Archive for the 'bike' Category

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Land of Salt and Torment

Published on October 30, 2007 in bike, Food, rant and Review by risu. Closed

Darkness overcomes Dave and CkuckeI was late to the Monday F/R because I was writing crap on some blog and had to stop by the gasoline store so I’d be able to get up St. Louis without running dry.  The crew was sparse – only Ckucke, JT and me, but Pappy swung by the parking lot to make some conversation on his way home to an inconsolably crying child.

It was barely twilight when we got up to the top, but it was nice and cool.  We geared up and rode up to the park.  The weekend rains were all but dried out, so we dropped down through upper and lower dumps, then climbed up agave and did the normal trail out.  Conditions were loose and dusty, especially in the open areas around the hammock-tree and the burnt-out area. Continue reading ‘Land of Salt and Torment’

Snap, Crackle, & Pop

Published on October 29, 2007 in bike and Review by risu. Closed

On Tuesday, I put some new SPD cleats on the Northwave Ninja MTB shoes I bought off Ckucke.  I needed a good set of backup shoes for the Sidi Dragon II’s, and the price was right. 

On Friday, I put them on, cranked the Boa laces tight and went for a spin around the neighborhood.  They clicked in fine with no interference from the sole on the pedal body.  The float was without resistance, so there was no contact drag.  They were stiff yet comfortable.  The insides around the arches were a bit more built out, as they rubbed the crankarm if I allowed my heels to move inward while pedaling.  A dual-Boa system like snowboard boots might have been nice so the forefoot and instep could be adjusted independently, but that might be overkill for a MTB shoe.  The fit was firm and encompassing, but if I made the Boa as tight as I would prefer for the instep, the toes became a little on the tight side. Continue reading ‘Snap, Crackle, & Pop’

Alien Abduction

Published on October 24, 2007 in bike and Review by taro. Closed

Monday, weather was crystal clear, this night freeride was just Ckucky, Scat and me. Now by the time we got loaded up and headed up the hill, the light was getting low. Scat was connecting with his inner and outer child riding in the back seat watching a DVD on the screen in Ckucky’s van. By the time we got to the top and started unloading, the sun had set. Geared up, we set out for the park. Scat and I were rocking the newest light from NiteRider, the TriNewt three blazing LED element LiIon light. We’d been told that these are the brightest NiteRider lights and we were curious to see about that since Ckucky has the HID. Continue reading ‘Alien Abduction’

Dark!

Published on October 18, 2007 in bike by risu. Closed

It was sunny out the window at work all day, and the H3 traffic cams showed a sunny Haiku and Halekou interchange, so I hurried home to ride.  The overturned truck at Sand Island had been cleared away, so traffic on Nimitz was no worse than usual – perhaps better since people were avoiding it.  The sun was already dipping behind the tops of the Ko’olaus when I got onto Kahekili.  I rode my normal loop in the twilight and turned in a few more laps than usual at WCC since I was feeling good.  I considered continuing, but I really couldn’t see with just the little LED headlight, so I went back home.

D = 9.35-miles, Vavr = 11.7 mph, Vmax = 25.1 mph, T = 48-minutes 

Decramp

Published on October 16, 2007 in bike by risu. Closed

The Monday night Freeride was called on account of poor attendance,  so I bailed home and went for a spin around the neighborhood on the Ellsworth.  The mud from the last Wailuna ride was dried and flaking off of the frame and tires, and there was still grass and ferny bits stuck in the chainrings and elsewhere.  It took me longer than I had expected to get out of the house because I couldn’t find the cap to my Soma bike bottle.  Robert Goulet must have been inside my house messing with my stuff… Continue reading ‘Decramp’

Bicycle Toys

Published on October 16, 2007 in bike and Review by taro. Closed


TriNewt

Sheesh, look what happens when you cancel a ride, you go and buy bicycle toys instead. So what did I waste good money on this time? The latest bicycle light from NiteRider. Is this a guy thing? All the guys I know love flashlights. Back in the day, having a MagLite would put a swagger in your step. Getting yet another AA MiniMaglite stocking stuffer would never bum us out, you can always use one. When the tiny keychain LED lights came out, we thought it was a brilliant idea. You’ll find us drooling over finely machined pieces of manly agressive “tactical” lights that can curl the retina off your eyeballs with batteries that require fat wallets and last about as long as that money stays in those wallets. And then stadium light technology in portable form appeared, the first one to come out nicknamed the alien abduction light. If we were to find ourselves crashed in the deepest remotest regions of Africa confronted by aborigines ready to throw us into the evenings crock pot, what would we whip out? Well, lighters aren’t allowed anymore (did they change that again?), so it would have to be the trusty flashlight in the god fearing eyes! Perhaps its this primevel fascination, the defying of something so basic, darkness, with a creation of man, the flashlight.

Continue reading ‘Bicycle Toys’

Suck

Published on October 9, 2007 in bike, car and rant by risu. Closed

It rained all weekend, so no XC ride.  That sucks. 

It rained yesterday, so no St. Louis FR ride.  That sucks. 

This morning the failing Optima battery on the FJ80 went too flat to crank the engine over.  That sucks. 

I can’t spin by Lion Coffee Cafe off Waiakamilo since I’m behind a desk all day, so I’ve been bringing coffee from home.  I ran out of “Premium Roast” and opened a bag of some flavored variety that was originally destined to be a holiday gift.  I don’t like flavored coffee.  That sucks.

New Japanese Rubber

Published on October 3, 2007 in bike by risu. Closed

Panaracer RampageMcBike just got in some folding Panaracer Rampage 26 x 2.35 tires.  They look pretty nice, and are reasonably light for tires of their size.  The pattern is not too different from the Fire XC and FR, with a mix of square core knobs and staggered edge knobs.  Intended for the all-mountain crowd, the knob height is low (noticably lower than the Fire XC) to promote lower rolling resistance even with a large carcass.  The center row paired knobs have one square thrust edge for traction, with the opposite edge being ramped/buttressed to promote low rolling resistance.  They look like they’d be good Whistler XC tires.  They are all black with big white outline letters.  According to the Panaracer website, they’re 700g each, and have 66-tpi casings.  $40-something each.  Made in Japan! 

Reborn

Published on October 2, 2007 in bike by risu. Closed

broken and newIn Whistler I had bumped my Shimano XTR rear derailleur on a boulder whilst rolling backwards, thus bending off the little tab on the B-axle (top pivot bolt) backplate that keeps the spring tension when the derailleur is unmounted.  Thankfully, Shimano sells the B-axle assembly as a set, so I had Jarrel bring one in for me.  I switched out to my spare RD-M971-GS so I could still ride my Ellsworth.  Last week the part came in, so I brought in the old derailleur to the shop and installed the new backplate. Continue reading ‘Reborn’

Ole-skool Technical

Published on October 2, 2007 in bike by risu. Closed

Since it had been raining all weekend, I was not confident that we would be getting a Monday night F/R in.  The weather was windy and partly overcast all morning, but toward the afternoon, the clouds retreated back up the mountaintops, leaving blue skies accented with swirling sumi-e brushstrokes of high altitude cirrus clouds.  My throat was feeling “not right” all morning, so I was considering bailing, but the change in the weather made me change my mind.

Continue reading ‘Ole-skool Technical’