06 Tuesday Dec 2011
Posted in Cycling
Platrack, a set on Flickr.
I removed the Wald basket when I did the Populaire, and have left it off for the past few weeks to get a feel for usability “naked”. While I have to lash the cargo down a bit more, the small cargo net I use works well. I picked up a box of donuts on the way in to work today, and carried a laptop home on the front rack with no problems, and minimal movement. This set shows the rack a bit more in its raw form.
01 Thursday Dec 2011
Posted in Cycling
Tags
a. homer hilsen, basket, cargo net, commute, Mark's Rack, nitto, platrack, populaire, rando, rivendell, road bike
Having convinced myself that low trail is not the holy grail of front loading bicycles (i.e. I don’t have a problem with my higher trail bike), I added a Nitto Platrack (Rivbike.com) to my Hilsen. I’ve used it now for a few weeks of bike commuting, as well as a 100k Populaire ride with the local randonneur club.
Rivendell Front Loader
Observations so far:
With Wald Basket and Cargo Net
The advantages are mainly around having a larger platform. This makes it a lot easier to transport bulky items without needing a basket, but if you like the built in container a basket provides, it will give it that much more support when loaded. I.E. no wobble. It just feels solid.
Other Side
From the Cockpit
Verdict: Solid! Recommended! I will be running this combo for the foreseeable future. I don’t feel it gets in the way, and adds enough versatility to make it worth keeping for commute duty, without being “in the way” for a longer distance ride. I’m not racing, so I’m not counting grams. That said, I don’t feel this makes me any slower on a rando. Tires are something I feel much more when I change things out.
01 Thursday Dec 2011
Posted in Cycling
Tags
albatross, cockpit version, dirt drop, local bike shop, moustache bars, nitto, noodles, porteur, randonneur, road bike
I always come back to the Porteur and basket setup. It seems to be the most consistently comfortable and useful cockpit I’ve had on my commuter/road bike yet. I’ve had about 6 revisions including:
Nitto Noodle 46cm – 11cm Nitto Technomic stem
Porteur (VO) – same stem
Nitto Noodles – 10cm Dirt Drop stem
Porteur (VO) – 8cm Nitto Technomic stem
Nitto Randonneur 45cm – same stem
Porteur (VO) – back to the 11cm original
Cockpit version 6.0
18 Wednesday May 2011
Posted in Cycling
Tags
a. homer hilsen, acorn bags, basket, nitto, rivendell, Sugino
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…
18 Wednesday May 2011
Posted in Cycling
Tags
compact double, crank, down-tube shifters, DuraAce, LX, nitto, porteur, rivendell, Sugino, wipperman
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.
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