Get it here....
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Um. Dugast with Mountain king tread anyone?
Tubular tyres with my favourite tread to edge/enve tubular rims?
I'm kind of twitching with want at the moment...
Mini me.
Mini tools, eh? Usually total cheese. Bent-wire-formed allen bits that dont have good tolerances. Often bulky, or fragile, or awkward they need to work on the odd occasion they are required and if they dont you will often have a long walk out.
So: i did a lot of looking, digging for info and scouring the internet and picked up two minitools that - after first inspection - i am happy to try for awhile.
The key points here are they are small, solidly made, have good tolerances on the tool bits, have most of what you need and nothing you dont. Mainly though, the bits have a square cross section where they interface, allowing much less independent flex and movement, increasing accuracy, feel and torque. Its possible the Soma Lo Pro 8 may not be able to generate enough torque for some uses, but we'll see. I do have a 8mm adaptor that fits on a 6mm allen head that will fill in the obvious gap (that the new Genuine Innovations flat stack II will have i believe)
More as time goes by...
So: i did a lot of looking, digging for info and scouring the internet and picked up two minitools that - after first inspection - i am happy to try for awhile.
The key points here are they are small, solidly made, have good tolerances on the tool bits, have most of what you need and nothing you dont. Mainly though, the bits have a square cross section where they interface, allowing much less independent flex and movement, increasing accuracy, feel and torque. Its possible the Soma Lo Pro 8 may not be able to generate enough torque for some uses, but we'll see. I do have a 8mm adaptor that fits on a 6mm allen head that will fill in the obvious gap (that the new Genuine Innovations flat stack II will have i believe)
More as time goes by...
Find/Home.
Last night we went to the Glasgow gala premier of Find, a new film by Mark Huskisson on Reset films. It was really very good. To tell the truth, i'm not really into bike related films. They are fine, but often lack insight into the personalities (unless of course the subjects dont *have* personalities!). Find is insightful. It helps that a lot of the scenery is stunning - from the Basque Country to the Scottish Highlands and the people filmed are some of the more interesting and colourful in the industry: Hans Rey, Danny Mac, Peaty, Rowan Sorrel and Rob Lee. My wife (who isnt a bike nut) and myself (i am) both found ourselves laughing out loud and enjoying the stunning imagery.
Find is a step up from Home, Reset's first proper mtb film, which was itself very good. The scope, scenery, sound, editing and overall feel are all superb. I would really recommend getting hold of a copy.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Here it comes again...
Back from Kielder 100. Mixed bag. Reportage will be on VC moulin. Will put a linky up when i've thought about it all.
Using the recovery (read: lazy) few days left before going back to work to build some furniture, do some clearing out and attend to the DT hub i've been trying to service.
The problem is that the aluminium spacer that stops the 2 cartridge bearings in the freehub 'rotor' body getting side loaded died when i punched the bearings out. I have a newer DT singlespeed hub and basically the spacer washer *should* be able to be moved around (when the hub isnt being compressed in the drop outs) to allow access to punch the beairngs out. But it didnt want to move when i tried. It had become slightly lipped, due to pressure from the rws rear thru axle i suspect and it was sort of fixed in position relative to the bearings. So: what to do? DT dont make it easy to service the rotor itself. The rest of the hub is REALLY easy to service, but the rotor is a send back or replace item. Hmmm!...
The parts box showed up nothing of great use. Some washers, but either too thick or too thin. Hope hubs use a similar system, but not similar enough. Their spacer is 2mm thick or 14 or 16mm thick although it has the same inside diameter. Also the 2mm one is steel so less easy to work with.
My options here are to:
a) cut down then hand file the 14mm thick spacer you can see in the pic.
b) find a local machining firm that will do this for me.
c) try contacting DT swiss again.
d) try and get a whole new rotor body.
None of these really seem that ideal...for various reasons. Filing is unlikely to get accurate enough parallel surfaces for bearing longevity. A local machine shop that will do maybe four or five (for future use) 15mm i.d. 1.7mm thick aluminium spacers? seems unlikely. DT havent proven easy to contact on this matter and new rotor bodies are expensive and it would be pretty wasteful.
So. Here it comes again. I need access to good metal working tools and the skills to use them.
Well, i suppose it *is* winter soon - plenty of long evenings....
Using the recovery (read: lazy) few days left before going back to work to build some furniture, do some clearing out and attend to the DT hub i've been trying to service.
The problem is that the aluminium spacer that stops the 2 cartridge bearings in the freehub 'rotor' body getting side loaded died when i punched the bearings out. I have a newer DT singlespeed hub and basically the spacer washer *should* be able to be moved around (when the hub isnt being compressed in the drop outs) to allow access to punch the beairngs out. But it didnt want to move when i tried. It had become slightly lipped, due to pressure from the rws rear thru axle i suspect and it was sort of fixed in position relative to the bearings. So: what to do? DT dont make it easy to service the rotor itself. The rest of the hub is REALLY easy to service, but the rotor is a send back or replace item. Hmmm!...
The parts box showed up nothing of great use. Some washers, but either too thick or too thin. Hope hubs use a similar system, but not similar enough. Their spacer is 2mm thick or 14 or 16mm thick although it has the same inside diameter. Also the 2mm one is steel so less easy to work with.
My options here are to:
a) cut down then hand file the 14mm thick spacer you can see in the pic.
b) find a local machining firm that will do this for me.
c) try contacting DT swiss again.
d) try and get a whole new rotor body.
None of these really seem that ideal...for various reasons. Filing is unlikely to get accurate enough parallel surfaces for bearing longevity. A local machine shop that will do maybe four or five (for future use) 15mm i.d. 1.7mm thick aluminium spacers? seems unlikely. DT havent proven easy to contact on this matter and new rotor bodies are expensive and it would be pretty wasteful.
So. Here it comes again. I need access to good metal working tools and the skills to use them.
Well, i suppose it *is* winter soon - plenty of long evenings....
Monday, August 30, 2010
Rolling the dice...
