A bike-related post a day. That's the goal.

Possibly the second most important part of your bike, after the frame/fork combo. (These are all my opinions, but it is my bleaurgh, so deal with it…) I ordered a set of On-One wheels (on sale, ‘natch.) this summer, and have run them for the last few months. I can safely say these wheels rock! The Centrelock system which I had not much more than a heaping load of disdain for, has grown on me. (more on that later.) Built on their Reetard rim, these wheels are true light and none more black. I love them. Not much else to say really.

And yes, I did order them with the Small Block 8’s and they are spectacular. No need for a super-high profile tire here in Munich. Along the Isar on my lazy 60km route, I encounter mostly loose over hardpack with a small bit of asphalt and maybe some packed singletrack thrown in. Not much goo here, nor is there a lot of deep loam. (Not what I’d call deep anyhow.) Moving from my Larsen TT’s on my 26′in MTB, these were a natural follow-up. Long wearing and sticky enough to give me confidence at speed. I also tend to run most of my tires at more-than-silly pressures like 35-40 depending. It makes for a harsher ride sometimes, but also much smoother on the loose-over-hard stuff I encounter most of the time.

As for the  Centrelock system… Well, It was one of those experiences where I proved that I was nothing more than retarded. I popped them out of the box, and got to installing them. I forgot when I ordered them that they were the other system, so I set about running to every bike shop I could to see about getting rotors. I have a real problem with patience. So every place I looked, the system looked different than what I had. “Those bastards at On-One sent me wheels with an older version of the Centrelock system… Now I’m pissed…” I thought.

Well, I finally went to Radsport-Roesch. These guys are officially my go-to guys. Friendly, knowledgeable and patient with my broken German… everything I need when buying parts. The guy behind the counter listened to my dilemma and reassured me there was only one system, unless I had a 20mm front hub, and then it’s basically the same, jsut… well… 20mm.

I informed him that I had some strange system and wasn’t about to drop 50 euros on the wrong rotor. He said “If it’s wrong, bring it back and we’ll figure it out. You can bring in the wheels too, if you want.”

“Too much trouble, and besides… I want to ride them NOW ! ! !” I said.

He laughed and we got everything sorted.

The reason I was confused was when they ship, the Centrelock bit (where the rotor slides on…) was 1)-covered with some super-stuck rubber grommet and 2)- is removeable. As in, you unscrew the lock ring (much like a rear hub/cassette lock ring) and the whole thing slides off the hub. Which is pretty genuis, actually. No need to remove rotors when travelling. Just take this bit off and voilá. Easy-peasy. The hubs then look like (ironically…) a rear hub that is waiting for a cassette to slide on. So it turns out I’m an idiot and spent the better part of a gorgeous Saturday looking for Centrelock rotors with a completely different system.

Anyhow, they are stiff enough for me, and were a great price for a wheelset with tires and tubes. Can’t really go wrong with that, eh?

—me.

I have some new bits for my bikes that I want to share with you. First up is a NC17 seat post. It’s not the lightest thing out there, but as I am a respectable hunk over the 200-lb mark, light ain’t on the menu for the most part. What I like is the unlimited adjustability of it. It is replacing a Thompson seat post with no setback and limited adjustability. Have a look.

So the rails of your saddle set nicely where those two tube-things are and it fits both 8 and 9mm rails. (I”m still thinking of a use for them. Any ideas are welcome…) The silver nut below the rails controls how far forward or back your saddle sits. The two underneath the ‘butt’ of the saddle hold it firmly in place, while loosening them allows the saddle to be tilted up or down in incredibly small increments with the big red knob. (1-degree, I believe.) Get it to where you want it, then tighten it all down and you’re ready to roll.

What I like most about it, it it fits 3 of my bikes and with it’s adjustability, it allows me to have one post for all 3, and with a small amount of fiddling, I can have my Brooks saddle always under my fat, slow ass. Isn’t that special?

—me.

(More updates later as I start logging miles on it.)

It’s coming as it always does. Lance will also be there, from what I hear. I really could care less, but it will at least give the US networks some reason to show it. I wonder… If all the riders from the US were gone, how long would the coverage hold out? How fast would it be a highlight; but only if something went horribly, terribly wrong?

I’m just askin’.

Have some Melvins. It helps with the hills.

—me

The Mother-in-law is gone for a long weekend, so we are stuck with her retarded dog, Pellegrino. Let me tell you about him.

He is retarded. Period.

In bike-related stories, we had him for about two months a few years back, and he was even MORE so back then. I guess age has mellowed him out a bit.

Back then, I had a Fit Bikes ‘Team/Pro’ model (or whatever the base model is… i forget…) And it was perfect for running him into exhaustion. I also did this with my Santa Cruz Jackal once or twice. Being below freezing and quite slick out, that’s not going to happen today.

You have to understand, he is all about picking fights, even though he is a dyed-in-the-wool wuss. All bark and no bite as it were. He’s a Lab/German Sheperd mix, and for whatever reason he HATES other Sheperds. Which I find hysterical. He’s anti-social and a bit of a spaz, so when it’s time to go out, I have to be absolutely sure there are no other crazies around. Not an easy task living near 2 rehab centers and a halfway house.

Back to the bikes. I would leash him, and hop on the bike. The DJ and BMX bikes were the best. Low to the ground, with great stopping power. They also have the added benefit of being so low, I can still sit on them, grab the leash with both hands and drop both feet down to keep him reined in. So we would get a slow trot on, and make out way out of the city to Olympiapark. Great place to let him run around, towing me behind and (usually) not getting in trouble.

