May the fourth be with you! (couldn’t resist)

Following on, in the UK, from the wettest April since records began May has excelled itself, with the average May rainfall coming down in the first week of the month! Consequently the trails, footpaths and bridleways are like swamps! Time to get the single speed out again then (glad I switched the gearing back to 38/20T and left the Panaracer Trailrakers on!) So I thought it would be fun to go for a play around Wakerley woods – standard lap around the red route at Wakerley

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/88343327

Followed by a run on the alternate off piste stuff

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/88351595

Unfortunately the Forestry commission had closed a load of the trails for logging but as they had knocked off for the night I rode the trails anyway, their logging machines have ripped great swathes out of the tracks – its gonna tack some work to get them back the way they were!

 

This afternoon managed to get away from work at 11am as is usual on a Friday – and had permission from the boss to ride as long as I was home by 2pm – now where should I ride;  due to the weather I was headed to Rutland water for a lap (boring but at least good for fitness) and then at the last minute decided to go for a blast round Wansford / Yarwell on the cheeky trails that I had not been on for a while – this was also muddier than I have ever seen it – went out on the Merlin and that was a mistake; Maxxis Ignitors were way out of their depth, I had rear wheel slides, front wheel slides, complete slides and luckily only fell off twice! It was like riding on glass! 

And Friday afternoons sojourn around Yarwell Mill / Wandsworth area

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/89182599

Great ride mind – couple of problems though… one  is two bikes are now minging dirty and we still have a hosepipe ban! And the other is I chucked my bike shoes in the washing machine to get them clean and ended up breaking the glass on the F*&%$ng machine, boss was not a happy bunny!

Monday 30th April

Ok – completely ballsed up yesterday – On One is only designed for a 100mm fork and the Orange is a 26er not a 29er – DOH! Homer Simpson moment!

Sunday 29th April – Prt 2

Suitable frames found so far …….

“On-One Inbred 29er Swap-Out Frame” http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FROOIN29V3/on_one_inbred_29er_swap_out_frame Top of the seat stays is pretty ugly to be fair though!

“Kona Honzo” http://www.konaworld.com/29er_hardtail.cfm?content=honzo#1 Full bike not frame only – will it run 3×9? or 3×10?

“Orange P7 Frame” available here http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bikes/p7_frame/ - mm looking good! This is prett much spot on – 140mm Fork compatable, ISCG 05 chainguide, Sliding/interchangeable dropouts and all for £500!

and still searching…..Genesis – no; Cove – no; Specialized – no and no thanks; Voodo USA – only up to 125mm fork;

Sunday 29th April

So its Sunday evening and I’m back at home after a weekend at the Sister/Brother in Laws – Dunc wasn’t feeling well so we didn’t ride – pity really as the Malvern’s were in view all weekend! Weather was especially stinky today so did nothing apart from drive back home and here I am – with zero miles to report since last week! Bad show I know, really need to start pushing bigger miles now – one 10mile ride a week on a semi-technical  basis and one distance 20+ mile ride are needed!

So as I wasn’t riding and had some relax time I started thinking about bikes (funny that I hear you say!)…..further to my post the other day on my current stable it dawned on me that I need one really versatile bike rather than three or four bikes, but what do I really need, where do I ride….

• Commuting to work / road work
• Trail Centres as and when I can
• Bridleway and forest trails, two or three times a week
• I Ride in both Winter and Summer,
• When its dry and also when its wet and muddy

So could I do all of this on one bike? Maybe, but I would need to be able to adapt it on a fairly regularly basis – so I started thinking what would that bike be and how would it look?

And this is where my thoughts lead me…..

• 29er
• All steel hard tail
• Capable of running 140 – 160mm forks
• Sliding rear drop outs for single speed conversion
• Tabs for fitting a chain device (for running 1 x 9 or 1 x 10 set ups)

Very high level thoughts are here….. Frame Build

So how would I set it up to ride?

• Commuting
  • 29er frame
  • Fully rigid front forks
  •  3 x 9 geared setup
  • Semi-riser bars
  • 1.5” wide tyres

• XC riding (Summer time)
  • 29er Frame
  • Suspension forks (circa 100-120mm)
  • 3 x9 geared setup
  • Semi-riser bars
  • 2.1” wide tyres

• XC riding (Winter time)
  • 29er Frame
  • Suspension forks (circa 100-120mm)
  • Single speed geared setup
  • Semi-riser bars
  • 1.9” wide tyres

• Trial Centre riding
  • 29er Frame
  • Suspension forks (circa 140-160mm)
  • 3 x9 geared setup
  • Semi-riser bars
  • 2.4” wide tyres

• Monster Cross Riding (maybe)
  • 29er frame
  • Fully rigid front forks
  • 1 x 9 geared setup
  • Drop bars
  • 2.1” wide tyres

So there you go one frame could do all of this the only problem I now have is two fold….who makes a 29er Steel frame with sliding dropouts and BB tabs and how do I go about doing QCO (Quick Change Over’s)? If I am doing a commuting run on Friday I don’t want to be spending Friday Night/Saturday  morning switching everything round for a visit to a trail centre before having to switch it all back again for the Monday morning commute, is this an overlooked niche in the market that I could fill and make my millions? Engineering hat on!

The frame issue could easily be resolved – make my own! Last winter’s #retroproject taught me a lot, strip down to bare metal, paint and rebuild include full wheel build and truing, the execution was far easier than anticipated!  It also gave me a huge sense of satisfaction, should I push the boundaries further and build my own frame?

