All I can say is wow, I love everything about this. Wireless shifting is the future. Check out this video from SRAM explaining how it works.
Seth's Bike Hacks is a cool YouTube channel I've been subscribed to for some time now.
His latest vid rings very true, if your like me and will often watch clips of new trails before riding them the video makes obstacles look much less daunting than the reality.
His latest vid rings very true, if your like me and will often watch clips of new trails before riding them the video makes obstacles look much less daunting than the reality.
A nice surprise from the Christmas list was a set of Deore XT PD-M8000 pedals.
These will replace my tried and tested Shimano M520s and offer much the same operation I've come to enjoy but with a weight saving of approx 100g.
They also boast a solid platform giving more shoe contact. I'm going to look forward to putting these to the test!
Install is straightforward using a 15mm wrench. I like a firm but not overly tight clip so set the tension right in the middle of the range.
These will replace my tried and tested Shimano M520s and offer much the same operation I've come to enjoy but with a weight saving of approx 100g.
They also boast a solid platform giving more shoe contact. I'm going to look forward to putting these to the test!
Install is straightforward using a 15mm wrench. I like a firm but not overly tight clip so set the tension right in the middle of the range.
Having completed a recent race series my bike was in need of some serious TLC. In particular the last race of the series really took its toll. There was almost every weather imaginable on a cold Spring morning including sun, rain, wind and even snow.
Unfortunately riding 15 or so miles through those sort of conditions meant a huge clean up was required and the first casualty - my bottom bracket bearings! As they were completely seized, I searched around the internet and found that it would only cost a little more to replace the whole unit, rather than just the bearings alone.
I read good reviews online about Wheels Manufacturing BBs and particularly liked the fact that they use Enduro bearings.
Using Enduro ABEC 3 selaed bearings and weighing in at 98g the Wheels Manufacturing BB is suitable for 86 - 92mm shell widths and can be ordered for use with Shimano or SRAM crank spindles. I'm running a Shimano SLX crankset so went with that option.
It looks a solid unit right out of the box and appears to be much smoother than my old BB (even when new) the design is solid and it pressed right into the frame without the need for any special tools. What I particularly like its that its an all aluminum unit with no plastic parts, so when this one wears out it should just be a case of simply switching out the bearings for new.
High on this years Christmas list was a new helmet, something that will offer me a lot more protection when out trail riding than say my old Giro which I'll now use for commuting.
Having checked out several models and their online reviews, I wanted something sub $75 with lots of protection, ventilation and adjustability for that perfect fit. There were a few that seemed to check the boxes in that list such as Giro Feature, which is also a very nice helmet. However for sheer comfort the bell stoker seemed perfectly molded for the shape of my head.
Check out the YouTube video from the Bell team:
The Stoker comes neatly boxed, nothing too fancy here other than a sliding tray and a thin plastic cover sheet with a brief safety manual.
There are 13 vents in total in the helmet which utilizes an In-Mold Polycarbonate shell to make it a relatively light weight 316 grams.
Inside of the helmet there's plenty of padding and a simple wheel adjustment which can be done one handed and fits perfectly to my head.
Overall I'm very impressed by the look and feel of the helmet and can't wait for the trails to dry so I can test it out!
Having checked out several models and their online reviews, I wanted something sub $75 with lots of protection, ventilation and adjustability for that perfect fit. There were a few that seemed to check the boxes in that list such as Giro Feature, which is also a very nice helmet. However for sheer comfort the bell stoker seemed perfectly molded for the shape of my head.
Check out the YouTube video from the Bell team:
The Stoker comes neatly boxed, nothing too fancy here other than a sliding tray and a thin plastic cover sheet with a brief safety manual.
There are 13 vents in total in the helmet which utilizes an In-Mold Polycarbonate shell to make it a relatively light weight 316 grams.
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| 13 Vents in the helmet, along with an adjustable blade visor. |
Inside of the helmet there's plenty of padding and a simple wheel adjustment which can be done one handed and fits perfectly to my head.
Overall I'm very impressed by the look and feel of the helmet and can't wait for the trails to dry so I can test it out!
Having ordered the EA70 XCT wheelset the UPS man rang the doorbell a few days later, leaving behind a rather large cardboard box.
The eagerly awaited wheelset looked great they arrived tensioned nicely and completely true. The rear was set up out of the box for 10x135mm however it included the end caps to convert to 12x142mm if required. The front was set for 15mm through axle. The hubs run incredibly smooth and in fitting with the stealth look the rear runs quietly when coasting.
Pleasingly the combined weight was exactly as claimed with the wheelset weighing in at 1750g.
The wheels look great, the rim is on the thinner side however they come tubeless ready without the need for any rim tape. The only downside is that if you want to run the rims with sealant as I will due to some of my tires being non UST, the supplied valve does not come with a removable core to allow the sealant to be topped up. This is easy to overcome though as you can pop the sealant into the tire before you mount the final bead section. I opted to replace the valves with some Stans valves I had lying around.
