pair, these insoles allow me to get a cheap alternative to fully custom orthotics at 1/8th the price and I can trash these in the mud without a 2nd thought.

For the M225, Shimano uses an incredibly stiff carbon-reinforced sole that is almost too stiff for my liking. I know the benifits of this type of sole, but the downside is that it severely mutes the tactile feedback from my pedals... which made the first few clip-ins "blind" and very clumsy. During my first ride with them today I missed pedals a few times, which is a few times too many. The shoes are being used with a pair of Crank Bros. Eggbeater SL pedals, and I think the cleats will need to have 1 shim added to allow for smoother dis/engagement. That gripe aside, holy power-transfer batman! Soles plus the, uhm, Sole [in]soles (3 is the magic number) have created an amazing bike-body interface. I need to ride on these longer to see in my initial impressions fade with break-in.

Too cold to be out on a bike?

2006-01-16T02:48:00.000-05:00

J***** K******
Sent : Monday, January 16, 2006 12:20 AM
Subject : Bubb Spied on 14th

Last seen Sat. 11:45 on 14th St. doing wheelies on the sidewalk. Wanted to shout your name but the windows on the car were frozen shut.

Thanks to my new jacket, on the way home from Brooklyn, a little biking went down.
On Sale now @ EMS

2006-01-13T18:23:00.000-05:00

T-minus 1 week, time to get the race rig built so I still have time to work out the bugs.
Frame was stripped, with 2-3 ounces of water pouring out from the BB shell. Luckily, I coated the whole thing with Wurth CU-1100 copper-paste grease so there's virtually zero corrosion. I will have to Weigle the seat tube tomorrow to inhibit a tiny bit of rust in there.

Got my RockShox SID World Cup back from SRAM, they did not waranty my lowers (snapped the dropout off bombing down a fire road), so for a nominal cost they put on new lowers and new seals. I opted to not go with the heinous blue lowers, and instead got a greenish-gray color, and they even noted my lack of decals when I sent it in, and sent it back the same way. Not a big deal, but a nice customer-service touch. They even called me to verify before they shipped.

In 13 months, the fork has been in for waranty work 2 times... hopefully this time it will last the whole season. The carbon steerer tube & crown were replaced, as were the uppers (all 3 are bonded into a single unit).

1 Week To Go...

2006-01-12T22:28:00.000-05:00

a little over a week left for me to prepare for the Dirty Dozen 12 hr. race.

So many things to do. My bike isn't even set up yet, and I haven't ridden it in over 2 weeks. It is still a single-speed, pending some Avid Flak Jacket cables for my derailuers. My Stan's NoTubes Olympic Rim strips and yellow spoke tape arrived, as did my Kenda Kharma tires. I also got my season-supply of Hammer Gel & Sustained energy from e-caps.com... all that is left is to set up the bike and pack my stuff.

Weather is on its way downhill for the weekend so my last hard ride will have to be tomorrow's commute. I'm packing a digicam along so if the weather is nice, I'll have some pics to share.

My left achillies is sore tonight from a post-work urban assult session on the new Evil... another urban sesion to go down in Brooklyn on Sunday night. Then just a week long taper to race day.

Best German Biker Evar

F*cking Cold!

2006-01-06T20:32:00.000-05:00

Keeping to the 2-days-a-week bicycle commute that takes me a shade under 40 miles, round trip.
40 miles isn't a whole lot, but when you have to get up early (to prep, eat, dress) ride 1.5 hours uphill to work, stay on your feet all day long, then ride the 20 miles back home... you get the idea.
I'm not much of a roadie, and try to avoid riding in group rides only because they feel alien to me after spending so much time playing in the woods with my long-time riding buddies. Spending so much time on road (2 hours each way, door-to-door) alone is starting to grow on me though.
In my last 2 commutes I've run into two of my customers riding their bikes to work, and for some really dorky reason, I totally get off on that. "*I built that commuter bike he's riding to work today," I thought, as we smiled and exchanged enthusiastic passing greetings. You spend so much time seeing these people in a familiar context, under the same roof, with the same bikes and new anecdotes. To see them on the road is something special. For that alone, the introvert that I am, has started to shout hellos to commuters that I recognize.
"Recognize" is to be used loosly; this time of year leaves little skin exposed, so you rely on other attributes. Be it their horrificly orange jackets (guilty as charged) or the familiar bike beneath them, in 3 weeks I've started to see The Regulars each ride.

