Fixed that for you. And it'll be some yuppie-doosh's dog.
Toshi's thread
- Thread starter Toshi
- Start date
At least they'd be easier to collect from.
You may have seen this in the 303 trail monitor group but I asked in the comments to the Giro helmet trade in program post whether REI was participating. One of the GBS employees saw that post, recognized me, and called me out on it as GBS is participating.
Busted, for having a unique name.
Looking around a bit, this Marin would seem to do very nicely:
Aluminum frame, carbon fork, rear rack good enough for the tiny/light panniers that I run, Alfine 11 with Gates belt, 32 mm tires, hydraulic discs, fenders, even a light. No Di2 but I could pass that up if that's the only thing.
It's running 50 x 22 belt-teeth, so I'd have speeds that span 32-132 gear-inches, with some very handy 70, 90, and 102 gear-inch slots in there.
I'm bored at work. Reading ultrasounds but it's not a particularly busy day, I have a productive fellow on service with me (fellow in the sense of a rank that's past a resident but not yet an attending, not the general term for a good dude), and I already had a spate of hypomanic productivity in that I created two presentations for upcoming events and revised an abstract for a paper about to be submitted.Another bike idea as I kill idle time between reading ultrasound studies:
That's a Specialized Sequoia Expert. Note that it's basically what my 29er commuter bike is evolving into, what with the bars that ape the position of being on the hoods, and my aborted plan to go to a 1 x 10 setup with 39 x 11-36 gearing (this would be 42 x 11-42).
I really don't like that Minoura rack I ended up slapping on the suspension fork on the 29er, but am not going to replace the whole bike this year since I have the sunk cost of the whole XT drivetrain (from the Turner build, recall). I do like the look of this setup, though...
Therefore I will look at bikes. I've commented on this before but whether or not I want to upgrade or mess with something is an indication of whether I care about it. These days I'm not hankering to do anything to my Land Cruiser besides fixing what's actually broken (idle thoughts of Slee sliders but I rarely drive it, let alone take it off road during what would be hiking-with-family or biking time)... QED.
Anyway, the thought of the day is that after this current round of transactions I will have a nice Surly or ideally Salsa fork with a slim front rack, a front end setup that I could easily move to a new bike. The new bike could then be a sporty model that doesn't come stock with a touring fork. As long as it had eyelets for potential rear fenderage then it'd be good to go, or maybe I could even forgo that so as to open up more crabonz options. (Why do I care if I get wet if I'm changing out of riding clothes at work anyway?)
The other half of this thought is that my sunk cost bias with the current 29er comes from its XT brakes and drivetrain, and that's already 3? years old. I should just let the 29er go and part it out as appropriate on eBay when the time comes, since it truly is an ugly thing.
I didn't find too much new under the sun during the day but did find this beauty tonight:
That's a custom Rodriguez commuter with belt drive and Rohloff. Couple problems with that approach for me:
1) 35 mm is a wide tire in that world.
2) Rohloff means no rear disc.
3) $$$$
That Marin in the above quote also suffers from narrow tire-itis. A few miles of my commute are dirt and unlikely to be paved in the next decade so I really don't want super skinny meats.
That Soma Juice frame I was planning on before I unexpectedly bought the Santa Cruz is looking better and better. I want eyelets without having a tank like weight. I want tire clearance and geometry for my 47 mm tired but don't need or want some plus sized monstrosity a la Ogre or ECR. I want flat bars. The Salsa El Mariachi was spot on until I found it has no fender mounting options, and today's messy commute confirmed that fenders are a good thing.
REI is having a sale and I haven't ordered any forks or racks. Perhaps now is the time to cut my losses, turn the 29er back into a mountain bike looking thing, sell it, and buy a new commuter.
A few ideas:
Novara Gotham. Marked down to $973.83.
Pros:
- Gates belt drive with NuVinci 360 internally geared hub
- racks, fenders, lights out of the box
Cons:
- 34 lbs
- didn't feel sprightly at all when I test rode it a few years ago at REI Seattle
- kind of ugly
Cannondale Contro 3. Marked down to $973.93.
Pros:
- looks super funky, and I dig the crazy integrated rack
- fenders stock as well
- 27 lbs as is, so 26 lbs with no kickstand?
- 40 mm tires
Cons:
- pointless rigid Lefty with resultant bike-specific wheels
- no belt drive or internally geared hub although it is 1 x 10 at least
Charge Grater 3. Marked down to $1018.93.
