All Done...No, For Real I'm Done

The upgrading is done. Now it's time to just ride

I finished off my upgrades this weekend, tweaking the cable/housing setup, adding a much lighter FSA XC 115 stem (unbelievably light), a Cane Creek s-1 headset and a front Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.4 tire (this thing is a true beast).

All in all, I'd say the project was a success. The bike is far lighter (dropped about 4 lbs), easy to maneuver, and it looks damn good as well IMO.

I also got a chance to use my new homemade tools. My homemade headset cup remover was a success. I used a 1" diameter piece of copper pipe. I made three, three-inch cuts into the pipe and flared the pipe at the cut end. I then took a skewer nut cap and placed it tapered side down into the pipe at the end of the cut section. This reinforced the flared pieces of the pipe. I secured the nut with some electrical tape, which I also placed over the ends of the sharp, flared pieces of the pipe so as to cut down on potential damage to my headset. When it was time to pound out the cups, I took a v-brake pad complete with attached screw and placed the screw end inside the other side of the pipe and hit the brake pad with a hammer. The cups popped right out. The piece of pipe cost me about $3.

I also used my new homemade bottom race installer. It is a 1 1/4 inch diameter piece of pvc pipe about two feet long with a pvc end cap. I dropped the bottom race onto my fork steerer until it could not go any more. I then slid the pipe over the steerer, hit the capped end about six times solidly with my hammer, and voila, the bottom race was fully installed. Cost of the bottom race installer, about $2.50.

The last homemade piece of equipment did not fare so well though. I also made a homemade headset press. While it was up to spec, I simply could not get the headset cups to sit straight upon pressing them in. I used a version with a 3/8 inch rod and a larger version with a 3/4 inch rod. I used plumbing female adapters, large washers, greased the cups etc etc. You name it, I tried it. After about 30 failed attempts, I ran it across the street to the lbs and five minutes later it was installed. I will come back to this piece this fall when I have more time and patience to make it work. Total cost $15 with all of the parts. The first version was made with about $10 of parts. Not bad at all!

Ok, I'm going to ride my new upgraded bike a lot this week. Peace!

Obstacles...

Mountain biking is about breaking through obstacles both literally and figuratively. Today, I did both. I headed out for a little adventure at Schaeffer Farms in Germantown, MD. The trails are far easier than the stuff up at Gambrill, but they still throw a lot of challenges out to a rider of my modest talent.

My biggest goal as mostly a beginner rider this year was to start conquering obstacles like log piles. I don't need to be climbing logs that are multiple feet in diameter or dropping off mountain rock faces, but I'd like to be able to work through a moderately difficult trail without dismounting time and time again.

I've been running through my head how to approach the log piles, unloading the front end, shifting my weight etc. But just as I approach the obstacle in real time, I decide to hit the breaks, opting for the more conservative approach of living to see another day, not getting hurt, and continuing my ride unscathed.

Well, today was the day that I planned to say "enough is enough." And sure enough, I somehow summoned up the courage, after a few attempts of lining up my line and actually gearing up mentally to do the stunts to try some log piles and larger obstacles in the trail. And don't you know I cleared right over and through them. With each obstacle cleared, I gained more and more confidence and was able to take the next obstacle with surprising ease.

It was a huge day in terms of conquering obstacles and making progress in developing my skill level! I can't wait to hit the trails again to keep adding to the stuff I can do. With each new challenge conquered, a whole new level of obstacles opens up before me, like new levels on a video game.

I love this sport!

Lay'n Rubber

So I just purchased the final two upgrades to finish off this project on my bike. First, I purchased a Schwalbe Racing Ralph 29 x 2.4 tire. This thing is large and in charge and light! Unlike many other 2.4's, this tire is truly a 2.4. The large volume casing allows it to run at extremely low pressures, increasing grip. The tire rolls fast and is super light weight at 540g's, about 100 grams less than my current MotoRaptor. I'll be keeping the MotoRaptor 2.1 on the bike as it is one of the best rear 29er tires out there.

I also purchased a FSA XC 115 stem. This thing is super light at 120g's, about 60 grams less than the Profile Boa stem I just bought. The boa is a little steeper than I thought and the light weight doesn't hurt either.

I'll be getting both parts on next week and hopefully I'll have time to install the new headset this weekend so I can weigh this rig and complete the project. It looks like a good week of riding is ahead for me next week at both Shaeffer Farms and Gambrill. I love summer!

Complete!

The upgrading is mostly done now. I still want to put on my new Cane Creek S-1 headset to replace the crap that Moto put on the bike. I have the headset and my home made tools (I'll show these off in a later post) I just need to find some time to put it on. I'm also planning on a front tire upgrade. I'm just trying to find a nice, wide tire with low weight.

The bike is a lot lighter and easier to handle now. The performance is far better than it was with the stock parts. I added the Reba Race fork with push loc, egg beater 2 ti pedals, a titanium handlbar, xt cassette, spinergy xyclone wheels, ritchey wcs seat post, and I changed out my grips.

I have to re-weigh the bike. I'm guessing I shaved a few pounds off of the original 28 lbs. I love the look of the new version too, with the white fork against the gray frame and the mentions of red highlights throughout the parts of the bike. Here's some pics:

(Before)

(After)