29 Wednesday May 2013
Posted in Cycling
Tags
I did another diamond (harlequin) tape wrap on my Hunqapillar with Albatross bars. I’m liking the gray and maroon cotton Newbaums tape as a match for the bike. I will eventually put clear shellac and darken the gray tape a bit, but for now, I’m enjoying the raw cotton feel. Here are some pics from the process:
Half-done
Cat’s view
With Dog
6 per side
Grip with Cork Underneath
Forward Grip Curves
29 Wednesday May 2013
Posted in Cycling
Tags
B17, break-in method, brooks, leather saddle, leather saddle discomfort, Lon Haldeman, mink oil, rivet pearl, sitz bones, sitz bonz, soften leather saddle
Rivet Pearl
Disclaimer – you will possibly ruin your saddle if you try this, and there is no way that any manufacturer will recommend this. However, if you are planning on selling/trading/or tossing a new leather saddle that isn’t working for you, this may be worth trying…
Further information from the manufacturer (Rivet): Using this procedure will certainly invalidate the 365-day warranty. It falls square into the “altering” the saddle category, so only do this as a very last resort! See this page for proper care of this saddle.
Have a saddle that didn’t quite break in fast enough, or ever? Disclaimer 2: this process will probably half the life of a saddle. But…if half the life of the saddle brings you discomfort, who cares. Especially on a leather saddle which probably has a lifespan of several decades. If I get 10 years from a comfortable saddle, that is far better than 20 years with only the 2nd half being bearable, right?
Here’s what you do (the following process is a summary of Lon Haldeman’s famous Brooks Break-in method):
The next day, if the saddle is still stiff, repeat the above procedure. If it is more pliable, go for a longer ride and see how it feels.
Soaked
The back story on this particular saddle isn’t that interesting. I have about 500 miles of commuting on it, and while the shape is superb, the spot where my sitz bonz sat was hard as a rock, and didn’t seem to be getting any better. I could ride it with padded shorts for short distances, but no padz, no wayz!
I was ready to throw in the towel on this saddle, but decided that I had spent the money, and wasn’t quite ready to give up. Now this saddle is not a pure leather variety like a classic Brooks B17 or Pro, but has a waterproof coating layer on top, so I wasn’t so sure I wouldn’t be wrecking it. Ahhh, risk – gotta love the adrenaline. I’ve never done the Lon Haldeman treatment on a Brooks, but I did butcher one not long ago, and that turned out OK…
Some slight wrinkling
After the treatment, I observed a bit of a change to the top layer. It seemed to show the underlying layers a bit more, and even exposed the frame around the side rivets. There was no major issue around edge separation, so the saddle is still intact and solid. The shape also remained consistent. The leather around the right sitz area was definitely harder than the rest of the saddle, and I massaged it (with a rubber mallet, even) more than the rest of the saddle to get it to relax. It seems to have done the trick. Lotz of mink oil helps…
Honey, your frame is showing
I noticed on the following day’s ride that I could actually feel the steel frame through the saddle on the right side. I scanned the saddle from above and it appeared to be ever so slightly askew – like the frame was slightly oriented to the right side. I did what any sensible man would do and turned the saddle slightly to the right to move the trouble spot back out of the sitz area. Voila!!! Perfection!
The next day – 20+ miles with no padded shorts and the saddle disappeared underneath me. Now thatz what I’m talkin’ bout!
A new saddle!
23 Thursday May 2013
Posted in Cycling
Tags
albatross, bike bags, bike basket, bike commuting, commuting, country bike, Hunqapillar, midge, nitto, rambler, rivendell, truck
Back when I was riding a mountain bike to work regularly, I bought Albatross bars to get a more upright position. While I enjoyed the wide range of positions for my hands, the one issue I had was a lesser ability to get “aero” when it was windy. In my rambling experiments, these fell out of fashion after a time and I moved on to drops.
Original Albas
I recently revived the bars when I wanted to get my camp bike set up for an upcoming Seattle/Portland Riv Ramble that will be happening near the halfway point of Packwood, WA. I started the conversion away from the road-friendly Nitto Noodles to the more dirt oriented Midge bars. They seemed to be too much of a compromise in that they didn’t offer the feel of drops with the big vertical differences, and didn’t have an “upright” position.
Midge Conversion
The Albatross bars are all about upright, but also flare forward of the stem for a stretched position. There is also the near-stem narrow position that gets one in a nice aero setup, as well. I had an older mountain bike stem from a ’92 Stumpjumper Pro that had enough reach to push the Albatross bars out far enough to get that aero position I need for the windy days, as well as enabling me to extend the bar ends back even more with bar end shifters. Here’s what it looks like:
Albatross with long stem
I got a chance this week to test the wind theory, with a couple commutes. May is a great month for me as the wind often shifts mid-day giving me headwinds both ways. Using the inner hand position, I was able to get a nice aero tuck on the bike. Holding the forward curves also kept me out of the wind, and if I bent my elbows, I could get nearly as aero as on drop bars. The leverage from 56cm bars is another great benefit of these bars.
