[Toshi]

4 bikes ridden within 30 hours on the same trail (Zorro, with the GG also getting the Dakota Ridge/Red Rocks/DR treatment before finishing up on Zorro):

1) Guerilla Gravity Megatrail.

Photo is from kidwoo's review of it on Blister Gear Review.

Tested: size medium, 160 mm? 170 mm MRP Stage fork, Trail setting on the suspension (so 150 mm), 1x SRAM parts. Monarch Plus shock with tons of air pressure (300+ psi, over what my shock pump could read) to get decent sag.

The Megatrail didn't quit work for me, which is too bad since it's relatively reasonably priced and made by some good guys right here in Denver. Despite the numbers seeming pretty sane on paper (17.3" chainstays, 66.5 degree head angle, 13.2" BB) it felt slacker and longer in reality. This could be due to an imbalance in the fork/shock stiffness but this persisted despite dumping a bunch of pressure from the fork.

In any case my impression was of a tall front end (even set as low as possible), tons of pedal strikes, and less mid-stroke compliance than I expected given the loads of travel at both ends. It also didn't help that the demo bike had a worn rear tire, causing me some grief while restarting on steep slopes while climbing.

Overall this felt slacker and longer than it should have, and although the cockpit was properly stretched out but not unduly the wheels themselves felt too distant for my riding style.

2) Santa Cruz Tallboy.

Tested: size medium, 2 x 11 SRAM, Fox 32 up front, 29" wheels. This means it had 120 mm travel up front, 110 mm in the rear.

I did not like this one, either. Felt too short in reach despite a 23.7" top tube in theory (might have been the narrow bars), and the front center felt too short. 17" chainstays felt good on the climb, though, and it certainly did roll over rocks nicely. 68 degree head angle felt steep, showing how far things have come... I remember when 70.5 was dangerously slack.

3) Santa Cruz Bronson.

Tested: size medium, 1 x 11 SRAM (32 x 42t, ugh), Pike. 150 mm travel front and rear.

I'd been on this same bike a few weeks ago at White Ranch so knew what to expect. Long front end with really long front center but without too much flop on the climbs. I had them set up the suspension too soft for my weight intentionally to see how the link geometry felt when undersprung, and it felt fine. I used this as my internal baseline for the tests and certainly liked it better than the Megatrail or the Tallboy.

For reference this has a 66 degree head angle and a 23.5" top tube yet felt much roomier than the Tallboy.

4) Santa Cruz 5010.

Tested: size medium. No fancy ENVE wheels. 1 x 11 SRAM with same 32 x 42t setup. 130 mm of travel front and rear.

This bike looked on paper to be Goldilocks, with a 67 degree head angle, 23.5" top tube, and the medium amount of travel. Chainstays are nice and short at 16.8".

In reality this turned out to be the case, too, with the only disparity from that expected by the geometry being that the Megatrail felt slacker than the Bronson despite the latter being slacker on paper. The front center on the 5010 felt just right. The front end was easier to loft while climbing and it was easier to pop off of tiny lips while descending. The suspension on all of the VPP bikes felt more compliant in the midstroke than the Megatrail, and that's where I spend my time since I don't huck big stuff these days.

Could I ride any of these bikes? Yes, any would do in a pinch. I rode the Zorro stairs on all of them to prove that point (took a second try to get it on the Megatrail and Bronson, oddly, while I nailed it on the first try on the Tallboy and 5010).

The one that I'd choose is the Goldilocks bike, the 5010. I had the most fun on it and I don't think I'd "run out of bike" on anything I foresee myself riding around local trails.

 

[Toshi]

Other thoughts related to the above:

1) I think I'm going to switch to flat pedals + 5-10s for trail riding. With these modern low BB heights I have lots of pedal strikes. This is much less traumatic when not clipped in. Also, and not insignificantly, it's much more comfortable to push uphill in 5-10s than my stiff old Sidis. I ran flats on the 3 Santa Cruz demo bikes today and didn't think it hurt my climbing/pushing.

