Saw the new ’09 Honda Fit – it looks like it is from the future! Looks as spacey as the Suzuki Aerio SX looked when it came out neearly a decade ago. I guess the future is a retro one, since the Fit still has a single-cam and rear drum brakes. Weak!
(0)Monthly Archive for November, 2008
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I saw these on closeout from Chainlove.com last week. I did a quick check on the Endura site to see what they were all about, then emailed Chris. He said that he had a set of Endura shorts from last season, and they were really good, so I decided to give them a shot and ordered a pair. Chris recommended that I go up a size, so I ordered a “Large”. My waist is about 88cm (34”), and these fit perfectly. The outer short is made from Teflon water-repellant treated Cordura nylon. They should be very durable, but time will tell – I only have one ride on them. The crotch gusset area and some small side inserts are a stretch nylon material. The stretch crotch is nice because it keeps that area in body contact and prevents snagging on the saddle nose or tail. There are some reflective details sewn on front and back. The inseam is 30cm (12”) and is appropriately long. Continue reading ‘Endura Burner Baggy Short’
Jarrel at McBike is planning on bringing in these and the more skate-styled BMX/DJ helmet this season, but Ckucke and I couldn’t wait to get our hands on them. Jeff had an unused size L/XL “lying around”, so I bought it off of him. That size was too big for Ckucke, so he got a S/M off of Backcountry.com. Like most current high-end MTB helmets, this is an in-mold EPS helmet with a removable visor and a rear retention system that keeps the helmet from rocking forward and backward on the head. My other current helmet is the Giro Xen, so I will compare it to that. Continue reading ‘Fox Flux MTB Helmet’
I was checking on a part with Jarrel one day, and he was looking through a special flyer from one of the wholesalers he brings in some of the more eclectic bike stuff from and they had some nice Japanese bike bells. He had brought in some large Crane (crane as in “tsuru”) brand brass bells previously, but they had a new small bell not unlike the small BBC bell resold on the USDM as the “Incredibell”. He said he would most likely be bringing some in, so I sat back to wait for them to arrive. About a week later, they were in! Continue reading ‘Crane Bicycle Bell’
With the demise of the snowboard division at Island Snow, I had to resort to online ordering this season. My old blue Sessions Jamie Lynn pants are still somewhat functional, but my OD green Burton Ronin pants are torn at the vent and blown-up at the ass seams. My “Captain America” Sessions jacket is falling apart at the seams and the membrane has delaminated and is gone in most areas. Although still decent looking, my newest grey Sessions jacket is losing its Entrant membrane like dandruff from the stretch panels. All my outerwear was going bad two seasons ago, but I patched and stitched them back together and made it through last season. Not wanting to be “homeless boarder” again, I ordered a set of this year’s Volcom Omega Gore-Tex outerwear. The price was high, but having experienced the durability of Gore 3L ECWCS clothing, I figured this stuff would last the longest, and anything cheaper would be an investment in “false economy”. I managed to get sale pricing at Backcountry.com, so it didn’t hurt as much as I expected it to. Continue reading ‘New Volcom Omega Gore-Tex’
This was another Chainlove.com find. For sun, brush, and crash protection, I like to use long-sleeve jerseys for trail riding. I’ve seen this jersey on riders in photos in Decline and elsewhere, so when I saw it pop up for cheap on Chainlove, I got one. There was no sizing info, so I had to dig around online to find some. My chest is 100cm (40”), so I got a “Large”. This ended up a bit big. Even with full armor it’s big. The girth and length are not too much of an issue, but the sleeves have a bit of “Kogami Akira” action going on. I could have easily gone a size down. The sizing is about the same as motocross jerseys. If you are between sizes, go down. Continue reading ‘Royal Racing 24/7 Jersey’
I’m amazed there aren’t more disasters in this world. Last week filling gas was the second time I’ve seen someone smoking at a gas station. The passenger was puffing away, hanging cigarette hand outside of window which happened to be the pump side. Previous instance a few months ago dude did stop smoking, by flinging the the still smoldering cigerette onto the ground of the filling station. Luckily I was done and I bugged out as I watched the smoldering stick rolling along the concrete.
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Dave had gotten the sudden mysterious urge for okonomiyaki, I guess that happens to all of us. We know Okonomiyaki Chibo in Waikiki, and excellent as it is, we decided to look into alternatives. But where? One place Derek knew of is closed. I learned of a small place in Waikiki next to a shop I did some work for, but there’s no parking. Then Derek mentioned a new place, Shouchan, in Puck’s Alley. Isn’t that near Kohnotori that we reviewed a few weeks back? Yes, and it’s not really an accident that a lot of places we go to are in this general area, it’s where we are at this time of the day. Anyway, we decide to check it out. It’s located on University, across from what used to be Varsity Theaters, up a few shops from Cocoichiban. I find Derek waiting outside. I look at the cloth banner and the first thing that comes out of my mouth is “Hiroshi”! It takes a while to realize it’s not Hiroshi Mayaki. Hiroshimayaki is the style of okonomiyaki served here. Continue reading ‘Hiroshi Mayaki, Shochan’
Last week, Ckucke ordered some parts from Chain Reaction Cycles in the UK, so I had him het me a set of Shimano M770 9-speed shifters and a cassette for the Chase. Parts came in on Friday, but I didn’t have a chance to work on the bike until Tuesday, so I took it into the shop to switch them out. Dug around in back for an XTR 9-speed chain, then I put the cassette on. When I opened the bag-o-shifters (they were OEM packaged or take-offs, not retail packaged), the first one was a left (front) shifter, so I just grabbed he other and put it in my tool tray. I took off the bar plug and grip, removed the brake lever, and set about unmounting the shifter, unthreading the cable from the housing, and disconnecting the cable from the old shifter. The cable in use was a trick Teflon-coated one, so I wanted to use that instead of the generic stainless steel one that shipped with the XT. I pulled the new shifter out of the bag and got ready to take the cable out when I noticed that it was a left shifter. I must have grabbed the wrong one by accident. I grabbed the other shifter and it was the left shifter that I had put down earlier. I got that sick, sinking feeling in my gut. No way! I put the two shifters side-by-side. Both were lefts! WTF?! Continue reading ‘Front and Front’
There’s some “reality show” about the Sea Shepherd group starting on Animal Planet next week. How much does anyone want to bet that if Japan was a predominantly white, English-speaking, Protestant country, all of Sea Shepherd’s demonstrations wouldn’t be happening?
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