Drop it like it's hot

So my new mtb with drop bars project is just about complete...well, it is complete sort of.  I have the bike set up with its new midge drop bars and tektro drop bar brake levers.  It looks pretty nice.  I've also set up a second wheelset with slightly more narrow motoraptor 2.1 tires, rather than the giant beasts the other wheelset offers.

I say it isn't quite done yet only because I plan to repaint it some months down the road.  So, there will be a new version on its way.  Nevertheless, I'm ready to take the bike out and test the drop bar set up today at one of my favorite trails, Schaeffer Farms.  It should be nice and muddy from the rain the past two days, but I can't wait to finally ride the single speed with drop bars on a real trail.  If I like it, great.  If not, I'm ready to pop multiple gears back on it and probably run it as a 1x9.  I'll let you all know how it goes.

Not so fast, my friend!

So, last week I had all kinds of grand visions of my Redline Monocog coming in and making it a mean steel utility bike with drop bars.  Well...I found out last week that it was going to take another month to come in because it is on backorder.  As time is tight with a second child coming fast, I decided to look for a faster option.

In a panick, I began scouring craigslist and was lucky enough to find a killer deal.  The seller lived a good bit away, but agreed to meet me halfway.  I found a Performance Access frame in my size (alu, much much lighter than the monocog), with an On-one carbon, rigid fork, which I had planned to purchase, woodman headset, avid juicy ultimate brakes with carbon levers, a surly tensioner, carbon seatpost, and wtb laserdisc wheels with weirwolf tires, set up tubless.  The bike is in excellent shape!  The fork is like new. It was the bike pretty much exactly how I would have set it up myself!  I grabbed it for $400.  The parts alone could be sold for much more than the price.

Instead of waiting a month for the bike, I was up on it this weekend, pulling my son around in his bike trailer with a smile on my face.  And, yes, I was even able to get a little single tracking in on the trails behind my house.  Not very technical but still fun miles.  And if anyone ever doubts the level of effort required to pull around a 40lb kid in a 40 lb trailer with fat, knobbies on for 15 miles, I will just laugh.  My legs felt it. 

My long-range plan is to strip the bike of its paint (the only part I dislike about the bike is the general labeling of Access on the frame), go with a bare alu look, probably a darker brushed version, add some decals, and put on the drops.  I'll probably also switch out the brakes, as I prefer mechanicals to the hydros.

I also ordered some Kenda Happy Medium tires for cross/trail use, which should be much better than the fat knobbies on there right now.  I'll keep the fat knobbies for the mountains.

MTB with drops... A cool little build

So after selling off my one of a kind Voodoo rig, I set my sights on something more simple, more purist, a single speed 29er.  I'm still waiting on it to come in from the factory, as they are on back order right now.  In the meantime, I've been doing some good reading on singlespeeds and different things you can do with them.

I came across a couple great reads with pics about putting drops on a a mountain bike.  Read this: http://mtbtires.com/features/bikes/why_dropbars.html   See cool pics of some of these rigs here: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/drop-bar-mtbs-own-one-got-a-pic



An incredible looking bike with an On-one Midge drop bar



Anyway, I got sucked into the looks and supposed benefits of putting a drop bar on my bike.  I want to use my new SS monocog to ride singletrack, trails with my kids, as a bad weather bike, possibly as a cross bike, and possibly as a commuter.  I want it to be versitile as possible.  So, I was already thinking about how to reconcile the differences between a typical mountain bike with a flat bar and a typical road bike with a drop bar.  I have now not only been convinced that a hybrid is possible, but that it might be down right advantageous.

As I'm piecing this build together, I'm looking for just the right pieces to build the bike that can meet all of the purposes stated above.  When looking around at drop bars that were appropriate for the build, I came across a category of drops known as dirty drops.  This genre includes, among others, the On-one Midge (http://www.63xc.com/mattc/midge350.jpg), On-One Mary (http://www.firstflightbikes.com/_borders/P1010211.JPG), Origin8 Gary (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ENwXcy6pL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) (I have read that the Gary isn't really made for true off-roading), Soma Junebug (http://www.bikeman.com/store/graphics/00000001/Alt-BTI/BTI-SF1174.jpg), Salsa woodchipper (http://twentynineinches.com/2010/01/03/salsa-cycles-woodchipper-bar-a-comparison/)%20and and a bar made by WTB (http://www.bikepro.com/products/handlebars/hndlbars_jpg/t1t_wtb_dirt_drop.jpg).  These bars feature a flat top like a typical mountain bar, a drop like a typical road bar, but then the bottom of the bar flares out away from the bike, providing the rider with greater stability and more hand positions.  Of all of the reviews I read, the Midge appears to be the best of the bunch, as it offers a very compact drop, that allows you stay fairly upright in the drops.  Here is a good comparison of several of the bars: http://twentynineinches.com/2010/01/03/salsa-cycles-woodchipper-bar-a-comparison/

I hunted for days for a good price on one, as they are made and sold mostly in the UK.  They are hard to find here.  I found some at unrealcycles.com and twenty2 cycles.  The price was a little steep at $40 plus about $15 of shipping to me.  But then, at the last moment, I found a bunch put up on Ebay by unreal cycles for $30 plus $10 in shipping, allowing me to save a bunch of dough.  I grabbed one of the 31.8 versions.  They are made in both 31.8 and 25.4 (I think this is the right measurement).