Could I build my own, maybe, I know how to build complex 3D jigs and checking fixtures from many years producing low pressure fuel pipes for diesel engines, the theory is the same but the finished product would just be bigger (bike frame versus plastic LP fuel pipe). I know how to weld even if my seams are a bit agricultural! Just need to “borrow” the father in laws welding kit, get some tube and start practising! If the weather carries on like this then I will be spending more time in the garage tinkering J

Sunday 22nd April

Well, just in case anyone is interested or cares – the Single speed has gone back to being geared at 38/20 – and I’ve ordered another Charge Spoon of ebay……any one want a cr4p free saddle?

Saturday 21st April

Was going to title this blog “The ride of shame”  but now am not sure if I should title it “The ride of discovery” – so its spring here in the UK which means a who;le host of change on the weather front – we had the hottest May on record followed by non stop rain/showers in April that have  coincided with the hose pipe ban! DOH!

Went out the other week on the Merlin round Wakerley woods and the place was like a swamp – took me hours to clean the bike down without a hose pipe, so was non to keen on getting it clegged up with mud again.

Ah I’ll use the single speed I thought – well that was why I built a single speed to ride in the winter so I do not get the Merlin’s' drive train clegged up and worn out. Problem was I’d already started to modify the SS for summer. Winter setup is usually 38/20 Gearing and Panaracer Trial Raker tyres – I’d switched the gearing for 38/18 and was going to put summer tyres (Maxxis Ignitor (F) /Larsen(R)) on but hadn’t got round to it.

So stuff it I thought I’ll go out on the SS and I’ll do a nice long ride – 18 miles through the bridleways of Lincolnshire including part of the Viking Way that was my plan!

please note the lovely painted fence!!

Out the house down the road and up the hill and ohhhh bugger – there was no way I was going to ride 18 miles Cross Country with that gearing and tyre combination on, no way! So quick 180 degree turn back down the hill and off in the opposite direction for a quick ride around the local woods ( a wee 8 mile jaunt). Morkery woods is an ex airforce bomb dump which has broken up concrete and cinder paths in the main with bits of natural single track here and there

I cannot explain how hard it was – it’s usually a very east ride on a geared bike and normally ok on the SS in 38/20 mode but every hill had me out of the saddle pushing hard to make it up the hills (these are small slight gradients and nothing that needs a polka dot jersey to ride)

So back home after the ride and some decisions to make; one was pretty easy – the saddle has to go! It was a cheapy of ebay the original one went on the Kona Hahanna coz it matched (bike tart) and after 2 miles my butt was killing me – no relief channels, I need another Charge Spoon for my delicate butt

But the big decisions is do I change the gearing  back to 38/20 which will enable me to ride it further or do I stick with the 38/18 although there is no way I can ride distance on it at the moment my legs are knackered post ride which is a good thing coz I know its done me some good . This decision is based round keeping the Trailraker treads on the wheels …

Change to the summer rubber and it will defo go to 38/18… but with the weather the way it is what does a rider do? – mmmm – decisions, decisions!

Sunday 8th April

So rather than Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” this is the “I have a plan” blog

Bit of an epiphany moment earlier today so here it is, some old thoughts and some new, bikes in the stable need a jiggle round.

So, Merlin Malt, no change there on “old faithful” this bike rides brill everything perfect, maybe update the drive train to better spec stuff as and when it wears out but apart from that it will stay as it is!

So the Carrera Vulcan Single speed is in need of a strip down and bearing check, so thinking about this and after the success of the rattle can paint job on the Kona Retro Project. I have decided to strip the Vulcan down to its constituent parts and repaint the frame! Strip it back to bare metal and repaint it in Matt Black……….

……… the only thing that I have left to work out is the branding; Carrera frames do not exactly have a huge amount of Kudos, being sold at the UK’s largest car parts retailer. However, the frames are made by Merida – so after its been stripped and painted should I re-badge it as a Merida, put a Carrera badge back on or run it as a “no name stealth bike” decisions, decisions, decisions…..

So that leaves the Carrera Subway Hybrid / Commuter to sort out – it’s a great bike and I do love riding it but I could do with something more road specific, been toying with the idea of a Cyclocross bike with two sets of wheels/tyres one for road and one for bridleways/fire roads. But thinking about this in more detail I like the idea of being able to ride something with bigger width tyres; so my thoughts turn to Monstercross bikes. So what is a Monstercross I hear you ask, this from the Net.

One of the “fringes” of 29″ers is the “monstercross” bike. Besides its fun, cartoonish moniker, what is behind the name? What does the bike you see in your mind look like when you think “monstercross”?

What We Can Agree On: There are so many variables when it comes to this idea of “monstercross” that it is easier to enumerate the things we can identify as commonly held beliefs on the genre. Here are the few points of agreement.

1: It is generally accepted that “monstercross” is based upon 700c/29 inch wheels.
2: It is generally accepted that “monstercross” is fully rigid no suspension.
3: It is generally accepted that “monstercross” utilizes drop bars.
4: It is generally accepted that “monstercross” means larger tires will clear the frame. (greater than 1.5 inch)

So my plans for a monster cross are as follows….

Frame             On-One Inbred 29er

Bars                On-One Midge

Fork                On-One Rigid Carbon Fork

Brakes            Avid BB5 / BB7 Cable operated disc brakes – with 185mm discs

Tyres              Something in the 29 x 2.2 – 2.35 size Conti’s? Maxxis’ for off road and

something in the 29 x 1.5 size (Like Schwalbe City Jet) for commuting

Drive Train    1 x 9 or 1 x 10 Shimano with a 38T? Or 36T? chain ring up front

I reckon the   1×9 with semi slicks will be ideal for commuting around my area plus a quick tyre change will make it an ideal ride for the gravel roads, bridleways and fire roads, so what to do next? Look for a frame and forks and start from there once I’ve got them flog the Subway to raise the funds for the rest of the build! So something like this but in 1 x9 geared set up….

Monstercross #3

Monstercross #2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So folks, watch this space………………………