I've become such a weather-whore. I am constantly checking so that I may prepare the correct gear for my ride. Too much, and the ride up some of these hills becomes a brutal test of wills as I drag all the gear uphill without the aid of the MTB gears I'm so used to spinning through. Too much and you sweat like a hog in July, stewing in your own humid vapors, only to freeze on the downhills as the vapor condenses on the inside of your clothing. Too little, and you freeze.
This morning they called for 34 degrees with a 20 mph headwind. Great! Cold, windy, and uphill to work. Super. Taking ther ferry across the Hudson to NYC seemed much warmer than that, and after riding north on the Hudson River pathway for only 5 minutes, I stripped down and removed my thin wool base-layer. Much better! I even took off my neoprene booties which I've grown to love.
The weather played a cruel joke on me today though, with the temperature dropping rapidly after 4 PM and the winds picked up. I thought it would be great to coast home with the aid of a tailwind but that wind made it so hard to stay warm as it whipped up from the west, blowing over the choppy, white-capped Hudson. By the time I made it to the ferry terminal i was shivering and worried: 8 minutes to the next ferry and no shelter, and the temps were still dropping. I curled into a ball and hid behind a sign, much to the amusement of some former frat-boy who probably gets off on watching dudes strut around in spandex.
Obviously, I didn't die. I made it home, and have learned a valuable lesson: bring an emergency extra layer.

Today I had on:

Mountain Hardware Wicked-T
it's great all 4 seasons as a wicking layer.

Craft Wool Base Layer

The best 3 season piece I own. Great on its own for cooler days, it never smells bad like synthetics, layers extremely well due to its thin contruction and high breathability.

Nike Sphere Hooded Thermal Jersey

moderately warm, it is incredibly soft and the hood is a great feature. I wear this as a sweatshirt when lounging around. It's that comfortable.

Louis Garneau bright orange windproof jacket

Sorry, no pics... it is a 3 year old model that I bought new off the rack at work since nobody wanted it.

As far as legs go, I've never had cold legs. I wear Biemme Rap Knickers with windproof knee panels and on colder days I throw on a pair of leg warmers from Descente.

If the weather is nice enough to ride next week, I'll drag a digicam along to capture some of the sights along the way. I cannot wait until I can do the ride in casual warm-weather clothing and holla at all the smokin girlies along the way.

Foes Racing 2006

2006-01-04T13:53:00.000-05:00

Being a Foes rider myself (Foes FXR) I'm excited to see that the people at Foes have changed a ton of things for their 2006 line-up. Gone is the interrupted set tube on the FXR, and they've added a new "2:1" compression ratio shock, meant to reduce the leverage ratio, allowing for lower spring rates and more durable suspension components. They've also updated their website, so take a peek.

Pinkbike did a full write-up (or rather, the folks at Foes passed along some marketing info.)

Data Logging

2006-01-04T00:29:00.000-05:00

The wonder that is called Silly Putty.
The above links have nothing to do with Data Logging or biking. But, for the sake of sharing information -- and purely in the scientific sense -- I've use the power of freedom of information to show you usless crap about pink shit.

I'm going to try to start recording random ride information. A loose collection of thoughts. It all started with me keeping a pad at work to write down stuff like phone numbers, and listing supplies/parts for future orders. Now, trying to get a handle on too much (Caffeine + ADD) x Hyperactivity has led me to write down the most mundane details, so that I won't forget them at a later date. Chicken scratch written haphazardly across pages in my 99-cent spiral notebook, with no regards for the faint blue lines trying to keep things straight. It looks a mess, but with a quick scan down one page I can recount all the important names, catalog order numbers, payroll, and idle thoughts of the last 18 hours of business.