Pros:
- looks very clean
- stock fenders and it has rear rack eyelets
- Alfine 8 internally geared hub
Cons:
- only 32 mm tires
- not Alfine 11
- unknown weight, although it can't be too heavy at all
A few ideas:
Novara Gotham. Marked down to $973.83.
Pros:
- Gates belt drive with NuVinci 360 internally geared hub
- racks, fenders, lights out of the box
Cons:
- 34 lbs
- didn't feel sprightly at all when I test rode it a few years ago at REI Seattle
- kind of ugly
Cannondale Contro 3. Marked down to $973.93.
Pros:
- looks super funky, and I dig the crazy integrated rack
- fenders stock as well
- 27 lbs as is, so 26 lbs with no kickstand?
- 40 mm tires
Cons:
- pointless rigid Lefty with resultant bike-specific wheels
- no belt drive or internally geared hub although it is 1 x 10 at least
Charge Grater 3. Marked down to $1018.93.
Pros:
- looks very clean
- stock fenders and it has rear rack eyelets
- Alfine 8 internally geared hub
Cons:
- only 32 mm tires
- not Alfine 11
- unknown weight, although it can't be too heavy at all
Feedback on the three commuter bike ideas from NASIOC:
Only thing that gives me pause is the 32 mm tires. Shit's going to feel rough at least until I acclimate, as I'm coming from 47 mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires (and a suspension fork, albeit a crappy one) on my 29er commuter. On the flip side I should be quite a bit faster...
If the Cannondale had an internally geared hub I'd be all over it. As it is I do have a decent beard. I think the Charge + a sleek Tubus rear rack (titanium?!) would do quite nicely.richde said:
Only thing that gives me pause is the 32 mm tires. Shit's going to feel rough at least until I acclimate, as I'm coming from 47 mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires (and a suspension fork, albeit a crappy one) on my 29er commuter. On the flip side I should be quite a bit faster...
More on that Charge commuter bike idea: I dig Sheldon Brown's site's gear inch calculator, as one would expect knowing me.
Here are the ratios I have on my current commuter. I use the 92.5 gear inch ratio on long downhills, but most of my time is spent in the 57, 63, 71, and 80 gear inch ratios.
The new proposed setup would match up pretty well with those usable ratios, albeit with a bigger gap in the hill climbing range. Hmm. Good enough? Given REI's gracious 1 year return policy I think it might just be...
Here are the ratios I have on my current commuter. I use the 92.5 gear inch ratio on long downhills, but most of my time is spent in the 57, 63, 71, and 80 gear inch ratios.
The new proposed setup would match up pretty well with those usable ratios, albeit with a bigger gap in the hill climbing range. Hmm. Good enough? Given REI's gracious 1 year return policy I think it might just be...
Trigger pulled. Charge Grater 3 en route as well as some Yakima ski mounts for the Land Cruiser (and a bunch of other miscellaneous junk including a bottle, cage, and tiny seat bag for the 5010 so that I can try to ditch the Camelbak).
I'll swap the flat bar from the Charge and the stock seat and try to sell the 29er as is (with weird slick tires). If that fails I'll pop some wire bead 29er off road tires on it and sell it as a mountain bike. Needless to say, no Salsa fork or new front rack for the 29er--it's all prep-for-sale business from this point.
I'll swap the flat bar from the Charge and the stock seat and try to sell the 29er as is (with weird slick tires). If that fails I'll pop some wire bead 29er off road tires on it and sell it as a mountain bike. Needless to say, no Salsa fork or new front rack for the 29er--it's all prep-for-sale business from this point.
Rode this morning. Got back to my Land Cruiser as a couple about my age pulled into the trailhead lot in a Tundra with two bikes over the tailgate.
Walking back from Dennis's car I see the woman is walking around my Land Cruiser. She then offered to buy it—even gave a business card in case I sell it in upcoming years.
(I'm not selling it, and I don't think she saw the scratched up hood, dented-and-pulled-by-me right front quarter, or the crease in the right running board. Still amusing.)
Walking back from Dennis's car I see the woman is walking around my Land Cruiser. She then offered to buy it—even gave a business card in case I sell it in upcoming years.
(I'm not selling it, and I don't think she saw the scratched up hood, dented-and-pulled-by-me right front quarter, or the crease in the right running board. Still amusing.)
1) Mariko rode her pedal bike without training wheels today!
First I held the bike up by the training wheels just an inch or so so that she could get the hang of pedaling without worrying about running into things. (She didn't like riding it the other day with training wheels, probably because the physics of a bike with training wheels are totally unlike one balancing with gyroscopic forces, namely countersteering vs. just steering.)
