Friday News And Views

 

Image courtesy of Retroshift

Bike Geek Alert! Okay, I'm kicking off today's post with a bit of bike gear geekery. So if esoteric discussion of bike componentry are not your thing, then you may want to skip over this part. (But then again, you probably do not read this blog!)

There is this new-old shifter technology out now called "Retroshift" which utilizes Tektro levers and a down tube/bar end mount which is "pasted" on to the front. With the addition of user supplied down tube or bar end shifters, a shift lever mounted off the end of the lever at the hood can be had.

This has become a fashionable thing to have on cross bikes of late. Retroshift claims that with riders abusing the typically used "brifter" in situations they never were intended for, (e.g. cross racing in mud, rain, and snow), the ubiquitous down tube shifter or bar end shifter works better, and is more robust, resisting damage in crashes, as an example.

I have been in some pretty heinous conditions on gravel, and I could see where maybe this makes sense as a component for gravel racing, or for an adventure/touring set up where the ultimate reliability is desired. Am I nuts? Anyone see what I am seeing? I will say that they look really odd. Almost as if you had non-aero levers on your bike.

Okay, so I was wrong! It looks as though we just may have our terrain looking like what I have shown here again. At least for awhile.

A big storm is brewing in the high plains today and the word was as of yesterday that we may be in on some significant snow. This means that By-Tor and the Snow Dog will be getting more "game time" in the coming days.

Of course, I have to get my son out sledding again. He's already called out some time for that! Hopefully I can find a decent sled before it gets too nasty out there! The ones we have just are not cutting it for us. But anyway, the snow biking facet of my fat bikes will be getting more play. That's good. I thought this winter was pretty much a bust so far for that part of riding these fatties.

Of course, looking at our forecast, the snow would appear to be of the heavy, wetter variety this go round, with temperatures at or slightly above freezing. So, I don't know how good this would get, unless the weather guys are wrong, and well......you know that never happens!

Update On Project Fat Road: Okay, the rims are in! Now I have to cut out the old hubs, measure up everything, and see if any spokes are available at the shop to get the job done. If not, I'll order some, of course.

The bike itself is all stripped down and ready for a final clean and re-assembly. So, once the wheels get put together, and new tires are chosen, I will be "going back the other way", as we used to say when I was a car mechanic and we were putting things back together. It should all be pretty straight forward. The main thing will be how picky I get about cleaning everything up. You know what? I ain't doin' no restoration to museum quality here. This is a bike that will be gettin' dirty/dusty, so I won't sweat the little pits, nics, oxidization, and the like. That said, it should turn out pretty nicely. It was in pretty great shape to start with.

Okay, that's a wrap for today! Have a safe, warm, and fun weekend!

Posted by Guitar Ted at 12:13 AM 5 comments Links to this post