Apparently, the Revolights bike lighting system got funded two months ago. I want one for my errand bike.

This appeared in my twitter feed this morning: low cost reflective rim strips, funded as a Kickstarter project.

My old Rockhopper singlespeed with the Miami Vice paint job has a lot of reflective tape on it to help keep me safe at night, but also to cover up all the rust spots.

I finally got out today for a ride.  After six days since my last ride, it felt great to have time to get some pedal time in.  I rode the Fargo out to Clayton and dropped in for a loop for a 35 mile total.  Today was actually the first time I had time to ride the Fargo on some actual MTB trails.

Being lazy and not wanting to drop my tire pressure from 60 psi to something more trail friendly, like 30 psi, I was getting bounced around.  Clayton is fairly rooty and not so technical, so ride speeds are pretty high.  This results in a lot of bouncing around, especially without any suspension.  I haven't had time to pop the Thudbuster/Brooks back on.

When I was riding at Clayton, I came across a father with his two kids in a little electric toy Jeep, and their dog.  We chatted briefly and as I rode away, the dog followed me down the hill.  I've always wanted a canine companion to share my woods ride with.  Dogs are so much fun.  Perhaps, one day.

Sometimes we cyclists get too hung up on the performance aspect of cycling.  We kit up, in varying degrees, with our clipless shoes, wicking jerseys, padded shorts, $200 vented helmet, and gloves, then go get the bike out of the garage.  It doesn't have to be that way.  When I was a kid, I'd just jump on my bike and ride.  I didn't even own a water bottle or helmet.  I never brought tools with me.  I had a chain wrapped around my seatpost and a Master combination lock.  That's it.  Nowadays, I at least bring a water bottle with me.  And my wife always makes sure I have my cell phone.

I'm still sick with a cold, but the weather was too nice not to go for a ride.  Riding always seems to make me feel good.  My lungs instantly cleared up and I felt energized.  Never let how you feel dictate whether or not you should ride.  Once the endorphins kick in, you'll feel fine even if you are sick.  Even if you're sick from chemo treatments, just jump on a bike and start pedaling and everything is great.

I've been riding my Fargo more than the other bikes lately, being the new arrow in the quiver, but that bike requires clipless shoes and I just wanted to jump-on-and-go, so I took the errand bike.  I still like that bike even though it's too big for me and it's heavy and the 20 year old Answer aluminum bar is fatigued and creaks (I'm sure it's going to snap on me one day).  Once the big 27" wheels get accelerated, that bike is surprisingly fast.

Fall is my favorite season for solo riding.  Being out alone in the woods, riding over multi-colored leaves while breathing in the cool air, is one of my personal joys in life.  Having a lingering cold for the past two weeks has put something of a damper on my ride time lately.  I had to turn down a ride at Jim Thorpe with the guys today because I just wasn't feeling up for, or had time time for, a full day out.  Today was also the perfect Fall day for an epic ride at Jim Thorpe.

So, I took the Fargo out for a fun 20-miler.  I swapped the saddle/seatpost to the WTB Rocket V Stealth/Thompson when I did the weight measurements the other day.  I wanted to feel the difference in the ride without the comfort of the Brooks/Thudbuster and compare it to something I was used to riding since 1995.  (Before I started riding WTB saddles in 1995, I was riding leather Selle Italia saddles.  I even had a carbon fiber shell saddle that I raced on.  To say it was uncomfortable would be an understatement.)  Saddles with "cutouts" were just starting to appear around that time.

Here are some pics from today's ride (with more pics in the gallery):

GPS track: 2011-11-06 Mixed (19mi/Fargo)

Since I'll be doing all kinds of riding on the Salsa Cycles Fargo Ti, including hilly races with 25,000' of elevation gain, I want to start seeing where I can swap parts to save weight.

One obvious component is the wheelset, but for now I just compared the saddle/seatpost combination of the Brooks B-17/Thudbuster with my standard combo, the WTB Rocket Stealth/Thompson.

Brooks B-17 + Thudbuster: 978g

WTB Rocket Stealth + Thompson: 456g

The difference is 522g, or:

• 0.522 kg
• 18.41 ounces
• 1.151 lbs

When I don't need the comfort of the Brooks/Thudbuster, I know I can save over one pound with the WTB/Thompson.

What's wrong with these pictures?

I'll tell you: this bike is too clean.  Being sick and busy, I haven't had time to hit the trails.  I hope to remedy this "problem" this weekend.

Just saw this on Gizmag: easy on-off fenders that look like they might work, from Full Windsor.  I like simple, useful products like this, assuming they are also reasonably cheap.

Image from Gizmag.com

Now that I have the Fargo, I'm starting to think about gear for future touring and camping trips.  One of the main reasons for getting this bike was for its ability to do bike adventures and carry loads.  Errin at frontageroads.com got me thinking about Revelate Designs bags.  Probably the biggest issue I'll face is the fact that I have a size Small frame.

Here are some pics I've been checking out.

It was too nice a day not to take the Fargo out for its second ride.  Being really pressed for time these days, as well as having a mild cold from the flu shot last Friday, I haven't been able to get much bike time in.  Today, I squeezed in 27 miles for a total of 39 miles on the new Fargo.