I'm off work this week. Really need it. Havent had a break in ages...Of course theres quite a bit on the to-do list...so i decided to try and get a big -ish ride in early in the week and recover sufficiently to give the Kielder 100 a proper go. Looking at the weather, sunday and monday were going to be ok pretty much country wide. I've had an urge to ride the east rim of the Lairig Ghru then drop down to Derry Cairngorm since dan suggested it to me a few weeks ago. The Vertigo was dusted off, a sensible range of clothing packed and i set off for the Cairngorm early sunday morning. The weather looked like it should be breezy up top, with strong gusts, and a chance of rain at around 1-2pm ish. I was anticipating being out 10 hours at least, so an hour or so of rain wasnt terribly worrying.
On the way up the weather came in, but it was the Drumochter pass so i didnt get too upset. 5 minutes later, things went south. There was *a lot* of motorcycle traffic: it was Thunder in the Glens - the Harley meet in the highlands. As the weather deteriorated, the mix of rubbish drivers on the A9 and lots of motorcyclists doing what motorcyclists do meant one thing. As i descended to Dalwhinnie, the traffic slowed suddenly. In the middle of the road was a car with 4 people trapped in it and the bonnet smooshed in. Another car was off to the side and a motor cycle, or what was left of it, was spread over the road. it looked like the front wheel had imploded. Off to the side the motor cyclist was lying in a heap, roughly covered with a blanket. There was no doubt in my mind he was dead. Several motocyclists were directing traffic via a slip road, and the 4 passengers in the car were all talking and moving, they just couldnt get out. There was nothing for me to do, so i drove on. Needless to say the emergency services came tearing down the road and yet again, it was a nightmare as freaked out drivers were pushed to the limit of their meagre abilities to control their cars on the road. I dunno, maybe drivers need to be assessed more regularly or something, but there was very nearly several further accidents as panic set in.
Regardless, i made it to Aviemore with a need to get out into the hills. Life needed to be lived. The rain hadnt stopped, but it wasnt heavy, so i stuck to my plan and quickly readied to get out into the hills. I aimed up the Coire Cas path but by the time i reached the ski centre i had to take shelter. The wind was battering the hillside and the rain was thick and heavy. I was well into cloud and there was no way of knowing if this was just a front, or it was time to head down and go home, tail between my legs.
Regular readers may well be aware im pretty fucked off with the weather. Its sort of pointless, as it is not something that can be controlled, but the fact remains. I stood under the eaves of the ski centre and looked at the map and waited, hoping that the weather might let up. There wasnt really any sort of viable alternative from where i was, other than to retrace my steps and go down. After 15 minutes or so, i convinced myself the weather was improving and decided to head upwards anyways. How bad could it be?
There was some riding and a lot of carrying as i ascended around 400m across the face of Cairn Lochan. All the time i was in cloud, and the gusts of wind nearly knocked me over. As i gained the shoulder of Cairn Lochan it started hailing. Hard. If i got cold enough now, i was in trouble, so i sheltered as best i could in a cleft rock. After 5 minutes, it was decision time. Mountain craft is an interesting term. I suspect really it means the mix of common sense (which, of course, isnt) and experience. I knew heading up was isolating me in big mountains in big weather in cycling shorts and a windtex jacket. But i couldnt wait any longer: there was no way i could tolerate being as cold as i was. I had to move either upwards in the hope the weather settled, or downwards and admit defeat. Upwards it was.
Part of my decision was that the combo of strong wind and hail meant facing into the weather (ie heading downwards) was going to be painful. After about another 50m or so vertical gain, i found myself on the east edge of the Lairig Ghru. the weather was being deflected by Creag An Leth-choin and though visibility was little over 5m i decided to push on. The path was great fun to ride. Rocky, lite-technical, absorbing riding. As i started to descend down to a saddle before the bulk of Ben Macdui, i realised that i needed to turn back. There was no way the weather was good enough to descend down to Derry Cairngorm, with any chance of making it back out. Therefore, i needed to turn around post haste and deal with the headwind and rain/hail.
When i Stopped for 2 minutes to cover my face in a makeshift balaclava (thank you buff) i was almost immediately cold. Shit. This was not good. Back to the edge of Coire An Lochain i coped, mainly because i didnt have to use my fingers. But the descent down to the ski hill was steep and aggressive riding. As soon as i stuck a finger on the brake lever it froze and became as useful as a stick of wood. 3 times i went over the bars on the way down that trail. But i needed to ride to drop fast. At a degree for every 100 feet or so i was in dire need of lower altitude. As i got to the Ski centre the rain upped the ante and i was soaked in seconds, but i was more sheltered and after a quick massage i began to get feeling back into at least some of my digits. My toes were gone, and my little and ring fingers were still useless.
I headed off down to Glenmore, with white noise in my head. Another bastard of a day. Then i remembered the path via the Chalamain Gap up to the top of the Lairing Ghru, which would allow me to take the Vertigo down one of the premier descents in this part of the world. A handful of skittles, peanut m&m's and honey roasted macadamias as the sun finally came out and the world didnt seem such a dark and violent place. A climb past a herd of reindeer (with an albino amongst them) got me to the bottom of the Chalamain Gap in good order. Initially rideable, the gap is primarily a scramble. The rocks are large and loose. Lots of movement under foot, so i was cautious.
No one wants to break an ankle or worse up here. The other side was very, very boggy, but afforded a beautiful view into the Lairig Ghru. A couple of bedraggled walkers were making their way out of the pass, all talking of the hideous hail they had endured. Water flowed freely down the level section of the Lairig Ghru, but as i reached the descent down to Piccaddily everything clicked for a brief 5 minutes. The Vertigo sailed the roots and ripped the corners on the singletrack high above Allt Druidh. Several times the Panaracer Rampage was outgunned by the slick roots and i whipped sideways, but the bike just dug in. It was a truly sweet descent.