2) One of the bolts securing my Shimano cleats to my Sidis is hopelessly rounded. I'll have to grind a groove into it and use a big flathead, or just leave the too-far-forward cleats in their current position forever on the commuter bike (since the trail bike will get flat pedals).

3) 32 x 42t is just not low enough for my fatness + fitness on steep trails. The Megatrail had 30 x 42t, which was much better. I think I'd even like a 28 x 42t if SRAM or a 30 x 46t if Shimano 1 x 11. In general I still like Shimano's shifters better although I'm sure my thumb and index finger would learn to live with SRAM's thumb-thumb layout.

4) KS Lev on the Megatrail creaked like a mofo. Not sure if due to demo bike beat-up-ness or what. The other demos I've had have all had RS Reverb posts that have been silent and perhaps smoother.

 

[Serial Midget]

I think you'll adapt pretty quickly to a 32X42, I found it was more about technique and proper set up than leg power. If you can stomach Specialized I can highly recommend the Boomslang / Five Ten Contact combination. I have yet to loose a pedal and mash a shin, the grip is amazing. I bought 3 pairs and run them on each bike.

 

[Toshi]

32 X 42t is a great power gear, I agree. The problem is pushing it makes me go anaerobic very quickly on steep sustained bits.

 

[StiHacka]

I am not saying you should get the Megatrail


but you should get the Megatrail

At least 2/3rds of your issues are about adjustment IMO. Six months into the riding, when you get a bit more fit and re-discover your your inner huckster, the 5010 will be holding you back. No trips to a bike park on the plastic XC bike, either. Did you bleed air from the Stage with the button in the middle of the Ramp up control?

 

[Toshi]

I just didn't feel comfortable on it. Probably should have been on a small but the cockpit reach was fine on the medium. Plastic fantastic (from Taiwan) it shall be. The only questions are when, SRAM or XT, and whether I go frame + crabon wheels or pick a package.

 

[Toshi]

New commuter bike plan:

Reuse brakes, wheels, rear shifter/rear derailleur/cassette, seat, pedals, tires from my current 29er commuter.

Soma Juice frame
Surly Ogre fork
Shimano Alfine crankset (single ring, 39t to go with my 11-36 cassette)
Funky-ass Soma Clarence handlebar, which I may hate or love
Tubus front rack with Ortlieb panniers
+ random parts here and there to round things out (Thomson post, Salsa seatpost clamp, Cane Creek zero stack headset, Planet Bike 29er fenders, new housing, etc.)

This would let me keep my current wheelset, for better or worse, while keeping the exact same rolling stock. I like my 47 mm tires on my gravel and dirt commute and this wouldn't mess with it. This also solves the problem of what to do with the 29er: after stripping these parts I'd be left with a shitty fork, headset, seatpost, and triple crankset, which I could eBay for a pittance or simply throw away.

This would also allow for adding in a nice wheelset in future years where I'm not saving up for other things as simultaneously.

Pared down plan (to perhaps hasten the purchase of the 5010?):

Basically just a front end makeover for the 29er. I may need to go to a longer stem with these swept back bars, or at least buy even more unfashionable clothes... Order shall be placed on Wednesday because I don't want brown Santa coming while I'm on vacation.

 

[Toshi]

Pared down plan (to perhaps hasten the purchase of the 5010?):

Even more pared down plan:

(with my current crappy suspension fork on the 29er)

+ panniers + swept bar + grips. With this setup I clearly have to pass up any possibility of having real fenders but it's cheap and minimizes waste.

This focus on cheapness near-term is because I am buying a 5010. Yes, now.

It'll be the carbon CC X01 build: http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/us/5010 , so Pike + SRAM 1x + dropper a la the demo bike. No crabon wheels at this time but it will be blue like the pictured bike from a few posts up. Golden Bike Shop apparently has an unadvertised sale on them for $1300 off, plus they'll credit the $200 I spent on demos as well, so it'll be $5099 + tax, which is still a hit but much more palatable than $6599 + tax!

