One upmanship
A close friend of mine that wishes to remain anonymous because he is deathly afraid of the Google monster sent me a picture of his bike after a ride in the snow in the Midwest. He had recently put on his studded tires and notice the pansy fenders on the Specialized ride. I think he personally sponsors Specialized - yes, you read it right - he sponsors Specialized, not them sponsoring him.
So of course, I could not let him one up me. I dug the old school Raleigh Peak (circa 1991) with the Shimano XT Rapid Fire shifters and first Generation RockShox (Paul Turner design - air oil) - http://mombat.org/Rock_Shox.htm and decided to ride it in the snow here in central Oregon to prove a point.
Dumb.
Really dumb.
So having not really even ridden the 20 year-old bike in probably 2 years, and being VERY used to my Gary Fisher Supercaliber 29er, I was immediately noticing how different the geometry is on the Raleigh. Don't get me wrong, the Raleigh is one sexy ride with the 1990's era monster bar ends that really make this ride special, but man, I now know why I made it "my old bike."
So first off, I have not yet put my studded tires on it. Instead I had old (as in cracking old) Michelin WildGripper Comp's front and rear (note that they are blue). These tires suck in the snow and ice. I almost crashed 4 times just trying to get out of the parking lot. I should have realized what sort of ride that was going to be.
About 1 mile into the ride, I went to shift up so I could climb a small hill in the snow - thumbed it - nothing. I look down and all the slush and snow was built up around the bottom bracket but noting out of the ordinary. I reached down and pulled the cable - there you go as I quickly had 18" of slack cable in my hand with a frayed end. Tie it up. Single speed time.
So as I continued to ride I noted how bad the rear skewer was as it slipped four times in less than mile. I finally cinched it down as tight as I could without breaking it and kept going. An hour later after slipping, sliding and almost crashing multiple times, which I REALLY hate doing - it hurts too much - I made it back around to the less treacherous road and finished the ride with my tail between my legs.
Fun times? Hmm, maybe on the Gary Fisher full suspension with studded tires. I have become soft. Weak.
Thanks homey - I appreciate the challenge.
Image via Wikipedia
So of course, I could not let him one up me. I dug the old school Raleigh Peak (circa 1991) with the Shimano XT Rapid Fire shifters and first Generation RockShox (Paul Turner design - air oil) - http://mombat.org/Rock_Shox.htm and decided to ride it in the snow here in central Oregon to prove a point.
Dumb.
Really dumb.
So having not really even ridden the 20 year-old bike in probably 2 years, and being VERY used to my Gary Fisher Supercaliber 29er, I was immediately noticing how different the geometry is on the Raleigh. Don't get me wrong, the Raleigh is one sexy ride with the 1990's era monster bar ends that really make this ride special, but man, I now know why I made it "my old bike."
So first off, I have not yet put my studded tires on it. Instead I had old (as in cracking old) Michelin WildGripper Comp's front and rear (note that they are blue). These tires suck in the snow and ice. I almost crashed 4 times just trying to get out of the parking lot. I should have realized what sort of ride that was going to be.About 1 mile into the ride, I went to shift up so I could climb a small hill in the snow - thumbed it - nothing. I look down and all the slush and snow was built up around the bottom bracket but noting out of the ordinary. I reached down and pulled the cable - there you go as I quickly had 18" of slack cable in my hand with a frayed end. Tie it up. Single speed time.
So as I continued to ride I noted how bad the rear skewer was as it slipped four times in less than mile. I finally cinched it down as tight as I could without breaking it and kept going. An hour later after slipping, sliding and almost crashing multiple times, which I REALLY hate doing - it hurts too much - I made it back around to the less treacherous road and finished the ride with my tail between my legs.
Fun times? Hmm, maybe on the Gary Fisher full suspension with studded tires. I have become soft. Weak.
Thanks homey - I appreciate the challenge.
Image via Wikipedia
Perhaps a little preventive maintenance is in order for the old Easton Bat Bike. Glad you got out there to prove that I'm not the only stupid one. You can pick up a set of the Kenda studded tires dirt/snow cheap on flea bay. Got mine for 50 bucks new. Be prepared to break a few tire levers getting the steel sidewalls on the rims. They work pretty well though, that is if you can get the extra 2.5 lbs that they weigh rolling. Surprised you didn't blow the seals out on the old Rock Shox???
ReplyDeleteRuss
Just raised the bar of stupidy, 21 degrees, 3 with wind chill and winds gusting to 40mph. Now that is stupid!
ReplyDelete