from the twisted minds of snm
Yup – it’s a headset. It steered smoothly on the swoopy level sections at Ditch trail, and survived all the impacts and sideloads in the rock garden without going out of adjustment and without creaking or popping. Other than the initial binding issues stemming from handling issues, it has been solid and trouble-free. It feels more drag-free than the King it replaces, probably due to the lower preload required by the properly-designed colletted top cap.
Stay tuned for future updates.
Saturday’s Ditch ride was a good test for the new Panaracer Rampage tires on the Moment. On the last training ride I took on the bike, the greatest difference I noticed was in the lower rolling resistance. On the hardpack doubletrack and singletrack, the lower rolling resistance benefits could be felt also. The cornering was as good if not better than the Mountain A/T’s. This was probably due to the higher side and edge knob density, and the lower, stiffer knobs. There was a noticeable deficit on standing climbs and clawing performance up rooty sections or over rolly branch pieces on the trail. Moisture aggravated this. Exploring an apparent side trail, I tried riding up an angled one-foot step-up with a rooty surface. The ground was damp and the back tire went into immediate spin-out. Continue reading ‘Rampage Trail Test’
The unstable weather was teetering on the balance between sunny blue and rain on Saturday afternoon, so we met for a afternoon ride out at Ditch. Ckucke was nappy boy, but Root, Jeff, JT, and Chris managed to break away for some trail time. There was some new hardware to trail-test. JT was sporting his new Foes, so was itching to take it on the dirt and see how it performed. Root had switched out the heinous Marzocchi Bomber on the ToddBike to the Psylo off the Straight 6. I had those new Panaracer Rampage tires to try on the dirt. Continue reading ‘Allergy Ride’
Great. This is going on the second week of no riding. There is a cold front North of Kauai that supposedly will bring thundershowers to Kauai today. I hope the Kona winds that brought the tan haze back to Oahu yesterday will keep the front away, but knowing the way things tend to go, I am guessing that there will be bad weather again this weekend and therefore no trail action. Curses!
We just got a new Hope headset into the shop last week. It is different from the original UK Hope threadless headset. Gone are the multiple o-ring seals of the “Pre-2007” headset. This one has simple cups, angular contact bearings and dual colletted races. The bearings are not press-fit into the aluminum cups – instead, they just drop in. Hope is relying on the conical inner surfaces to keep the bearings tight when end-loaded. Both the crown race and upper bearing steerer collar are aluminum split-collets. This is good from the centering/freeplay/end-loading aspect. It would be nice if the crown race was stainless steel though, since it will take a lot of impact and shear loads – not sure how long aluminum will last in this application. The colletted crown race will make installation extremely easy – only a cup press will be required. Continue reading ‘Post – 2007 USDM Hope Headset’
This morning the vog was so thick, there was a opaque wall of haze in Kalihi valley coming down Like Like. The Waianae mountains were barely visible from the airport, and even up close at HMC-West, the details were blurry. Rain all day: I guess no bike riding. This week makes up for all the good weather last week. I don’t imagine the weather improving for the weekend either.
Sunset will probably look really nice today…
Here’s some updates on bits and pieces from the bike that have undergone months of use and abuse:
Shimano M970 XTR Driveline
Excellent operation since day one. I’m running an all-Shimano driveline, and aside from the pinch-bolt-style XT crankset (which I purposely chose over the M970 XTR because of its easy field servicing), it’s all XTR. The shifter paddles and the derailleur pivots are all still tight and smooth. Shifting is quick and precise. The dual-release triggers are nice, since I can keep the forefingers on the brakes while upshifting or downshifting with the thumbs. The availability of service components is nice – I was able to keep a rear derailleur damaged in Whistler in operation by replacing a small part. There has been no issue with premature chain or cassette wear, or chain failure. Continue reading ‘Long Term Tests’
Friday was overcast and dark, but I thought it would be a good idea to test out the new Panaracer Rampage tires and the reinstalled Solos headset. There was a good, cool wind blowing from the East, so I had a brisk headwind to work against along Kahekili. Still, I managed a higher maximum speed along this run with less effort than usual owing to the much lower rolling resistance of the new tires. I went into the turn up to WCC hotter than usual, but the tires easily held in the deep leaning turn. The climb up the Chicken Trail went fine. The traction on the new tires was very good. The stiffer knobs climbed up the rooty sections better than the Michelins did. On the road, the laps went easier. I was able to generally use one higher gear than usual on the climbs. Backtracking up the Chicken Trail on the way back home, I found there was more tire spin on the steep debris-strewn initial section, and full-spin loss of traction on the moonscape climb. That is a difficult section anyway – if the traction is good, the legs usually can’t manage the climb anyway. I think the new tires are great, but I need to get used to their behavior and adjust my riding to them. The headset was solid and drag-free.
D = 15.35 km (9.54-miles), Vavr = 17.5 km/h (10.9 mph), Vmax = 41.5 km/h (25.8 mph), T = 53-minutes
I picked up a set of the new Panaracer Rampage All-mountain tires last Thursday. According to the packaging, they are 700-grams apiece, 60-grams heavier than the Michelin Mountain A/T 26 x 2.2 tires that were on the Ellsworth before. The tread pattern is evenly open like the Michelins, but the paired center knobs are buttressed on one side. Panaracer recommends mounting the front with the buttresses on the leading edge and the trailing edge (rotationally, that is) to brace the knobs for braking and traction respectively. The side knobs are aggressive and braced, and like the Michelins, they are spaced apart to allow for mud clearing or to allow them to punch through loose material. There are almost twice as many side knobs as the Michelins, but there is still adequate spacing. Many current tire designs have an almost continuous band of side knobs, which would be good for cornering on hardpack, but a recipe for mudpack or sideslip of loose off-cambers. Continue reading ‘Panaracer Rampage 26 x 2.35 Tires’
I’ve had endless creaking problems with my 1-1/8” threadless Chris King Headset. It is a beautiful piece of workmanship, but the top-cap-to-steerer interface is a complete hack kludge. No bearing interface should be dependent on an o-ring for concentric loading! It was time for a change, so based on my exceptionally good results from the Double X One Point Five headset on my Chase, I had Jarrel bring me in the mechanically similar Solos for 1-1/8”. Continue reading ‘Cane Creek Solos Headset’