What's new

Today January 2020!!!

Happy New Year!
I had a pretty nice start. My wife just suggested taking the bikes instead of walking to see the first sunrise. We're moving into the right direction.
That is fantastic!

2020 has started with a small disappointment. I decided to NOT test my knee out and I skipped the first sunrise for the first time in years.
But I know another week or so I should be good to go.
This month I should complete 1 build and take delivery on another bike. I am looking forward to just logging miles. Nice and easy fun miles. My little personal resolution is to enjoy the bike more. Not more miles, not fast miles, not bigger jumps or bigger climbs.... Just enjoy.
 
Happy New Year!
I had a pretty nice start. My wife just suggested taking the bikes instead of walking to see the first sunrise. We're moving into the right direction.
Here a picture of today's sunrise. Yesterday it was foggy and cloudy therefore there's no sunrise to ride into. So I went on this frosty morning to see my first sunrise of the year. Temperatures went down to -5 last night. It was certainly a great scenery. The air was crisp and ground and trees were covered with frost.
photo_2020-01-02_09-13-24.jpg
 
today was a rest day for me. took the chance to change tires on both bikes:

- gravel
rear one was almost spent after some 3,100 km, a lot of that on the rough stuff. I could probably have gotten a bit more mileage out of it, but I prefer to swap them when they're 70-80% done, rather than risk punctures etc. this one had the wear thread totally disappear on one spot, and a decent slash through the middle on another, so... put in some MTB tyres, wanting to go to the Maihama/Makuhari MTB park, only to have something come up so I can't go tomorrow (hoping to do it on Sunday instead)

- road
after about 3,400km without puncturing, I figured I don't wanna take more chances with those tyres (Conti's attack/ forza front-rear specific set) and since I had schwalbe 1's laying around I thought I should enter new year with new tyres properly. tested my little hand pump, which hasn't seen any action in years, and it's still working. timed myself: 5 minutes of easy but steady pumping - 69 psi on the 25mm tyre. not bad... another 2 minutes of pumping: 71 psi?! I guess that's about as high as I can get with that little thing without really exerting myself. I was hoping for 80 psi, but not bad. one of the new schwalbes has a slight imperfection right at the middle of it. looks like a bit of it was snagged or something when finishing? not sure, but will have to keep my eye on that one (I've had these laying around as spares for a while now, don't even remember when and where I got them, and it's probably too late to claim any initial damage).

also, tried to use the CO2 cartridge for the first time. had one which came with the pump originally (must be 3-4 years old at least), but I never used it. I was able to get it to discharge halfheartedly and it inflated the tyre (thumb estimate to about 50psi) but I somehow let that air out so don't really wanna bother with these in the future (as I haven't so far either). as a matter of fact, I've only had a puncture twice outside in all my cycling years. I put it down to proper maintenance overall and not pushing the tyres to their limit in particular
 
today was a rest day for me. took the chance to change tires on both bikes:

- gravel
rear one was almost spent after some 3,100 km, a lot of that on the rough stuff. I could probably have gotten a bit more mileage out of it, but I prefer to swap them when they're 70-80% done, rather than risk punctures etc. this one had the wear thread totally disappear on one spot, and a decent slash through the middle on another, so... put in some MTB tyres, wanting to go to the Maihama/Makuhari MTB park, only to have something come up so I can't go tomorrow (hoping to do it on Sunday instead)

- road
after about 3,400km without puncturing, I figured I don't wanna take more chances with those tyres (Conti's attack/ forza front-rear specific set) and since I had schwalbe 1's laying around I thought I should enter new year with new tyres properly. tested my little hand pump, which hasn't seen any action in years, and it's still working. timed myself: 5 minutes of easy but steady pumping - 69 psi on the 25mm tyre. not bad... another 2 minutes of pumping: 71 psi?! I guess that's about as high as I can get with that little thing without really exerting myself. I was hoping for 80 psi, but not bad. one of the new schwalbes has a slight imperfection right at the middle of it. looks like a bit of it was snagged or something when finishing? not sure, but will have to keep my eye on that one (I've had these laying around as spares for a while now, don't even remember when and where I got them, and it's probably too late to claim any initial damage).

