Blue Bell Fields Forever

You know those days when you get to ride and everything just comes together perfectly? It is the reason we all keep riding, or at least one of them, I think. Well, I can honestly say that yesterday was one of those days. It was soooo good I almost cried.

Really.

The bike, the way I was riding, and the setting were all just spot on. I don't know how it could have been any better. I felt so blessed I was almost guilty. Almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades though, as they say, so I sucked it up and gutted out the ride. (<===HA!)

Well, you can call it "climate change", or whatever, but this spring is just too weird. Everything is blooming at once. And the blue bells are bonkers this year. I can't remember seeing so many or so beautiful a display as this year's crop. I literally was surrounded at times by blue bells as far into the woods as I could see. And that with a serpentine stretch of single track right through it all.

The Rockstar made me a "trail star".

The scooter I was on was the Titus Cycles Rockstar. Since ditching the offensive wheels it came with, I have really enjoyed this bike. I knew it was decent, but with the WTB/American Classic wheel set it really has come to life.

I know some folks are not too fond of the WTB Bronson tires, but either I have some magical set, or it is the TCS version, or something, but these seem to be behaving quite well. The other Bronsons I have tried were on the Breezer, and that set was sketchy, especially the rear tire. They were also folding bead tires with tubes inside. Maybe that's the deal. Whatever it is, the Rockstar is just a hoot to throw into turns at higher and higher speeds.

I know for a fact that I was going around corners at The Camp faster than I had ever gone on any other bike before. Now, I am not in tip-top shape, or at least I don't feel like I am, so I am attributing this to the bike. Of course, having almost ideal dirt conditions doesn't hurt, but I've seen that before out there.

Probably the highlight of the ride was when I was slicing and dicing through some twisties as a herd of deer bounded away from me through the blue bells. Amazing! That's one ride I won't soon forget. However; it couldn't last forever, and at some point I had to say "enough is enough", and point the truck homeward.

I took a meandering route home, basking in the afterglow of "one of those rides", and in no particular hurry towards whatever was next, which happened to be lunch. After lunch, I got the itch to go out on one of my rarer two-a-days, so I grabbed the Fargo version II.

I have some new Michelin tires I am checking out on this scoot, so I set off to see how the Green Belt was faring after the wet, mucky season was over and now that we have transitioned into a dry spring.

The city actually has mown the path and taken care of the sketchy water crossing I had to traverse over the winter months. Nice. So there were no sticks and branches to worry about, as I was fearing when I started out. I obviously was not the only one recognizing the near perfect weather, as I encountered several folks out walking around in the woods, which was nice to see, actually.

I had to keep this ride fairly short, since the kids were due to be picked up from school soon, and I needed to get back and clean up a bit. So, I cut the Green Belt short by heading around the lake and hitting a paved bike path which took me almost directly back home. On the way, I hit something, or more correctly, something hit me. Right in the left lens on the Oakley glasses I was wearing. Now, I saw it coming at the last minute, and it looked like either the world's largest bumble bee, or a humming bird. Whatever it was, it thankfully took a glancing blow, or I may have had whiplash from that UFO!

I ended up capping off the day by having an ice cream cone with my kids. Yeah.......that was a perfect day!

Blue Bell Fields Forever

You know those days when you get to ride and everything just comes together perfectly? It is the reason we all keep riding, or at least one of them, I think. Well, I can honestly say that yesterday was one of those days. It was soooo good I almost cried.

Really.

The bike, the way I was riding, and the setting were all just spot on. I don't know how it could have been any better. I felt so blessed I was almost guilty. Almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades though, as they say, so I sucked it up and gutted out the ride. (<===HA!)

Well, you can call it "climate change", or whatever, but this spring is just too weird. Everything is blooming at once. And the blue bells are bonkers this year. I can't remember seeing so many or so beautiful a display as this year's crop. I literally was surrounded at times by blue bells as far into the woods as I could see. And that with a serpentine stretch of single track right through it all.

The Rockstar made me a "trail star".

The scooter I was on was the Titus Cycles Rockstar. Since ditching the offensive wheels it came with, I have really enjoyed this bike. I knew it was decent, but with the WTB/American Classic wheel set it really has come to life.

I know some folks are not too fond of the WTB Bronson tires, but either I have some magical set, or it is the TCS version, or something, but these seem to be behaving quite well. The other Bronsons I have tried were on the Breezer, and that set was sketchy, especially the rear tire. They were also folding bead tires with tubes inside. Maybe that's the deal. Whatever it is, the Rockstar is just a hoot to throw into turns at higher and higher speeds.

I know for a fact that I was going around corners at The Camp faster than I had ever gone on any other bike before. Now, I am not in tip-top shape, or at least I don't feel like I am, so I am attributing this to the bike. Of course, having almost ideal dirt conditions doesn't hurt, but I've seen that before out there.

Probably the highlight of the ride was when I was slicing and dicing through some twisties as a herd of deer bounded away from me through the blue bells. Amazing! That's one ride I won't soon forget. However; it couldn't last forever, and at some point I had to say "enough is enough", and point the truck homeward.

