Thursday, July 31, 2008

here we have...


cross wheels...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear
my new cross wheelset. i'm going with a new set up this year, since my rolf wheelset had 'died'. john laced them up for me, since the aero rims were pissing me off. i can't tell you how many nipples were all over my floor for the cats to play with. keep it clean...this is a family show...

the hubs are dt swiss two-forty's laced to a dt swiss rr one.two aero rim. i picked the aero rim for mud shedding capabilities. the two-forty's...well, they're just better than the three-forty's, and i don't have the money for the one-ninety's. i took them out for a 'round the block' ride, and they feel great. nice and stiff. just the way i like my wheels. thanks again john for your help with these.

also, for the cross season, i'm going with a more aggressive tire. the panaracer cider-x. i had these tires laying around for a couple of months, with all intentions of putting them on the rolf's, but...well like i said before. the michelin tires that i used last year, i felt really didn't grip in the muddy stuff. it worked great on a hard packed course, but i'm going for grip this year. i know these are not the best for asphalt, but i could just hammer through that. last year i felt as if i didn't have the grip in the turns. so that's my goal this year.

also, my gearing has changed. i used to ride an eleven/twenty-nine cassette. now, i've upped it to an eleven/thirty-two. and i have my white industries singlespeed forty-four tooth crank. so i think that will give me a wider range, and be able to spin/crank/mash/hammer through the mud, and keep up with ben.

i can't wait for cross season. damn this weather.

amitabha...

Monday, July 28, 2008

went on an adventure...


rest stop at mohican...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear
on friday. randy was in town, so we hit mohican (the twenty-four mile loop), and vulture's knob in one day. good stuff.

first mohican. if you have not made the drive to loudonville...make it. it is worth every drop of fuel to get there. the twenty-fourer is amazing. but if you don't like going up hills or going down, then don't go. however, the effort to go up, is well worth the decent.

we picked a great day to go. the weather was perfect. just a little over cast, and not too hot. we both climbed really well. the course was dry, and fast. there's not a lot of pics, because we just rode. words are failing me here, because it was such a good time.

the knob was a good time too, but we could feel the fatigue from mohican, and then sitting in the car for about forty minutes.

i remember one of my very first times at the knob; at least ten years ago. the course was pretty difficult, you either rode what they had or you didn't. now they give you choices? novice one way. sport/expert the other. getting soft on me.

despite the fatigue, i remained focused. i made climbs that either were hit or miss, or climbs that i never made before. there's a switchback climb after the 'launch bridge' that i finally made. always had a hard time with that one. made the climb after the one bridge, but before the 'rocky descent' section. that one is always difficult. you cross the bridge along side the hill, and then one eighty straight up. seemed a little more rocky then i remember, but i jammed up on the right side of the hill where there were less rocks. after the furnace, zipped down the hill, and a pricker bush was hanging over the trail, and caught my nose. so i've got a nice scrap right on the tip.

only a few days later, and i want to do it again. anyone up for a saturday adventure?

amitabha...

Saturday, July 26, 2008

this was posted...

on a bulletin (the person will remain anonymous to protect their identity) of a myspace page. i won't post this on myspace, because even though i have one, i don't like it. i just keep it to stay up to date on music. my comments will follow.

legal note...this is an exact copy, just copied and pasted. i even took the time and included the pics. that were on there...

enjoy...or not...

and i quote:

"Fixie Is A Fad !



Did you know it was the first type, dating back to the 1890's?
The technology for freewheel was not there as of yet.


Fixed gear was popular in the 1920's for track racing.


Did you know that Cleveland had a velodrome during that time of fix gear popularity?

Now it's a fad.



Don't get me wrong- I will get (had been planing on) a fixed gear bike (Kona Paddy Wagon of course), for a different type of ride sometimes. But I'll be freewheelin' it mostly.


Some of my friends ride fixed gear on the cross country trails (mountain bike).
Been there yet? It could be the new fad!
What happens when you need to hold your pedals for clearance? Mmm.


It (fixed gear) is not for cross riding, that's for sure. I guess it's just cool for commuting to college and the store for a 40 oz.


