MTB Update

18 Wednesday May 2011

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My snow bike has been morphed back into a regular mountain bike.

I added a Brooks seat, properly color coordinated, and put Schwalbe Big Apples on it for commuting.  It was used for my 9-mile commute and performed admirably,  albeit sort of like a big sail with the upright position.  With the shock and the Big Apples, it’s severely cushy, though.  A real Cadillac.

I may keep this bike around for awhile, at least until I can add a newer steel frame to the stable. There are only a few components I will keep on this bike over time.  The whole drive train is quite worn, and needs replacing.  It’s amazing how much better the simple Sugino cranks are in comparison to the “modern” Shimano/SRAM stuff.  The rings look like they were stamped from sheet metal and bent to shape.  Garbage.

I also need some simple pedals that are uniform on both sides.  I really like the MKS Sneaker pedals, and may try the Grip Kings for this kind of bike.  I will keep the wheels and Big Apple tires – great ride on/off road if it’s not muddy.  I may experiment with other shifting options – the XT Thumbshifters are nice, but I’ve moved on at this point, and can really see the advantage of a modern mountain brifter for off-road riding.  I’m fine with friction for the road, but there are more extreme transitions in the dirt, and quickness can save your ass.

Cranks and Crankstas

18 Wednesday May 2011

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I am doing some changes on the Hilsen at a most inopportune time of the year – Bike to Work Month.

I had picked up a compact double Sugino crank in 170mm instead of my usual 175mm.  As long as I can remember, I’ve always ridden 175s, and lately my psyche was telling me that my legs were extending up too far and it would help my knees to go with a shorter crank.

It seems like internet-lore is very inconsistent on the “proper” length of cranks, although there is a lot of pseudo science about it.  I decided to do my normal “test it myself” routine.  I left the Tange bottom bracket that came on the bike, and simply swapped the crank out.  The old crank was a triple 24-36-46, and the new one is 34-48.  I also changed out the chain and cassette as it was quite gunked up.  I got a Wipperman 808 that I love – best connector link I’ve used – super simple.  I slapped on my older SRAM 8-speed 12-30.

The DuraAce 7800GS I have used since the bike was new has never had a warm spot in my heart, and I had been reading good things about the LX derailers.  I picked up one cheap on e-bay, and set it up, as well.

Since I was in a changing mood, I also swapped my Porteur bars and bar-end shifters for Nitto Randonneur bars and down-tube shifters.  I always liked having the clean simplicity of this shifting setup, and it’s been windy lately, so I wanted to get more aero.

Phew – lots of change in the middle of a high-mileage month.  I’ll give a more detailed report on how this is working out later this week.

Resurrected MTBs

25 Friday Mar 2011

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I saw an article in one of Grant Peterson’s Rivendell Readers last year talking about the great old steel lugged mountain bikes of the 80s. I have a ’91 Stumpjumper Pro, and a ’96 Kona AA (aluminum), and always liked the Stumpy better – it’s on my restoration project list. It just felt more right for me than the Kona, and I think it was mainly due to a combination of its steel construction, good components (SunTour XC Pro), and it being my first MTB. The Kona always felt stiff, dead, and a bit unwieldy.

I have a friend who wanted to get back into biking.  He was planning on picking up a new bike and indicated he had an older mountain bike from his school days.  I took a look at it, and fell in love with the bike – it was an ’80s Jamis lugged bike, and I was inspired to try to resurrect it.  After he picked up some new parts for the bike, I built it up for him in a few days.  It turned out to be a good commuter for him.  Originally his bars were too low for his back, but we got him a “dirt drop” stem and boosted them up quite a bit.  He’s nice and comfy with the high bars, and is now even eyeing changing them to the Albatross bars to get even more upright.

Rebuilt for commuting

After enjoying this build, I decided to find a nice lugged MTB that I could resurrect for myself – I figured it would be a great winter commuter.  I ended up looking at a number of Bridgestones, an ’84 Stumpy, and an ’88 Miyata.  The last one really worked for me based on price, condition, and parts.  It was all XT, and the frame pump mount and clean, beautiful brake-less seat stays (u-brakes) made it a no-brainer.  It was very similar to my friend’s Jamis, but had a bit of extra clearance so I could easily fit Schwalbe Big Apples.  Wow – comfy!

80s lugs in the snow

 

Rawland, Riv, and Trail

25 Friday Mar 2011

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As a Rivendell owner, and Bicycle Quarterly reader, I have become aware of the trail conundrum in bike handling with a front load.  I have an A. Homer Hilsen that I have set up with both a front basket,

Front basket porteur style

and an Acorn Boxy Rando bag.

Back from a winter ride

I have carried up to 10 lbs in front on a number of occasions, and while it takes a few pedals to get used to the weight, it comes out just fine.  Jan Heine of Bicycle quarterly has made a strong case for lower trail numbers on a bike that will be carrying a front load.  This was a common geometry of nice French randonneuring bicycles in the 40’s and 50’s.

Rawland has been designing an update of their Sogn all-rounder with low trail numbers.  I am very tempted to try one out and see if I can tell the difference.  I may wait for a while as a few of the Seattle Riv riders are likely getting one.  I’ll hopefully be able to take one for a spin…

Snow Commuter

25 Friday Feb 2011

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I had built a set of snow stud tires a few years ago after a particularly long spell of snow in Seattle.  I hadn’t gotten a chance to use them in last year’s mild winter, and put them away.  In the meantime, I got a new “old” frame that I swapped out all my MTB components on and made a new winter bike.  The problem is that my new bike wouldn’t fit the snow stud tires.  I ended up rebuilding the old mountain bike frame into a dedicated snow beast.  I finished it earlier this year, but too late to test it in the early winter snow we had.

Well – I got my chance on Wednesday.  It was forecast to be a rough commute home with 2-6″ of new snow.  Needless to say, I rode the bike in, and home on dry pavement (figures), and discovered a few things I had learned a long time ago.

  1. Commuting on a mountain bike is no fun.
  2. Thin handlebars with plain old cotton tape is not too comfy – I prefer cork tape overwrapped with cotton for a added girth.
  3. I really like thumb shifters and v-brakes!
  4. A non-leather hammock seat (in this case a WTB) modern seat is not comfortable to me – I developed hot spots on the “cushy” seat after only a few miles.  I’m sticking with Brooks.
  5. Studded knobby tires are a waste of time unless you are on deep snow.  I went through more snow on Schwalbe Big Apple road tires with little problem earlier this year, and they were definitely less work.

I hate to say it, but this bike will quickly be sold, or just become a dedicated mountain bike again.  Sometimes what appears to be bitchin’ is really just lame…