It should be built by the weekend, just in time for our vacation in Seattle. I'll run it stock for at least one ride but that 32t front ring and 760 mm bar probably will be replaced by 28t and 780-800 mm, respectively, once I recover from the shock of purchasing it.

 

[dump]

You definitely should have ridden the small GGMT.

You heard it here first: give the 5010 18 months max then it'll be something else

 

[Westy]

Even more pared down plan:

(with my current crappy suspension fork on the 29er)

+ panniers + swept bar + grips. With this setup I clearly have to pass up any possibility of having real fenders but it's cheap and minimizes waste.

This focus on cheapness near-term is because I am buying a 5010. Yes, now.

It'll be the carbon CC X01 build: http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/us/5010 , so Pike + SRAM 1x + dropper a la the demo bike. No crabon wheels at this time but it will be blue like the pictured bike from a few posts up. Golden Bike Shop apparently has an unadvertised sale on them for $1300 off, plus they'll credit the $200 I spent on demos as well, so it'll be $5099 + tax, which is still a hit but much more palatable than $6599 + tax!

It should be built by the weekend, just in time for our vacation in Seattle. I'll run it stock for at least one ride but that 32t front ring and 760 mm bar probably will be replaced by 28t and 780-800 mm, respectively, once I recover from the shock of purchasing it.

Nice. I've enjoyed the Pike I put on the Yeti. Perhaps a little too linear out of the box, kept bottoming the crap out of it when running 25% sag. Adding one token seems to have stopped the harsh bottoming but it I use all of the travel in situations where I don't think I should. Another token may be in order.

I've never bottomed a Fox air fork despite generally running 30% or more sag.

 

[Serial Midget]

You definitely should have ridden the small GGMT.

You heard it here first: give the 5010 18 months max then it'll be something else

That's what makes bikes fun, there's always something bright and shiney just around the corner.

@Toshi it's cool that you have access to such a wide variety of demos, up here the closest chi chi rentals are 250 miles away. Population density has its one advantage.

 

[Westy]

I expect Toshi to still like his SC in 18 months. However if this is not the case I predict him to move towards either a Tri-Bike or an E-Fat bike. Either way it will be hyphenated.

 

[Nick]

because I am buying a 5010

Nice. You're going to love that thing.

 

[Toshi]

Tri bike is out. Can't get into that full aero position with a gut!

I damn well will convince myself that I like it given the amount of cash I'm paying for it. Self-delusion is a useful tool now and then.

 

[dan-o]

Toshi try out an oval ring.
I run an Absolute Black 32t, which climbs like a 32 but has speed of 34.
Get a 30t, which will climb in your comfort zone but have more speed for the downs/flats.
I was very skeptical but am really liking the ring.

 

[Toshi]

I got another paper accepted today. That's 14. We also resubmitted a different paper with a very minor revision (added all of four words to one section, that's it). That'll be 15. Another revised paper will be submitted by my fellow today. Assuming that gets in, 16. Meanwhile reviewers are mulling over a major revision to what I think is a very strong paper, the Matlab modeling one I've been working on since fall 2013. That'll be 17–it'll get in somewhere, probably the original journal with this revision.

Recall that I need at least 20 for promotion. I should be there by this time next year, if not by Christmas or so.



Wednesday edit: Papers 15 and 16 were accepted yesterday and today. 17 is still out for review probably for another month, as the people in question are preparing for a big conference in Singapore (where some of my work will be presented, albeit not by me since I ran out of travel money long ago this year).

Just shy of two months later paper #17 was accepted, on its second albeit minor revision. I also submitted #18 today after furiously cranking it out yesterday during the workday (weird hybrid of a paper and an online presentation so I'm not sure if it'll count as a paper strictly for promotion purposes).

