Two Things

Where Do I Take My Bike Now?

The city I live in is called Waterloo, Iowa. It has a population of over 67,000 people and it has zero bicycle shops as of last week. The only shop within the city limits, Waterloo Bicycle Works, closed its doors for business. I was there last week and listened as the owner was asked if he was going to relocate, or re-open at some point, and the answer was not positive. I cannot say more since I do not speak for the owner there. 

So, it looks as though we're out of luck here when it comes to a local bike shop. There are other shops nearby in Cedar Falls. One just across the city limits and one on the West side of down town Cedar Falls. There is also a big-box Scheels bike shop, but yeah.... Not really a local bike shop there, per se'. This for a metropolitan area covering 170,000 plus people in the official metropolitan statistical area. 

I hear there is an eBike shop in Waverly, a mere 12 miles North of Cedar Falls, but yeah.... This does not seem good to me. With the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective being the only bicycle related business  in town now, I suspect I'll be hearing from more people about where to go for repairs, since we do not handle that need at the Collective. We defer to those trying to make it in retail, since we are non-profit. 

Strange days here. 

Goodbye Monstercross!

The time had come. The ol' 2011 Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross just wasn't getting any love anymore. 

Longtime blog readers know I do not like a bicycle sitting around which I don't ride, and the BMC Monstercross wasn't getting ridden at all anymore. It's too nice a bicycle to just let sit there. 

So, I think I found a 'good home' and I decided to pass it along to someone who was looking for a nice bike to get the single speed experience. I think this bike will fill this rider's desires nicely.  

Now, before anyone says, "I didn't know you were selling that!", you should also know I did not sell it. This simply was just an opportunity I found to make someone happy and help them get into a single speed who has been a very kind person to me of late.  

So, the Monstercross will get ridden, and I will remember with fondness all the adventures I had on this bicycle. The first Renegade Gents Race, the Moonlight Metric, and several gravel rides into headwinds, through melting snows, and across rutted Level B Roads. 

The bike owes me nothing. I got all the good out of it I wanted. It sold a lot of bicycles for Black Mountain Cycles as well, if what Mike Varley told me is true, and why wouldn't it be? So, old Orange Crush is off to a new life with a new owner who, hopefully, will share many a fun ride.  

Maybe I'll see it around here being enjoyed someday?  Hope so. 

Going Flat: Part 2

I purchased some parts from Velo Orange for this project

The new project to convert the Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross (Orange Crush), to a flat bar set up is in gear and I have already procured a few bits to get where I need to go. 

The main "star" of this show hasn't arrived yet and will be the bit most folks will find the most interesting. That part will have to wait a while. My source tells me that this part will be a couple more weeks out yet. We'll see....

In the meantime, I've been on the hunt for certain items and I have some other surprises up my sleeve to add to this project. They are more accessory related, but should add to the overall effect I am after here. Stay tuned on those...

For now I want to cover what I do have in hand here and tell you why I went with these items over similar ones from other sources. So, with no further delay, here you go.....

The Velo Orange Grand Cru Zeste brakes (L) and the grand Cru Brake Levers (R)

 Way back when I was looking at getting a set up similar to what I saw on a bike that my old Trans Iowa co-director, David Pals had on one of his bikes. That was a set of Paul Components brakes and levers. I still think those are really cool bits, but at the asking price? They think those parts are pretty dear, don't they? Too dear for my meager budget. So, I ended up on some Tektro brakes which, honestly, have been nothing short of spectacular, if not somewhat pedestrian and lacking in pedigree compered to the Paul stuff. 

The Tektro's would still get the nod here, but I have a particular theme going on with this project and they do not fit it. So, I have purchased a set of Grand Cru Zeste cantilever brakes for this build. They along with the Grand Cru lever set will be every bit as good looking as the Paul stuff at a LOT less money. One pair of those Paul Components Touring brakes cost almost as much as an entire bike's worth of the Zeste brake set. Plus these are polished, which is important for the theme of the build. 

The same deal with the Grand Cru levers. Half the price of Paul stuff. I dunno...... That's hard to justify even without my meager budget constraints. And again- polished finish. Important. 

So, there you go. A little taste of what's to come with regard to ol' Orange Crush here. I'm excited to get this project rolling and I even have ride plans for this when it is finished. Stay tuned... 

Going Flat: Part 2

I purchased some parts from Velo Orange for this project

The new project to convert the Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross (Orange Crush), to a flat bar set up is in gear and I have already procured a few bits to get where I need to go. 

The main "star" of this show hasn't arrived yet and will be the bit most folks will find the most interesting. That part will have to wait a while. My source tells me that this part will be a couple more weeks out yet. We'll see....

In the meantime, I've been on the hunt for certain items and I have some other surprises up my sleeve to add to this project. They are more accessory related, but should add to the overall effect I am after here. Stay tuned on those...

For now I want to cover what I do have in hand here and tell you why I went with these items over similar ones from other sources. So, with no further delay, here you go.....