Next I had her coast down our driveway a few times with her feet on the pedals but not pedaling, to reinforce that the pedal bike handles just like the strider bike at which she's a pro.
Finally I had her pedal away, first down our driveway and into the alley and eventually down the neighbor's longer driveway, around the corner and into the alley, and halfway up our driveway.
2) Yuna also pushed herself around on Mariko's teeny tiny old strider bike. (This one is plastic and converts from a trike to a bike, and really is more for pushing than for actual striding/balancing. Still super cute.)
3) I picked up the Charge Grater 3 and built it up as I saw fit: SPDs on (somehow I have a slightly bent axle on one, go figure), short stem and crazy bars from the 29er to the Charge, standard stem and straight bars from the Charge to the 29er, similar seat swap such that the Charge has my favored WTB Pure V, and mounted up the very nice Tubus Vega Evo on the Charge and dismounted the ugly Minoura front rack from the 29er. Whew.
I'm not entirely sold on it. I didn't realize the "medium" frame would run so tall in standover. The front end also is taller than I thought, as in the stock photos the seat was much higher than I need for my short legs. Note the inverted stem with spacers atop it in the photo.
I'll certainly give it a try for a bit but I'm not going to donate the 29er (with its sourced-from-Charge parts) until I'm more certain that it has a place in my stable. I want to keep the option to return it to stock and return it at REI open, because that's how I roll.
First I held the bike up by the training wheels just an inch or so so that she could get the hang of pedaling without worrying about running into things. (She didn't like riding it the other day with training wheels, probably because the physics of a bike with training wheels are totally unlike one balancing with gyroscopic forces, namely countersteering vs. just steering.)
Next I had her coast down our driveway a few times with her feet on the pedals but not pedaling, to reinforce that the pedal bike handles just like the strider bike at which she's a pro.
Finally I had her pedal away, first down our driveway and into the alley and eventually down the neighbor's longer driveway, around the corner and into the alley, and halfway up our driveway.
2) Yuna also pushed herself around on Mariko's teeny tiny old strider bike. (This one is plastic and converts from a trike to a bike, and really is more for pushing than for actual striding/balancing. Still super cute.)
3) I picked up the Charge Grater 3 and built it up as I saw fit: SPDs on (somehow I have a slightly bent axle on one, go figure), short stem and crazy bars from the 29er to the Charge, standard stem and straight bars from the Charge to the 29er, similar seat swap such that the Charge has my favored WTB Pure V, and mounted up the very nice Tubus Vega Evo on the Charge and dismounted the ugly Minoura front rack from the 29er. Whew.
I'm not entirely sold on it. I didn't realize the "medium" frame would run so tall in standover. The front end also is taller than I thought, as in the stock photos the seat was much higher than I need for my short legs. Note the inverted stem with spacers atop it in the photo.
I'll certainly give it a try for a bit but I'm not going to donate the 29er (with its sourced-from-Charge parts) until I'm more certain that it has a place in my stable. I want to keep the option to return it to stock and return it at REI open, because that's how I roll.
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Signs are pointing towards the Charge being reverted to stock and going back to REI.
Pluses:
- 32 mm and rigid is doable on my route: it sucks in the one truly sandy section but so do 47 mm tires, honestly
- that Tubus rack is awesome: clean, rigid, nice Torx hardware, 50 mm mount for the LED + reflector tail light thing I have on there
- having fenders is nice as there's always sprinkler overspray + detritus from evening showers to deal with
- reach on this frame feels about right, maybe just a little short
- looks nice
Minuses:
- machine built front wheel apparently has low spoke tension, both by squeezing spokes and by a super annoying "ping ping ping" with every wheel rotation when above about 15 mph
- standover is a bit high for my crotch
- slow freewheel engagement on the Alfine 8, which is just as I recalled on my old electric bike build (Nexus 7? Nexus 8?) but more annoying when it's on a pedal-only bike
- too much of a jump between gear ratios on that Alfine 8
- I don't feel and objectively am not any faster on it
Edit:
Extra annoyance is that the fenders hew too closely to the tires. They rub with any small misalignment. The front end noise is cured now. I think it was the Centerlock disc not being seated quite right + the cotter pin for the disc pads being so loose such that it was letting the pads rattle around.
