Thursday, October 08, 2009

That Could Have Been The Last.....


<====It might be awhile again before it's this nice out.

Not to rub it in, but I had yesterday off. (Score!) Things lined up weather-wise so that that will be the last nice day in awhile. Believe me- I took advantage of that fact!

I have just received the Rawland Cycles "Elgokse" stem/bar combo. "What the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks is that, you ask? Well, just think "modernized Bull Moose bars" and you'll get the gist of it. These are even done up in chrome too! Makes me feel like I am behind the wheel of a '53 Buick, it does! Got that chrome bumper look there. Anyway, I got these and I rode them yesterday.

<===A look from above.

The "Elgokse" (Norwegian for "moose") isn't a light weight either. I know the weight of the set up, but I ain't tellin'! Let's just say they are "phat", and leave it at that, mmmkay? I like that I can adjust the angle of the bar by loosening the two face plates and rotating the bar to get up sweep, a flat profile, or slight down sweep. Ya can't do that with your vintage Bull Moose!

It's interesting to note also that the Pofahl was supposed to have a custom "Bull Moose" type bar from the get-go, but the custom builder contracted to make them ignored me. (I ain't tellin' that name either!) Anyway, so I end up with the look I intended from Day One, so that was a nice deal.

The Pofahl is a single speed, and this bar rocks as a single speed bar. Stiff and wide! Rock the bike up a climb like a pro. You won't feel the bars give an inch. Nice! How wide? How about 700mm wide? Yeah........34mm wider than anything Surly makes. (But numbers don't mean anything, right? ha ha!) If you don't like them that wide, there are graduated marks on the Elgokse to make them narrower. I liked them at full width, so these won't be seeing the hack saw.

More later on the Elgokse, and also on the outlandish Antler Bar! (Wait'll you see this!)

The ride was great. I went on a "multi-terrain" ride through some streets, bike paths, dirt short cuts, and on back roads and single track. It was all good. I got two hours straight in on the Pofahl, then I ran an errand on my Raleigh Rainier rig to the Post Office and back. What a great day to be on the bike.

If you missed the great weather, I hope for your sakes and mine that there is an Indian Summer coming yet. I sure am not ready for "the gales of November to come early"! (Remember that one?)

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