I'm going to use this acceptance as an excuse to not feel guilty about getting the Land Cruiser's oil changed way across town (here) and thus being away all morning when I'm supposed to be writing more such shit for publication… Yeah, I don't change my oil myself any more. I don't want to stain the concrete with my stupidity, dislike the mess of used oil/getting it to a place that'll recycle it, and I like this Toyota/Honda/Subaru-only shop.

 

[Toshi]

I picked it up this morning. The 150 mm dropper that's standard on it gives just about the right seat height with the dropper collar slammed against the seat post collar. The bars are supposed to be 760s but these measured more like 780 mm. I'm not complaining. Carbonz and 35 mm and all that.

I think I'm going to go with a 28t oval ring to start–I'm slow, I'm tellin' you all–and some Saint flat pedals since I like reliability and Japanese stuff alike. GBS offered to sell me the Saint pedals they use on their demo bikes for 50% MSRP, but for $5 or so more (edit: all of $1 more!) I can get them new from Universal Cycles so that choice was easy.

Time to call the insurance company and make sure I have good coverage for bikes and shit after reading about Adventurous's misadventure.

 

[Toshi]

In other, related news August will be a very expensive month in terms of paying bills:

- new dentist bike and trimmings for it and the commuter bike alike
- funding 529s for my two kids (starting doing this this month)
- full brunt of 10 year repayment plan on my student loans since I finally no longer get any sort of break from income-based plans (also starting this this month)
- putting both kids in full-time preschool with early dropoff starting August 4, because we need this in place in case Jessica lands a teaching job

This last one alone is huge. We're basically fronting $4k extra over two months relative to 1 kid x half day preschool to give her a chance to get a job. (This is necessary since it's really hard to increase time in preschool but easy to drop down, but one has to pay for it and give 30 days notice, of course. Gah.)

 

[StiHacka]

Toshi try out an oval ring.
I run an Absolute Black 32t, which climbs like a 32 but has speed of 34.
Get a 30t, which will climb in your comfort zone but have more speed for the downs/flats.
I was very skeptical but am really liking the ring.

Any observable pulsating effects on suspension's antisquatz?

 

[dan-o]

Any observable pulsating effects on suspension's antisquatz?

I only feel the shape when spinning high rpm on pavement. So never really.

My riding buddy says the same.

 

[Toshi]

The above is my view from the driver's seat of a Tesla Model X, with the phone held to match my perspective.

Note that the tinted band of the "roof" part of that giant piece of glass starts just below the joint between sheets of drywall in my neighbors' garage. (I had about two fingers of clearance between my over-large noggin and the very nice Alcantara headliner where the roof-windshield piece ended, which is ok if not ideal.)

Yeah, I don't think that's going to work so well, not that I was planning on getting a Model X or S. My problem is that the Model 3's glass roof probably will lead to this exact same issue, both with the tint band in the way and the distortion/artifacts that arise from looking through a lot of steeply raked glass.

I'm starting to wonder if I should ditch my Model 3 reservation. If I'm going to try to get my ass into shape I should be biking in on as many days as is possible, and on the days when it isn't possible the Land Cruiser probably is the better commuter vehicle anyway. Autopilot would be nice but not if I cringe every time I look at the windshield.

 

[Toshi]

Rack and 5-10s to be ordered from Amazon much later: Universal Cycle's laggy free shipping order fulfillment time means these parts should get to my house after I get back from Seattle.

For that matter, are 5-10s still the shoes to get for flat pedal-with-pins trail riding?

 

[Nick]

For that matter, are 5-10s still the shoes to get for flat pedal-with-pins trail riding?

Yes.

 

[Toshi]

Buses for sale!

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/5634955143.html

5.9 liter Cummins + Allison. In my never-to-be-realized plans I'd start with a low floor city bus platform instead of a high floor school bus, though.