Pluses:
- 32 mm and rigid is doable on my route: it sucks in the one truly sandy section but so do 47 mm tires, honestly
- that Tubus rack is awesome: clean, rigid, nice Torx hardware, 50 mm mount for the LED + reflector tail light thing I have on there
- having fenders is nice as there's always sprinkler overspray + detritus from evening showers to deal with
- reach on this frame feels about right, maybe just a little short
- looks nice
Minuses:
- machine built front wheel apparently has low spoke tension, both by squeezing spokes and by a super annoying "ping ping ping" with every wheel rotation when above about 15 mph
- standover is a bit high for my crotch
- slow freewheel engagement on the Alfine 8, which is just as I recalled on my old electric bike build (Nexus 7? Nexus 8?) but more annoying when it's on a pedal-only bike
- too much of a jump between gear ratios on that Alfine 8
- I don't feel and objectively am not any faster on it
Edit:
Extra annoyance is that the fenders hew too closely to the tires. They rub with any small misalignment. The front end noise is cured now. I think it was the Centerlock disc not being seated quite right + the cotter pin for the disc pads being so loose such that it was letting the pads rattle around.
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I did not like these jumps in the middle of the range, no sir.
(From Sheldon Brown's site, of course.)
Attachments
Evidence:1) Mariko rode her pedal bike without training wheels today!
2) Yuna also pushed herself around on Mariko's teeny tiny old strider bike. (This one is plastic and converts from a trike to a bike, and really is more for pushing than for actual striding/balancing. Still super cute.)
[Mariko video deleted]
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Two bikes I'd like to try now that I've verified that I'm a picky princess:
All City Space Horse (in this case the Disc variant).
Salsa Vaya.
Either would have ~40 mm tire clearance and could take both fenders and a rear rack. The vast majority of "gravel bikes" and cross bikes out there lack proper eyelets and thus are not very useful to me.
All City Space Horse (in this case the Disc variant).
Salsa Vaya.
Either would have ~40 mm tire clearance and could take both fenders and a rear rack. The vast majority of "gravel bikes" and cross bikes out there lack proper eyelets and thus are not very useful to me.
White Coat Investor has a post extolling the virtues of the beater car: http://whitecoatinvestor.com/how-to-get-rich-by-driving-a-5000-car/
While I'm generally in agreement that Americans overextend themselves and buy all sorts of expensive shit they don't need whether with wheels or not, I had to justify my own garage in the comments (awaiting moderation):
>>>>> [my comment below]
I’m going full on Mustachian for my daily commute by biking in every day. I figure that I could always be in better shape plus it’s a really nice feeling to not be sitting in a car in traffic like the rest of the world. (I do have a protected multi-use path that almost all of my commute is along, so it’s not like I’m trading sloth for the chance to be hit by a car.)
With regard to cars rather than just transporation to the hospital [ed: it's a site frequented by physicians so this is not some vague humblebrag], as mentioned in prior comments my household’s vehicle lineup is chosen deliberately but isn’t the roster of near-beaters that one might expect from someone who wants to retire early, as I do.
Vehicle 1: 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV, bought lightly used in 2014. Rationale:
– really, really cheap to run and maintain
– environmentally sound (PV on our house’s roof + wind-offset electrical power from the grid)
– $6k CO tax credit (Federal credit didn’t apply to us since we bought it used)
With this electric vehicle + a Toyota extended warranty (also bought at a discount–these have HUGE margins on them and dealers will compete) that’s good through 2021 I’ve guaranteed my wife and kids reliable, quiet, clean transportation through that period. To me that’s worth the premium above a beater, and with the lower running and maintenance costs that premium may well prove to be negligible.
Vehicle 2: 2007 Toyota Land Cruiser, bought not as lightly used in 2013. Rationale:
– I’ve wanted one since the mid 1990s, and satisfying this childhood desire has some value to me since I’m not merely a machine to make perfectly rational decisions (see: carbon mountain bike in garage for other evidence)
– due to its mass, solid body on frame construction, and presence of modern features like side airbags, ESC, and did I mention already how heavy it is? it is probably one of the safest vehicles on the road for when we take it on road trips or when I head to mountain trailheads with the bike
– Land Cruisers have a cult following, especially out in Colorado [ed: see a few posts up regarding the recent unsolicited offer to buy mine], and thus depreciation is really low. Depreciation is just as important as purchase price as that’s ultimately what you “pay”.
– this cult following is based on exceptional reliability. See UN vehicles in Africa or data from this site: http://longtermqualityindex.com/vehicles/Toyota_Land_Cruiser.html
These two vehicles’ used prices ex tax credit add up to about 14% of my yearly gross income. Could I have spent less? Sure. To me they’re worth it for the reasons above, and represent an investment for the future in that the Land Cruiser may well end up being the vehicle that my young kids use when they learn to drive…
While I'm generally in agreement that Americans overextend themselves and buy all sorts of expensive shit they don't need whether with wheels or not, I had to justify my own garage in the comments (awaiting moderation):
>>>>> [my comment below]
I’m going full on Mustachian for my daily commute by biking in every day. I figure that I could always be in better shape plus it’s a really nice feeling to not be sitting in a car in traffic like the rest of the world. (I do have a protected multi-use path that almost all of my commute is along, so it’s not like I’m trading sloth for the chance to be hit by a car.)
