26 Saturday Jan 2013
Posted in Cycling
Tags
I’m going to head over to Rob Harrison’s Seattle garage tomorrow at 1pm for a demo of how to wrap handlebars in the Harlequin wrap style. Let me know if you are interested in swinging by. There will be a few other RBW list members stopping by…
Brian
13 Sunday Jan 2013
Posted in Cycling
Tags
a. homer hilsen, acorn bags, ahh, beer, bicycle, bike, burke gilman, jack brown, just ride, randonneur, Ride, rivendell, Rivet saddle, Seattle, sidi gtx
Night Ride, a set on Flickr.
This week’s WTS ride was called off due to icy conditions. I will miss next week’s due to a trip, so I put in a few miles tonight on the Burke Gilman Trail. It was about 30 degrees, but with little wind I stayed warm in 2 layers of merino and a soft shell top. My Sidi winter boots are not keeping my feet warm below 40 degrees, so I need to take some warmers with next time I’m out in this temp. The Hilsen made it over many an ice patch with no issues. Even with the nearly treadless Jack Browns. I had a nice comfy session on the Rivet saddle. This is the first time I’ve had it on this bike. It has some potential for longer rando rides. The Acorn bag continues to score highly. I put the tools in the bottom of the main compartment, and took the rear bag off the bike. It handles fine, and I even dropped in a 6-pack and a big bottle of beer for the final quarter mile. Utility rocks. All smiles when I got back. Love these clear cool Seattle nights!
13 Sunday Jan 2013
Posted in Cycling
I always thought that a shorter “women’s” saddle should work great for the fellas. There is less nose to get in the way of your junk, right? I saw my chance to try one when Kent Peterson posted for sale a ti Brooks Finesse. I pounced thinking it would be a great way to try both a ti Brooks and a short nose saddle.
B17 on left, Finesse on right
It was a bit on the dry side, so I put a few coats of Proofide on it to soften it up a bit. The first thing I noticed is how nice the brown leather looks. It’s like having a nice piece of wood with unique grain. The copper rivets and nameplate were a nice match for my copper Hilsen, as well. The thing felt like it weighed about half of my normal B17 Special. All systems go!
Copper plate
The first few commutes dialed it in, and I found that I was getting similar comfort to the B17 I was used to. This saddle has more of a Team Pro shape, and I liked how it was easy to slip around on while riding. No sticky points. I really liked the shape – the sides are molded inward a bit more, and less apt to stick out and rub your thighs. The one area I wasn’t sure about was the nose. It seemed to pop up a bit more than I liked, and to get it to the angle I needed it at for my sit bones, I could feel the nose tip. This turned out to be the rub for me. I really didn’t like having that upward push happening further back than on the normal “men’s” saddles I ride. It wasn’t painful, just there. A good saddle is supposed to disappear beneath you…
First long ride
I ended up taking it on a longer ride (38 miles), and it was comfortable, but when I reached the finish, I decided it was time to end the experiment. I knew that after 100 miles, this slight bump would become a royal pain in the taint! No go. Oh well, it is a really nice saddle. I may hold on to it for a while and see if my wife or daughter find it to their liking. Next up – I’m going to try the Rivet Pearl (again) on a longer ride. I may have it just about dialed in this time, and the shape is superb!
Side view of the B17 – notice the longer flat nose
The Finesse is more of a bowl – less nose…
09 Wednesday Jan 2013
WTS 1 Redmond – Carnation, a set on Flickr.
Seattle Randonneurs (SIR) puts on a Winter Training Series in January that gets us ready for the spring series of riding. It’s interesting in that it is usually pretty dismal weather, but I have to remember that 30’s and 40’s aren’t bad when compared to my old stomping grounds (Minnesota).
To that end I rode in the first ride of the series this year, and will try to get in as many as I can. This ride started in Redmond and went out to Carnation and back in a nice hilly loop that had about 2300 feet in elevation gain. The second hill was a killer, but there were some really great descents. Nearly no traffic on this route, and fairly good roads. I rained on us most of the route, but I didn’t hit any slippery spots.
As the bike goes, I was riding the Hilsen in rando garb. The Acorn Tall Boxy Rando bag was awesome and useful. I had extra clothes in it and a clif bar, but not much else. I also brought 2 bottles of h2o and only used one in the 38 miles we rode. I had the Brooks Finesse Ti saddle I recently purchased from Kent Peterson on the bike. While it was comfortable, I think I am going to go back to a full size saddle as it felt odd to me – not as much room to move around? Perhaps it was just less gripping area from what I am used to. I still want to give the Rivet a chance on a longer ride – perhaps I’ll put that one back on…
28 Friday Dec 2012
Posted in Cycling
Tags
bar tape, cloth tape, diamond wrap, handlebar tape, harlequin, harlequin wrap, Hunqapillar, Newbaum's, rivendell
Taping the Diamonds
This is a short how-to video on doing a Harlequin (diamond pattern) bar wrap with cloth tape on drop bars. I am definitely not a video professional, so this may not be helpful, but I’ve done over 10 bar wraps using this method, and it works. As I can’t find a good video tutorial on how to do this, I figured I would contribute what I could to the cause. I hope you enjoy it. This pattern is unique and really classes up a bike. I originally learned this via Jim Varnum’s excellent photo tutorial linked here: http://www.wastedlife.org/bike/harlequin/index.html
Progress!
Cycle Seattle 