The Rack

02 Wednesday Nov 2011

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I’m a convert to front racks, baskets, and nice canvas bags.  I currently use an Acorn Boxy Rando bag on my Riv, and a small Sackville Saddlesack for tools.  On my “donut bike”, I have a medium sized Wald basket with a Riv Shopsack that I totally love.

Rivendell Front End

I was planning to try out the “low-trail” design, but I’m having trouble justifying getting a new bike just to test this.  I recently rode a few low-trail bikes at my LBS.  I tried a VO Polyvalent, and a Rawland rSogn, but they felt not too much different than my Hilsen in terms of stability with a front load.  I think I just key into trail less than some.

Fall Foliage on the Bridge

I am currently using a Mark’s Rack on this bike.  As I want a bit more platform for the Rando bag, as well as the basket I have been known to sport, I ordered a Nitto/Riv Platrack to add to this.

Rivendell Platrack

I’m probably going to experiment with the struts.  They are supposed to run to the eyelets at the front axle, but I’m more interested in having the same supports from the mid-fork eyelets hold this guy in place.  I think it would look cleaner.  I’m also worried about having more reinforcement from the bottom of the fork, as it may stiffen up the fork in a bad way.  It’s probably psychological, but I’ll see if I can get a quantifiable feel for this.

 

First Wheel

23 Thursday Jun 2011

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I’ve been a lifelong biking enthusiast, and have commuted and worked on my bikes for at least 20 years.  I never built my own wheels, though.  I finally got the gumption up to buy a truing stand, and give it a whirl.

First hand-built wheel

I picked up the basic parts (hubs, spokes, rims) from my local bike shop Free Range Cycles.  They were very helpful and sized the spokes for me.  This was the part I wanted help with the first time through, at least.  The front wheel took most of my Fathers Day – probably 3-4 hours, but I got it all laced up and true.  I used fairly standard XT hubs, and Sun CR18 rims.

My second attempt on the rear wheel went much more quickly, and I started to learn little things that made it a lot easier the second time around.  I can see that doing a bunch of these will make me a more proficient mechanic.  It’s definitely an art, but it is not hard to do if you have the time and inclination.  Pretty cool when you ride the end product, too!

All trued up

Rear Wheel

Finished wheels on bike

First ride - Awesome!

A Stop at Rivendell Headquarters

23 Thursday Jun 2011

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I was on a tech conference trip in Santa Clara last week, and decided to make the trek up to Rivendell headquarters since I was in the area.  This was my second visit since getting my A. Homer Hilsen in 2009.  A co-worker tagged along for the ride, and we had an enjoyable morning in Walnut Creek.  After I found my way up to the garage that is HQ, we walked into the first bay, and true to the last time I visited, nobody was there.  We were browsing around for only a short time, when who else but Grant Peterson himself came in and asked if anyone was helping us.

I asked him if I could take a couple bikes out for a spin, and he asked me my PBH.  Within about 5 minutes, he had set up 4 different bikes for me to ride.  They were all different in a big way:

  • 58cm Hunqapiller (with diagonal tube) with drops bars
  • 54cm Hunqapiller (no diagatube) with moustache bars
  • 58cm SimpleOne in single speed mode with Grip Kings and albatross bars
  • 60cm Bombadil (with diagatube) and bullmoose bars
My observations were that the Hunqas felt very similar from a frame perspective – they both felt like a nice solid steel frame mountain bike.  The cockpits were different, and I found that I really like the moustache setup.  I think it felt familiar to me since I’ve ridden the VO Porteur bars quite a lot.  The smaller frame was also a comfy setup for a mtb for me.  It was probably my favorite ride!  I found the Bombadil to be a bit large for me, but only when I stopped and moved up towards the bars – that tube slopes up quite a bit.  I didn’t really dig the bullmoose bars, but these were the very long reach versions, and since it was a big bike, it was just sized wrong for me.  Besides the sizing, I was in love with the frame, and I felt that the weight was not noticeably worse than a simple diamond frame.  Same observation on the Hunqa.  The SimpleOne was great, but I didn’t like Albas on it, and the Grip Kings weren’t better than my RMX Sneaker pedals (at half the cost), so it sort of fell down my list of bikes to eventually get.  I think I like gears too much.
I picked up some shifters, pedals, wool, and various other items, and vowed that I’d be ordering something soon.  Everyone we talked to there was helpful.  Grant’s got a great business, and his customer service model is to be envied.

Bike to Work – Changes Afoot

23 Monday May 2011

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Goodbye Basket, My Old Friend...

I generally feel like it’s a bad idea to make changes when you’re trying to go above and beyond, but I’ve always been a tweaker. I felt it was time to try drops again, with the amazing May Seattle both-way wind. When I got them on, the basket became unwieldy. There is just not much leverage with drops, and the bag I use (Rivendell Shop Sack) is bumping the hoods, so I decided to go rando mode, again…

Since I was changing things, I also put some nice light tires on to see if I could feel a difference. I went with Grand Bois 700c x 30mm Cypres. They are definitely light, and measure in at about 31mm on my Synergy rims. I have them at 65psi rear, and 50 front. They definitely feel nice so far. The gravel road handling is just fine with these tires. They climb right up the short steep dirt part of my commute, and I didn’t have any slippage. So far, I love em. They look great, too. Not as unique as the Jack Browns, but great just the same.

I’m still unsure about the drops. Less control, but more aero position is definitely a tradeoff. My neck is feeling a bit tired at the end of the day, and I haven’t had that happen since the last time I was on drops. I’m hoping I get used to it. I did have a zen moment a few times on the ride home tonight while gripping right where the flats curve forward into the hoods. It felt right.

Update to Bars and Cranks

18 Wednesday May 2011

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New compact double crank and rando bars

OK – 2 days under the belt and about 40 miles.  I like the cranks.  It seems the 5mm difference is noticeable, but not a change for the worse.  I seem to be fine in the knees, and it is not affecting my average speeds or feeling of power output.

On the bars, I’ve been tweaking the layout – I put the drops at about 17 degrees, and moved the shifters back a bit to fit my hands.  It’s a bit weird to be so laid out, but not bad so far.  My back and neck seem to be fine.  I feel like it is definitely helping me fight the wind to be more aero.  The problem with biking in May is I’m going into the wind both ways – it blows from the south in the morning, an the north in the evening.  I love getting low in the drops when that happens.  I do like the flare of the drops in the rando bars.  I also don’t mind the narrow width so far compared to the 46cm Noodles I had been using.

The cassette is going to have to go.  The 8-speed SRAM 12-30 is not ideal for the chainline – the spacer by the hub pushes the 7-speed cassette out, and this seems to help.  I also like the 34 tooth big cog on the 7.  I’m cleaning it up, and that bad boy is going back in service.  The LX derailleur is no better or worse than the DuraAce it replaced.  The front derailleur is still creeping in on the big ring, and I constantly have to trim it.  I need a new derailleur – if I can find a nice Campy compact double, I need to snap it up.  Riv used to sell them :(

Oh yeah – no basket.  I’m dumping the basket on the Riv.  Going to stick with the Acorn bags…