Ryan’s TT bike was in serious need of some updating/upgrading, so he picked up a set of Uberhund TT bars earlier this week. I finished up the install yesterday and polished it off with a badass wrap job. Enjoy… (click on the image for a higher res version)
When I was in training-zombie mode the other day on the Outdoors Inc. ride, I was spacing out and thinking about the absurdity of “hammerfest” group rides. We gather up socially, dress in costumes of our respective tribes, then proceed to thrash the hell out of each other on bicycles. Watching (and participating in) this ritual reminds me of territorial and mate battles between animals. Is it some sort of evolutionary thing? Am I supposed to choose a mate based on who gets to the city limits sign first? I sure as hell love watching it.
This big, fuzzy spider was hanging out in the bathroom the other day. I like spiders, so after taking some photos, I relocated her to the back yard…
Matt McCulley and I headed out Monday night for a quick road trip to Syllamo. Since the Shelby Farms ride was so crappy, I wanted to get the Jet9 out on some decent singletrack before I wrote up anything resembling a review.
Since Syllamo’s Revenge is gone until next year, I figured I’d try some clockwise riding (the whole race course is counter-clockwise, so I’ve been riding that way for months in order to practice). I must say, the Blue & Orange loops (at least the parts on the East side of Green Mountain Rd.) ride much better going clockwise.
The Jet is a different animal than the Air. The best way I can compare it is going back to when I used to train/show horses- you can have two equally awesome horses, but the way you ride the two can be significantly different. The Jet is all business. I’d become very accustomed to the manner in which the Air deflected off of rocks and off-camber roots. I just didn’t realize it until I started really going at some of the tech-y, rocky stuff at Syllamo.
The Jet is very, very precise. You point it towards something and pedal, it’s going to generally track in a straight line up and over; it’s a combination of several things- the 20mm Maxle, the tapered steertube/stiffness of the frame, and, of course, the rear suspension. The result was me screwing up through the rocks a few times at first. I’d be expecting the bike to zig or zag when it would just keep rolling like the rocks didn’t exist.
For whatever reason, the bike also feels “light” in front. Going up rocky, steep climbs, there were several instances where I’d accidentally unweight my front wheel enough that I’d lose the ability to steer and end up in the bushes on the side of the trail. Once I dropped the stem down under the 10mm spacer I’d had between it & the headtube, this was not as bad, and I was able to use the “lightness” more to my advantage to get over the same sort of rocks that had been stalling me out. I started really liking the rocky climbs- the rear suspension on that bike is really, really nice, and the pedal bob is minimal.
It is going to take a few more rides on the more difficult trails to really get used to the handling, but I don’t consider that a bad thing at all, just something I will eventually grow accustomed to. I’m looking forward to getting it back out sometime soon!
Unfortunately, our ride was cut short by thunderstorms. We ended up riding in the downpour/lightning up Green Mountain Rd from the White River Bluff trailhead to the car at the Bald Scrappy trailhead. We’d both gotten our share of mud and slippery, wet rocks back at Syllamo’s Revenge, so we headed back to the cabin to dry out before heading back to Memphis.
Lucky for me, a couple of NRC Endurance races have been close to Memphis (Spa City and DSG). Turns out, after those races, I’m sitting in 3rd in the NRC standings. Hopefully I can do well at the Marathon Nationals in July and stay up there.
Here’s a link to the current points: NRC Ultra Endurance Standings
…and the calendar of events: NRC Ultra Endurance Calendar
After riding a somewhat sedate Trinity ride this morning, Ryan and I decided to head out for pizza at Newk’s. Too bad this photo is from a place in Galloway where we stopped during our ride, because I’ve got some food stamps burning a hole in my pocket right now…
Afterward, I cleaned the BH up and put some new cables on him. He looks pretty darn spiffy now. I’ll post pics when I find some suitable red bar tape. For now, he’s wearing black. Yuck.
I finally got the Jet9 out on the trails this afternoon. By the way, the trails at Shelby Farms are pretty eff’d up right now, though they’d be totally unridable if it weren’t for the heroic clearing efforts of the local MSTA guys. There are a lot of re-routes around large downed trees as well as sections of trail that fell into the Wolf River during the flooding. We managed to get in nearly 2 hours of riding, and the only thing that made it bearable was how FREAKING AWESOME the Jet9 is! I really want to get out to Syllamo early this week & try it on some real singletrack…
Looks like I made it to Top 5 status! Please vote! http://lovingthebike.com/crank/
I finally finished the Jet9 build last night (minus one IS mount for the rear brake). I was ecstatic when I hung it on the scale with no pedals and saw 24 pounds, 7 oz, though with pedals on it came in at a hair over 25 pounds
No worries, though- today or tomorrow, FedEx will be delivering a set of Eggbeater 2ti pedals, which I’ll immediately rebuild with a set of Wade Industries ti spindles. So, hopefully that will drop the weight back down under 25. Fingers crossed ;)
Of course, I haven’t been able to ride it other than up & down the street a couple of times because the local trails are soaked right now. I might try to swing an early week trip to Syllamo next weekend, though.
Enjoy:
Read this commentary from Adam Myerson: Pretty Boy Floyd
I put Alligator I-link housing on my Air9 last year, and I’ve been really happy with it. Ryan’s Titus needed new derailleur housing/cables, and I got a deal on some Nokon (which is normally much more expensive than I-Links), so I figured I’d give it a shot. Here’s the rundown:
Looks. If you’re interested in looks, then Nokon wins. That is, if you have enough of the segments to house your entire bike. On a mountain or CX bike, you’re going to need extras. I ended up using a standard piece of housing for the aft front derailleur section. Nothing like cursing your way through an entire install (more on that later) only to find you can’t finish it up right unless you purchase more parts. Here are some photo comparisons:
Installation: Alligator wins, hands-down. It’s pretty self-explanatory. You run the cable through the liner, then run the whole thing through the sections of links that you size to match the length of your old housing. The links snap together and slide on/off of the cable/liner very easily, so it’s a quick insallation.
Nokon, on the other hand, is a total pain. The sections do not snap together, so you have to thread them on to the liner in order to test-fit the housing length. They don’t thread on easily (their fit on the liner is really tight). It’s difficult to keep the liner flush with the hole where the cable exits the shifter, and the kit isn’t actually made to run the liner continuously (though I did it, anyway). Like I said before, if you’re installing it on to anything other than a road bike, you’re likely going to need extra Nokon links. The cables are fat and uncoated as well.
Performance: I’ve been using the I-links for several months now- ocassionally in some horrible conditions. They’ve never let me down. The Nokons seem to be ok for now, and I can’t see any reason why they wouldn’t do just as well. Time will tell on that one.The I-link system is reported to be lighter, also. I have not weighed them myself, but that’s the general consensus on various internet forums.
So, there you have it. My verdict is, unless you are wanting the “prettiest” housing system out there, go with Alligator. It’s cheaper, lighter, and 11ty billion times easier to install.