With regard to cars rather than just transporation to the hospital [ed: it's a site frequented by physicians so this is not some vague humblebrag], as mentioned in prior comments my household’s vehicle lineup is chosen deliberately but isn’t the roster of near-beaters that one might expect from someone who wants to retire early, as I do.
Vehicle 1: 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV, bought lightly used in 2014. Rationale:
– really, really cheap to run and maintain
– environmentally sound (PV on our house’s roof + wind-offset electrical power from the grid)
– $6k CO tax credit (Federal credit didn’t apply to us since we bought it used)
With this electric vehicle + a Toyota extended warranty (also bought at a discount–these have HUGE margins on them and dealers will compete) that’s good through 2021 I’ve guaranteed my wife and kids reliable, quiet, clean transportation through that period. To me that’s worth the premium above a beater, and with the lower running and maintenance costs that premium may well prove to be negligible.
Vehicle 2: 2007 Toyota Land Cruiser, bought not as lightly used in 2013. Rationale:
– I’ve wanted one since the mid 1990s, and satisfying this childhood desire has some value to me since I’m not merely a machine to make perfectly rational decisions (see: carbon mountain bike in garage for other evidence)
– due to its mass, solid body on frame construction, and presence of modern features like side airbags, ESC, and did I mention already how heavy it is? it is probably one of the safest vehicles on the road for when we take it on road trips or when I head to mountain trailheads with the bike
– Land Cruisers have a cult following, especially out in Colorado [ed: see a few posts up regarding the recent unsolicited offer to buy mine], and thus depreciation is really low. Depreciation is just as important as purchase price as that’s ultimately what you “pay”.
– this cult following is based on exceptional reliability. See UN vehicles in Africa or data from this site: http://longtermqualityindex.com/vehicles/Toyota_Land_Cruiser.html
These two vehicles’ used prices ex tax credit add up to about 14% of my yearly gross income. Could I have spent less? Sure. To me they’re worth it for the reasons above, and represent an investment for the future in that the Land Cruiser may well end up being the vehicle that my young kids use when they learn to drive…
Even better idea in a similar vein: Niner RLT 9 Steel. Carbon fork, Reynolds 853, rack eyelets (they claim rack and fender but there's only one eyelet in the seat stay and I spy only one set by the dropouts), and built in Ft Collins, I believe.Two bikes I'd like to try now that I've verified that I'm a picky princess:
All City Space Horse (in this case the Disc variant).
Salsa Vaya.
I've reached out to GBS and Niner alike to line up a demo ride on a 53 cm build. Despite being local and semi-bespoke one can get their cheapest complete build for $2.5k, and that has through axles front and rear (142 mm rear!), carbon fork with eyelets, and 1 x 11 with hydro discs!
(In other words it's a lot more bike on paper than the QBP models in the quote, not that I have anything in particular against my Taiwanese bike building brethren.)
Edit: so it turns out Niners are built in Taiwan (carbon in Vietnam) like everything else. I'm not buying a Moots just yet so Taiwan it shall be one way or another.
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Returned to REI today:
- that Charge commuter bike
- 2 of 4 sets of shoes that the wife ordered (intentionally, for size/style tryout purposes so this was legit)
- water bottle and bottle cage, as said bottle ejected as Stoney predicted while riding Rainmaker at Winter Park
- tiny Ortlieb saddle bag, which while very nicely built would have been right up in my rear tire's space at full compression with the seat dropped
- mesh riding shirts, which felt a little too nipple-exposed when strolling out of the bathroom in riding gear at work
Since today was the last day of their Labor Day sale (duh) I also tried on some boots. Apparently I measure as a 26.5 E, which is odd since that's 8.5 US Men's shoe size whereas I'm 9.5 in that. Whatever. In any case the clearance boots in my size felt fine in the foot but way too tight at the calf area. I will have to await their regular season full selection/fitting service.
In the meantime, though, I'm going to pick up a set of skis and bindings from Nick. That plus a pass plus getting enough days to make it worthwhile will make for a much cheaper ski season than anticipated, although the wife is doing her best to plan out a pricey trip in late January: M-F with a 3 bedroom condo on mountain, and the whole extended family coming along? Oh well, that's why I work, right?