The Velo Orange Grand Cru Zeste brakes (L) and the grand Cru Brake Levers (R)

 Way back when I was looking at getting a set up similar to what I saw on a bike that my old Trans Iowa co-director, David Pals had on one of his bikes. That was a set of Paul Components brakes and levers. I still think those are really cool bits, but at the asking price? They think those parts are pretty dear, don't they? Too dear for my meager budget. So, I ended up on some Tektro brakes which, honestly, have been nothing short of spectacular, if not somewhat pedestrian and lacking in pedigree compered to the Paul stuff. 

The Tektro's would still get the nod here, but I have a particular theme going on with this project and they do not fit it. So, I have purchased a set of Grand Cru Zeste cantilever brakes for this build. They along with the Grand Cru lever set will be every bit as good looking as the Paul stuff at a LOT less money. One pair of those Paul Components Touring brakes cost almost as much as an entire bike's worth of the Zeste brake set. Plus these are polished, which is important for the theme of the build. 

The same deal with the Grand Cru levers. Half the price of Paul stuff. I dunno...... That's hard to justify even without my meager budget constraints. And again- polished finish. Important. 

So, there you go. A little taste of what's to come with regard to ol' Orange Crush here. I'm excited to get this project rolling and I even have ride plans for this when it is finished. Stay tuned... 

Bikes Of 2022: Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross

It's the end of the year and time to review what's up with the bikes I used over the course of 2022. You'll get a brief overview, any changes made, and what the future has in store for each bike listed. Enjoy!

Another 'long hauler' of my bicycle fleet, the Black Mountain cycles "Monstercross" I have came out of the very first batch of frames Mike Varley made available back in 2011. Due to that fact, my bike has a bit different geometry and a bit different front fork than many Monstercross bikes that came later on. 

That made this bike not the greatest on really loose gravel on high speed descents. I mean, you could ride it, but it was sketchy and didn't feel as planted and stable as I'd like a bike to be in that situation. So, the BMC "Orange Crush", as I like to call it, became a bit of a conundrum for me. I liked the bike, but it wasn't the best at gravel in my region. 

But after reverting back to single speed use, and after installing 180mm long cranks, which made me lower the saddle a tad, effectively negating that high bottom bracket to a small degree, I think that this bike has found its niche in my stable.

Then later this past Summer this bike became a part of a handle bar swap with the Fargo Gen I bike. It also brought the BMC "Orange Crush" back full circle to its beginnings here. Here's how it all started....

In 2014, late in the year, I had a bad fall on ice which was the second bad fall on my left shoulder that year. I really did a number on it and on my left side of my rib cage. In fact, early on during the 2015 riding season I determined that I pretty much had to ride a Luxy Bar or a Midge Bar as they were the only two handle bars I could use that allowed me to ride for more than about an hour. Otherwise my shoulder would ache so badly that I had to stop riding. 

That meant a bar swap for the Fargo Gen I to a Luxy Bar and my other green Gen 2 Fargo got a Midge Bar, as those were my "long haul gravel bikes" for 2015, for the most part. (Also, come to think of it, I got hit by a truck on the 2014 GTDRI as well, which may have contributed to all of this)

Anyway, I never swapped the bars back off the Gen I Fargo and the Gen 2 Fargo was sold. I decided that the old BMC would someday get Luxy Bars again, but it did not happen until I had to review a Kitchen Sink Bar Bag on the Gen I Fargo this Summer. That freed up the Luxy Bar I needed and that ended up on the Orange Crush. Whew! Sometimes things take a long time to work out around here! 

As far as any other changes I might want to upgrade things like the brakes and get a single speed specific rear wheel going for this bike. But it is fine as it is, really. So, I may just let it go.

Bikes Of 2022: Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross

It's the end of the year and time to review what's up with the bikes I used over the course of 2022. You'll get a brief overview, any changes made, and what the future has in store for each bike listed. Enjoy!

Another 'long hauler' of my bicycle fleet, the Black Mountain cycles "Monstercross" I have came out of the very first batch of frames Mike Varley made available back in 2011. Due to that fact, my bike has a bit different geometry and a bit different front fork than many Monstercross bikes that came later on. 

That made this bike not the greatest on really loose gravel on high speed descents. I mean, you could ride it, but it was sketchy and didn't feel as planted and stable as I'd like a bike to be in that situation. So, the BMC "Orange Crush", as I like to call it, became a bit of a conundrum for me. I liked the bike, but it wasn't the best at gravel in my region. 

But after reverting back to single speed use, and after installing 180mm long cranks, which made me lower the saddle a tad, effectively negating that high bottom bracket to a small degree, I think that this bike has found its niche in my stable.

Then later this past Summer this bike became a part of a handle bar swap with the Fargo Gen I bike. It also brought the BMC "Orange Crush" back full circle to its beginnings here. Here's how it all started....

In 2014, late in the year, I had a bad fall on ice which was the second bad fall on my left shoulder that year. I really did a number on it and on my left side of my rib cage. In fact, early on during the 2015 riding season I determined that I pretty much had to ride a Luxy Bar or a Midge Bar as they were the only two handle bars I could use that allowed me to ride for more than about an hour. Otherwise my shoulder would ache so badly that I had to stop riding. 