also, tried to use the CO2 cartridge for the first time. had one which came with the pump originally (must be 3-4 years old at least), but I never used it. I was able to get it to discharge halfheartedly and it inflated the tyre (thumb estimate to about 50psi) but I somehow let that air out so don't really wanna bother with these in the future (as I haven't so far either). as a matter of fact, I've only had a puncture twice outside in all my cycling years. I put it down to proper maintenance overall and not pushing the tyres to their limit in particular

I was amazed to find that a cartridge can inflate a tubeless from zero. I thought only a compressor could do this.

Found this out when I broke a valve last week. This cub scout had a spare!

Andy

DSC_0752.JPG
 
I was amazed to find that a cartridge can inflate a tubeless from zero.

yeah I saw them at work and was expecting something like that, but mine flopped. or to be fair, I don't know how to properly use it in conjunction with my hand pump. but given how rare I get punctures, and my confidence in being able to solve it with the pump alone (it may take 1-2 minutes longer), the CO2s are in my equation more trouble than they're worth
 
yeah I saw them at work and was expecting something like that, but mine flopped. or to be fair, I don't know how to properly use it in conjunction with my hand pump. but given how rare I get punctures, and my confidence in being able to solve it with the pump alone (it may take 1-2 minutes longer), the CO2s are in my equation more trouble than they're worth

Yes, me too, very rarely get punctures. But got a few when I started off road with clinchers. Much less so with tubeless.

The advantage of cartridges is their speed and ability to inflate to "pan pan" pressure quickly.

I'm thinking of doing the Otaki 100km gravel races this year. Last year the winner had 3 flats, so cartridges will probably be invaluable for that race.

Andy
 
agreed, in a race situation, the calculation is very different. even more so if it's a gravel event of such distance. just make sure you practice to use them beforehand
 
This morning I rode down to meet my MTB buddies pre-ride.
The meetup is only a 3 minute spin from my house, so the perfect time to hop on the newest build.
With my knee still wonky, it was a nice stress free slow roll with a coffee in hand.

Verdict -
The stem was just a place holder, but I like it, so it is staying for now.
The bars are a 46cm vs my usual 44cm choice... Iike it a lot.
1x10 MTB drive train will be more than enough to climb on road and while limited on top end, that isn't the point of this bike.
In my short puttering around, I discovered it wheelies quite well!
I also decided to take it down a set of steps and I was not disappointed - the wheels are full MTB, so it was just a comfort concern with the tires. Ultimately, not a problem.

Build -
Vassago Fisticuff frame
Hope Enduro 29r wheels
TRP HyRd brakes
180mm Shimano IceTech rotors
Apex Shifters
GX rear Mechanical
XT 32T crank
Sunrace 11-42T cassette
WTB Riddler 700x45 tires (tubeless)
Ritchey Venturemax 46cm bars
Raceface 50mm stem
Thomson post

With black friday sales and spare parts, I dropped $500 to build the complete bike.

I get it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but in very limited seat time, it promises to be stupid fun!

v1.jpg
 
Last edited:
I made it a week of following the doctors orders.....
Then I just couldn't stay off the bike...
What a great day for a ride!!!

I have concluded a longer stem, swap the 32T for a 34T up front and some seat adjustments, but overall - it was pretty good.


f1.jpgf2.jpgf3.jpg
 
such a great trail! would love to have something like that closer to me...

the bike looks cool too. is that a beer can holder on the head tube?
 
such a great trail! would love to have something like that closer to me...

the bike looks cool too. is that a beer can holder on the head tube?
It is a feedbag, but will hold my morning coffee, midday beer, and evening wine. :)
 
Back
Top Bottom