Stay tuned for more updates on the build.  I think my bike may be in by the end of this week!

Two new members of the family...

Well, since my wife and I are expecting a new member of the family, a baby boy and hopefully future cyclist, it was time for another member of our family to go.  Since my mountain bike was getting in very little riding time (about 6 rides since the beginning of last season) I just couldn't stand to see such a nice bike go to waste any longer.  So, this past weekend I sold it.

However, (and this is the exciting part) I've decided to use the money on a new, more simplistic member of the family...drum roll please... Yesterday, I put in an order for a new 2012 Redline monocog 29er, a single speed, rigid fork workhorse.  The bike just made sense.  It is relatively inexpensive, it will still allow me to hit the single track when time allows, and it is a great bike to take my two sons in their bike trailer on trails like the C&O canal.  I tried hooking the trailer up to my cervelo, and I just couldn't bear the thought.  And pulling the trailer around on a scandium framed, fox fork wielding, top of the line rig, didn't make more sense.

Maybe the best part about the bike is that by happenstance the bike's paint scheme matches the new paint scheme on my road bike almost exactly.  Since ordering it, I did purchase some Avid bb5 disc brakes so I feel safe up in the steeps of Gambrill.  I'm also thinking about an all black wheelset to keep it fully stealth, but I'll probably wait on that.  I don't want to spend all of the bike money on this bike, otherwise the sale just doesn't make sense.  I'll have to see how much time I really have to get up into those mountains, which I think will be very little based upon the past year.

So, everyone join in a round of applause for the new family member!

I'm cycling in the rain...

I knew today was going to be a cruddy mess, with showers and thunderstorms pretty much constant through the day.  According to the forecasts, I had a 2 hour window in the middle of the day to get in a ride, if I didn't want to get soaked.  At 1pm, the rain slowed to a drizzle and I took to the roads.  Riding in wet conditions on hilly, well traveled roads with very little to no shoulders is not my cup of tea, but I really wanted to get the ride in.

I rode to Mt. Pleasant this time for a slightly longer (23mi) ride that featured a lot of hills, most of which, though, are more gradual. I still managed to climb almost 2500ft.  I didn't get too wet and luckily no one hit me along the way (although several cars came damn close).  Below are my stats:

A Miracle Weekend

By the grace of God, my in-laws agreed to watch our 2 yr old this weekend while my wife is away at a professional conference.  I can't remember the last time that I was on my own without the wife and kid with so much time for myself.  And I'll bet that I don't see it again for just as long, if not longer.

That being the case, the only right thing to do with to pack up the bike and head to the hills of Western PA, where I'm originally from to get in a weekend of great riding.  Today I went on my first ride of the weekend, out to a nice local park with a lake, called Mammoth Park.  The roads to get there are busy enough to keep a lot of loose dogs off of them, but not so busy that you have to outrun 18 wheelers all day.  However, I didn't have a full recollection of the type of hills that are here versus the nice, mostly flat terrain of Maryland, where I now live. At one point, I hit a 20% grade.  I hit so many hills that I actually torqued my handlebar loose from all of the back and forth with the climbing.

All in all, though, it was a beautiful day and a very nice ride. Ride Recap by Strava:  

Double trouble

March 15th and it is 80 degrees and sunny.  I happened to have the day off work so I gave my cycling buddy a call and he took me on some new roads that I hadn't been on in the area.  It was morning, so it was about 65 and sunny.  The trees aren't in bloom yet, but there was no wind (highly unusual for a Maryland March day) and the sun was shining.  It was just a nice ride through the country at a relaxed pace.  One of those perfect "break in the legs" type of rides.

It gave me a great chance to test out the new componentry that I bought late last year and the new pro lite carbon clincher wheels.  After an "incident" on my first long ride with them, I have been quite nervous to get up to speed on the again.  Today ride gave me some nice rollers to get my feet wet with them and really get some confidence in them and I can't say I am disappointed with the purchase now.

The ride was great.  Got in a nice 25ish miler, got in some nice hills and worked on grinding away at some false flats.  The ride was over and we parted ways.  I came home and ate a nice light lunch and the urge was too strong to do it all over again. I still had my gear on so I just hopped right back onto my bike and headed out for another quick 14 in the countryside around my house.

What a great day!