That meant a bar swap for the Fargo Gen I to a Luxy Bar and my other green Gen 2 Fargo got a Midge Bar, as those were my "long haul gravel bikes" for 2015, for the most part. (Also, come to think of it, I got hit by a truck on the 2014 GTDRI as well, which may have contributed to all of this)

Anyway, I never swapped the bars back off the Gen I Fargo and the Gen 2 Fargo was sold. I decided that the old BMC would someday get Luxy Bars again, but it did not happen until I had to review a Kitchen Sink Bar Bag on the Gen I Fargo this Summer. That freed up the Luxy Bar I needed and that ended up on the Orange Crush. Whew! Sometimes things take a long time to work out around here! 

As far as any other changes I might want to upgrade things like the brakes and get a single speed specific rear wheel going for this bike. But it is fine as it is, really. So, I may just let it go.

Circled Back

The Black Mountain Cycles "Monstercross", or as we know it, "Orange Crush".

 Back eleven years ago when I got this Black Mountain Cycles "Monstercross" frame, I didn't have the means to set it up as a geared bike. So in its first incarnation, this bike was a single speed. 

It spent many years as a geared bike, but a few years ago now I set it back up again as a single speed bike. I found some old Sugino touring cranks I had off an 80's Specialized Sequoia which were 180mm, and I stuck those on there. 

But I also had a different handle bar on the bike to begin with. I ran a Salsa Cycles Cowbell on this bike since that handle bar came out, but that wasn't the first one I used on the ol' Orange Crush. Nope! The first one was the mysterious Luxy Bar, which I have three examples of in my possession. Two are polished, one is black anodized. I had used one of these on my original build for the Orange Crush. 

So, something came in for testing for Riding Gravel which precipitated a handle bar swap on my Fargo, where one of my Luxy Bars has been since about 2016. I swapped that over to the Orange Crush over the weekend, and now this bike is practically what it was when I first rolled it out for a ride back in 2011. 

The Luxy Bar is weird in a very good way.

I like the Luxy Bar for single speed gravel riding a lot. I have one of my three on my Pofahl Signature custom single speed bike. I love the swept extensions for grinding up a climb, so ever since I've had the Orange Crush singled out, I've been thinking that it needed a Luxy Bar. This swap fixes that problem! 

I took it out for a neighborhood cruise yesterday and it was all very good. I think it will probably stay this way now for a long time. I may eventually lace up different wheels for it, but for the time being, these HED Ardennes+ are doing quite nicely. 

The levers are Gevenalle levers meant for shifters. You can see the perches on there yet. I either need to get silver bladed road levers or just take those mounts off. There would be a threaded hole left behind, but it would work just fine and save money. 

Oh, and that blue anodized thing is part of my Bar Yak cue sheet holder. I had that there on the Fargo and it transferred over with the handle bar swap. The handle bar tape is the Grepp bar tape I got to review. This is the third bike I've used that roll on and it still looks great and works like it did when new last year. Pretty cool to have that sort of versatility of use and lifecycle for a product that generally degrades and gets tossed in short order. 

Anyway, I like the stuff. 

And there ya go! The BMC Orange Crush, back the way it was, sort of! I hope to get this one out on a longer ride this Fall sometime before it gets too cold. Gotta see how it all works out on the gravel roads with the way it is set up now.

Note: Standard Disclaimer applies to the Grepp tape, Bar Yak, and Luxy Bar.

Circled Back

The Black Mountain Cycles "Monstercross", or as we know it, "Orange Crush".

 Back eleven years ago when I got this Black Mountain Cycles "Monstercross" frame, I didn't have the means to set it up as a geared bike. So in its first incarnation, this bike was a single speed. 

It spent many years as a geared bike, but a few years ago now I set it back up again as a single speed bike. I found some old Sugino touring cranks I had off an 80's Specialized Sequoia which were 180mm, and I stuck those on there. 

But I also had a different handle bar on the bike to begin with. I ran a Salsa Cycles Cowbell on this bike since that handle bar came out, but that wasn't the first one I used on the ol' Orange Crush. Nope! The first one was the mysterious Luxy Bar, which I have three examples of in my possession. Two are polished, one is black anodized. I had used one of these on my original build for the Orange Crush. 

So, something came in for testing for Riding Gravel which precipitated a handle bar swap on my Fargo, where one of my Luxy Bars has been since about 2016. I swapped that over to the Orange Crush over the weekend, and now this bike is practically what it was when I first rolled it out for a ride back in 2011. 

The Luxy Bar is weird in a very good way.

I like the Luxy Bar for single speed gravel riding a lot. I have one of my three on my Pofahl Signature custom single speed bike. I love the swept extensions for grinding up a climb, so ever since I've had the Orange Crush singled out, I've been thinking that it needed a Luxy Bar. This swap fixes that problem! 