Tubeless set up was straight forward with no major hiccups, I use a floor pump so always throw a tube in first to mount one side of the bead correctly. For the winter season I have chosen Maxxis Ardent front and rear with the front being 2.4 and the rear 2.25. I will likely go with something a little faster rolling for the summer, possibly putting an Ikon or Crossmark on the rear.
Outside of a quick spin around the neighborhood I've not had chance to put the wheels through a true test but so far so good!
Here's a quick before and after:
I love the way they have transformed the look of the bike! I'll update back after they have been put to use and completed some solid miles.
What's happening to the charger comp's I hear you say? They are earmarked for my commuting, back up and all round bike...watch this space.
The eagerly awaited wheelset looked great they arrived tensioned nicely and completely true. The rear was set up out of the box for 10x135mm however it included the end caps to convert to 12x142mm if required. The front was set for 15mm through axle. The hubs run incredibly smooth and in fitting with the stealth look the rear runs quietly when coasting.
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| The front wheel weighed 800g out of the box |
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| Rear weighing in at 950g for a combined weight of 1750g |
Tubeless set up was straight forward with no major hiccups, I use a floor pump so always throw a tube in first to mount one side of the bead correctly. For the winter season I have chosen Maxxis Ardent front and rear with the front being 2.4 and the rear 2.25. I will likely go with something a little faster rolling for the summer, possibly putting an Ikon or Crossmark on the rear.
Outside of a quick spin around the neighborhood I've not had chance to put the wheels through a true test but so far so good!
Here's a quick before and after:
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| Lurcher with Sun Ringle Charger Comps |
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| Lurcher with Easton EA70 XCT |
What's happening to the charger comp's I hear you say? They are earmarked for my commuting, back up and all round bike...watch this space.
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| Motobecane Fantom 29er in need of some new wheels |
A few months back I picked up a vintage Giant Cadex on my local craigslist with the intention of fixing it up and passing it along to my wife to use. Unfortunately the 55cm frame was just a little too big for her to ride it comfortably so it sat sad for a while until I found the time to give it an overhaul. The Cadex is a really nice lugged aluminum carbon fiber frame.
Unfortunately I got a little carried away on this one and as such there's not any pics of the work in progress. I started by completely stripping the frame, cleaning everything, right down to the bolts then re-greasing and building everything back using the good parts.
New cables were required throughout along with a new seat and a desperate need for some decent bar tape. Thankfully the wheels were reasonably true and the tires fairly recent. The 105 groupdet was in pretty good shape and was completely reused with the exception of the downtube shifters as I wanted to bring the bike a little more up to date and switch out the down-tube shifters for more modern brifters. A few hours searching online led me to the following parts.
The shifters needed a little adjustment with the help of the high/low stops on the front derailleur to only make two shifts rather than three, but the install was painless and there was minimal adjustment required for the shifters to index correctly.
I also added a WTB Speed V saddle from the parts bin and went with my tried and trusted black color bar tape.
The bike scrubbed up really well, and despite being too small for me it zipped around the neighborhood nicely. It will now go on sale, and once gone I'll be on the lookout for my next project.
Here's a few more pics
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| The bike needed work, cables were rusted through and the bars seemed to be wrapped in electrical tape. |
New cables were required throughout along with a new seat and a desperate need for some decent bar tape. Thankfully the wheels were reasonably true and the tires fairly recent. The 105 groupdet was in pretty good shape and was completely reused with the exception of the downtube shifters as I wanted to bring the bike a little more up to date and switch out the down-tube shifters for more modern brifters. A few hours searching online led me to the following parts.
| Shimano Sora 3x7 brifters |
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| Downtube cable stops |
The shifters needed a little adjustment with the help of the high/low stops on the front derailleur to only make two shifts rather than three, but the install was painless and there was minimal adjustment required for the shifters to index correctly.
I also added a WTB Speed V saddle from the parts bin and went with my tried and trusted black color bar tape.
The bike scrubbed up really well, and despite being too small for me it zipped around the neighborhood nicely. It will now go on sale, and once gone I'll be on the lookout for my next project.
Here's a few more pics
I've been toying with the idea of switching out my Sun Ringle Charger Comps on my On One Lurcher for something a little lighter for some time now. I got a great deal on the Sun Ringle's through Nashbar and since then I've never been able to find something to compare until now.
Step in the Easton EA70 XCT 29", Competitive Cyclist had them on sale right now for under $240! With an MRSP of $850, I've opened my wallet and taken the plunge.
Easton's claimed weight on this wheelset is 1745g compared to Sun Ringle's 2075g on my Charger Comps. The Easton's utilize a straight pull spoke set up and come tubeless ready. I'm super excited about fitting these to my Lurcher and the stealthy color scheme should be a perfect fit!