After the 24 Hours of Allamuchy I posted some thoughts:

08.29.05

I spent most of the day eating.
I ate leftover pad thai, and leftover chow fun from last night.
Then I rode uptown, picked up iced coffee, a pair of dvd's, a pint of ice cream, bacon, stuff to make turkey burgers, and a #12, hold the mayo cheeseburger from Jonny Rockets.
I ate the burger and ice cream before, I'm eating a bacon cheddar turkey burger w/ hot sauce right now.

Yesterday, I took 1st place, men's solo, 19-29 division in the 24 Hours of Allamuchy.
I rode 11 laps of the 10.5 mile course in a shade over 24 hours, unsupported.

Notes for improvement:
- Need a new folding chair, one with leg rests and a higher back
- more of the drinkable cans o' soup
- rain gear, and tarp or rain protection
- foot beds and padded gloves(?)
- dual suspension in the future(???)
- mud gets through single shorts, wear a double layer from the start, plus it gives extra padding

It occured to me recently that I wouldn't have recalled my last thoughts in August half a year later had I not written them down. I'm still dirtbagging it to some extent, being thrifty on the accessories so that I can spend bigger on the bikes themselves.

I have the rain jacket, but from now on it is a must to tote along. Still don't ride with let alone own a pair of padded gloves. After the severe beating they took last time, you'd think I'd wise up.

Like a "to do" list or your scribbled notes for the grocery store, I'll begin logging items to reflect upon later.
Here's what has to happen in the next 2 weeks:
- Need to resupply on Sustained Energy and Hammer Gel
- Need to order Kenda Kharma DTC 2.0 tires
- Need yellow rim tape from Stan's
- Ground ship CO2 cartridges and other bulky items to race in advance to allow less baggage in transit
- Convert SS back into a geared bike ASAP
- Ride to work Wed. & Fri

Comments

2005-12-27T15:16:00.000-05:00

I've added a "comments" feature to this site. Why? I dunno. ;)

Life as a racer

2005-12-27T15:13:00.000-05:00

Here is a cool article on Pinkbike.com written by Mical Dyck about World Cup racing from the racer's perspective.

Race Schedule 2006

2005-12-26T14:07:00.000-05:00

Time to start planning... My race "wishlist", with local races omitted.
Thanks to Ride424.com for posting all the race info. As a fledgling racer I've found it to be a fantastic resource.

1/21/06 The Dirty Dozen 12 hr. race

5/20/06 The 24 Hours of Conyers *World Championship Qualifier

~~4/29/06 TransIowa V.2~~

6/10/06 The 24 Hours of Big Bear

7/30/06 The Jay Challenge MTB only

8/25/06 The 24 Hours of Allamuchy

9/16/06 Churn n Burn 24 Hour Race

Happy Holidays

2005-12-25T14:58:00.000-05:00

At 28 years old, I have found cross-country riding to be my favorite way to let the minutes, hours and days slip away. In a society where free time is a commodity and personal time is even rarer, I feel so proud to have a lifestyle that allows me vast amounts of free time to ride. It is my passion, my livelyhood, and my dream.

If a computer was tasked with an algorithm that would take personal data from a user and spit out a list of probable persuits for them, it would most certainly pick bike riding for me. Undoubtably, if it crunched numbers and came up with cycling, it would of course also pick XC riding. I love the woods, love getting dirty, enjoy the company of like-minded cohorts, and I'm fit and healthy enough to attack any challenge ahead with aplomb.

So why then I ask you, am I staring at a brand new Evil D.O.C. frame? Throw caution to the wind and slap your babies goodnight, I'm going to pretend I'm invincible and ride the street. I can't fight it... a higher power is at work. Details to come...