I took a meandering route home, basking in the afterglow of "one of those rides", and in no particular hurry towards whatever was next, which happened to be lunch. After lunch, I got the itch to go out on one of my rarer two-a-days, so I grabbed the Fargo version II.

I have some new Michelin tires I am checking out on this scoot, so I set off to see how the Green Belt was faring after the wet, mucky season was over and now that we have transitioned into a dry spring.

The city actually has mown the path and taken care of the sketchy water crossing I had to traverse over the winter months. Nice. So there were no sticks and branches to worry about, as I was fearing when I started out. I obviously was not the only one recognizing the near perfect weather, as I encountered several folks out walking around in the woods, which was nice to see, actually.

I had to keep this ride fairly short, since the kids were due to be picked up from school soon, and I needed to get back and clean up a bit. So, I cut the Green Belt short by heading around the lake and hitting a paved bike path which took me almost directly back home. On the way, I hit something, or more correctly, something hit me. Right in the left lens on the Oakley glasses I was wearing. Now, I saw it coming at the last minute, and it looked like either the world's largest bumble bee, or a humming bird. Whatever it was, it thankfully took a glancing blow, or I may have had whiplash from that UFO!

I ended up capping off the day by having an ice cream cone with my kids. Yeah.......that was a perfect day!

Springtime Changes

Spring just started last week, but you'd never know it by how it looks outside, and especially out in the woods.

This picture is from March- not early May!

Generally this level of greenery and flower is left for late April/early May. Heck, even the Bluebells are blooming! I was blown away by how fast the green stuff is taking over out in the woods right now.

The other odd thing was that the woods were devoid of critters. Of course, someone had just blazed through the woods ahead of me, but even the birds were strangely less noisey yesterday. That was odd, but I needed a bit of solitude, so I actually appreciated this.

The legs are coming around, but still not where I want to be coming into an event. Climbing on the single speed was "okay" yesterday, but I wasn't snapping right up those steeps. Gotta do some more work on that. The softer, loamy ground may have had something to do with that less than sharp feeling, but I know that I am not in "climbing mode" just yet.

The gear on the Sawyer is also a bit tall as well. That said, I am stuck with that as long as I run The Belt. That's the thing about The Belt. Very tough to swap out cogs and belts without spending a ton of dough.

Not an El Mariachi

So, let's say you got a fat bike, but you wanted to ride it in the summer on some lighter wheels. What to do? Well, one solution was presented to me at Frostbike by Handspun Wheels. Fat bike hubs laced to 29"er rims.

So they sent out a set to have me thrash them. I'll report on that later on TNI, but for now I am tickled about how it came out.I set this all up yesterday.

The bike now has a totally different look, and obviously is lighter to boot. It almost looks "normal" with these wheels on it, but one peek at the tire clearances tells you something is missing!

The one thing I said going into getting this bike built up was that versatility was key. These wheels certainly open up a lot of possibilities. I can run it as is, with a suspension fork, (albeit with a different front wheel), or use the original Larry 3.8"er as a "fat front" set up.

But that isn't all. I can also single speed this bike. Added into all of this is the bikepacking/touring capabilities, and then it becomes very apparent that I could ditch a lot of my bicycles for this, singular titanium beauty.

Wheels swapped = Much Better Now!

Then there were the issues I had with a certain less than stiff wheel set on the Titus Rockstar. Well, I nipped that in the bud yesterday as well.

I popped off the American Classic/WTB Frequency wheels from the MBC single speed, put the MBC single speed wheels back on that, and then went to work on the Rockstar. The hub needed a swap from a quick release axle to a 15QR type, so I did that. Then the rotors and finally swapping over the cassette.

Result? Unbelievably stiffer wheels. Night and day difference from the way it was sent out. Now I can not wait to see how it does on some trails around here.

The WTB Bronson tires, which are listed as 2.2"ers, but have a tread width of a 2.4"er, still leave plenty of clearance in the back of this frame. That was a concern going into the swap, but I am happy to see it has plenty of room to spare.  I'm a little bummed that this didn't get sorted before I went to El Paso, but oh well. At least it got sorted!

One of my Favorites

Then I swapped tires on the new Fargo. I got this frame and fork last fall, and I love how it feels and rides on single track.

The tires I had on it were Specialized Ground Control tires, which were great. I now have some Michelin Wild race'r tires on it, which it seems have taken forever to become available, but they are now.

These are tubeless ready type tires, so they went on some Velocity Blunt SL wheels and aired up nicely.

These tires have some lowish knobs and a squared off profile. Kind of an odd look, but they are supposed to be fast on hard pack. We'll have to wait a bit to see, since things are still pretty loamy out there just now.

So there were a bunch of springtime changes going on yesterday, and I spent most of the afternoon in the Lab futzing and fettling with bicycles. Not a bad way to spend a day. Gotta keep the fleet running!

Springtime Changes

Spring just started last week, but you'd never know it by how it looks outside, and especially out in the woods.

This picture is from March- not early May!

Generally this level of greenery and flower is left for late April/early May. Heck, even the Bluebells are blooming! I was blown away by how fast the green stuff is taking over out in the woods right now.

