Bicycles and family

This little graphic came to me on an email thread.  I’m currently at perfection!

Day 2 of 3 last bit of riding before Andalucia

Today was the first day out on my “new” Moots http://bikingbakke.blogspot.ca/2013/02/moots-mooto-x-ybb-29er-repurposing.html rebuild.  We all did mountain bikes and suffered cooler weather and icy roads.  Unfortunately I took a bail at decently high speed on some ice right behind Shawn, who coincidentally also bailed (one not related to the other specifically, just that we both were going fast and lost traction).  The meat below my thumbs is strained/swollen/sore, I couldn’t pull my socks off very well after the ride.  We did a couple hours of beauty road, nice hills, but came home into a cold headwind.  More long faces than long miles, and let’s hope we don’t need that much “tough” training for a race in Spain.  At least dinner was warm. 

 

 

Moots Mooto X YBB 29er - repurposing after 6 years

I’ve owned a Moots Mooto X YBB 29er now since the fall of 2007. http://bikingbakke.blogspot.ca/2007/10/moots-mootox-review.html

It has done duty overseas, it has done duty commuting, and it has done duty recreational. Versatile, durable, desireable frame to ride. It was first assembled with a “timelessness” philosophy – a Moots is timeless itself, the YBB design (and lifespan) are essentially timeless, and at that time I didn’t know, but had a feeling, that this 29er trend had some serious momentum to it. If you’re ever worried about the price of a Moots, I urge you to think otherwise for two reasons:
- This bike is from 2007, ordered earlier in the year. The only parts that are dated, and I use that term loosely, are perhaps head tube diameter, and perhaps BB diameter, depending on your views. The frame has been mildly modified. Do you think any of these affect utility? Not really…
- This quote, which I believe I copied from their site around that time: “Some might argue that a bicycle is simply a tool, a way to get from point A to point B. They’re not wrong, but that utilitarian view misses perhaps the most crucial point: A bicycle, especially one built with passion for passionate riders, is not just a tool. It’s a way out. Out of where? One ride, and you’ll know.”

The Rohloff hub is, and proved to be timeless http://bikingbakke.blogspot.ca/2007/10/rohloff-speedhub-review.html Someone had asked me recently for a review. So here’s what you have: 6 winters of commuting in Calgary snow/slush/muck/rain/cold. 6 winters of perfect shifts. No wheel truing. No missed shifts. No slipping. Just shifting gears. To be honest, I’m on a second chain, and the original high strength steel cog too. And suffice to say, I’m not a once in a while kind of commuter. One tip? Part of the way through the first winter, I started mixing in a little (say 1/3) of synthetic motorcycle oil into their oil to prevent it from freezing/slushing in very cold weather (say below -25C). That temperature doesn’t prevent traditional Rohloff setup from shifting, it just makes it slower as the oil loses viscosity. Synthetic oils have lower freezing temperature and it seemed to help. Motorcycle oils don’t have detergent additives the same way car oils do as they also are serve clutches in many instances.

The Moots seatpost hasn’t squeaked or slipped since the day I got it.

The Chris King headset hasn’t done a single thing in the time of ownership other than spin smoothly, silently.

Currently though I find myself contemplating a few travel races, and still absolutely love and value the S&S method of travel versus the conventional. So I’ve decided to repurpose this machine, at least temporarily, to race duty for the Whiskey 50 in Prescott this year.

Every part on this bike still works, however it’s not the lightest setup. The frame is stout, especially given the couplers and straight gauge tubing. The wheels are stout, especially since most recently I was also running it with a Schmidt SON hub.

Over the last month, the transformation has included:
- Rohloff and Schmidt hubs with Stans Arch rims out, American Classic 29er Race wheels in. That, combined with Racing Ralphs and no tubes (yeah I was lazy and ran tubes on the utility setup) saves a mind boggling amount of weight, and NET of adding an XTR shifter pod, cable, cassette, chain, derailleur, different slider hangers, and tires is a ~7.5lb reduction. Of course note that’s rotating weight…
-1x10 XTR isn’t 14 equally spaced Rohloff gears, but that’s fine. Ease of packing is snipping one zip tie and unbolting the derailleur.
-Other changes are fairly minimal. I’ve put on a Niner rigid fork, but not sure which applications I’ll use it for. That vs. the suspension fork was a 2.2lb trim right there.-The suspension fork has been modified/changed for a 100mm version, and although I debated a Lefty for weight, I’m sticking with convention for ease of packing into an S&S case, which really is no more than removing a stem.
-At the time I did XT calipers and XTR levers as a bit of an upgrade to the braking power offered by the then-current XTR calipers. Now I’ve gone to XTR trail brakes, which continually exceed expectation for performance.

The net result is it’s gone on a diet from over 33lbs with a dynamo hub, Rohloff hub, fenders, etc. utilitarian machine to a 22 lb 1x10 that fits in a box this small. It’s fast, light, comfortable, tough, and going to be a blast to ride!

Day 1 of 3 last bit of riding before Andalucia

Cindy, Shawn, Craig, Pat, Rene, Kate and I rode out to Cochrane along the river where we could, and the rest required some slipping, sliding and walking. Cindy played it cautious and smart, I worked on ice riding and kept it upright all day. We're aiming for 3 days at 3-4 hours then generally put our feet up for race next week. Nice weather today made it fun!

Stocking up!

With any luck, this will last most of a bike season, as most of it is several layers deep. Plus two cases of wine filled the wine rack!

Coal Mine Road

This beauty scene is just southwest of Priddis. I had to stop, so took a minute to also take a picture, something I lament not doing enough of lately.

Frozen gravel rolls fast. Those mountain views in the distance keep inching closer. Beautiful day, mostly out of wind in that valley.

See Shawn, Craig and Pat Dodge up the road? Neither do I. It was only 4 of us from exit of the city onward, and it ended up being a bit of a half wheeling battle for portions which I can't sustain indefinitely.

Great little snack in Bragg, then fast paceline most of the way home. I had to peel off eventually, then as luck would have it a big twisted staple got my rear tire.

Big day, legs are tired at work.

Wrestling

Wrestling has been eliminated from the 2020 Olympics.  I’m not informed on all the issues as to why, however it’s secret ballot among the IOC board with the varying sports being voted in, voted out. 

 

I wrestled a lot as a kid.  This was one of the original Olympic sports – I considered it untouchable.  Two people, one gets pinned to their back.  Simple as that.  Any country can fund this sport.

 

I don’t recall match fixing scandals like badminton.  It has more guttural appeal and TV appeal than shooting.  Really guys, eliminating wrestling?

 

That’s an issue IOC isn’t winning credibility points with me on.