March 2010
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Bike Portraits
Thanks to Tumblr’s addition of static pages, my minimalist “work in progress” biking blog is getting a new addition - bike portraits in which I’ll feature my bikes with photos, a brief history about them and a detailed build list. I’m starting today with my current singlespeed on big wheels - the tang Niner One9. This bike was my first step into the 29er world....
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The Beauty of Single Chainrings
There’s one component brand which I have not changed since 1991 - Action Tec. All my mountain bikes since then have been equipped with their chainrings. At first as a triple 48/36/24T setup, then either 34 or 36T single chainring setups on the various singlespeed bikes I’ve owned. These chainrings are the pure embodiment of reliable low-tech. In NorCal they lasted forever. On my Swiss...
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Bolt-On Skewer Design
I’ve got a couple of Control Tech Bolt-On skewers which were designed for narrow dropouts found on road bikes or older MTB forks. Unfortunately, the Ti bolt isn’t quite long enough for most of today’s mountain bike forks. Solution? Well, I could take the bolt of a rear skewer, cut it down and re-thread it. Or make a new set of narrower end pieces, which I’m planning on...
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Swiss 29er Test Weekend
Interested to know what 29ers are all about? Looking for a Swiss bike shop to test ride one? Then come to Mainstreet 42 in Glattfelden on the weekend of April 10 and 11 to take a spin on 29ers from Niner, Pivot, Salsa, and Rocky Mountain, eat some pasta and meet the small bunch of European 29er apostles.
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Big Fat Plastic Wheels
I took my lunch early today to drive to the post office one more time. I was picking up the wheelset I had built by Mike Curiak. I first expected them in early April but Mike was able to lace them up before taking off to Alaska for a 1000 mile journey through snow. In the two boxes that arrived from the US were two WTB Prowler SL tires sitting on top of some really sweet Edge Composites All...
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Sunday Saddle Frost
Yesterday’s snow storm dumped a couple of inches of fresh snow onto the ground within just a few hours. Over night, the temperatures dropped and this morning a very strong and freezing wind blew from the East. Perfect conditions for a bike ride, provided you like this type of weather. I headed out on the Niner to find pristine trails. The cold wind was howling through the trees whose frail...
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“Retro is cool because back in my day we didn’t have these fancy Hydraulic...”
– Nonracerrichie on MTBR - Why is retro cool?
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First Evening Ride After Work
As the sun is out longer day by day, I pedaled home from work on my road bike with the plan to swap bikes and head up into the trails. After arriving at home, I slipped into my mountain bike gear - shorts and knee warmers seemed like enough - loaded the washing machine with some dirty clothes, and then rode off to my usual trailhead. I needed to keep the ride fairly short, but wanted to gain some...
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