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Today May 2021

GRX would def make more sense on a frame that can take wider tyres @TheAussieinJapan . speaking as an early convert. I got it about 2 years ago when it was just released, and am pairing it with 47mm tyres usually, but also have some 2.1'' and 2.2'' MTB tyres if things turn really rough (they hardly ever do tho).

about the body-weight, or perhaps more precisely body composition, I'm glad to see the scales moving down to 12% body fat range for the first time in a long while, and certainly for the first time at this weight (more lean mass overall, as waist goes down but shoulders and thighs go up). if I can make it down to low 12%-high 11% territory and maintain that, I'd be OK with that. it's actually getting pretty close. this morning weigh in VS about 1.5 months ago, lost one year in age. tanita is such a flatterer:

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In other May related news I'm strongly considering changing my Fairdale Weekender Drop (profile pic bike) into a flat bar single speed BMX pedal machine. I mostly ride it with my wife going slow & it's due to have the derailleur replaced. Initially I was thinking of a major group set upgrade to GRX but my LBS guy gave me an idea to convert this and if I still was keen on the GRX idea get a new frame that can take wider tyres. Good salesmen he is. Convinced me to buy a new bike in the future.

So flat bar will help with my ongoing shoulder pain rehab & will drop bike weight down, sadly not my weight…
Shoulder inury? I had crook shoulders for years from rugby hits. Finally got both of them pain free last year from doing mobility exercises and am now doing press ups pain free. . How is going to a flat bar with less hand positions going to alleviate shoulder pain?
See a PT and ask them for some rehab work you can do at home?

How wide can the Fairdale take at the moment 45mm?
That is plenty wide enough for 99% of the riding you will get in the Kanto.
Anything knarlier you'd need a dedcated MTB which GRX isn't goling to work on. Maybe 650 tires will give you the BMX vibe.
And drop bars are fun to bash around on as well.
 
Shoulder inury? I had crook shoulders for years from rugby hits. Finally got both of them pain free last year from doing mobility exercises and am now doing press ups pain free. . How is going to a flat bar with less hand positions going to alleviate shoulder pain?
See a PT and ask them for some rehab work you can do at home?

How wide can the Fairdale take at the moment 45mm?
That is plenty wide enough for 99% of the riding you will get in the Kanto.
Anything knarlier you'd need a dedcated MTB which GRX isn't goling to work on. Maybe 650 tires will give you the BMX vibe.
And drop bars are fun to bash around on as well.
I injured my shoulder during the October 2019 Grinduro Japan event.
Going down a ski slope in a typhoon after 40km of craziness, had 2 handfuls of brakes and hit a drainage ditch and went over the handlebars.

Started to get the should looked at then covid started, I just put up with the pain until this year started physio. Problem flares up when I put weight onto the shoulder, and my physiology would rather I didn't really ride the bike but that isn't going to happen. Flat bar with a higher position should shift weight from hands/arms/shoulders.

I've still got my Domane for going fast and while I will miss the 11-46 cassette that was great for bike packing, the Domane is a capable beast for longer adventures. Fairdale fits 40mm, maybe could get away with 42mm barely on the back, the front could take a bit bigger. When I got the Fairdale 40mm tyres seemed massive to me, but now look at 45mm & 47mm on bikes.
 
On Saturday I did my first Century ride for May (on Strava with pictures). That brings my streak to 105 consecutive calendar months with at least one ride of 160.9 km or more.

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Besides distance, another goal was to pick up a tile near the main road (Rt18) to Tsuru toge in Yamanashi. @Chuck will know which one I'm talking about.

I love the rural area near Tsuru toge.

Since Tokyo is under a State of Emergency to fight the pandemic while Yamanashi isn't, I passed through Yamanashi without stopping at any shops or restaurants there.

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I started the ride late, getting up at 06:00 but not leaving home until 07:40. On the way to the Tamagawa I was passed by Doug who told me he was on his way to Iriyama toge (between Wada and Akiruno). I had planned to get to Rt18 via Uenohara (either via Takao or Sagamihara / Sagamiko), but thinking about his course reminded me of Musashiitsukaichi and Hinohara from where I could also cross into Yamanashi via Rt33 / Kobu tunnel. That would save me from having to ride Rt20 which isn't anybody's favourite road. So that's what I did.