It was a foreshortened day with only 6 hours in the hills but the bad weather left me happy to find the car. Yet again i found myself cursing that i wasnt handed a meteorological break. I will gladly sell this slightly used soul to whichever deity controls the Scottish weather.
On the way up the weather came in, but it was the Drumochter pass so i didnt get too upset. 5 minutes later, things went south. There was *a lot* of motorcycle traffic: it was Thunder in the Glens - the Harley meet in the highlands. As the weather deteriorated, the mix of rubbish drivers on the A9 and lots of motorcyclists doing what motorcyclists do meant one thing. As i descended to Dalwhinnie, the traffic slowed suddenly. In the middle of the road was a car with 4 people trapped in it and the bonnet smooshed in. Another car was off to the side and a motor cycle, or what was left of it, was spread over the road. it looked like the front wheel had imploded. Off to the side the motor cyclist was lying in a heap, roughly covered with a blanket. There was no doubt in my mind he was dead. Several motocyclists were directing traffic via a slip road, and the 4 passengers in the car were all talking and moving, they just couldnt get out. There was nothing for me to do, so i drove on. Needless to say the emergency services came tearing down the road and yet again, it was a nightmare as freaked out drivers were pushed to the limit of their meagre abilities to control their cars on the road. I dunno, maybe drivers need to be assessed more regularly or something, but there was very nearly several further accidents as panic set in.
Regardless, i made it to Aviemore with a need to get out into the hills. Life needed to be lived. The rain hadnt stopped, but it wasnt heavy, so i stuck to my plan and quickly readied to get out into the hills. I aimed up the Coire Cas path but by the time i reached the ski centre i had to take shelter. The wind was battering the hillside and the rain was thick and heavy. I was well into cloud and there was no way of knowing if this was just a front, or it was time to head down and go home, tail between my legs.
Regular readers may well be aware im pretty fucked off with the weather. Its sort of pointless, as it is not something that can be controlled, but the fact remains. I stood under the eaves of the ski centre and looked at the map and waited, hoping that the weather might let up. There wasnt really any sort of viable alternative from where i was, other than to retrace my steps and go down. After 15 minutes or so, i convinced myself the weather was improving and decided to head upwards anyways. How bad could it be?
There was some riding and a lot of carrying as i ascended around 400m across the face of Cairn Lochan. All the time i was in cloud, and the gusts of wind nearly knocked me over. As i gained the shoulder of Cairn Lochan it started hailing. Hard. If i got cold enough now, i was in trouble, so i sheltered as best i could in a cleft rock. After 5 minutes, it was decision time. Mountain craft is an interesting term. I suspect really it means the mix of common sense (which, of course, isnt) and experience. I knew heading up was isolating me in big mountains in big weather in cycling shorts and a windtex jacket. But i couldnt wait any longer: there was no way i could tolerate being as cold as i was. I had to move either upwards in the hope the weather settled, or downwards and admit defeat. Upwards it was.
Part of my decision was that the combo of strong wind and hail meant facing into the weather (ie heading downwards) was going to be painful. After about another 50m or so vertical gain, i found myself on the east edge of the Lairig Ghru. the weather was being deflected by Creag An Leth-choin and though visibility was little over 5m i decided to push on. The path was great fun to ride. Rocky, lite-technical, absorbing riding. As i started to descend down to a saddle before the bulk of Ben Macdui, i realised that i needed to turn back. There was no way the weather was good enough to descend down to Derry Cairngorm, with any chance of making it back out. Therefore, i needed to turn around post haste and deal with the headwind and rain/hail.
When i Stopped for 2 minutes to cover my face in a makeshift balaclava (thank you buff) i was almost immediately cold. Shit. This was not good. Back to the edge of Coire An Lochain i coped, mainly because i didnt have to use my fingers. But the descent down to the ski hill was steep and aggressive riding. As soon as i stuck a finger on the brake lever it froze and became as useful as a stick of wood. 3 times i went over the bars on the way down that trail. But i needed to ride to drop fast. At a degree for every 100 feet or so i was in dire need of lower altitude. As i got to the Ski centre the rain upped the ante and i was soaked in seconds, but i was more sheltered and after a quick massage i began to get feeling back into at least some of my digits. My toes were gone, and my little and ring fingers were still useless.
I headed off down to Glenmore, with white noise in my head. Another bastard of a day. Then i remembered the path via the Chalamain Gap up to the top of the Lairing Ghru, which would allow me to take the Vertigo down one of the premier descents in this part of the world. A handful of skittles, peanut m&m's and honey roasted macadamias as the sun finally came out and the world didnt seem such a dark and violent place. A climb past a herd of reindeer (with an albino amongst them) got me to the bottom of the Chalamain Gap in good order. Initially rideable, the gap is primarily a scramble. The rocks are large and loose. Lots of movement under foot, so i was cautious.
No one wants to break an ankle or worse up here. The other side was very, very boggy, but afforded a beautiful view into the Lairig Ghru. A couple of bedraggled walkers were making their way out of the pass, all talking of the hideous hail they had endured. Water flowed freely down the level section of the Lairig Ghru, but as i reached the descent down to Piccaddily everything clicked for a brief 5 minutes. The Vertigo sailed the roots and ripped the corners on the singletrack high above Allt Druidh. Several times the Panaracer Rampage was outgunned by the slick roots and i whipped sideways, but the bike just dug in. It was a truly sweet descent.
It was a foreshortened day with only 6 hours in the hills but the bad weather left me happy to find the car. Yet again i found myself cursing that i wasnt handed a meteorological break. I will gladly sell this slightly used soul to whichever deity controls the Scottish weather.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Of sliding and smiling.
Was out riding yesterday with the boys. Missed one ride on saturday, as i was putting the 5 speed system together for the Jones. It is a temporary affair, mainly for the Kielder 100 which is creeping up pretty fast. The word on the street is that there is a fair old amount of fireroad, as there surely would be in any 100 mle off road race in the UK.
(thanks to bike love for the chainstay protector! carl had slipped one into the last bag of team kit.)