I took it out for a neighborhood cruise yesterday and it was all very good. I think it will probably stay this way now for a long time. I may eventually lace up different wheels for it, but for the time being, these HED Ardennes+ are doing quite nicely. 

The levers are Gevenalle levers meant for shifters. You can see the perches on there yet. I either need to get silver bladed road levers or just take those mounts off. There would be a threaded hole left behind, but it would work just fine and save money. 

Oh, and that blue anodized thing is part of my Bar Yak cue sheet holder. I had that there on the Fargo and it transferred over with the handle bar swap. The handle bar tape is the Grepp bar tape I got to review. This is the third bike I've used that roll on and it still looks great and works like it did when new last year. Pretty cool to have that sort of versatility of use and lifecycle for a product that generally degrades and gets tossed in short order. 

Anyway, I like the stuff. 

And there ya go! The BMC Orange Crush, back the way it was, sort of! I hope to get this one out on a longer ride this Fall sometime before it gets too cold. Gotta see how it all works out on the gravel roads with the way it is set up now.

Note: Standard Disclaimer applies to the Grepp tape, Bar Yak, and Luxy Bar.

Country Views: Too Wet To Plow

Escape Route: Sergeant Road Bike Trail South

Recent rains, which have been consistent and at times, heavy, have contributed to a resurgence in water levels in local streams and rivers. That's a good thing, but the consistency of rain added to the colder than normal temperatures have led to a situation for farmers that may get critical soon. Time to plant is running out, and the fields are too wet.

That doesn't keep me from riding out there though. When I get the opportunity, that is, and with my son now serving as a juror I have a window for riding opened up to me now that I wouldn't have had he still been going to college. 

So, last Wednesday, before it got gloomy and rainy again, I got out for a great ride South of Waterloo. Things were not normal in terms of temperatures for this time of the month, but they weren't really cold and it was not real windy. That meant arm warmers and a wind vest, otherwise it was normal riding gear. 

I decided to ride the Black Mountain Cycles "Monsercross" model bike I have. The one I call either "Orange Crush" for obvious reasons, or "#49", which refers to its serial number designating it as the 49th BMC ever made and sold. I have it set up single speed, so this was factored into my route and how far I'd end up going.

The roads were really pretty tame. Lots of good lines and hardly any chunky gravel.

It is too wet and chilly for planting now. The only activity I saw was this farmer moving some feed for cattle. 

I tried riding from the house and then down Sergeant Road bicycle trail to Aker Road and then I thought I'd go to Quarry Road and see how it was going there for me. I also needed a 'nature break', so I thought maybe that might happen there as well. The roads were fantastic. Lots of good lines due to the recent wet weather and hardly any chunky gravel sectors, although there were a few.

Quarry Road looking East

I finally stopped here near the intersection of Quarry Road and Kimbal Avenue.

I got to Quarry Road and just kept going East from that point. I felt pretty good, and the southeasterly headwind was no big deal. I kept pedaling until I found a bridge over a tributary of Miller Creek and there I stopped, finally, for that long awaited 'nature break'. It's tougher to find discrete places to take care of business when the crops are out!

A little respite from the winds was provided by these woods near the intersection of Dysart Road and Quarry Road.

It has been a few years since I've seen standing water from rainfall in ditches!

I had decided that I would try to get to Foulk Road at this point and then North to its intersection with the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. From there I'd have bike trail back almost to my home. But first I had to weather a few more miles of headwind and hills to get there. 

Once I turned North on to Foulk Road, I was out of that headwind, but Foulk was covered in more chunky gravel than any of the other roads that I had been on so far, so it was basically a wash. But that was okay as I had on the WTB Raddler tires, which are really squared off tires, and those rode over the loose rocks just fine. 

A rough looking shack seen along Foulk Road.

I only had to ride about a mile of the CVNT to get to Evansdale.

Once Foulk Road crosses HWY 218, it turns to a chip seal road until you get a couple more miles in and then it dead ends at the CVNT. Here I turned left and went about a mile before crossing the Cedar River. Just before the bridge I saw a figure crouched alongside the trail ahead in the distance. A rider with bike trouble? Nope! It was a woman taking her leisure during a 'nature break' of her own. What can you do? I just waved politely and kept on moving. She returned the wave. Life goes on....

The Cedar River as seen from the dike near Evansdale. The river hasn't been this high in two and a half years.

I wound my way through Evansdale on bike paths and the designated bike lane until I got to the riverside trail which leads from the outskirts of Evansdale to down town Waterloo. Then it was an easy six or seven blocks to the house, and that was the end of the ride. 

I got in a solid two and a half hours on the ol' single speed Orange Crush. It was a very nice outing. Not too much of anything, and I was happy I got to ride for more than two hours.

Country Views: Too Wet To Plow

Escape Route: Sergeant Road Bike Trail South

Recent rains, which have been consistent and at times, heavy, have contributed to a resurgence in water levels in local streams and rivers. That's a good thing, but the consistency of rain added to the colder than normal temperatures have led to a situation for farmers that may get critical soon. Time to plant is running out, and the fields are too wet.