 

[Toshi]

I am within a rounding error of 0 net worth as of today. $3M or so to go before retirement?

It took me two years since finishing fellowship to get to this point. I hope to step up my savings game even more in coming years as preschool costs go away, student loans are paid down, and we have fewer unexpected expenses (such as furnishing my new house last year). My wife probably will get a job at some point, too, which will provide a small but non-negligible net benefit if she works full time. If she goes part time it'll be a wash with the extra child care expenses.

The graph starts about 6 months post-fellowship as before that point I was basically treading water by using excess money to pay down 0% interest rate debt carried forward from residency and fellowship years. The eagle eyed will further note that the x axis extends past today's date. That's just a simple extrapolation based off of the prior month's change in net worth–no fancy running averages or anything involved there.

The truly eagle eyed will note that the 10/15-3/16 period averages to a constant slope but the trajectory is uneven month to month. The noise in those data arises from saving for a down payment and furniture then spending that money one month but accounting for the resulting assets a month or two later.

 

[Toshi]

Yesterday I sat in an Alfa Romeo 4C, at Alfa/Maserati/Jeep (!) of Kirkland. Although this photo from Goodwood is captioned as being of a black car, the one I tried on for size was a much darker shade, with a hint of red or purple in the reflection. Red leather inside.

As one might gather from reading about it and seeing how close the driver and passenger are in the above photo the 4C is really small. The width didn't bother me and felt very appropriate but the headroom did, big surprise. I had a couple of fingers above my unhelmeted head when in proper driving position with the seat its lowest of 3 positions, but the left side of the sun visor was right in my field of view. There also would be no way it'd work with a helmet.

Cross another one off my list. My list of things to do is getting shorter and cheaper by the month: no flying since I don't have a use for it and don't care much for $100 burgers; no track toys since the only one that'd be comfortable headroom-wise is the Evo that has seats far too narrow for my fat frame (see below); and no Teslas because I decided that I don't need a modern status symbol or the hassle of dealing with 3 cars and a 2 car garage. (Did I mention that I actually canceled my reservation, as previously threatened?)

Biking, skiing, and traveling will surely consume enough of my spare money anyway, so it's just as well.

RHD model but the seats are the same afaik. Those thigh bolsters felt like being in an economy airline seat.

 

[Toshi]

I guess an Evora might work (or a Porsche 993 +/- low seat rails). No way that's fitting in my Denver house + lifestyle, though. Maybe after I retire early…

 

[Nick]

oooh, that Evora 400 looks like the business.

 

[StiHacka]

It's a Fiat.

 

[Toshi]

I finally got a spot in the close garage at work, just shy of two years after starting here. Due to the parking dude not counting me phoning him to be on the waiting list as sufficient proof of wanting a spot I was only officially waiting for what, 16 months?

That said I hope to use the spot as infrequently as possible. I'm not going to brave the snows or anything on the bike but I'll try to log as many commuting days in the saddle as possible.

 

[Toshi]

Bubble is inflated and then some. I've been visiting the mother in law in Seattle and prices are insane in general. This caught my eye as special even in that context:

Seattle home too dangerous to enter sells for $427,000 after ‘insane’ bidding war

With crumbling floors and ceilings that could collapse at any moment, about five feet of standing water and toxic air not safe to breathe, a West Seattle house was listed recently with the condition that only licensed contractors who sign a legal waiver could enter it.

Photos of the interior show it resembles more of a Halloween haunted house than a dream home.

Nonetheless, it got 41 offers — and sold in May for more than double the asking price after just 10 days on the market.

“That is insane, obviously,” said the listing agent, Bruce Phares of Windermere Real Estate. “I’m absolutely flabbergasted, given how damaged the property was.”

 

[Toshi]

The above is relevant since UW is hiring in my subspecialty. The catch is that compensation would be about $100k less per year (I know, cry me a river, eh? ) and the housing market in Seattle is ridiculous anywhere but in comparison to the Bay Area.

