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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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

Shaggy on the WHW double.

Go john!

Follow here ...

If i'm going to be wet....

Maybe i need to change sports...

WildWater North Fork Payette Teaser from Anson Fogel on Vimeo.

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.

Gnarley marley gets a new ride...

See jeff's blog...outstanding!

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 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.

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'.

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.

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.

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.

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?

A place called Vertigo.

Sean has been busy....*rad* bike....

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...

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.

Hans Peaty MacAskill Highlands from ResetFilms.co.uk on Vimeo.

First tubeless attempt.

Background. I dont like nasty solvents. I have had very good luck running tubes weighing anywhere between 90 and 150g, at low psi with very few punctures and i dont live in an area with many thorns. However, the Vertigo is encouraging me to hit nasty, rocky trails harder: It is inevitable that i am going to puncture more. Meantime i've been using thick 26" tubes, with minimal problems, but they arent light and the feel of the tyre changes. So, out of curiosity and with the growing knowledge base and experience with Effetto Mariposa Cafe Latex, i decided to set sale for tubeless paradise.

Before starting, i did a fair chunk of interweb researching (a.k.a swimming through bullshit) and decided on a hybridised system....

First i drilled out the flow rim inner valve hole to 9.5mm. Then wrapped the rim in red 25mm effetto tape: installed the tyre and left it for an hour at 40psi. As you will no doubt imagine, it still had some bubbles under the tape when i removed the tyre and tube, but, like, whateva....



Next i added a stans flow strip (thanks just riding along!) and neatened it up....popped the tyre on, which inflated easily with my track pump. So, i deflated it, and whapped the circumference a la stans instructional video.

After spilling sealant all over the place i worked out the Effetto injector isnt valved, so got most of the rest of it - with about 5mm of pvc sheet filed into dust - into the tyre. The pvc dust should act as a clotting agent to allow the liquid to seal holes larger than pin pricks. With precisely 5% more than zero effort, i inflated it to 40 psi.

Initially there was a few hisses, but a lot less than i expected. With some funk on the stereo, i wobbled it around a la stans video again, turned it over, wiped with water and....

...... nothing - no hisses, no bubbling. So now i leave it on its side for a bit and maybe turn it over and see how we go eh?

I may need more sealant. I may need more pvc dust. Time will tell. More later.

2011 xtr.

As ever in the mtb arms race, shimano have managed to keep most of the new xtr group underwraps until very close to the release date...however, pictures and rumours are circulating.



The new brakes look extremely svelte, with a trail version and a race version - differences being the adjustments available, and hence the weight.




The shifter looks like it will mount neatly to the brake lever clamp. The crank has a different aesthetic from m970 and the tensioning mechanism seems to have reverted to the older style, as carried on the rest of the cranks. The mech is definitely less stylised (it always bothered me with m970 that the logo was incorporated so heavily into the structure) shifting across a similar range but increased number of cogs (10 speed, with availability of double or triples up front).

I think in the near future i see a xc race bike. Something that will take a suspension fork, or run rigid. It will run 1x9, or singlespeed. It will also hand me my ass, i'm certain. Hard to see past the cannondale hollowgram cranks and some xtr....we'll see.

Mo' blues....

Modifications.

The more things change...

The Vertigo has had a wee bit of an update. An Eriksen 30.9 post, just cos. An xtr shifter: the clamp mechanism is narrower and has more lateral adjustment. The jones bars make setting up rapidfire a touch more difficult and this helps. Functionally seems similar to the Saint shifter, but the multi release (2 shifts to smaller cogs possible in one go) is excellent.

An ignitor on the front. Dunno if its a wear issue (it doesnt look too worn), but the ardent seems to have given up on any form of traction. Fortunately. ignitors still rock.

XXC

Ozymandias

By Percy Shelley.

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Pork an' beans.

Got some good advice from some of ma peeps on barbecue technique. Theres obviously not a lot of aussie man in me, as i was struggling with my weber. Still, got it going eventually: good flavour and succulence on the meat. Mixed it up with some pork an' beans.



Sort of. Heres a w.park kerr mix for your beans and meat and rice supper. Sounds simple tastes supreme, especially with a lump of meat and a Pale Ale....



Cook some rice. My technique is pretty simple, white organic or mix white and brown basmati, put in a jug and pour water in until you have about double the volume of the rice. Then dump in a thick bottom pan with a teaspoon of salt flakes. use a little water to rinse the remaining grains from the jug, and pour into pan - in total you're aiming for about 120% water to rice...gottit?

Ok. bring to just shy of rolling boil, and take down to minimum simmer with lid on. Leave for 12 mins and then switch off. Do not open the lid at any point unless you think there is a major issue. Set aside.



Get some good quality italian pork sausage (uncooked, skin removed) and crumble it into another thick bottom pan, then cook on a low heat....til its browning. add a big, chopped yellow onion, some good chile powder, ideally chimayo or similar new mexico style, 3-4 cloves garlic chopped up, some dried oregano, toasted cumin seeds ground up,



Then you want to crack open another beer....



Add a little oil if the sausage was light on the fat and cook it down for a few minutes. When the onions are beginning to go a little soft, add two cans of kidney beans, drained and 250-350 ml of chicken stock and a can of tomatoes chopped up in their juices.