That doesn't keep me from riding out there though. When I get the opportunity, that is, and with my son now serving as a juror I have a window for riding opened up to me now that I wouldn't have had he still been going to college. 

So, last Wednesday, before it got gloomy and rainy again, I got out for a great ride South of Waterloo. Things were not normal in terms of temperatures for this time of the month, but they weren't really cold and it was not real windy. That meant arm warmers and a wind vest, otherwise it was normal riding gear. 

I decided to ride the Black Mountain Cycles "Monsercross" model bike I have. The one I call either "Orange Crush" for obvious reasons, or "#49", which refers to its serial number designating it as the 49th BMC ever made and sold. I have it set up single speed, so this was factored into my route and how far I'd end up going.

The roads were really pretty tame. Lots of good lines and hardly any chunky gravel.

It is too wet and chilly for planting now. The only activity I saw was this farmer moving some feed for cattle. 

I tried riding from the house and then down Sergeant Road bicycle trail to Aker Road and then I thought I'd go to Quarry Road and see how it was going there for me. I also needed a 'nature break', so I thought maybe that might happen there as well. The roads were fantastic. Lots of good lines due to the recent wet weather and hardly any chunky gravel sectors, although there were a few.

Quarry Road looking East

I finally stopped here near the intersection of Quarry Road and Kimbal Avenue.

I got to Quarry Road and just kept going East from that point. I felt pretty good, and the southeasterly headwind was no big deal. I kept pedaling until I found a bridge over a tributary of Miller Creek and there I stopped, finally, for that long awaited 'nature break'. It's tougher to find discrete places to take care of business when the crops are out!

A little respite from the winds was provided by these woods near the intersection of Dysart Road and Quarry Road.

It has been a few years since I've seen standing water from rainfall in ditches!

I had decided that I would try to get to Foulk Road at this point and then North to its intersection with the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. From there I'd have bike trail back almost to my home. But first I had to weather a few more miles of headwind and hills to get there. 

Once I turned North on to Foulk Road, I was out of that headwind, but Foulk was covered in more chunky gravel than any of the other roads that I had been on so far, so it was basically a wash. But that was okay as I had on the WTB Raddler tires, which are really squared off tires, and those rode over the loose rocks just fine. 

A rough looking shack seen along Foulk Road.

I only had to ride about a mile of the CVNT to get to Evansdale.

Once Foulk Road crosses HWY 218, it turns to a chip seal road until you get a couple more miles in and then it dead ends at the CVNT. Here I turned left and went about a mile before crossing the Cedar River. Just before the bridge I saw a figure crouched alongside the trail ahead in the distance. A rider with bike trouble? Nope! It was a woman taking her leisure during a 'nature break' of her own. What can you do? I just waved politely and kept on moving. She returned the wave. Life goes on....

The Cedar River as seen from the dike near Evansdale. The river hasn't been this high in two and a half years.

I wound my way through Evansdale on bike paths and the designated bike lane until I got to the riverside trail which leads from the outskirts of Evansdale to down town Waterloo. Then it was an easy six or seven blocks to the house, and that was the end of the ride. 

I got in a solid two and a half hours on the ol' single speed Orange Crush. It was a very nice outing. Not too much of anything, and I was happy I got to ride for more than two hours.

Making Plans For Slop Season

Plenty of room here for fenders

Well, sooner or later things are going to get cold, sloppy, and frozen. So, with that in mind I have been thinking about how I want to tackle things for Winter this year. 

Obviously I have the Snow Dog and the Ti Muk 2 to use when things get really nasty. Fat bikes are really awesome machines, but many days during Winter those bikes are overkill for commuting or for general purpose riding around. That's where my mind has been of late- how do I want to approach this Winter outside of using fat bikes?

Well, I like a single speed, and I like fenders. So, I have been sizing up a few ideas of late and I think I can work it out to where I should have most every base covered. Today's post will deal with my plans for my "Slop Season" bikes. The bikes I'd use when gravel roads are wet, or when slushy streets are free from ice, but messy. 

The past couple of years I have relied upon the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross bike I have. It did alright in that role, but I have another idea there, which I may cover later on. The thing with the ol' Orange Crush rig is that it has a pretty high bottom bracket which makes things less than stable on uncertain surfaces like snow, mud, or the occasional icy patch. I'd rather have a lower bottom bracket bike for that, and it just so happens that the T-6 Standard Rando v2 is that bike for me.

Test fit with different wheels and tires for now.

I decided to try out this bike with fenders which I have on the BMC Orange Crush bike right now. With a bit narrower tire, and with the option to go 650B (wider tires) as well, since I already have a wheel set all ready to go with that set up, this bike might cover a lot of ground for Winter. I cannot do 650B on the BMC, because it has rim brakes, so this seems like a better way to go right now. 

So far, I only have tried out some narrower wheels and tires. next will be the fenders. Then I'll see how the 650B wheels sit with those. If it all goes as planned I think this bike might see a fair amount of use this Winter. 