Me riding at Winter Park:
[Winter Park non-stabilized video baleeted]
I didn't include the green trails I ran at the beginning of the day (sorry Jack and Cory/Kory--got cut on the video editing floor) or my sad slow run at Rainmaker.
[Winter Park non-stabilized video baleeted]
I didn't include the green trails I ran at the beginning of the day (sorry Jack and Cory/Kory--got cut on the video editing floor) or my sad slow run at Rainmaker.
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After all this agonizing about rack and fender eyelets it turns out my old 29er has eyelets in its dropouts that I just hadn't noticed. (Rather, I'd never looked since clearly there are no seatstay eyelets.) They were covered with sloppy overspray but I verified they have the expected threading today.
The frame still doesn't have upper eyelets anywhere on the seatstays but that's an $11 fix:
There's also the issue that the frame was clearly not designed to have clearance for racks and the brake caliper. I should be able to space out that left side and got a handful of 15 and 20 mm M5 x 0.8 thread pitch bolts and washers from Home Depot today for about $2.50. (At that price it's worth it to keep the extra hardware rather than make the trip back to return the extras, even to me.)
If I get really ambitious then I could try to add a rear fender by stringing together multiple things on one super long bolt (30 mm?!) but for now I think that the rear Tubus rack + my small Ortlieb panniers will tide me over, and that I will stick with commuting on ye olde 29er.
A Niner PR person did reply to my demo request email today, ccing another Niner employee who might know what their factory demo fleet looks like. I expect I'd be disappointed were I to actually ride the thing, Reynolds 853 or not: I bet I'd think it was stiff and generally just like a road bike with a head angle a few degrees slacker and tires a centimeter wider. I'm not sure I need that in my life, and money not spent on a new, shiny thing can instead be spent on ski gear.
The frame still doesn't have upper eyelets anywhere on the seatstays but that's an $11 fix:
There's also the issue that the frame was clearly not designed to have clearance for racks and the brake caliper. I should be able to space out that left side and got a handful of 15 and 20 mm M5 x 0.8 thread pitch bolts and washers from Home Depot today for about $2.50. (At that price it's worth it to keep the extra hardware rather than make the trip back to return the extras, even to me.
)If I get really ambitious then I could try to add a rear fender by stringing together multiple things on one super long bolt (30 mm?!) but for now I think that the rear Tubus rack + my small Ortlieb panniers will tide me over, and that I will stick with commuting on ye olde 29er.
A Niner PR person did reply to my demo request email today, ccing another Niner employee who might know what their factory demo fleet looks like. I expect I'd be disappointed were I to actually ride the thing, Reynolds 853 or not: I bet I'd think it was stiff and generally just like a road bike with a head angle a few degrees slacker and tires a centimeter wider. I'm not sure I need that in my life, and money not spent on a new, shiny thing can instead be spent on ski gear.
Be very leery when comparing regional footwear sizes. US to UK to EU to CM is not a simple correlation, and none of them play well together.
Good point. My wide feet don't play nicely, either, as sometimes I have to compromise on length vs. volume/width. I definitely think I'll go with REI, as if I don't like the boots after a few days on the hill then I can return with impunity.
Wait a second. I think you did Red Mesa backwards... NTTAWWT.
BLAS (bike leaning against shit). Deer Creek this morning.
I did it clockwise. Seemed a steeper climb than the descent. There just wasn't much technical stuff to entertain me. The trip back down Plymouth Creek Trail to the junction with Plymouth Mountain Trail was more fun, what with all those rocks.
Through hook and crook I finally got my super-clean-looking Tubus Vega Evo rack mounted on the 'ol 29er.
In this photo it looks as if the rack platform might be tilted a bit backwards relative to the ground. It's actually just about 1 degree tilted forward. I think it's distortion from the iPhone's wide angle capture causing this illusion.
Top rack eyelets via a Sunlite seat clamp that adds the same. Nice and clean there.
6 mm spacers needed on each side at the bottom. 20 mm M5 x 0.8 bolts from Home Depot worked like a charm, with maybe 2 mm showing on the inside of each dropout: enough to know that all the threads are engaged but not enough to foul on the disc rotor or the cassette.
My main concern is that there's less than a centimeter of clearance below the rear light (which is mounted on the rack without opportunity to adjust its position--one mounting point) and the rear tire. We shall see if that proves to be a problem.
In this photo it looks as if the rack platform might be tilted a bit backwards relative to the ground. It's actually just about 1 degree tilted forward. I think it's distortion from the iPhone's wide angle capture causing this illusion.