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At the Familiymart after Musashiitsukaichi station I stopped for my second breakfast and stocked up for the ride through Yamanashi. I recently discovered some strawberry milk (300 ml for 230 yen) sold at Familymart. It's rather delicious. Where I come from we never had squashed strawberries with milk like they do in Japan, but this is basically a bottled version of it, with lumps of fruit in thick creamy milk. Very decadent!

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Hinohara was teeming with cyclists, I encountered many of them descending from Tomin no Mori as I headed up towards the split to Kobu tunnel. I saw many purple flowers of wisteria (fuji) growing on trees in the forest (it clings to trees and can even strangle them). I climbed slowly to the tunnel. There were far fewer cyclists on the Uenohara side or on Rt18.

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Riding towards Tsuru toge and Kosuge mura is a bit like time travel. It's a world of old villages and farm houses, remote from the big city.

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To collect the tile I had to stay on Rt18 over a local mountain before the toge and then detour to a village on the right. The last couple of times I had shortcut that local climb, staying closer to the river to cut down on climbing. At the village I came across a snake on the road.

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After Tsuru toge I was close to the halfway point, but with almost all climbing done for the day. That's always a good feeling.

After Okutama it started to drizzle. The rain got stronger and I put on my rain gear which I had brought because the forecast had mentioned rain for the evening. At noon it had been around 23 deg C but in the rain it soon dropped to 13 deg C. I had not brought my shoe covers, so soon my socks were wet. But at least I was warm enough with the rain trousers and jacket as well as my windbreaker underneath.

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The rain continued for about 2 1/2 hours, including my dinner break at Sherpa in Ome.

8 3/4 years of Century a Month complete.
 
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Flat bar with a higher position should shift weight from hands/arms/shoulders.
That's more of a function of bar height to seat height than of the type of bars per se. If you have enough steerer left above the stem, you might want to consider raising the bar. Otherwise, an angled-up stem may help.

I agree with @kiwisimon, more hand positions is better which is why I strongly prefer drop bars for long rides.

Fairdale fits 40mm, maybe could get away with 42mm barely on the back, the front could take a bit bigger. When I got the Fairdale 40mm tyres seemed massive to me, but now look at 45mm & 47mm on bikes.
The front wheel is what transmits most of the road shock and vibration to your arms and shoulders, so going wider just at the front should be worth it. You should be able to get away with the same spare tube(s) since they tend to cover quite a range.
 
In other May related news I'm strongly considering changing my Fairdale Weekender Drop (profile pic bike) into a flat bar single speed BMX pedal machine. I mostly ride it with my wife going slow & it's due to have the derailleur replaced.
Not that I want to upset your clever stealth upgrade plan, but the particular conversion plan for the old bike doesn't make much sense to me unless the plan is to deliberately make it unsuitable for rides outside of downtown ;)

Rear derailleurs are not consumables like brake pads, chains and cassettes, but they're also not that expensive either if they do wear out after a number of years. A new derailleur will cost you less than flat bars, let alone flat bars and new brake levers!

If you don't want to spend much: if you're running an 11-speed setup, anything from a 10-speed Tiagra 4700 (about 4700 yen) to Ultegra R8000 (about 8000 yen) rear derailleur will work. If you're on a 10-speed group other than Tiagra 4700, then any 8 to 10-speed road derailleur other than Tiagra 4700 or any 9-speed MTB or trekking derailleur will work.

EDIT: It looks like your Weekender uses a SRAM MTB rear derailleur. SRAM 10-speed road and MTB derailleurs are interchangeable, but not with any Shimano parts.
 
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Today i went for Mitake-san.
I like steep, but this is ridiculous.

Would come back only with a light MTB and a 5+w/kg ftp
 
longest ride of the year so far
not a heap of mileage or climbing but the winds made it just a little bit more challenging.
I have totally lost my climbing legs, and I used to hate climbing. maybe that's why?
motivation to do more climbing I guess.
 