Full review will follow.
Full Specs from the Easton Website.
Step in the Easton EA70 XCT 29", Competitive Cyclist had them on sale right now for under $240! With an MRSP of $850, I've opened my wallet and taken the plunge.
Easton's claimed weight on this wheelset is 1745g compared to Sun Ringle's 2075g on my Charger Comps. The Easton's utilize a straight pull spoke set up and come tubeless ready. I'm super excited about fitting these to my Lurcher and the stealthy color scheme should be a perfect fit!
Full review will follow.
Full Specs from the Easton Website.
| WHEEL SIZE | 29″ |
| WHEELSET WEIGHT | 1745G |
| FINISH | SAND BLASTED / WATER TRANSFER GRAPHICS |
| TYPE | UST TUBELESS™ ALUMINUM CLINCHER |
| RIM MATERIAL | EA70 ALLOY / WELDED |
| RIM DEPTH | 21MM |
| INTERNAL RIM WIDTH | 19MM |
| EXTERNAL RIM WIDTH | 24MM |
| SPOKES | SAPIM STRAIGHT-PULL / DOUBLE-BUTTED |
| FRONT SPOKE PATTERN | 24 / 3X |
| REAR SPOKE PATTERN | 24 / 3X |
| NIPPLE TYPE | EASTON UST ALLOY |
| FRONT HUB TYPE | X4 / 15×100* |
| REAR HUB TYPE | X4 / 12×135/142 |
Danny MacAskill just keeps getting better, loved watching his latest vid for GoPro.
Having decided I wanted to go down the direction of having a hitch rack on my Land Rover, everything I read pointed in the same direction to the 1UP USA Quik Rack. MTBR has a forum thread which at the time of writing is over 100 pages long with nothing but good things to say about the rack. 1UP USA is a small Wisconsin company that sells its products directly to the consumer through its website.
Installing it on the car was pretty easy, the rack is not overly heavy and does not require a hitch pin, the 2" adapter is already pre installed. Sliding it into the hitch receiver 1UP state that the ball needs to be inserted at least 2 inches. You then tighten using the provided tool and you are good to go.
One of the best features of this rack is the ability to quickly lower the bike and access the trunk. There's a spring loaded bar which allows you to tilt the rack and position it into one of the notches, the rack is incredibly stable and simple access the trunk is great.
I've now used the rack for several months and have found it to be incredibly durable easy to install and simple to use. Being able to have the rack installed and bike in place within a matter of minutes is great. If there were any cons to this rack it would be 1. I need to find another $200 or so if I want the add on to carry a second bike. 2. When installed the sensors on my car beep continuously when in reverse.
I went for the Quick Rack for 1.25" with the adapter for my 2" hitch as I wanted the flexibility should I ever change my car and at $299 its certainly not an impulse purchase but definitely something I want to be able to use for many years, an investment if you will.
I ordered the rack and paid the small amount for shipping, it arrived pretty fast after 3 or 4 days and I was pleasantly surprised by how small and neatly packaged it was.
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| Quik Rack as shipped |
One of the best features of this rack is the ability to quickly lower the bike and access the trunk. There's a spring loaded bar which allows you to tilt the rack and position it into one of the notches, the rack is incredibly stable and simple access the trunk is great.
I've now used the rack for several months and have found it to be incredibly durable easy to install and simple to use. Being able to have the rack installed and bike in place within a matter of minutes is great. If there were any cons to this rack it would be 1. I need to find another $200 or so if I want the add on to carry a second bike. 2. When installed the sensors on my car beep continuously when in reverse.
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| You can have any color you want as long as its blue! |
Our hotel in Hilton Head was right next to the beach and having eyed up the bicycle rentals a few minutes after our arrival, we decided we'd get up early the next day, rent some bikes and explore.
We were greeted at the rental desk and promptly let loose with a beach cruiser each, we headed down to the beach and began riding. Thankfully we didn't head too far as the wind was behind us, meaning we had a fight on our hands when headed back.
After the beach we decided we wanted to head somewhere for lunch, we'd heard good things about shelter cove and its numerous restaurants to chose to head inland and hit the bike trails making our way towards Shelter cove.
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| The view from our lunch spot. |
Just over a week or so ago after riding in possibly the muddiest race I've ever entered , I was conscious that I needed to clean and lube my bike before the dirt and grime started to do too much damage. unfortunately for me the jockey wheels on my SRAM X-9 rear derailleur were not salvageable and completely seized.Just over a week or so ago after riding in possibly the muddiest race I've ever entered , I was conscious that I needed to clean and lube my bike before the dirt and grime started to do too much damage. unfortunately for me the jockey wheels on my SRAM X-9 rear derailleur were not salvageable and completely seized.
