Road tested the commuter and ...

the first time out was a complete failure! Someone on Ridefetish.com said that 700c wheels with a cyclecross tire will just fit. Picked up a pair of Kendas from the Bicycle Goodie Shop in Bethel and here it is.

Plenty of room with the new Surly fork, however, the rear is a different story.

This is the amount of room I had on the horizontal support between the seat stays while rigged for single speeding.

I started with a 44:14 gear ratio but found that it was just too tall of a gearing combo. Wheel would pop out of alignment because the chain tugs would slip off the drops. On that initial test ride, Christmas eve, I did a measly four miles. The only way to maintain proper wheel alignment with horizontal drops is to shove the axle all the way forward, which means either getting a chain tensioner or going gears. Since I don't have a tensioner laying around, I decided to go with gears. I have an eight speed shifter and a nine and seven speed cassettes. Went with the 9 speed.

But as you can see, tire spacing on the horizontal support between the chain stays is a mere 2 or 3 millimeters! Rides nicely

Second test ride with the larger wheels and first time out with gears was a learning experience. I can forget about a second career as a bike mechanic. Ran into problems on the first climb on Hanover Road before Tamarack with the rear derailleur. It needed more tuning but I decide to press on. Rode down Alberts Hill only to find that it's closed because the section of the road close to the lake is eroding. With the snow and ice on the unplowed section made for some interesting riding. I got about 20 yards before I gave up and walked the rest of the way.

It was pretty much all downhill or flat to Walnut Tree Hill but my troubles started on the next climb. I never realized how steep this road is. Part way into the first climb my chain popped off the front sprocket while trying to downshift. After a quick fix I was able to climb the whole hill but it was tough, especially knowing that I couldn't quite stay in the lowest gear.

On School House Road, the chained popped off again. Same situation. I road back down Hanover and went for a final loop on Lake and the chain popped twice in that circuit. So, it's back to the stand for more work.

Once again, I don't have my Edge.

Called Garmin last week about sending my Edge back for warranty service only to find that it wasn't registered. Huh? I asked how was I able to do the initial warranty service last summer and they seemed to not have any record of that.

Had to send them a copy of the receipt in order to show that it was still within a year, turns out it was purchased at the end of November but Garmin said that was cool and to send it in for servicing.

Shipped it with UPS but it dawned on me afterwards that it was quite possible it could get lost because of the packaging. I had thought that UPS would stick it in one of their envelopes but I had put it in a small envelop with bubble wrap thinking that would provide it extra protection.
Good thing I insured it for the full amount of the unit.

Got the confirmation today that it was received by Garmin. Can't wait to get it back because relying on my MAP60 is no fun. In fact, I have been having such poor performance with it that I am now also riding with my Magellan, too.

2nd Week and no 'Horse!

EMS in Fairfield is turning into a big let down, as a bike shop. Maybe it's because now it's the off season and they are focused on selling snow and skiing related equipment but it's now two weeks since I dropped off the 'Horse and it looks like it's going to extend to three. I am disappointed.

On a brighter note, I did get a Surly 1x1 fork in white to complement the Fixation in it's Schwarz und Weiss motiv (that's Black and White). I think I have finally decided to scrap the redline wheelset and just stick with the bombshells on this bike. They are beefier and will look great with a pair of 2.6 or 2.7 inch wide tires. For now, though, I am still using the rear wheel on the Dumpgoose until I decide to scrap the bike. Still up in the air on whether to dump it or not.

Single Speeding in the Snow

It was 20 degrees this morning when I got into the car and headed to Jump Hill. Was supposed to meet Tren at the intersection of Sunset Hill and Rte 58 in Bethel but the kids were up and I had to feed them before leaving. Also preparing for a cold weather ride was a lot of work. I hooked a with a group of guys that were light years beyond my capabilities but I think this ride was the biggest assembly of 29ers in Fairfield County that I have seen. I had my Qball and there were some guys from Bethel Cycle with a 21 lb Cannondale FG prototype and I think there was one other.

Here is the Cannondale:

Here is my Qball:

I didn't get a shot of the third 29er but if was fully and geary (full suspension and gears) something I haven't seen to date. One guy from Ridgefield showed up with a rigid Salsa A La Carte, now that rocks!



I put on sock liners and neoprene socks because I still don't have over booties. I think it's time to get a pair! I put on bib tights and BDU cutoffs and up top I had a wicking shortsleeve, turtle neck, henley, and my Columbia Windstopper Fleece. Started riding with a face mask and my Canondale gloves but the fingers got cold and had to switch to my deep freeze polar fleece gloves, that is until both my head and hands got way too hot and went to a knit cap and the C'dale gloves.

Jump Hill parking is tight and can hold 8 to 10 cars if you park with some care. There is Dave P. in red getting ready. There was this guy in an Escalade, obviously not a Mountain Biker that wanted to park but couldn't and was very upset that he couldn't. He could have parked on Country Club Lane but drove away disgusted. Guess he didn't like the idea of first come first serve. Below is Dave F., ready for action.

The trail from Jump Hill climbs a big hill. I decided to go last and by the time I got to top of the hill the rest of the riders were long gone! It seems I started out on the wrong foot from the get go. Riding a single speed with this crowd was not the best choice of bike but then again, I had no choice of bike. Then I was too cold, then I was too hot, brakes were squealing, my seatpost was too high, then it was too low. But I wasn't quitting, rather I had already planned on cutting this trip short.

Somewhere along the way Tren came back to get me.

By the one hour mark I figured we should start heading back so we turned onto a trail that I knew would take us back to the White Trail and we could ride back to Jump Hill. Once back on the White trail we road back up to the intersection with the red when Woody, Dave and Rich caught up with us.

Riding in Snow

Shot sequence of Woody, Dave and Rich climbing back up the red trail.