I didnt do last year because i was doing the Shenandoah 100 which was on the same day - during which i cracked pretty horrifically and was about an hour slower than i wanted to be. A lot of the reason for that was i used a smaller gear than i had previously. On singlespeed at SM100, you either have a very smooth spin and use a small gear to get up the climbs, or you use a bigger gear that allows you to motor the fire road and accept walking some or most of the climbs. Previously i was in the latter camp, but last year i spent several months spinning to try and learn to go as fast on the smaller gear. Problem was i was out of shape and pretty exhausted from work and SM100 was right at the beginning of the trip so i had no time to get myself together. Needless to say i sucked hard. But it was an experience.
I'm kind of getting over my need to do everything-all-the-time on a singlespeed. The vertigo has taight me the joys of not only using gears, but also having suspension. Theres a new project in the works from Sean which i'm really looking forward to. I've been compromising BA to use for some more xc orientated trail and i'd rather keep him meaty, beaty big and bouncy. Anyways, more on that later.
So once i got the 5 speed together i snuck out -despite the mizzle- to try it out. It functions well, but i underestimated the gear for what i need and am going to use a 36 tooth ring. Setting up the e13 xcx in the correct orientation was a witch. I think because i use a king bb which has less material proud of the plate for the chain guide, meaning the tool has very little purchase. Still, got there in the end. the 17-19-21-23-25 sprocket block is a dura ace cassette that i cut and filed down to fit better on the DT singlespeed freehub. If i was very careful i probably could cut some material off the back side and maybe -maybe!- squeeze a 15 tooth king cog on the outer section to get 6 speeds, but its really pretty usable with the 17 and an aforementioned 35 tooth e13 g ring. I dont need the low end as low, so a 36 should make it pretty good.
As mentioned this is a stop gap. The new beast will be a 1x9 (option to 1x10) and will have an even better spread.
I've also become increasingly interested in photography. I've previously only used a Canon elph, which is a pretty basic but tough compact. I decided to invest in a Canon s95 which came into the shops this weekend after playing with Chipps' s90 and getting good advice from him and Mr Makin about what i needed in a camera. The initial results are on my flickr. I was using the bracketing feature to check out the capabilities of catching riders in low light on an ISO limited to 400. It worked pretty well, though the bracketing meant i got some odd shots. I have a LOT to learn, but having a bit more manual control is useful. Its also very useful having a wife who is into photography and can explain some of the principals in words simple enough for a caveman-point-and-shooter like me.
(Hambo at speed - as ever clicky to make biggy and CRITICISE! - i need to learn!)
So far i've been impressed with the results - the camera is capable, i just need to be able to use it consistently.
Ok. Monday. Its raining everywhere. I want to be in the hills. So it goes.
(thanks to bike love for the chainstay protector! carl had slipped one into the last bag of team kit.)
I didnt do last year because i was doing the Shenandoah 100 which was on the same day - during which i cracked pretty horrifically and was about an hour slower than i wanted to be. A lot of the reason for that was i used a smaller gear than i had previously. On singlespeed at SM100, you either have a very smooth spin and use a small gear to get up the climbs, or you use a bigger gear that allows you to motor the fire road and accept walking some or most of the climbs. Previously i was in the latter camp, but last year i spent several months spinning to try and learn to go as fast on the smaller gear. Problem was i was out of shape and pretty exhausted from work and SM100 was right at the beginning of the trip so i had no time to get myself together. Needless to say i sucked hard. But it was an experience.
I'm kind of getting over my need to do everything-all-the-time on a singlespeed. The vertigo has taight me the joys of not only using gears, but also having suspension. Theres a new project in the works from Sean which i'm really looking forward to. I've been compromising BA to use for some more xc orientated trail and i'd rather keep him meaty, beaty big and bouncy. Anyways, more on that later.
So once i got the 5 speed together i snuck out -despite the mizzle- to try it out. It functions well, but i underestimated the gear for what i need and am going to use a 36 tooth ring. Setting up the e13 xcx in the correct orientation was a witch. I think because i use a king bb which has less material proud of the plate for the chain guide, meaning the tool has very little purchase. Still, got there in the end. the 17-19-21-23-25 sprocket block is a dura ace cassette that i cut and filed down to fit better on the DT singlespeed freehub. If i was very careful i probably could cut some material off the back side and maybe -maybe!- squeeze a 15 tooth king cog on the outer section to get 6 speeds, but its really pretty usable with the 17 and an aforementioned 35 tooth e13 g ring. I dont need the low end as low, so a 36 should make it pretty good.
As mentioned this is a stop gap. The new beast will be a 1x9 (option to 1x10) and will have an even better spread.
I've also become increasingly interested in photography. I've previously only used a Canon elph, which is a pretty basic but tough compact. I decided to invest in a Canon s95 which came into the shops this weekend after playing with Chipps' s90 and getting good advice from him and Mr Makin about what i needed in a camera. The initial results are on my flickr. I was using the bracketing feature to check out the capabilities of catching riders in low light on an ISO limited to 400. It worked pretty well, though the bracketing meant i got some odd shots. I have a LOT to learn, but having a bit more manual control is useful. Its also very useful having a wife who is into photography and can explain some of the principals in words simple enough for a caveman-point-and-shooter like me.
(Hambo at speed - as ever clicky to make biggy and CRITICISE! - i need to learn!)
So far i've been impressed with the results - the camera is capable, i just need to be able to use it consistently.
Ok. Monday. Its raining everywhere. I want to be in the hills. So it goes.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The calm after the storm.
Post SSUK'10. Reportage will be on VC Moulin. Meanwhile i've got a bit of a clear up op. to do. G Funk was here, and we set about building his first wheels. He picked it up pretty quick and easy and made a sweet new wheel.
Then straight into a trying few days at work. Dont know whether its the economic downturn biting home, or just a couple of butterfly wing flaps on the other side of the world, or maybe its just me, but everything is just misery at the moment.