This left me with two options, strip them down and try to repack & grease the bearings or purchase replacements. As you can see from the pic below the teeth in the top wheel had practically worn to small points over time so I decided new would be best and set about searching for 11t replacements.
I decided upon these Lerway AEST Aluminium Jockey Wheels in red as they looked the part, should be harder wearing than the standard plastic X-9 wheels and shipped for under $9 each.
For anyone who has had a seized Jockey wheel it pretty much renders your whole drive train unusable. Thankfully, however, they are easily switched out. With the wheel off remove the chain, and undo the two jockey wheel bolts, the bottom one is on the outside and the top on the inside. Replacement is reversal of removal and not much more than a 10 minute job. I can now get back on the trails!
I stumbled upon this interesting blog from New York Times recently about the effects of exercising and aging, with particularly strong evidence that we should all keep on cycling.
"Active older people resemble much younger people physiologically, according to a new study of the effects of exercise on aging. The findings suggest that many of our expectations about the inevitability of physical decline with advancing years may be incorrect and that how we age is, to a large degree, up to us." Read the full article
"Active older people resemble much younger people physiologically, according to a new study of the effects of exercise on aging. The findings suggest that many of our expectations about the inevitability of physical decline with advancing years may be incorrect and that how we age is, to a large degree, up to us." Read the full article
Since I got the On-One Lurcher I'd been eyeing up the parts needed to make the On One Lurcher, single speed. I've always fancied giving single speed a go with my mountain biking, but never taken the plunge. So when everything I needed arrived at Christmas I couldn't wait to give it a go.
The great the about the lurcher frame is that the dropouts are interchangeable so you can switch out the dropouts set for gears and put track style dropouts on by just changing a few bolts. Coupled with a simple single speed sprocket and space set and a single speed chain its an easy transition to give it a go and very easy to convert back if I find it doesn't suit my riding style.
I managed to get out over the break and give it a go and can say I'm glad I gave it a try, I'll most likely switch back to gears over the summer and for racing but while the weather is less favorable to simplicity and ease of maintenance is a huge plus. There were definitely a few moments where I moved my thumb to make a shift and quickly realised that I couldn't, therefore forcing me to exert that extra energy and crank it out. I'll post back on here from time to time with my progress, the weather is pretty bad here in NOVA right now so I'll take my chances to get on the trail when I can.
I was lucky enough to receive a pair of On-One Thicky Merino socks this Christmas. One thing I have learned is that no matter the season, a good pair of socks is essential. These beauties are made of 100% merino wool and as the name says are thicker than usual to ensure that feet stay warm through the colder months.
Features:
Anatomic cycle-specific fit
Silky, itch-free comfort
Naturally odour resistant
Stretch arch support
Durable heel and toe sections
High warmth to weight ratio even when wet
Fully-fashioned seam free
Machine washable
Check out www.One-one.co.uk for more info.
I hope you like the result. There's still a few final tweaks to make and links to finalize, however, I'm confident that this will give me a solid platform to keep adding content throughout 2015.
In the last couple of years mountain biking has become a big part of my life, I've always had a lot of hobbies, but mountain biking and cycling in general for that matter have proven to be constant. I'm now at that point with both of my bikes, (On-One Lurcher mountain bike) and (Kona Kapu road bike) whereby I'm happy, and the urge to upgrade and change components has waned a little. This leaves a strange feeling that I've not experienced before. I'll now only change things if they break or wear out and rather than replace like for like I'll aim to upgrade (unless of course I see a killer deal).
This has given me the opportunity to reflect on my purchases in 2014 and the hap hazard approach to spending, I have managed to sell off some parts to keep some money in the pot but in general there's been no set budget or plan for buying bike things.
This got me thinking, there must be a more disciplined and structured approach I can adopt for 2015. My other two main activities soccer and pool, require me to pay dues every time I play. Could I apply this same approach to my cycling and adopt a pay per ride approach?
So here's the plan, every time I ride I will put $10 in a savings account to be used to fund replacements, gear, etc. If I can be disciplined enough to keep on top of it it should yield several main rewards.
1. A comfortable buffer should anything break, after a while there'll be money set aside without dipping into daily budgets.
2. An incentive to ride, if there's a new component I want or the latest gear, the more I ride the sooner I'll be able to afford to get it, in turn I should reap the health and fitness benefits.
3. An account dedicated to spending on cycling, making it straightforward to track the true cost of this wonderful way of life.
Here's to a 2015 that holds many rides! Happy new year to you all.
Danny MacAskill is back this time doing his stunts in Rotterdam using GoPro
Chris Akrigg is back on his Cyclocross bike. Check out his latest vid.
Chris Akrigg-CHRISCROSS 2 (Revenge of the curly wurly bars) from chris akrigg on Vimeo.
Chris Akrigg-CHRISCROSS 2 (Revenge of the curly wurly bars) from chris akrigg on Vimeo.