TransIowa 2006

2005-12-16T14:03:00.000-05:00

Registration opens/closes TOMORROW!
This is the 2nd iteration of the TransIowa, this year covering a distance of 337 miles in about 35 hours. Did I mention that it is 100% self-supported, or that it is mostly "off" road on gravel?
I did the math. We're talking about a 12+mph average assuming a few hours of sleep.
Last year, 51 started and only 9 finished.
I'm going to try to enter but chances of me getting in are slim... there are limited spots available with a lot of people gunning to be in the race. Good Luck!
2006 TransIowa V.2

DIY Night Riding Lighting System

2005-12-15T15:36:00.000-05:00

HomeGrown LED-based night lighting system. It is difficult project unless you've done electrical work before, but the system was built for under $100. A bargain. considering the $500 price tag on some high-end HID systems.

Not everything in life needs to be on two wheels...

2005-12-11T23:13:00.000-05:00

Alex Grey
The Superficial

Swobo.com is live

2005-12-10T18:36:00.000-05:00

Quoted from Swobo.com:

but the fact is, one day you just kind of wake up, and realize that this isn't a dress rehearsal. How we make our money is just as important as how we spend it. Changes that we've seen for the worse are connected to our environment, and our environment’s health is determined by its inhabitants. Not government. Not religious leaders. Not Wal-Mart or Exxon, but us.

Kurt Vonnegut said it best…

"...the epitaph for the planet, I remember, which he said should be carved in big letters in a wall of the Grand Canyon for the flying-saucer people to find, was this:

WE COULD HAVE SAVED IT BUT WE WERE TOO DOGGONE CHEAP"

This isn't Hippy banter…this is real time applied to old school. Join us as we ride into new territory. Thanks for listening.

Ass on high

2005-12-07T13:00:00.000-05:00

Here is a great article on NSMB.com written by Riley McIntosh & illustrated by Bruce Robertson.
Those riders, like myself, who started on XC bikes and moved on to long travel duallies will get a kick outta this.
http://www.nsmb.com/trail_tales/seathigh_11_05.php

Riding Single Speed Again

2005-12-05T17:43:00.000-05:00

My SS is usually a fully geared steel Vicious Cyles Metal Guru, but for the 2nd Fall/Winter I have stripped the bike down to 1fuckinggear and boy am I having a blast!

Dismayed with the performance of my Surly Singulator on a converted single speed last winter, I set out to find a better way to tension my chain. No eccentric, vertical dropouts and stock wheels meant to keep the chain a hanger-mounted tensioner was my best bet.

The primary flaw of the Surly unit is that it provides tension via a spring. The spring works fine but getting proper tension was never easy, and twice I had the steel spring mar the aluminum body and render it useless. I resorted to ghetto fabing it with zip-ties to the chain stay.

This season I’ve opted for the Rennen Rollenlager, and have put in about 20 rides so far. The unit is nearly perfect in concept and execution. It tensions perfectly, all the time. The Rollenlager looks hot as well. An understated matte black anodized finish with the company’s name etched into the side. Perhaps unique in its genre, this tensioner pivots off the rear axle of the bike. Actually, to be fair, it pivots on the quick release. The clamping force of the QR keeps the Rollenlager in place but the tension is fixed solid by a 2nd bolt that threads through the body and into the derailleur hanger. GENIUS! All necessary hardware is provided and is stainless steel. It can be used with a standard QR wheel, or if street/park is more your style, it also accepts a solid axle. The chain rolls on a black urethane roller that rides on a pair of cartridge bearings. Shhh! Can you hear that? Exactly. It is quiet, and quiet makes me happy.

Upon seeing mine a friend had to have it, and uses it on his urban 26r now… like me -- he’s totally thrilled. You too can roll if you’re willing to way the $50 premium.

Here’s the only problem I’ve found: When changing a flat you need to pull the QR apart and carry a 17mm wrench to loosen the tension bolt. I always carry a small adjustable so it was never an issue for me.
Contact Rennen Design Group for more info.