On returning home, I realised that the cat had made a home in the tent that has been airing since i came back up from Cymru. All the cycling kit i didnt use (all will be explained) was strewn across the floor and my sleeping bag was stinking up the place too. Under all that was the pile of dirty cycling kit i needed to wash, and all the stuff i needed to send out as thank yous and quid pro quos for the Outcast (issue 24 of which is out now). Bam.
I need an admin evening. So of course i longed for the trails and under the excuse of trying to work out if the cross bike this year will have drops or jones bars i headed out to the local spot and got a couple of hours in.
Although i started in rain (you guessed it!) i got a peep of sunshine for the last hour. All good. And it will have jones bars. Probably.
Talking of the jones. In an odd turn of events, after SSUK, i pretty much decided i wnt to run gears on it for the Kielder 100. A wee bit of thinkering and i purchased a Dura Ace road cassette (12-25, of which the top 5 are on alloy carriers), an xtr 9 speed multi-release/multi-shift trigger shifter and an ultegra short cage mech.
The concept here is 5 speed, with 17-19-21-23-25 at the rear and either a 33 or 34 at the front. That gives me quick shifts of 1 or 2 cogs and a pretty usable gear range around the gear i will use most. We'll see how it goes. Up front will be an e13 xcx chain guide to keep things right. The Dura Ace cogs are lighter than light (being ti) and the mech shouldnt need too much adjusting due to it being a close and small cassette. We'll see. Ideally the cassette needs a little material off one side of the carriers to make it a little flusher with the freehub. Should be 5 mins work
More as it happens.
Then straight into a trying few days at work. Dont know whether its the economic downturn biting home, or just a couple of butterfly wing flaps on the other side of the world, or maybe its just me, but everything is just misery at the moment.
On returning home, I realised that the cat had made a home in the tent that has been airing since i came back up from Cymru. All the cycling kit i didnt use (all will be explained) was strewn across the floor and my sleeping bag was stinking up the place too. Under all that was the pile of dirty cycling kit i needed to wash, and all the stuff i needed to send out as thank yous and quid pro quos for the Outcast (issue 24 of which is out now). Bam.
I need an admin evening. So of course i longed for the trails and under the excuse of trying to work out if the cross bike this year will have drops or jones bars i headed out to the local spot and got a couple of hours in.
Although i started in rain (you guessed it!) i got a peep of sunshine for the last hour. All good. And it will have jones bars. Probably.
Talking of the jones. In an odd turn of events, after SSUK, i pretty much decided i wnt to run gears on it for the Kielder 100. A wee bit of thinkering and i purchased a Dura Ace road cassette (12-25, of which the top 5 are on alloy carriers), an xtr 9 speed multi-release/multi-shift trigger shifter and an ultegra short cage mech.
The concept here is 5 speed, with 17-19-21-23-25 at the rear and either a 33 or 34 at the front. That gives me quick shifts of 1 or 2 cogs and a pretty usable gear range around the gear i will use most. We'll see how it goes. Up front will be an e13 xcx chain guide to keep things right. The Dura Ace cogs are lighter than light (being ti) and the mech shouldnt need too much adjusting due to it being a close and small cassette. We'll see. Ideally the cassette needs a little material off one side of the carriers to make it a little flusher with the freehub. Should be 5 mins work
More as it happens.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Packaged in a protective environment.
There has just been too many things to do. Fortunately, the weather is still crap, so it's not as if i'm out riding all the time. Precious little infact....should make the SSUK'10 pretty interesting....no legs and a big beer belly to haul around....ah well. It will be a innocuous return to the ssuk scene after a 2 year hiatus.
Blah.
So instead, i've decided to try and clear out some of the crap that has built up in my life. I'm not talking about emotional baggage either. It would be fair to say i'm a hoarder. The suspicious would have worked that out by now, i've no doubt, but hoarding has its uses. Need a Paul v brake that will let a 700c wheel work in a 26" frame? yep got that. An old Brodie brake booster for your just-so-retro-project-timebomb? yep. You get the picture. A few years ago i was particularly impressed after a conversation with Mr Furry Knuckle, who had written of his 'imaginary house fires'. The idea is: imagine a fire is consuming your home. You have, say, 15 minutes to throw stuff out the windows/drag stuff out the garage, but you have to chose the few things you want to keep. All the rest is burned up. What could you truly live without? Of course i was deeply suspicious that anyone could actually *do* that.
I was impressed because Mr Furry Knuckle left me in no doubt he did do it and infact found the process a genuinely cathartic experience. A weight lifted from the shoulders. It also probably made it a hell of a lot easier to find stuff instead of wading through seas of old bike crap, sinking ever deeper into a miasma of strained, cnc'd aluminium parts that should never have seen the light of day.
Blah.
So instead, i've decided to try and clear out some of the crap that has built up in my life. I'm not talking about emotional baggage either. It would be fair to say i'm a hoarder. The suspicious would have worked that out by now, i've no doubt, but hoarding has its uses. Need a Paul v brake that will let a 700c wheel work in a 26" frame? yep got that. An old Brodie brake booster for your just-so-retro-project-timebomb? yep. You get the picture. A few years ago i was particularly impressed after a conversation with Mr Furry Knuckle, who had written of his 'imaginary house fires'. The idea is: imagine a fire is consuming your home. You have, say, 15 minutes to throw stuff out the windows/drag stuff out the garage, but you have to chose the few things you want to keep. All the rest is burned up. What could you truly live without? Of course i was deeply suspicious that anyone could actually *do* that.
I was impressed because Mr Furry Knuckle left me in no doubt he did do it and infact found the process a genuinely cathartic experience. A weight lifted from the shoulders. It also probably made it a hell of a lot easier to find stuff instead of wading through seas of old bike crap, sinking ever deeper into a miasma of strained, cnc'd aluminium parts that should never have seen the light of day.
So, i decided i needed to try and sell some parts. The thing that stops you, unless you need to pay off some fines or have some sort of Dickensian dislike of the third sin, is that a) you spent a lot of money on things in the first place, little of which you will recoup (unless you liked coloured Ringle parts or old Yetis but had a germanic resistance to actually using them) and b) you might need them some day.