Bars from the back
Riding with Albas may even be safer on a commute. For example, I take a route that runs downhill on a busy arterial on the way into work, and often cars are backed up across intersections. There is constant danger of cars/bikes/people crossing in front of me between stopped traffic. I noticed right away that riding upright affords a much better view of traffic and potential collision fodder. Side benefit or primary if you’re a safety hound…
Bagger
OK – I’m not fooling myself, part of why I like this setup is that it is the configuration of the Riv video that originally piqued my interest in the Hunqapillar, and it gives the bike a different, more specific setup than my other bikes. It really is a country rambler, camp/tour bike now with the capacity to be a great commuting “truck” when I need/want to carry a lot of cargo. As it is a stiffer bike than the Homer, it feels both heavier, and more solid when carrying loads. That’s great if I’m not tired out, but I’ll have to evaluate it after a couple days of touring around in the hills.
11 Saturday May 2013
Posted in Cycling
The last time I picked up bike commuting after a two year hiatus in Minnesota, it took a while to get back into the pattern of fitness. I recall being very tired by the end of the 2nd commute, and was fairly disenchanted with the weather. I stuck it out, however, and don’t even recall what drove me, but after a month or so, I realized that I was looking forward to the bike every morning.
Waiting for the train
Eventually, I lost interest in using the automobile for work unless I had a cross-town meeting for lunch. Even then, I found myself putting off meetings like that for weeks. I enjoy propelling myself to and from work too much. When I got behind the wheel, I found the experience both frustrating (traffic), and frightening (speed). The slower pace of the bicycle (as well as the quietness) acclimatized me to not be as comfortable at highway speeds. I’m sure this was how folks felt when motorized vehicles were introduced. The speed thing was especially interesting, as I am a soul that loves to speed along in any way I can. I have always enjoyed downhill skiing over cross country, downhill mountain biking over climbing, and bombing hills in the big ring. Heck – I was a sprinter in track – not the cross country racer I was built for. I think it’s the freedom and energy I get when I’m on the edge of control and wind is whipping past. It’s an awesome feeling! You never get that in a cage (car).
Waiting for the bridge
Another thing I love about the bike commute: although the pics in this post show times even bikes have to wait, for the most part you can go as fast as you want on a bike commute and keep things legal. You aren’t stopped by the mundane speed limit laws constantly reeling in the ridiculously over-built engines on racer-boy cars. Nothing like seeing a vehicle that can go 180mph driving the kids to school, or the exec to work. Talk about reigned in and collared! On a bike, if there is a traffic issue, I go around it or find another route. I can purposely choose a relatively empty way home even on “game days” when traffic is in gridlock.
Gridlock
At this point, my poor truck is rapidly becoming a classic Seattle-style moss and pollen collector, and I think about selling it every week. One of these days I will realize I haven’t driven in weeks and just take the car-free plunge.
Taking the empty, beautiful road
07 Tuesday May 2013
Posted in Cycling
Jan and Seattle Randonneurs
There has been a lot of debate in the steel bike internets about Grant Petersen and Jan Heine, which one is “right” about bike design, and various merits of their writings. I have been following both since 2008, when I moved back to Seattle and started commuting again in earnest. Now I should express full disclosure that I’m a Rivendell owner (obvious from my posts), but I have also ridden a few low trail bikes like the Rawland rSogn and VO Polyvalent with and without front loads. OK – not an expert by any means, and I certainly won’t try to resolve this debate here…
I see Grant and Jan as modern writers akin to sports/hobby guys such as those I read as a youth growing up in the Midwest. Back in my formative days, I was very interested in hunting and voraciously read all there was to read in the journals of the time. I still hunting as a romantic, meditative soul-soup activity that recharges me from time in the rat race, but I also get this from bike riding, randonneuring, and build/mechanic work.
Grant is sort of a Jack O’Connor (writer for Outdoor Life) who has great stories, and likes classic bikes that are designed in a certain way. His bikes use steel, lugs, oversized tubing, mid-trail geometry, large tires, leather saddles, and upright bars and riding positions. He likes bikes that are fun to ride everyday, and useful for a wide range of folks. He especially fits those that are on the larger or smaller size physically, and really tries to keep his designs consistent for his riders whether they are 6’6″ or 4’10”. He puts a lot of character (and characters) in his writing, and talks about other loves like cameras, fitness, and camping overnights.
Jan does a great job of appealing to the more technical or race oriented riders, and his love of the romance of the randonneur and the long rides fuel his efforts in soulful stories that inspire people like me to try endurance cycling (whether we should or not). Kind of an Elmer Keith who comes at things from a different angle but goes into it a bit more heavy on the “science”. He designs components, like Keith (who designed bullets and magnum handgun cartridges). His style is, in my opinion, more authoritative or perhaps parental which can put folks off when he pisses on someone’s dream bike, but I believe he tries to be fair, and just has an opinion he really believes to be true.
What I really like about both of these guys is that they work hard to put out a lot of interesting content, they both run successful businesses that rely on the reputation of their word, and they aren’t afraid to express themselves. I hope they continue to inspire bikers for a long time to come!
Cycle Seattle 