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200 clicks before lunch.


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Afternoon down the beach.

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Check on the process of bike parts switching between frames. Too many customers on a sunny day in Golden Week!

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Finishing with German beers and a French (?) board game.

One more golden day left!

Andy
 
Today i went for Mitake-san.
I like steep, but this is ridiculous.
The fact that the road up to the village runs parallel to a cable car line should be a dead give-away ;) The steepest km of Rt201 there has about 300 m of elevation gain => ~30% gradient.
 
The fact that the road up to the village runs parallel to a cable car line should be a dead give-away ;) The steepest km of Rt201 there has about 300 m of elevation gain => ~30% gradient.

Rt201 has a northern and a southern approach. I assume @Ruda started climbing from JR Mitake Station.

I was planning to check out Rt201 from Akigawa next Friday and wondering if it's possible to haul the bike across the summit, visit the shrine and descend on the other side.
 
Rt201 has a northern and a southern approach. I assume @Ruda started climbing from JR Mitake Station.

I was planning to check out Rt201 from Akigawa next Friday and wondering if it's possible to haul the bike across the summit, visit the shrine and descend on the other side.
@thomas, the southern approach of Rt201 is not connected to the village near the shrine. It ends in a dead end near Nanayono falls and turns into a hiking trail up to the village. It is so steep, you can't push a bike up there, you would have to carry it on your shoulder as you climb over rocks, at least at the lower end. I know because I hiked to Nanoyono falls (coming from Musashiitsukaichi on Rt201) a few times. At the top, near the shrine entrance there's a sign to the left towards Rock Garden and Nanayono falls, that's the top of that same hiking trail. At the bottom it splits towards Nanayono falls on one side and the end of Rt201 on the other.

There are other hiking trails from Mitake shrine that connect to Rt201 south and Rt184 further east, some of which may be less steep than the one leading down to the very end of Rt201 / Nanayono falls, but I can't vouch for them. You can see some of these trails in this RWGPS map.

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Today i went for Mitake-san.
I like steep, but this is ridiculous.

Would come back only with a light MTB and a 5+w/kg ftp
I did it many many years ago with 39/25 gearing but a much lighter/fitter/younger body. It is easily the hardest climb I've ever ridden - I was worried my knees would give out...
 
t the bottom it splits towards Nanayono falls on one side and the end of Rt201 on the other. There are other hiking trails from Mitake shrine that connect to Rt201 south and Rt184 further east, some of which may be less steep than the one leading down to the very end of Rt201 / Nanayono falls, but I can't vouch for them. You can see some of these trails in this RWGPS map.

Thanks, @joewein. I guess you have saved me a lot of trouble. :)
 
anyone have a source for Imezi micro fiber sealant?
Imezi have it on back order.
 
I did it many many years ago with 39/25 gearing but a much lighter/fitter/younger body. It is easily the hardest climb I've ever ridden - I was worried my knees would give out...
I didnt think it was HARD, i think it was STUPID :flip:
25 in the back would make me go back home as soon as i got to the cable car station haha

The fact that the road up to the village runs parallel to a cable car line should be a dead give-away ;) The steepest km of Rt201 there has about 300 m of elevation gain => ~30% gradient.
I got really curious about that, couldn`t let it pass. Next time, i will stick to the good old kazahari rindo :)


Rt201 has a northern and a southern approach. I assume @Ruda started climbing from JR Mitake Station.

I was planning to check out Rt201 from Akigawa next Friday and wondering if it's possible to haul the bike across the summit, visit the shrine and descend on the other side.

I had the plan to come back via RT201 to avoid that scary descent, but the maps didn`t seem to connect the village to that route. Good to know it is not a possibility.
 
Happy to get my new bike built up during what was a very busy Golden Week for the bike shop.

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I'm hoping the bigger tyre clearance and wider flared handlebars will help me descend better.
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As a big rider on a big bike, I've never cared too much about weight, but it comes in at a kilo heavier than the road bike.

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9.5kg

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8.5kg

I'm looking forward to hitting the gravel!

Andy
 
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