Piffle! it is time to move stuff on. without further a do i moved all compromising substances out of the front room. Armed only with a powerful tequila and orange juice, i set to work cleaning and packaging parts into old padded envelopes, in a protective atmosphere of pure heavy metal and under the watchful gaze of Persephone the cat.
Within a short burst of time i have made numerous items ready to live out a new and functional life. And you know what? It feels damn good.
Within a short burst of time i have made numerous items ready to live out a new and functional life. And you know what? It feels damn good.
Sunday, August 08, 2010
5 minutes until beyond...
This thing is going to be all over the internet within about 5 minutes. Infact, its quite likely y'all have seen it already. I dont care.
(clicky make biggy)
They even created a background comic about the imaginary rider, Max Malco. Awesome.
If this bike ever got made, id buy it without even thinking. An incredible mix of rat rod, post apocalyptic mad max styling, metal as the realisation of concept. It is RAD and is further evidence of how far Trek have come over recent years.
See more at Bicycle Design.
(clicky make biggy)
They even created a background comic about the imaginary rider, Max Malco. Awesome.
More detail...
Monday, August 02, 2010
North East.
We spent some time up around Glen Clova. 2 days, 2 routes. Big mountains, amazing views, wasp stings and smiling with friends.
Theres a whole heap of good riding up there....and, yes!, the weather played ball, at least for some of the time....
More on this when i've had time to cogitate
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
In memoriam.
'I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.'
Oft quoted, Tennyson.
But is it?
i dont know. Maybe it would be better never to have known what you are missing.
I'm done. sick to the back teeth of the constant cycle of hope and disappointment. For the third (or is it fourth?) straight year, i caught myself thinking that maybe this would be a good year. A summer in which we have 3 months of reasonable weather. Not perfect. Not blue-skies-and-little-fluffy-clouds good all the way through. Just a balance of some good, some great and some bad weather days. I would take that happily. I could ride some, get fit, enjoy the hills.
But scotland isn't know for compliance or compromise. It is not known for playing fair, either.
Today i drove for two and a half hours to the place where the forecast suggested i had the best chance of a reasonable window to at least get on the bike before it started raining. If i was in the hills and had to battle my way back, so be it. But no. It never let up until i got back to the car a little over two hours after starting. Pools collecting in my shoes. My water resistant clothing dragging grit and sand over wet, chaffed skin. Morale so low i dont even know how to pick it up.
It hasn't really stopped raining for four weeks. It srated before 10 at kirroughtree. In my mind, the world resembles cormac mccarthy's road milieu. Grey, desolate and broken. I cant help it. I've been here too many times before. It has worn me down. No amount of 'harden the fuck up' is digging me out of this pit of spite.
I'm sick of making the best of the rivers of wet, sandy, grinding paste the trails have become. Sick of the near trench foot and hand. Sick of the 50 meter-at-best visibility. Sick of the cold. Its july for *fucks* sake. July. Sick of looking at the forever-inaccurate Met Office website - desperately searching for somewhere, anywhere, that might allow me a window of opportunity for a ride that doesnt start in the rain.
But, it is not to be, is it?
I am a believer in making your own destiny (though i recoil from how grandiose that sounds). So i have a few choices. Leave this bog of a country with it's squalid 'season' or stop riding unless the weather improves.
I dunno. Pass me the Atlas and i'll think about it.
I feel it when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.'
Oft quoted, Tennyson.
But is it?
i dont know. Maybe it would be better never to have known what you are missing.
I'm done. sick to the back teeth of the constant cycle of hope and disappointment. For the third (or is it fourth?) straight year, i caught myself thinking that maybe this would be a good year. A summer in which we have 3 months of reasonable weather. Not perfect. Not blue-skies-and-little-fluffy-clouds good all the way through. Just a balance of some good, some great and some bad weather days. I would take that happily. I could ride some, get fit, enjoy the hills.
But scotland isn't know for compliance or compromise. It is not known for playing fair, either.
Today i drove for two and a half hours to the place where the forecast suggested i had the best chance of a reasonable window to at least get on the bike before it started raining. If i was in the hills and had to battle my way back, so be it. But no. It never let up until i got back to the car a little over two hours after starting. Pools collecting in my shoes. My water resistant clothing dragging grit and sand over wet, chaffed skin. Morale so low i dont even know how to pick it up.
It hasn't really stopped raining for four weeks. It srated before 10 at kirroughtree. In my mind, the world resembles cormac mccarthy's road milieu. Grey, desolate and broken. I cant help it. I've been here too many times before. It has worn me down. No amount of 'harden the fuck up' is digging me out of this pit of spite.
I'm sick of making the best of the rivers of wet, sandy, grinding paste the trails have become. Sick of the near trench foot and hand. Sick of the 50 meter-at-best visibility. Sick of the cold. Its july for *fucks* sake. July. Sick of looking at the forever-inaccurate Met Office website - desperately searching for somewhere, anywhere, that might allow me a window of opportunity for a ride that doesnt start in the rain.
But, it is not to be, is it?
I am a believer in making your own destiny (though i recoil from how grandiose that sounds). So i have a few choices. Leave this bog of a country with it's squalid 'season' or stop riding unless the weather improves.
I dunno. Pass me the Atlas and i'll think about it.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Forsaken
It had been too long since i'd been in the hills. The weather hadn't been playing: rain had been a constant companion for a week or more. Regardless, it was time to head north. "Summer" will only last for so long and at least it is warm. Ish...
The plan: drive to Blair Atholl, then head up the trail beside the Falls of Bruar. From there track north until i join the Minigaig route. Then back via the Gaick.
The plan: drive to Blair Atholl, then head up the trail beside the Falls of Bruar. From there track north until i join the Minigaig route. Then back via the Gaick.