"

my comments to this:

one: if you pick up a paddy wagon and ride it with a freewheel, then you're not riding a fixed. that would be a singlespeed.

two: fixed mtn bike riding is not a fad. there used to be a site called 63 xc that was around for years. this is nothing new.

three: dictionary.com defines fad as a temporary fashion...manner of conduct. since fixed gear riding as been around since the conception of the bike, and is still around; i would hardly call it a fad. it's not going anywhere. now has it become more popular in recent years? yes. i see the hipsters out in tremont riding them in their cool cloths going to cool places.

fourth: fixed is more than welcome in a cross race. as well as the aboved mentioned 'two'.

fifth: to answer the question about pedal clearance...it's called skidding or setting up your pedal rotation.

sixth: do you know the 'training' benefits to riding fixed? when i don't have a lot of time to ride, even a little on the fixed helps tremendous amounts with my other riding. this goes hand in hand with my personal notion of quality over quantity. i ride about five different styles of bikes, and each one gives me something that the other is unable to. so consequently my skill level increases. now, this is not a universal law (you don't need to go to the shop and buy five different bikes, but i'm sure we'd be glad to help), but this is something that has worked for me. i see cross skills in my mtn riding. cadence skills in my road riding. you get the idea

seventh: this is going to be a personal experience one; so bare with me:
i've been riding singlespeeds for well over eight years now. i was on single before it was popular (and that is the correct word to use. not fad). i've been on fixed for about three to four years now. riding it off road about two years. the first time i road my fixed cross bike off road...it was a religious experience. and those don't happen too often. it changed my view of riding. my style of riding. the feeling that you get from riding fixed off road is beyond compare. you feel the 'flow' of the trail much more. it's not just pedal, pedal, pedal, shift, shift, pedal. there becomes an almost (for lack of any better term) 'unity flow' to the trail.

so there's a short list of responses. i could go on, but i won't. to me this bulletin sounded like it was an attack against fixed riding, and if it was please don't get one. a wise man once said 'if you're not now, you never were.' think about it. these seven things were not put here to convince you that you need to pick up a fixed gear (be it road, cross, or mtn); nor is it here to self justify why i do it (well, maybe seven was). it was however put here to show the idiocy of your own statements.

amitabha...

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

my new goal for fixed riding...



amitabha...

Thursday, July 10, 2008

finally...


internal...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear
able to build up the internal hub for the rincon. i had everything laying around (hub, rim, tire), but no spokes.

i was going to do a three cross pattern, but the spokes never came in. well, we took a look and found out that they weren't making the spoke length that i needed for this. so, it was on to a four cross pattern. spokes in stock. wheel built.

i wasn't so concerned about any weight issues with the four cross...have you held an internal hub? weight is not a concern.

now the only thing i need is the shifter for this hub (because they only make one kind, and you need that one for the hub), and i'll be set. the shifter is in stock from out distributer, so i should see that next week. and by next weekend i'll be riding.

i modified my travel along basket to fit this hub, and with a basket on the back...watch out. no really...watch out. all that weight and basket can really throw off my turns.

amitabha...

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

as i've been riding...

my bike to more places, and not just going for a ride, i feel safer on my bike than i do driving my car.

the other day i was in my car, and i was stopped at a light. i was making a right hand turn. the lanes to the left of me were full. meaning that there were cars there that were planning on going straight. the traffic straight across had the right of way to make their left hand turn. so common sense dictates (and so does the law) that they have the right of way before i am able to make my right hand turn, on red. now from here on in, i'm going to be nice...a gentleman on a motor bike decides that both laws (the law of common sense and the legal law) do not apply to him. and he decides to pass me on the left, and cut me off and make a right hand turn. i'll give some time to let that sink in...

yes, 'pass' me on the left and make a right hand turn. just like something out of grand theft auto. i am able to catch up to him at the next light. i shrugged my shoulders and give a 'w.t.f.'? and he starts bitching at me. at me! i'm not the one who cut anyone off. i'm not the one who broke any laws. i wasn't a ass. but he starts bitching at me. for doing nothing. i could have argued. i could have bitched right back. but two things popped into my head: one this guy is always going to be a jerk, and nothing that i say is going to change that; two, my wife reminds me these people might be packing, and you never know. so i moved on.

but it keeps going through my head...why would that guy be pissed with me? why? i didn't do anything. i wasn't wrong. then i remember the 'philosophy' that has taken over the american people...subjectivism. relativism. my truth is the only truth. my right is the only right. me. me. me.

i wanted to stop driving. i feel safer on my bike. more control. cars seem to be more aware of me, and want to avoid me. to get away from me. my wife thinks i'm nuts for saying this, but then i remind her she doesn't know what i experience out on the street on the bike like i do.

cars have become too safe. and with this safety people forget, or don't care as much about their driving, and what they're doing. they just don't pay attention to what is going on. cars that now alert you if you are too close to another car. what? multitasking while driving. no. just drive. that's all that you have to do.


anyway...be safe out there.

amitabha...

Thursday, July 03, 2008

are you...

taking up the challenge?

i've been doing this for a while now (i'm open to more than two though), but once my rincon is up and running it ought to be more efficient.

i'm waiting on a shifter, and spokes. there'll be a big basket on the rear, and i'm going to modify my basket on wheels to fit the sram hub. all that; together with my bags...the car will be able to stay parked, except for getting to school.

nice.

amitabha...