Some more ride impressions:

Thudbuster - The Thudbuster really does a great job of dampening chatter.  I have an old RockShox 27.2mm suspension seatpost (seen here on the Zion) that I use on my Zion and Cannondale on occasion, which still works very well, but it gives a kind of "pogo" effect when it compresses then rebounds.  The Thudbuster's parallelogram and elastomer seem to just dampen and not give much of an undesirable rebound.  The weight penalty on a rough, long ride would be a justifiable trade-off.

Tires - The Continental Race Kings pick up sand and throw it up into the air.  I found myself needing to spit out sand occasionally.  This is typical when you ride in sand, though.  The fatter tires float much better across sandy roads than a narrower 'cross tire, which I was riding a lot before the Fargo.  However, they "drag" more on pavement due to increased friction and tread pattern.  For rides with a higher percentage of pavement riding, I would opt for a more efficient road worthy tire, perhaps a 28c touring or 'cross tire on a narrower rimmed wheelset.

The Woodchipper bar offers four basic hand positions that I've been able to discern so far.  (I have not taken the bike on MTB trails yet, so this may be a bit premature.)  They are:

1. Tops - With my hands on the tops, my back is completely upright, which is a riding position I'm not used to.  I can see riding in this position during a long ride when you need to stretch your lower back out for some relief or when you need to eat while riding.  One benefit here, though, is that you don't need to release your grip on the bar, which is typical when you ride a typical road bike (unless you have unusually long arms).
2. Hoods - I ususally ride on the hoods when I'm stomping up a climb out of the saddle or I need to keep my hands on the brakes "just in case" and I don't want to be riding in the drops.  I don't have my fit completely dialed in yet, but the height of my bar now renders the hoods a little too high for a comfortable riding position compared to what I'm used to.  I spend a lot of time on my IRO Jamie Roy, which has a bullhorn bar, and I'm used to stomping up hills while holding the bend of the bar.
3. Drops - I was surprised at how comfortable I feel riding in the drops with this bar.  Usually, on my road bike, I feel too stretched out to ride in the drops for any length of time, unless I really want the most aero position and need to go fast.  Riding in the drops on the Woodchipper (note that I have an 80mm stem here while all my other bikes have 100mm stems) feels great for climbing, getting as aero as possible, for sketchy sections where you need to keep a finger on the brakes, and just general cruising.
4. Lowers - The lowers extend further back and flare out, plus are slightly angled up towards the front of the bike.  It feels very comfortable to just ride in this position for extended periods and for climbing.  With the flare, I seem to have more control of the front end than I would, say, with a regular "road" drop bar.
5. Other - When I get a chance to ride offroad on actual MTB terrain, I might find another "micro" position that gives me a more stable feel with better control than one of the previously mentioned positions.  Stay tuned.

(UPDATE: Guitar Ted updated his Drop Bar Mountain Bike Tips article.  It's definitely worth a read if you plan to ride your drop bars on the trail.)

Gearing - The 9-speed XT drivetrain, with its three chainrings, is a typical MTB or touring configuration that gives good gear ratios for offroad climbing and technical trails (which I haven't tested on this bike yet); faster, less technical MTB trails and loaded touring; and faster road riding.  I've been riding mostly in the big chainring on the road and dropping to the middle chainring on the dirt roads.  Shifting was precise and predictable.

Shifters - The Dura-Ace bar end shifters work very nicely.  My old 1980 Raleigh Super Course 12-speed had SunTour bar end friction shifters that I really missed when I sold the bike.  On the Woodchipper, with its flared lowers, my knees were never in the vicinity of the shifters (something that happened with my old Raleigh during out-of-saddle stomping).

Cockpit - I have to raise the Brooks saddle about a half centimeter, tilt the nose up a tad, and move it rearward about a half centimeter.  I have the size Small (16") frame and have no standover clearance.  As a short person, I am used to this and the lack of standover clearance is a moot issue for me.  I'm used to riding motorcycles where I can't put both feet on the ground simultaneously, even on the road waiting for red lights.  I doubt that's even legal.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the shop failed to set up my brakes "moto style" (front brake=right lever).  This irks me just a little, not only because I was assured that it would be done, but also because I am very particular about the setup of my bikes.  I build up all my own bikes, usually from a frame and whatever parts I have in the parts bin or borrow from friends.  In 1999, I bought a complete Specialized S-Works FSR from a local shop.  They also failed to set up the brakes as I requested.  Shops don't seem to want to set up brakes "moto style."  The cable routing also makes more sense when you have a front disc brake.  I'm not sure why more people don't ride this way.

The other issue is that the small frame only has one bottle mount inside the front triangle, on the downtube.  The fork has two bottle mounts, but I doubt I will use those except when I'm on a bike adventure or mutliday tour.  I always ride with a Camelbak anyway, but on my typical 100-miles-or-less rides, I like the convenience of two bottles inside my frame.

GPS track:

• 2011-10-28 Mixed (27mi/Fargo)