The Minigaig was an old trade route that replaced Comyn's road, that was in turn created to provide Comyn with his favoured ale from Atholl - at least that is the legend. Rumour also has it that the Gaick trail is haunted - and hence why the longer Wade road through the Drumochter pass became the main road between north and south.
For me a heavy downpour was followed by standard issue scottish dreich for the first leg of the route. The climb past the falls was beautiful, but steep.
Thereafter i joined land rover track passing a small cottage and joining the main track that services Bruar Lodge.
The weather was closing in a little again, but i was well below cloud level and so decided to keep going.
Up until this point a tail wind and a relatively level trail meant good progress.
The initial carry up Carr Uchd a Chlarsair took me quickly into cloud and with a misbehaving Suunto i relied heavily on the quartz topped mini-cairns (and a chance meeting with a walker) to guide me down to the Chaochan Lub stream on the Minigaig proper before climbing on to Leathad an Tahbhain's flank.
I then dropped from the edge of the Coire Bhran to the Allt na Cuilice river- which was to act as my guide west to Glen Tromie and the Gaick. This section was incredibly boggy.
Stopping for a sandwich on one of the grass river banks, i watched as cloud with a rather deep grey colour advanced down the Coire towards me. I reflected on several things: one, the nausea i had felt for a week had not settled. Two, the statement made by my friend mike to his young kids the other day is absolutely true ("there is no bad weather, just bad clothing choices") and three, if weather looks bad, it usually is. I needed to move quickly westwards out of the way of the weather. I used the grass river banks (that required fording the river every 20-30 feet), the peat bog, or some sort of tracked-vehicle trail higher up from the river, but regardless of where i tried to progress, it was brutal and demoralising work.
i dont know how long it took me to get to the Gaick gatehouse, but once there i saw the vehicle i *should* have been in. That or a pugsley for that section would have been great.
Anyways, it was getting late, and i was getting tired. Nausea reared its ugly head again but taking in calories wasnt going to happen. I glugged on some Nuun and carried on. The good quality land rover track mitigated the head wind, and i made it to Gaick Lodge swiftly.
This hunting lodge is owned by none other than Xavier Louis Vuitton and although there were no fantastically expensive leather goods lying around, there was enough shooting paraphernalia to suggest the well healed spent a good amount of time in this remote place.
This hunting lodge is owned by none other than Xavier Louis Vuitton and although there were no fantastically expensive leather goods lying around, there was enough shooting paraphernalia to suggest the well healed spent a good amount of time in this remote place.
The trail had been partially destroyed by scree falls along the steep slopes of the Gaick, out of which one enterprising walker had evidently created a mini stonehenge. Or perhaps a temporary table, who knows.
I climbed above Loch an Duin on some reasonably good fun singletrack trail before fording a deep river with a slabby rock climb out only to find i needed to re-ford it further down the glen.
Back into the teeth of the wind for more land rover track down to the A9 and along the national route 7 from Trinafour to Blair Castle.
i wouldnt recommend doing this route if it has been raining with any significance. It took well over 7 hours and was incredibly slow going in places. I forded the rivers so many times that i cant even begin to count and was lucky they weren't running higher. Despite this the risk to ankles and of a soaking was high. As exposed as this route was in places that counts as 'not good'.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Where has summer gone?
Yo know jo burt: he creates Mint Sauce....as ever, an all too precognitive strip...its been raining pretty much non stop for a week. Please! please dont forsake us again, Summer.
Anyways: where were we?
We were at Kirroughtree. I'm still assimilating thoughts on that one, bear with me...
We were cooking. Going to stick up a recipe for what (so far) has been the best chili con carne i have made. Stoked...
We were looking at our navels because we seem to have developed a peculiar rash. One of the downsides of working with ill people is that when you get a bit run down or have had a step up in exercise levels, you are prone to catching whatever is in the societal incubator...
We have been watching Bear Grylis' Man vs Wild. Its just good fun.
And most of all, we have been sleeping...cats know the story. If she could speak, P Phone would say "do not waste down time - get a good solid kip in". Yo.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Tyre woes.
Davechopoptions was right. Lap 3 of 10 at kirroughtree on the fast downhill i blew a 1cm gash in the rear tyre and lost pressure so fast i nearly flew off the trail. After a protracted amount of time getting the tyre back on the rim (10 hours of rain and copious mud will do that) I slammed a tube in there, musing on the fact that the tyre in question had been ridden something around 7 times in total.
So ended my first ride on a tubeless rear wheel. The crossmark is a great tyre. It hooks up surprisingly well for a low profile tread, it is light and has quite a large volume. But even on wide (stans flow) rims, the sidewall bulges laterally beyond the tread, leaving it susceptible to rock gashes and wear. For the record, i have only worn out 1 crossmark tread, but i cant tell you how many sidewall splits i have had.
It was interesting racing on the Vertigo: it allowed me to ride so much faster over the rocks at kirroughtree. I regularly gained places per lap by out gunning other soloists on the rougher trail.
(pic is shiggy's)
This speed comes at a price though, and the tyres paid it. I need to accept that i need to use thicker tubes, or a meatier tyre to take advantage of the speed this bike will produce on the downs. Continental are bringing out a 29er version of the Rubber Queen tread (to be renamed the Trail King) and also another tyre called X King which will sit somewhere between the Mountain King currently available (my favourite winter and mud tyre) and the low profile Race king tyre.
(photo is jeff kerkoves)
This should give a good range of choices. For the record, i have always got on extremely well with conti tyres. Excellent durability and rubber compound with dependable sidewalls.
But what to do until then? At the moment i'm considering running an ignitor rear and a panaracer rampage front...the Vertigo needs more meat...but i dont want to hamstring it with super heavy/slow rolling tyres. I might look at the race king for the rear of the vertigo, but i suspect it will be a bit of a gamble. Its a huge volume tyre (see shiggy's mtbtire site) and at that weight, there cant be much sidewall material. The jones will stick with tubed crossmark or aspen rear and a mountain king front.
