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’
Archive for the 'Review' Category
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Today I tried the regular version of the Burger King Steakhouse Burger for lunch. Like the “Stacked” version I tried last week, it’s the patty from the Angus burger. This one had 2-slices of American cheese, A-1 Steak sauce, crispy fried onions, lettuce bits and tomato. It was assembled on the same cornmeal-dusted “premium bakery-style bun”.  The crispy fried onions were under-represented on the specimen I was given. The large size value meal is around $7.50 USD, and comes in at 1390 kcal (burger = 950, large o-rings = 440, large unsweetened iced tea = 0) – that’s 20 kcal less than the “Stacked” version. This one was much better than the “Stacked” one. Gone were the impressions of saltiness and dryness. The food value was good for the price.
4 out of 4 grinning monkeys
3.5Â out of 4 cardiac arrests
Recommended (you just might live a couple minutes longer if you choose this over the Stacked one)
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’
Just had a Burger King Stacked Steakhouse Burger for lunch. It’s the Angus burger meat plus bacon, 2-slices of American cheese, A-1 Steak sauce, crispy fried onions, and a “baked potato topping” which was essentially mashed potatoes with chives smeared on the underside of the top bun.  All this is served on a “premium bakery-style bun”, which was just a cornmeal-dusted bun instead of a sesame-seed bun. The non-“stacked” version doesn’t have the potato and bacon, but instead has lettuce and tomato. When I walked in and saw it on the menu, I thought, “that looks really unhealthy – I’ll get it!” The large size value meal is around $8 USD, and comes in at 1410 kcal (burger = 970, large o-rings = 440, large unsweetened iced tea = 0). Not bad, but the meat was on the dry side, and the burger overall was salty. I could do without the bland, pasty potato stuff, so maybe I can get the regular Steakhouse burger and add bacon next time. The “Stacked” version, being without lettuce and tomato, was definitely on the dry side overall.
3.5 out of 4 grinning monkeys
4 out of 4 cardiac arrests
Recommended (if you don’t plan on living forever)Â
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’
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 1-1/8â€. Continue reading ‘Cane Creek Solos Headset’
After being reminded of the place that took over the old Rainbows Express location in Kakaako, We went by to Hank’s Haute Dogs for lunch. The interior is well-done-up, in neo-fusion-diner style, not unlike places like Kakaako Kitchen. Both the dining area and kitchen were bright and clean.
The cashier quickly and courteously took my order and sent it back to the kitchen, where Hank himself was prepping orders.The place was crowded with mostly white-collar-types. About ten-minutes and half-a dozen orders later, I got my Brat and onion rings. Continue reading ‘Hank’s Haute Dogs’
Okay, to start, this isn’t an FTP thread…
Got back in to Sapporo last evening -Â just barely.Â
Friday was clear in Sapporo, but cold. We caught the highway bus to Niseko Annupuri Resort (2180 yen PP) via Otaru (not the Nakayama-touge route). The weather in Niseko was overcast with the portent of snowfall. After checking in to the Northern Resort Annupuri and attempting to find somewhere for lunch, we walked down to the ski center for lunch at the cafeteria. I had a Hamburger with pilaf for 1100 yen. The meat slab was good and big (A-), but the “pilaf” (C-) was just rice with a hint of butter and frozen mixed vegetables mixed in (peas, carrots, corn). Back at the hotel, we were picked up by Minami-san of Niseko Adventure Center for a snowshoe tour. He drove us over to the gondola in a Toyota Hiace and out came the poles and Atlas snowshoes. The poles were mystery ski poles, so were of a fixed length which I thought were too long, even if the session was to be all downhill. We caught the gondola up to the top station, where it was snowing nicely. Continue reading ‘White Hell’
Caught the bus out to Sapporo Kokusai yesterday. It was clear and sunny as was the day before. I still managed to find some untracked riding in the center bowl and in the secret trees, but it was settled, old powder – fun, but not wonderful. The sunny-side faces were windpacked and had a melt-crust, but the sheltered sides were fine. I took a break and had a “pizza-nan” and coffee set (750 yen) at the little snack shop at the top of the gondola (they used to be down midway by the slow old pair lifts, but moved to a more accessible location). I had a little incident with the paper tube of sugar for my coffee. While shaking it gently from the end to clear some air space to tear it, the paper disintegrated – sending granulated sugar everywhere. Darned those foreigners! Don’t they know how to open a paper tube of sugar? Lucily nobody saw me do this, and I managed to clean it all up. Food was more snack-sized. Probably a bit pricy for what I got. (B) The clear sky had turned a little hazy by the time I got done with lunch. A hint of snow began to fall. On the bus ride home, the haze in the sky was becoming more pronounced – snow was on the way. Dinner was sausage, kraut, some kind of gratin thing, and sauerbraten at a German restaurant. Had a good hefe-weisen too… can’t recall the name right now… Georg Someone & Sohn… All the food was really good (A, except the sauerbraten which was an A-). Around 7000 yen for everything including beer, dessert and coffee. Continue reading ‘Feast or Famine’