I do have a set of 45NRTH 700c X 40 studded tires which I think will go on the BMC after the fenders are gone. Then that bike could be the freeze-melt-re-freeze commuter rig or the bike I use when it snows some- but not enough to warrant a fat bike. 

I also have a thought about what to do with my Karate Monkey. It currently sits with rim brakes, but I think those days are numbered and it will return back to a disc brake bike again so I can use some big, wide rims I have with some big, fat 29"er tires I have and that can be for snow-packed gravel road riding, if that happens. 

See, I have several bicycles, I may as well use them for stuff. Besides the fat bikes mentioned, the other three are all single speed drive trains which means I won't be roaching my precious geared set ups over the wet, snowy, icy Winter months. And if this whole Winter pans out to be a dry, cold dud of a Winter? Then I have had some fun dinking around with bicycles. No big deal....

Making Plans For Slop Season

Plenty of room here for fenders

Well, sooner or later things are going to get cold, sloppy, and frozen. So, with that in mind I have been thinking about how I want to tackle things for Winter this year. 

Obviously I have the Snow Dog and the Ti Muk 2 to use when things get really nasty. Fat bikes are really awesome machines, but many days during Winter those bikes are overkill for commuting or for general purpose riding around. That's where my mind has been of late- how do I want to approach this Winter outside of using fat bikes?

Well, I like a single speed, and I like fenders. So, I have been sizing up a few ideas of late and I think I can work it out to where I should have most every base covered. Today's post will deal with my plans for my "Slop Season" bikes. The bikes I'd use when gravel roads are wet, or when slushy streets are free from ice, but messy. 

The past couple of years I have relied upon the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross bike I have. It did alright in that role, but I have another idea there, which I may cover later on. The thing with the ol' Orange Crush rig is that it has a pretty high bottom bracket which makes things less than stable on uncertain surfaces like snow, mud, or the occasional icy patch. I'd rather have a lower bottom bracket bike for that, and it just so happens that the T-6 Standard Rando v2 is that bike for me.

Test fit with different wheels and tires for now.

I decided to try out this bike with fenders which I have on the BMC Orange Crush bike right now. With a bit narrower tire, and with the option to go 650B (wider tires) as well, since I already have a wheel set all ready to go with that set up, this bike might cover a lot of ground for Winter. I cannot do 650B on the BMC, because it has rim brakes, so this seems like a better way to go right now. 

So far, I only have tried out some narrower wheels and tires. next will be the fenders. Then I'll see how the 650B wheels sit with those. If it all goes as planned I think this bike might see a fair amount of use this Winter. 

I do have a set of 45NRTH 700c X 40 studded tires which I think will go on the BMC after the fenders are gone. Then that bike could be the freeze-melt-re-freeze commuter rig or the bike I use when it snows some- but not enough to warrant a fat bike. 

I also have a thought about what to do with my Karate Monkey. It currently sits with rim brakes, but I think those days are numbered and it will return back to a disc brake bike again so I can use some big, wide rims I have with some big, fat 29"er tires I have and that can be for snow-packed gravel road riding, if that happens. 

See, I have several bicycles, I may as well use them for stuff. Besides the fat bikes mentioned, the other three are all single speed drive trains which means I won't be roaching my precious geared set ups over the wet, snowy, icy Winter months. And if this whole Winter pans out to be a dry, cold dud of a Winter? Then I have had some fun dinking around with bicycles. No big deal....

Neglected But Not Forgotten - Part 2

Test riding after all the leaves got frozen off the trees!

 Just yesterday I posted about a couple of my bicycles which I had left sitting for far too long without a ride. Well, those aren't the only two bikes with that issue! Far from it! I have a LOT of bicycles, you see, so it becomes a bit of an issue to throw a leg over all of them in one calendar year if  I have review stuff to do and , well, ride all this gravel around here. Someone has to do it! 

Yesterday I had to do a bunch of parts swapping in regard to review stuff for RidingGravel.com.  As long as I was down there in the Lab, I figured that I should just keep the ball rolling, in terms of digging out old bikes to ride, that is. 

I also wasn't real motivated to get out in the country, since we started out the morning at a balmy temperature of 19°F. It was pretty cold! So, a morning full of parts swapping and maintenance was undertaken with an afternoon of short test rides on tap as well. That started out being a RidingGravel.com specific task and then I worked on the bicycles I am featuring in this post to get them up and running. 

I just haven't gotten this out much this year for whatever reason.

So, the ol' Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross was first of those neglected bikes I worked on. It really didn't need much, as it was basically good to go when I parked it last, way back in late Winter! I think it was then, anyway. 

I had snagged the B-Rad rail off of it which I had used to increase the water bottle capacity on this bike. That went on my other Black Mountain Cycles bike, but this left the Orange Crush with only one cage. I just had to re-install the original orange cage and that was taken care of. The tires were flat due to neglect, so a refresh of sealant, new valve cores, and some air took care of that issue. 