Interestingly, it looks like maxxis are producing some sidewall protection similar to the conti 'ProTection' system....might work well on some of the established treads.
So ended my first ride on a tubeless rear wheel. The crossmark is a great tyre. It hooks up surprisingly well for a low profile tread, it is light and has quite a large volume. But even on wide (stans flow) rims, the sidewall bulges laterally beyond the tread, leaving it susceptible to rock gashes and wear. For the record, i have only worn out 1 crossmark tread, but i cant tell you how many sidewall splits i have had.
It was interesting racing on the Vertigo: it allowed me to ride so much faster over the rocks at kirroughtree. I regularly gained places per lap by out gunning other soloists on the rougher trail.
(pic is shiggy's)
This speed comes at a price though, and the tyres paid it. I need to accept that i need to use thicker tubes, or a meatier tyre to take advantage of the speed this bike will produce on the downs. Continental are bringing out a 29er version of the Rubber Queen tread (to be renamed the Trail King) and also another tyre called X King which will sit somewhere between the Mountain King currently available (my favourite winter and mud tyre) and the low profile Race king tyre.
(photo is jeff kerkoves)
This should give a good range of choices. For the record, i have always got on extremely well with conti tyres. Excellent durability and rubber compound with dependable sidewalls.
But what to do until then? At the moment i'm considering running an ignitor rear and a panaracer rampage front...the Vertigo needs more meat...but i dont want to hamstring it with super heavy/slow rolling tyres. I might look at the race king for the rear of the vertigo, but i suspect it will be a bit of a gamble. Its a huge volume tyre (see shiggy's mtbtire site) and at that weight, there cant be much sidewall material. The jones will stick with tubed crossmark or aspen rear and a mountain king front.
Interestingly, it looks like maxxis are producing some sidewall protection similar to the conti 'ProTection' system....might work well on some of the established treads.
Mo' xtr.
Cycling dirt is not a bad way to while away a rainy sunday morning after an oversized, over-meaty brunch. It would be hard to miss the fact that the BC bike race has been going on recently. Having spent a little time riding in BC, this is a race i would seriously love to do. Not particularly to *compete*, more to experience the epic trails and epic hospitality. Now epic is an oft overused word, but it is entirely appropriate here...
A quick video of stage highlights.
And some helmet cam action.
The BC bike race also marked the end of the xtr embargo. Paul Thomasberg (spend a minute reading that mtb hall of fame entry, well worth it) and his rad mallet finger was there talking to Harlan Price about the features of the new kit. Paul was a hammer on the race scene several years ago and now heads the skunkworks team for shimano developing new groupsets, primarily xtr. He clearly demonstrates his technical savvy in this video. Harlan Price is an experienced and superfast endurance/stage race/super D rider and someone i respect greatly. He asks the insightful questions.
One of the interesting explanations is of the dynasys system. A specifically orientated chain, with a close front ratio chainset and wider ratio block at the back (and hush now! an altered cable pull to shift ratio). The idea is to remove the sudden jumps when changing between the front rings - making the shift similar to one multi-release (2 cog) drop or gain at the rear. If you have ever used multi-release, the concept of having this extended to front shift jumps is great.
But, as mentioned before, it is the brakes that are the belle of the ball. September can't come soon enough.
Oh: and epic? overused?
A quick video of stage highlights.
Visit beta.cyclingdirt.org for more Videos
And some helmet cam action.
Visit beta.cyclingdirt.org for more Videos
The BC bike race also marked the end of the xtr embargo. Paul Thomasberg (spend a minute reading that mtb hall of fame entry, well worth it) and his rad mallet finger was there talking to Harlan Price about the features of the new kit. Paul was a hammer on the race scene several years ago and now heads the skunkworks team for shimano developing new groupsets, primarily xtr. He clearly demonstrates his technical savvy in this video. Harlan Price is an experienced and superfast endurance/stage race/super D rider and someone i respect greatly. He asks the insightful questions.
Visit beta.cyclingdirt.org for more Videos
One of the interesting explanations is of the dynasys system. A specifically orientated chain, with a close front ratio chainset and wider ratio block at the back (and hush now! an altered cable pull to shift ratio). The idea is to remove the sudden jumps when changing between the front rings - making the shift similar to one multi-release (2 cog) drop or gain at the rear. If you have ever used multi-release, the concept of having this extended to front shift jumps is great.
But, as mentioned before, it is the brakes that are the belle of the ball. September can't come soon enough.
Oh: and epic? overused?
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Ready, set...
Its been weeks since Bristol Bike Fest. Time to look ahead and what i see there, looming ever closer - like the proverbial elephant in the room, is No Fuss events '10 at Kirroughtree'.
Last year this same combo kicked my sorry ass. i never really seemed to recover from the battering i got in Bristol and with the kirroughtree course being technical, hot and dusty and with a few short/sharp climbs that unhinged my legs, i felt like the wind had been let almost entirely out of my sails. Confounded by ridiculous and pervasive cramps in my hamstrings, quads and calves (which i would swear on my Endura pro-inserts were caused by my wrongly choosing medium over large bibs) i was left a sorry state for some time after that race.
This year its time to box clever. I'm going to have a go with the Vertigo. I suspect the extra weight of the suspension and gears will be a happy trade. It will be my first ever endurance race with gears. I'm also going to pay much more attention to my hydration and feeding and im also going to get a leg massage before the race.
One would be forgiven for thinking that this will be a pleasurable experience. The last one i had (before Bristol) hurt like razor blade infused kidney stones. No doubt, cyclists never really straighten their legs and my hamstrings are almost certainly tuned to a high pitched scream.
Now all i need to do is get the callouses on my hands off, so i can get some new ones in place...
Friday, July 02, 2010
While out riding...
After riding with ma' brah in edinbourg' last night, i met a dude on the train home whose mate (a certain danny mac) is in a new video....
I think you'll agree its worth a watch.
I think you'll agree its worth a watch.
Hans Peaty MacAskill Highlands from ResetFilms.co.uk on Vimeo.
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