So we enter the [ark, and I crank up slowly until he gets the idea he can run. Cool. He’s off like a hot shit out of a greased pig. I sit back, all slack and before I know it, he’s pulling me all over the park without pausing. Well, almost. He surely needed to pick that fight with a St. Bernard that was easily twice as big as him. I thro the bike between me and P. and the Bernard. The owner smiles and assures me “He’s quite friendly.”

“This one isn’t. He’s an idiot.” I explain to the nice lady.

“Oh… ok.” She walks off looking confused, but satisfied that I don’t have any psychotic tendencies or malicious intent towards her hairy beast of a dog.

So we do this every day for about sixty to ninety minutes in summer, with a short beer pause for me. (Letting him do all the work is thirsty business, I tell ya.) The absolute best part was, he would get back to our place, drink an inordinate amount of water, crawl under the couch and sleep for the next 4 hours. Seriously, it was awesome.

Today I have already chased him away from the toilet three times, and he’s knocked over the trash twice. I wish he would just fucking relax, but no. He’s retarded.

—me.

Today is some goofy-ass holiday here in Bavaria. What that has to do with biking, I’m not sure… But there you go.

I have been trying to figure out what to post during the winter here. When it snows and stays below freezing, I have little to no motivation for riding. Add to that my chronic bronchitis that takes me out of commission for a month at a time and you have a less-than-productive winter season for my lardy ass.

I am getting a nice moustache in though

—me.

ps : Added a link to my friend Tyler’s site, Doc’s Lollipops. What’s biking without good beer, good friends and a bit of art thrown in??

…take it easy.

Sorry… got that damn song stuck in my head ever since I got on the bike. (first time this year and first time since I-don’t-know-when.) Anyhow here are some pics.

Maybe if I can read up on how to properly embed gps routes etc, I’ll do that. For now be happy with pics.

—me.

I’ve always been a bit wary of it due to my size and tendency to ‘Monster-Truck’ everything. Let’s just say my nickname isn’t ‘finesse’. So when I read up on carbon 29′er forks, I was pleased to find the On-One version. Stiff, light and in the right price range I had. It was just after the SSWC in Aviemore, Scotland in 2007 and they were on sale. (That will be a recurring theme, by the way… Why pay thru the nose when you can either wait a while and get it on sale, or scour around and find it cheaper somewhere?)

Anyhow, it’s been thru quite a bit of riding and I can safely say I love love love this fork. Light enough to lift over everything and stiff enough to inspire confidence; its awesome. Match this with some light aluminum frame or even a Karate Monkey (like me…) and you’re good to go.  I’ve even taken a few spills on it, and there’s not even a scratch. Unbelieveable. (I may swap back out to my KM fork at the end of the year though. I’m sure there is a lifespan on these things, and I don’t need another fork blowing up on me.)

All-in-all it was a good investment for me, and I can recommend it to anyone looking for a carbon fork that’s stiff, light and won’t burn a huge hole in your wallet.

—me

I’ve never met the man, but he seems like a nice enough guy. Some cyclists… you can tell they would be snotty or dismissive, but he seems like a decent guy. I could be wrong.

I have a love-hate thing with him. More like a hate-respect thing, truth be told. I hate him for being a sprinter. That’s not to say I hate all sprinters, per se. I just don’t like cherry-pickers. I was at a UCI Worlds race in Verona a few years back, and we checked out the city (for the wives in tow) and stopped at various points on the course to watch the racers speed by, and when I saw Zabel in his Pepto-pink Telekom jersey, ‘CHERRY-PICKER’ was all I managed to shout. Redwine laughed at me while the locals shook their heads at the big dumb American who couldn’t understand the finesse and tactics required for racing bikes.

Admittedly, I understand more now than I did when I started watching as much as I could after my ride across the US. (Hs it been 10 years already??) But I know tactics and I know cherry-picking. I have neither skill nor fitness. I can suck down a lot of beer and manage to get home on semi-tricky, technical singletrack without busting my head wide open, so there’s my resumé. But sprinters in general, and Zabel in general always got under my skin.

You see, I always see it as coming down to a few guys. One is hammering away at the front, doing all the work, while the other two suck his back wheel until the last second. Then they pop out, and make that mad, gorgeous dash for the finish. While amazing to watch, especially for someone who will never crack a sustained 40kph on flat, it still seems unfair to that guy who pulls everyone to the last final sprint. I know sometimes it’s their JOB to do just that… fine. No problem. But when you see that it’s not… that he’s getting worn down so the other two schlubbs can duke it out… well, it makes me mad. Still.

As for the respect, he earned it every race he won by beating out the young pups. By winning the 6-day race here in Munich over and over and over again. And yes, because he’s (now) 40. He won it with the 6 final green jersey wins on the TdF. He won it by admitting he doped and quitting. By owning what he did, and not fighting it and stepping down with whatever was left of his dignity and wounded pride and ego. Mostly he earned it by winning without a lot of fanfare. He rode to win and he was hard as nails.

I’m gonna miss my love-hate affair with his this summer. I’m sure there will be more to take his place, but they just wont be the same.

Finally, a photo I shot from the last apperance at the 6-day race here in Munich, 2006. (Maybe 2005)

—me.

Start off the new year right; go out and buy the Collective’s ‘ROAM’. Possibly one of the most beautifully filmed bike videos I have ever seen. Every time I see the clip in Whistler, it makes me want to drop everything, book a flight and sleep in the parking lot for a week. Minimum.

ROAM — Whistler

ROAM — Crashes & outtakes

Then I think about my knees, my bones, and all the crashing that would happen. So I decide to flip on the PS3 and get to playin’. Besides, it’s gross out.

—me.

…counting down to launch.

Happy pedaling, people. Get your bike on, and all that.

—me