I noticed that the old, out of production front bag has a frozen zipper on one side. I can still get into the bag, but it is kind of a hassle now. No biggie. That bag has been on there almost ten years now. I figure with all the dust and gravel road riding I've done with that bag on there getting this much out of it is good. Plus, maybe I can get that fixed. No rush on that though. 

I had to replace a couple of stolen components to get this one going. (I was the thief!)

The other bike that had been side lined too long was the Snow Dog. I stole the seat post and saddle off of it to put on my pink MCD for Gravel Worlds. So, I traded posts back and swapped saddles as well. 

It's getting to be time for this rig to be ridden back and forth to work and maybe out in the country, but I still am not 100% on those Milhouse Bars. I may swap those for some flat bars at some point. Not sure yet..... 

So, there are two more bikes ready to go. Think that's it? HA! I've got some bicycles I've rarely ridden in years I really should get out and, you know, find new homes for them. Time will tell. I still have bikes to get to that I do ride, sometimes, so stay tuned....

Neglected But Not Forgotten - Part 2

Test riding after all the leaves got frozen off the trees!

 Just yesterday I posted about a couple of my bicycles which I had left sitting for far too long without a ride. Well, those aren't the only two bikes with that issue! Far from it! I have a LOT of bicycles, you see, so it becomes a bit of an issue to throw a leg over all of them in one calendar year if  I have review stuff to do and , well, ride all this gravel around here. Someone has to do it! 

Yesterday I had to do a bunch of parts swapping in regard to review stuff for RidingGravel.com.  As long as I was down there in the Lab, I figured that I should just keep the ball rolling, in terms of digging out old bikes to ride, that is. 

I also wasn't real motivated to get out in the country, since we started out the morning at a balmy temperature of 19°F. It was pretty cold! So, a morning full of parts swapping and maintenance was undertaken with an afternoon of short test rides on tap as well. That started out being a RidingGravel.com specific task and then I worked on the bicycles I am featuring in this post to get them up and running. 

I just haven't gotten this out much this year for whatever reason.

So, the ol' Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross was first of those neglected bikes I worked on. It really didn't need much, as it was basically good to go when I parked it last, way back in late Winter! I think it was then, anyway. 

I had snagged the B-Rad rail off of it which I had used to increase the water bottle capacity on this bike. That went on my other Black Mountain Cycles bike, but this left the Orange Crush with only one cage. I just had to re-install the original orange cage and that was taken care of. The tires were flat due to neglect, so a refresh of sealant, new valve cores, and some air took care of that issue. 

I noticed that the old, out of production front bag has a frozen zipper on one side. I can still get into the bag, but it is kind of a hassle now. No biggie. That bag has been on there almost ten years now. I figure with all the dust and gravel road riding I've done with that bag on there getting this much out of it is good. Plus, maybe I can get that fixed. No rush on that though. 

I had to replace a couple of stolen components to get this one going. (I was the thief!)

The other bike that had been side lined too long was the Snow Dog. I stole the seat post and saddle off of it to put on my pink MCD for Gravel Worlds. So, I traded posts back and swapped saddles as well. 

It's getting to be time for this rig to be ridden back and forth to work and maybe out in the country, but I still am not 100% on those Milhouse Bars. I may swap those for some flat bars at some point. Not sure yet..... 

So, there are two more bikes ready to go. Think that's it? HA! I've got some bicycles I've rarely ridden in years I really should get out and, you know, find new homes for them. Time will tell. I still have bikes to get to that I do ride, sometimes, so stay tuned....

A Ten Year Review Of The Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross

I received the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross in February 2011.

 A Look At A Decade Of Riding The Black Mountain Cycles "Monster Cross":

 Ten years ago now I got the Black Mountain Cycles "Monster Cross" frame and fork from Mike Varley at Black Mountain Cycles.

Long time blog readers know that this is the bike I got in lieu of having a custom gravel bike frame and fork made back then. There were no 'gravel bikes' at the time, just bicycles repurposed for that pursuit. In my mind, the BMC was closer to my ideals at the time than anything else I could get. I'll get around to what the deal was in 2011, because things were far different then than they are now. Decisions I made then were based on what could be had easily, not on pipe dreams, so I made several compromises, but those things are not necessary these days. This will play into my final verdict on this bike, obviously. 

I will also have a pictorial history of this bike and the changes it went through over the years. It started out as more of a true "Monster Cross" rig, single speed, and with the rare Luxy Bars, then it morphed into a geared bike, and then almost a rando bike before returning to a single speed again. 

I could go on and on about this bike, but I will try to make this as brief as I can. Before I go any further here, I should point out that some geometry tweaks were made to the Monster Cross model a few years after I received mine, so current Monster Cross bikes are a bit different. So, keep that in mind when I comment on this bike, especially when it comes to bottom bracket height. Okay, now on with the review....

The first version of the bike after I built it up in early 2011.

The scene in late 2010/early 2011 was pretty much lacking in anything 'gravel'. In fact, anything you used on gravel for........well, gravel riding, was begged, borrowed, and stolen from other forms of cycling. Mainly from cyclo-cross. Those bikes had bigger than road bike tire clearances but were close enough to road bike sensibilities that they made more sense on gravel than hard tail mountain bikes, which at this point were mostly 29"ers. Those were okay, but cyclo-cross bikes were lighter and you had a much more aero position on them than you did on most 29"ers. 