If you can, roast some green chiles over a naked flame, skin, chop and add. Or you could just use some chopped, dried-off pickled chiles. Reduce everything down (including your beer) over a brisk heat, stirring the goeey stuff off the bottom of the pan, but try not to mush the beans.

Grab another beer. Sit down with your lady, spoon out some of the now cooled, dry, rice, and some pork an' beans over the top. Carve off some meat.Maybe some 'slaw. Enjoy.

Folk used to look at me a bit funny....

...when i brought a skip rope to warm up for cyclocross.



But i've been training, yo.

Is video the new photo?

I tend to like lucas brunelle's stuff. I'm never quite sure about glorifying the cat and mouse game of cycling in heavy traffic....you *know* that someone is going to copycat and the stakes are as high as they get...but there is a gritty hedonism that catches the act better than most courier/street/fixed vids'.

It is showing at the Bicycle Film Festival this year, along with The Birth of Big Air. Go condor!....



Hoffman still rules.

Then there is Brian Vernor's new film - The Cyclocross Meeting....



Awesome stuff, as ever.

Stoopid.

The stoopid 50 is a race i'd love to do. On ace trails near state college and put on by chris scott what is not to like?

Here is a couple of vides of matt ferrari (love those sideburns, the kit and the hubcap matt!) ... chris is narrating in his own, inimitable, style :-)~

Cycling Videos on CyclingDirt

...and jeff schalk...

Cycling Videos on CyclingDirt

(from cycling dirt )

Maybe next year....

Verbier.

As some of you will know, we have been in Verbier, Switzerland, for a bit. We stayed in an amazing apartment: the view from the balcony alone was a holiday in itself. Needless to say with some helpful hints (Rob/Jonas: thanks!) i got to ride some spectacular trails.



Got to be careful when looking at the scenery though. It's a long way down.



The bike performed flawlessly. These are some of the first trails i've ridden in the last 10 years plus, where i have had to lower my saddle.



A good way to recover from the Bristol 12, where i managed to squeeze out a 2nd place in the solo singlespeed cat. Read about it here.



A special thanks goes to all those who kept me riding when i veered violently between being an aching curmudgeon and a moaning bastard. Do i actually enjoy these things? Well do i ?!? Who knows....

Aint got nuttin.

Spent this afternoon getting my legs kneaded and pummelled. I think folk who dont get a decent (sports) massage somehow misinterpret that it will be a 'nice' experience.

Its not that it isnt 'nice': more that it hurts. A lot. Especially if you havent had one for a while. My mileage has upped considerably witht e coming of the sun, and being out on the skeletor has added a new body position to get used to. So lets just say my legs are tight. Marbles under the skin tight.

Anyway, ill hobble around this evening then things should be loosening up for bristol bike fest. Last year i (think) i was 5th overall in the solo...but with the overnight drive down, i doubt thats going to be realistic. Also i seem to be in the singlespeed class. My aim is to spend the first few laps enjoying the course, and if its going well, give 'errrrr, if not keep it tight but loose...

As its a race i'm going to try out a race tyre. Ive been playing around with tyrs recently. 2.4 Schwalbe Racing Ralphs were briefly mounted, but we didnt get on too well. Back to soft compound cross marks rear and mountain king front for its great edge.

Then this arrived at just riding along.....



590g and the sidewalls seem to have some meat to them....As long as i avoid thorns i should be golden.....

;-)~

Woulda shoulda couldnta.

Would have liked to ride today. It was all sunny and warm. But there was stuff that needed to be done...

Ah well, soon...



From Here.

It is a little known fact that i dont have a one track mind.

I am also interested in coffee. And beer. And maybe music.

It was with great pleasure that i received an offering from gfunk savalas: "taste this!" he cried, "for it is the liquid form of pleasure!"

And you know, he spook sooth.

Get yourself some love.

Man cave.

I burried myself in the man cave this evening and finally got the spooky skeletor together....had a short spin, and thankfull, i like it. It feels comfortable, and the handling is razor sharp, but not at the expense of stability. Good....should make a nice office to get some work done. Mickey sends the graphics separately, but Im thinking i might leave it dark and mysterious......



I also decided to follow through with my promise to try different bars on BA. First up, the Luv Handles from Groovy. The grips need removed, despite being freshies - when you get used to ESI nothing else will do.



Apart from that, they feel slightly narrow. Weird given that they are the same as jones bars width wise. Must be the sweep....still, i'll ride them and see. There is a glimmering of an idea as to what will end up in place, but thats going to require some thought...

Aesthetically they suit the bike, atmo, but if they dont cut the mustard they will be swapped out.



When i had them on the IF cross bike i found them too stiff for anything too rough, or longer than 3 hours but the reba should mitigate that...



So ends an evening of messing about....Have i said how much i like my effeto mariposa torque wrench?

MAD

The Museum of Arts and Design in New York is hosting an exhibition titled 'Bespoke: the handbuilt bicycle'. Jeff has a bike there....heres a short video...

EHBE

Ertzuii films. Some mad, some bad and some rad.

Here.