Mostly complete

Well the frame is here and almost entirely put together. The silver paint job is cooler than I thought it would be. And I dig the new pacer graphics.

Half of it went together quickly, the other half took some ingenuity. The front derailleur clamp from my C'dale is too big. I solved this by creating a shim that is one parts electrical tape two parts aluminum A&W Root Beer can. It seems to work fine and should last at least a few days until I can get the correct sized clamp ordered.

The biggest road block came from the derailleur hanger. The threads were not in great shape. I had cleaned them out to the best of my ability but the derailleur did not want to call that hanger home. For the next few minutes we put the derailleur in and out from the inside of the rear stays. That helped, but the screw was not long enough. We looked for other screws of the same size but longer. We found one from the scrap parts of Robin's Fuji. Why did we save those? We have no idea, but we're glad we did. A few turns of that screw and everything was just fine.

I still need to cut the steerer tube and figure out which size stem would work best, so I haven't taken it for a real ride yet. It does feel nice though.



Here I am sitting in a chair pondering my derailleur dilemma.

Bigger, more complete photos to follow.

It is somewhat funny that both of my setup problems came in the form of my derailleurs and that Robin's best picture was of our derailleurless bikes. Hmmm.

Slackin on the UPS

The UPS people did not bring my frame today. They brought the rest of my order, which was comprised of very unexciting things like a seatpost, seat clamp, and a headset. I'll spare you the boring pictures (plus I left them at the shop).

I had planned on doing the group ride tonight, as it has been awhile since my last attempt. But it was damn hot and riding hard did not sound fun. Instead I met my coworker Andy and his girlfriend Kristin at Sugar Bottom. It was still hot out there, but we rode nice and easy. Conversational pace on mountain bike trails is a wonderful thing.

Tomorrow I should have the frame, but since UPS didn't make any promises, I won't either.

A Change of Pace

For the past few months I have spared you, my readers, the numerous thoughts that I have had regarding new bicycle frames. I have been disenchanted with my cannondale CAAD 5 for quite some time now. When I got the frame seven years ago it was more or less the cream of the crop for aluminum racing frames. I raced quite hard on it for over three years and then continued to train as if I were racing for another three or so years. But I can no longer handle the rattling in my butt and hands. For the past few months I have found myself riding my cyclocross bike more and more. It is also aluminum, but it takes nice big squishy tires.

So, in brief, I think the perfect frame for me would be a steel road bike that has clearance for larger tires, say up to 35 maybe, but wouldn't look stupid with a faster set of 25s on it. There are very few frames around like this. Sure, there are lots of cyclocross frames, but as I have no intention of riding around twisty courses and bunny hopping barriers I don't need their geometries or higher bottom brackets. I want the stableness of a bike that can comfortably be ridden all day. This is hard to come by. Rivendell makes a few, though I don't believe they emphasize speed quite enough for me, I mean, just because I'm not racing doesn't mean I don't like to go fast on the occasional Tuesday/Thursday group race. Then there is Ebisu, beautifully crafted Japanese bicycles named after the God of Good Fortune, the Ocean, and Fishermen. From there the list drops off rather dramatically with Heron and Velo-Orange, great bikes, but I'm not sure they are what I'm looking for. And beyond that you must enter the realm of custom builders like Ira Ryan. I'm leaning towards the latter, but even if I went with a production frame like the others, I couldn't afford it for a little while.

So I have decided on an interim frame so to speak. It is steel. It takes pretty big tires, so it can handle dirt roads with the best of them. And I was able to purchase it through my shop for a very very low price. It is a Surly Pacer. It will be the perfect step between my super stiff and pingy aluminum frame and my perfect custom steel all day road/dirt/brevet frame. And when the new frame comes this could shift right into an amazing commuter or even become a 650b project.

The frame should come tomorrow. I'll post pictures when I get it.

Oh, and if you were worried, I fixed my headset. I put one of the many pieces back incorrectly, but it is all better now.

Keep Both Hands On The Wheel At All Times

Today I did some work on my cyclocross bike's headset. It is not in good shape. There is an unhealthy amount of rust on the outside, and for the past few rides it would creak while I was climbing out of the saddle. It would only creak when I would lean the bike to the left though. This made for a relatively enchanting rhythm and is perhaps the reason I've waited so long to clean it.

But today I pulled it apart. I cleaned all the innards up and re-greased the important parts. I even used some fine sandpaper to get most of the rust off. When I put it all back together the creaking was gone and it felt smooth. But now I can't ride without hands. I don't understand it. The steering seems to stick and the bike becomes very intent on veering off course. I have loosened and tightened everything numerous times, but still no easy no-handed riding.

I can also feel a subtle difference when riding with hands. In general, the bike just feels more sluggish, particularly at low speeds. If any of you other bike people have thoughts on this, please let me know. Riding without hands makes me feel like a big kid, and now I feel like I'm getting older by the minute.

Love Porto

Robin and I spent a lovely Saturday afternoon at a matinee. We rode our bikes to see Shrek the Third and brought our lovely Portuguese friend Port along with us. I don't feel I am up to adequately asses the movie at the moment, but a good time was had by all. I do remember a few other highlights, my first experience with a photo booth, riding through the tunnel under the railroad tracks, and coming home to find that we had just a little port left over. But not as much as we would have liked.

Double Tape

I went for a ride today. It has been awhile since my last ride. Well, only three days, but it seems like a lot.

I took the cross bike out on some dirt roads south of town. Early last week Robin put some new bar tape on her townie bike and I put some on the cross bike. I have had the bike for four years now and this is the first time I have put new bar tape on it. Many hundreds of miles of riding through frigid winters and sweltering summer had worn away pretty much all of the padding. I should have replaced, oh, about three years ago. Surprisingly, it had very few tears on it and left almost no exposed bar. So I decided to just put my new bar tape over the old bar tape. It is lovely. The larger surface is a pleasure to hang onto while bumping down Level B roads. I've known many people who enjoy the double tape, and if you haven't given it a shot, I suggest you do. Unless you have small hands, then you might not like it as much.

So I cruised south on gravel and slowly meandered over to Lone Tree. It was quite hot and I had already consumed half of my liquids so I decided to stop at a gas station for a refreshing root beer. Again I got the "training for Ragbrai?" question from the clerk. "No," I said, "just out for a ride." This response brought a puzzled look to her face. She thought it strange that Lance was going to be at Ragbrai and I wasn't, as if all people with tight bright clothes and two wheels stick together. I tried to come up with an equivalent for convenient store clerks but couldn't, so I just smiled and went outside to enjoy my beverage.

I left Lone Tree heading east on gravel and then shortly turned left onto SE White Oak Ave, a Level B road. As many times as I've been through Lone Tree I have never taken this gem of a B road. The dirt is smooth, there are a few lovely rolling hills, and the grass has grown over most of it so that it resembled nice doubletrack more than a farm road. I took it until it dead ended and I think there were three very nice Level B sections. I give SE White Oak Ave two thumbs up. I then continued to zig zag with the tailwind all the way back to IC. It was warm, but very nice.

On a sad note, Joe, my compatriot at the bike shop, had is De Rosa stolen from right outside the bike shop. Absolutely appalling. It is a beautiful bike. The signature De Rosa heart is subtly laid over the main triangle. If you see someone on it who doesn't look like their name is Joe Lazio (and yes, he is as Italian as his name and the bike's name) push them into a lamp post or do whatever else you see fit. Down with bike thievery I say.

Seeing Clearly

Lately I have been in the habit of getting in the shower while my glasses are still on my face. I don't remember ever doing this before. At least I always notice before I stick my head under the water.