:nopenopenope:

I'll consider retiring to the Puget Sound area since my wife's family connections are so strong but the economics don't make any sense while I'm working. (The icing on the cake is that UW is a particularly shitty outfit to work for in terms of day to day morale. The money matters but so does this, greatly.)

 

[Toshi]

Possible segue into retirement when Thing 1 and 2 are both out of the house and into college:

- sell house in Denver and set up shop in San Juans? somewhere within a few hours of Seattle
- get state licenses in California and basically all the other western states (~$500/state so an investment but necessary in order to practice)
- set up personal LLC
- work some locum tenens gigs for my own LLC (think what Eric does for EMT gigs but for a week straight, travel/housing covered, and an order of magnitude more pay reflecting the different position) here and there
- buy Sprinter based RV under LLC and use for travel to/from locums gigs in addition to using for leisure travel
- deduct RV depreciation and maintenance as a business expense
- ???
- net result: continue to earn some money by working a few weeks per year while having a low tax burden from the writeoffs and some playthings

Hmm.

 

[canadmos]

I finally got a spot in the close garage at work, just shy of two years after starting here. Due to the parking dude not counting me phoning him to be on the waiting list as sufficient proof of wanting a spot I was only officially waiting for what, 16 months?

That said I hope to use the spot as infrequently as possible. I'm not going to brave the snows or anything on the bike but I'll try to log as many commuting days in the saddle as possible.

 

[Toshi]

Said parking garage actually has bike racks (and a separate area for motorcycle parking) in its ground floor. This won't do anything to change my bike parking habits (in my office or on that bike rack) but will cut a fair bit of time when I drive.

0.36 miles walking from the garage to where I usually work for the old vs. about 0.08 for the new. I know, I know, exercise is good, but walking across campus to a far-off garage is just tedious.

 

[Toshi]

Lawn "upgrade" imminent?

Last area looks pretty awful, no? Everything lateral to the orange lines that the builder and subcontractor mysteriously drew on Monday is soggy most of the time due to the poor grading/drainage. My guess is they're going to pull the turf and throw down mulch with some regrading/added soil under it. Less grass but less sodden mess to mow (the lawn being 11 days unmowed from vacation at the time of these photos).

 

[Toshi]

In other news I worked on my bikes and wasn't all that successful.

29er's cockpit swap wasn't completed as I need longer cable housing due to the sweep/reach of the new bendy Soma Clarence bar. Right now I have Gore stuff on there but I'm not buying a whole new Gore set just for two pieces I need. I'll hit up my LBS sometime for a 4' length of Shimano shifter housing and some ferrules.

My other projects were to put pedals on the 5010 (done without incident after taking some time to remove the spacers from all the Saint pedals' pins/screws and adding in the extra ones that are included in a bag but not screwed into the pedals) and to replace the chainring with the dan-o approved oval one.

I totally failed on that latter task:

Am I missing something here? I was told that cranking counterclockwise with an 8 mm wrench on the right crankarm would self-extract it. Then I'd use a BB tool to undo a lockring and replace that chainring. I never got past that first step as my wrench failed before the bolt budged. I have a feeling I'm doin' it wrong.

 

[Westy]

Multi-tools and the like are contingencies. Real tools should be used when in the depths of civilization.

 

[Toshi]

Multi-tools and the like are contingencies. Real tools should be used when in the depths of civilization.

True, true. I don't remember where my standalone 8 mm allen key went. I think it's time to support Park Tools.

As for the crank just wail on a real 8 mm allen key with a mallet?

 

[Westy]

True, true. I don't remember where my standalone 8 mm allen key went. I think it's time to support Park Tools.

As for the crank just wail on a real 8 mm allen key with a mallet?

A breaker bar or pipe extension on the wrench is a better idea, less likely to strip it out. Just make sure you are turning it the right way. Right side pedal uses regular threads(right hand), left side the opposite of normal (left hand).