So, the bike that came closest to my ideals of what a gravel road bike should be was the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross bike. It had the promise of large tire clearances, a slightly slacker geometry, and the only thing I was dismayed by was the bottom bracket height. It was pretty high for what I wanted, but I gave it a go anyway. 

The first incarnation of my Orange Crush was as a single speed set up with 2.0" 29"er tires set up on impossibly skinny Shimano Sante' hubbed, Matrix rimmed wheels from the 80's. Brakes were old STX cantilevers and the brake levers were shimano SLR aero levers from the late 90's. I was pretty much smitten with the bike immediately since this bike took over gravel duties from my Karate Monkey 29"er.

Version 2 of the #49 Orange Crush. Circa 2012

After a while I ended up gearing this bike up with a non-series Shimano two piece Hollowgram crankset, Ultegra 9 speed rear derailleur and shifters, and a SLX top pull front derailleur with a new set of Velocity A-23 wheels and Bontrager XR-1 tires. (BEST big volume gravel tires I've ever used- sadly long out of production) I also swapped handle bars to the then new Salsa Cowbells.

In this configuration I found that this bike worked very well but I started to experience some things I did not like much, especially going fast on loose gravel. Yep.....high bottom bracket. I also came to dislike the "Gnot Rite" drop out spacing which was a royal pain when swapping in the rear wheel. I ended up cold setting the rear triangle so I never had to deal with that again. (Note- I believe this also was a running change with the Monster Cross model, so it should not be a concern anymore.) 

Version 3- I sold the black A-23's and replaced them with silver ones. The Ultegra rings were swapped for 46/36 FSA, and a new WTB Pure saddle was fitted along with new Clement rubber.

 

Version 4- Retroshift (Gevenalle) shifters, a front rack, bag, and fenders fitted with Panaracer Pasela tires.

Several rapid fire changes then happened which brought the Orange Crush to a state in which it stayed for many years. I got a cool front bag to test out for my gravel riding site, (Sadly- it is no longer made, so don't ask.) This brought the need for a front rack, so that got installed along with some Planet Bike Freddy Fenders. Now it looked almost like a rando bike! 

In this form I enjoyed many long rides and I tested a lot of tires on this rig. The high bottom bracket wasn't a big concern for me on flatter terrain, and by this time, I had a proper gravel bike in the Raleigh Tamland, which was pretty much made to my spec. So, I didn't see the BMC as my primary gravel rig anymore. It was decent, but it wasn't great, like the Tamland was/is. 

The Orange Crush set up for the Dirty Kanza 200 in 2015. I decided to take my Fargo instead.

The BMC went back to a single speed in late 2019.

 

The Orange Crush got pushed back to being mostly a Winter hack and test bed for RidingGravel.com. I fitted Planet Bike Cascadia ALX fenders and somewhere along the way it got a set of Tektro cantilever brakes which replaced the old SLX cantilevers. I also got another wheel set from HED Wheels to switch out with the Velocity A-23's. Finally, in 2019 I got back to single speed mode, setting the bike up with 180mm cranks. 

In this mode I was much more pleased with the Orange Crush. The longer cranks allowed me to set the saddle down a hair which in effect made the bike feel better. The high bottom bracket accommodates the longer cranks well. It seemed to be a match made in heaven, and out in the country it seemed to be a good thing overall. 

This is where the Orange Crush is 2021

Final Thoughts: The Monster Cross model was a gateway to gravel in 2011. However; since those days what is this bike now? In my mind, it is a bike that at once is old school (cantilever brakes, steel fork, QR drop outs) and modern (fat tire capabilities, slacker geometry), so it is a bit of a conundrum. It isn't what you'd get for fast gravel racing, but it won't let you down if you do. Modern Monster Cross frames have a much more gravel friendly bottom bracket height and a few other nice tweaks over what I've got here, (that new fork is super cool), so what I have to say about mine maybe isn't really relatable today. 

Bike packing? Well, it isn't set with all the accessory warts that you'd maybe expect with such a bike, nor does it have a lot of bottle mounts. No- maybe light touring. The bike really is a simple machine that is for 'under-biking', pseudo- MTB, and just goofing off in the country on. It will launch over the logs, deal with uneven terrain, and -yes- it will gravel all day long too. I like it single speed best in comparison to my geared bikes, but then again, I like single speeds. So there is that. 

I maybe should have gotten a newer Monster Cross bike, so I could experience the differences between this one of mine and the newer models, but that would be an exercise in frivolity that I can not really afford at this point. So, take this review with a grain of salt. I like my Orange Crush. We've had some stellar times together. She ain't perfect but it's alright. We get along just fine and I suspect we'll have many more great rides in the future.

Note: I bought this bike with my own damn money and was not paid, nor bribed, to give my thoughts on it. So there!