Top rack eyelets via a Sunlite seat clamp that adds the same. Nice and clean there.
6 mm spacers needed on each side at the bottom. 20 mm M5 x 0.8 bolts from Home Depot worked like a charm, with maybe 2 mm showing on the inside of each dropout: enough to know that all the threads are engaged but not enough to foul on the disc rotor or the cassette.
My main concern is that there's less than a centimeter of clearance below the rear light (which is mounted on the rack without opportunity to adjust its position--one mounting point) and the rear tire. We shall see if that proves to be a problem.
Did I mention here that my bike is still creaking? Pivot clunk is gone. What remains is a "tick tick tick" with each pedal rotation. No noises with no movement of the pedals. Happens with either pedal (and no contact on the other) so I think it's clearly not the pedal spindles but rather the usual suspects of the BB/crank interface or the crank arm/chainring interface.
At Nick's advice I looked up the PDF of the Race Face Cinch installation procedure, replete with tapping on the right crank with a hammer. I also torqued even more on the Cinch direct mount chainring lockring.
At some point if I can't fix this I'll switch to a Shimano crankset. I wonder if there exists a 44t ring so I could repurpose the creaking crankset to the 29er? Oval for commuting?
Edit: no dice. Direct mount tops out at 34-36t. I'd be left with useless parts, which I guess is just as well if I want to eradicate rather than transfer the creak.
At Nick's advice I looked up the PDF of the Race Face Cinch installation procedure, replete with tapping on the right crank with a hammer. I also torqued even more on the Cinch direct mount chainring lockring.
At some point if I can't fix this I'll switch to a Shimano crankset. I wonder if there exists a 44t ring so I could repurpose the creaking crankset to the 29er? Oval for commuting?
Edit: no dice. Direct mount tops out at 34-36t. I'd be left with useless parts, which I guess is just as well if I want to eradicate rather than transfer the creak.
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What price a quiet bike?
Crank arms sans BB or ring: $96. http://www.backcountry.com/shimano-xt-fc-m8000-1x-crank-arms
BB: $20-25 dependent on shipping. http://www.jensonusa.com/Shimano-XT-BB-MT800-Bottom-Bracket
Oval ring: $65 or so for another Absolute Black. Can't get 28t—I guess direct mount has a few advantages—but I could probably get by with a 30t, as much as that pains me to think of the grinding climbs…
So about $180 minus what I could recover for the RaceFace gear on eBay. It may come to this.
One would think from this trail description it's a loop that's 2.2 miles long. (On another page they describe it explicitly as a loop, only it's now 2.5 miles long in their estimation, with 500 feet of elevation gain.)
Well, one would be wrong. It's more like a 5 mile loop. We ended up hiking 3.7 miles out and back (so turning around just shy of 2 miles) and were no where near halfway when we did so.
700+ feet of ascending when starting at 9100 feet is no joke, especially with a kid in a carrier on one's back and another that needs to be picked up for really tough sections of trail.
Might be worth it...
I love the way Shimano cranks assemble together. I've never had any of mine creak, they are easy to take apart (even mid-ride while being assaulted with mosquitos).
I've also never had to hit them with a hammer or other blunt object.
Now my 29er is squeaking, too. Kill me now. I have a feeling the 2009-era hub bearings could use an overhaul, since, uh, I've never paid any attention to them.
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/hub-overhaul-and-adjustment#article-section-3
Using a ziptie to keep things in the right order is genius.
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/hub-overhaul-and-adjustment#article-section-3
Using a ziptie to keep things in the right order is genius.
Today I confirmed that rebuilding cup and cone hubs is a greasy, tedious mess. Even after repacking the front hub and retensioning the bearings the front hub feels terrible, as does the rear hub's wheel bearings and freehub alike. (I didn't mess with the rear hub, just spun it on the bike, as it seemed futile and I didn't want to pull the cassette and freehub.) I also need a new, unbent front rotor, but that's a trivial thing.
Methinks the plans for a new wheelset next season may be moved forward... and that I'm going to go with a sealed bearing hub design this time.
I'm going to give this guy a call tomorrow, noting Westy's recommendation from the "what's your wheelset" thread: http://speeddream.com/ . I have been happy with the DT Swiss 350s on my 5010 and their pricing is decent, so my first thought is those hubs laced to Velocity Blunt rims. Maybe even Centerlock? Hmm.
Methinks the plans for a new wheelset next season may be moved forward... and that I'm going to go with a sealed bearing hub design this time.
I'm going to give this guy a call tomorrow, noting Westy's recommendation from the "what's your wheelset" thread: http://speeddream.com/ . I have been happy with the DT Swiss 350s on my 5010 and their pricing is decent, so my first thought is those hubs laced to Velocity Blunt rims. Maybe even Centerlock? Hmm.
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I chatted with Dave from speeddream.com today. Seems like a very nice, mildly neurotic guy who cares greatly about wheels. What we decided on (to be started in late October once he gets back from his usual fall months-long pilgrimage to Durango, where he has supplies but not these particular rims):
DT Swiss 350 hubs, Centerlock
Sapim spokes, Strong for the disc side up front and drive side rear, D-Light for the other side
Brass nipples
Stan's Arch EX rims
That'd make for a nice, long-lasting wheelset without being too ridiculous or blingy. Note that I do secure both wheels and the frame with a big-ass Kryptonite New York Legend 15 mm chain when I lock up outside, and when I'm in my office my bike lives right in here with me.
http://www.kryptonitelock.com/content/kryt-us/en/products/product-information/current-key/999577.html
Nice. When I picked up my skis from Powder7 I noted that Slee Offroad is perhaps 1000 feet from them. Lots of nice Toyota hardware in their lot.
For now I'm going to ignore my Land Cruiser for the most part: no f-u bumpers (as dan-o suggested) or sliders (as I crave even though running boards are undeniably useful) unless the stock parts get damaged somehow. The paint is slowly getting nicked to death by virtue of living in a crowded garage so I'm going to leave that be, but I will get the telescoping steering column motor replaced, at least.
Oil changes are all I hope to do to it otherwise until Mariko starts learning to drive on it around 2028.
I did a financial bad.
Background: Going for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. I need to be on 10 year repayment, IBR, PAYE, or REPAYE. I was on REPAYE without verifying income, which defaults to 10 year levels. So far so good.
Well, my loans were transferred to a new servicer when I submitted PSLF employment verification. When I switched servicers I put in a request to switch to standard repayment, thinking that was 10 years.
Nope. For my loans' amount it's 30 years. That's not PSLF eligible. My only option seems to be to switch back to REPAYE, which necessitates verifying income yet again. REPAYE doesn't cap its payments, so I'll be paying at least a year of supra-10 year payments because of my stupidity in requesting the standard repayment plan.
CN: I will get about $6k less in forgiveness because I am stupid.
Update: Might have lessened the impact of this. I requested a general forbearance through June 2017 just now. (Since I'm going for forgiveness interest accrual during forbearance matters not a whit to me.) This is so that I can update my REPAYE request with my 2016 tax year's MAGI. This will be lower than 2015 due to me maxing out all my tax deferred spaces this year + having mortgage interest and property tax (and non-negligible charitable donation) deductions.
With this lower MAGI I'm hoping my REPAYE calculated payment will be much closer to the 10 year rate that I would have been paying under REPAYE-without-income-verification, which was my starting point before I screwed everything up.
Update 2: I indeed screwed things up. Ran out of forbearance time this month. $2k+ due next week and thereafter for a year until it resets to the lower (!) 10 year rate.
Background: Going for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. I need to be on 10 year repayment, IBR, PAYE, or REPAYE. I was on REPAYE without verifying income, which defaults to 10 year levels. So far so good.
Well, my loans were transferred to a new servicer when I submitted PSLF employment verification. When I switched servicers I put in a request to switch to standard repayment, thinking that was 10 years.
Nope. For my loans' amount it's 30 years. That's not PSLF eligible. My only option seems to be to switch back to REPAYE, which necessitates verifying income yet again. REPAYE doesn't cap its payments, so I'll be paying at least a year of supra-10 year payments because of my stupidity in requesting the standard repayment plan.
CN: I will get about $6k less in forgiveness because I am stupid.
Update: Might have lessened the impact of this. I requested a general forbearance through June 2017 just now. (Since I'm going for forgiveness interest accrual during forbearance matters not a whit to me.) This is so that I can update my REPAYE request with my 2016 tax year's MAGI. This will be lower than 2015 due to me maxing out all my tax deferred spaces this year + having mortgage interest and property tax (and non-negligible charitable donation) deductions.
With this lower MAGI I'm hoping my REPAYE calculated payment will be much closer to the 10 year rate that I would have been paying under REPAYE-without-income-verification, which was my starting point before I screwed everything up.
Update 2: I indeed screwed things up. Ran out of forbearance time this month. $2k+ due next week and thereafter for a year until it resets to the lower (!) 10 year rate.
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