The other odd thing was that the woods were devoid of critters. Of course, someone had just blazed through the woods ahead of me, but even the birds were strangely less noisey yesterday. That was odd, but I needed a bit of solitude, so I actually appreciated this.

The legs are coming around, but still not where I want to be coming into an event. Climbing on the single speed was "okay" yesterday, but I wasn't snapping right up those steeps. Gotta do some more work on that. The softer, loamy ground may have had something to do with that less than sharp feeling, but I know that I am not in "climbing mode" just yet.

The gear on the Sawyer is also a bit tall as well. That said, I am stuck with that as long as I run The Belt. That's the thing about The Belt. Very tough to swap out cogs and belts without spending a ton of dough.

Not an El Mariachi

So, let's say you got a fat bike, but you wanted to ride it in the summer on some lighter wheels. What to do? Well, one solution was presented to me at Frostbike by Handspun Wheels. Fat bike hubs laced to 29"er rims.

So they sent out a set to have me thrash them. I'll report on that later on TNI, but for now I am tickled about how it came out.I set this all up yesterday.

The bike now has a totally different look, and obviously is lighter to boot. It almost looks "normal" with these wheels on it, but one peek at the tire clearances tells you something is missing!

The one thing I said going into getting this bike built up was that versatility was key. These wheels certainly open up a lot of possibilities. I can run it as is, with a suspension fork, (albeit with a different front wheel), or use the original Larry 3.8"er as a "fat front" set up.

But that isn't all. I can also single speed this bike. Added into all of this is the bikepacking/touring capabilities, and then it becomes very apparent that I could ditch a lot of my bicycles for this, singular titanium beauty.

Wheels swapped = Much Better Now!

Then there were the issues I had with a certain less than stiff wheel set on the Titus Rockstar. Well, I nipped that in the bud yesterday as well.

I popped off the American Classic/WTB Frequency wheels from the MBC single speed, put the MBC single speed wheels back on that, and then went to work on the Rockstar. The hub needed a swap from a quick release axle to a 15QR type, so I did that. Then the rotors and finally swapping over the cassette.

Result? Unbelievably stiffer wheels. Night and day difference from the way it was sent out. Now I can not wait to see how it does on some trails around here.

The WTB Bronson tires, which are listed as 2.2"ers, but have a tread width of a 2.4"er, still leave plenty of clearance in the back of this frame. That was a concern going into the swap, but I am happy to see it has plenty of room to spare.  I'm a little bummed that this didn't get sorted before I went to El Paso, but oh well. At least it got sorted!

One of my Favorites

Then I swapped tires on the new Fargo. I got this frame and fork last fall, and I love how it feels and rides on single track.

The tires I had on it were Specialized Ground Control tires, which were great. I now have some Michelin Wild race'r tires on it, which it seems have taken forever to become available, but they are now.

These are tubeless ready type tires, so they went on some Velocity Blunt SL wheels and aired up nicely.

These tires have some lowish knobs and a squared off profile. Kind of an odd look, but they are supposed to be fast on hard pack. We'll have to wait a bit to see, since things are still pretty loamy out there just now.

So there were a bunch of springtime changes going on yesterday, and I spent most of the afternoon in the Lab futzing and fettling with bicycles. Not a bad way to spend a day. Gotta keep the fleet running!

Hardscrabble

What most of the "trail" looks like here.

Okay, first things first- I didn't crash on the rocks. No split open knee, no skin lost today. In other good news: I got to ride in the desert again, and I was outside, in a beautiful area.

But there were a few mitigating factors. One was the wheel set I had on this bike. Oh my! Ya know, if ya can't say anything good about something, you probably shouldn't say anything at all, right? Well, I won't be saying anything about those wheels and they will be replaced as soon as I get home.

That probably says enough right there!

Then the seat post head came loose. This may have been an oversight on my part, but the tricky arrows that need to be aligned, of which there are three, were not all obvious. One, (yes, the hard to notice one), wasn't lined up, so I had an issue. But that is what multi-tools are for. Fixed it trail side with a multi-tool, a needle nosed Vice Grip locking pliers, and a rock. Plenty of rocks out there, I didn't need to carry that in the hydration pack!

And this is what a lot of it looked like too...

 Then I got lost. Yup. It's always a good ride when you get lost, right? Well, I've been on this loop several times and things started not looking right after a few "detours" laid out by someone. Then I got re-directed up a steep ridge side and once on top, I picked up another clearly seen trail leading upward.

Well, that started snaking around this really exposed section that I had no recollection of. Let me tell you- exposure burns some permanent memory in my synapses. If I'd have ridden this before, I'd have totally remembered it, but it had no familiarity to me at all.

So I stopped to reassess. I looked around and saw far above me the familiar brown of the State Park's gate work. I had passed a trail spur, (another thing I had never seen before), a bit back and it appeared that this would lead me right up to that barricade. (If indeed that is what it was.)

And some more of it looked like this...

I wondered if that was the high end of the park, and if so, where was the jeep road leading back to the same area? I couldn't see it at all.

With nothing at all jiving with past memories, and me being on a limited water supply, I figured I'd better see what that barricade/gate was, and get my bearings. Besides that, it was leading me closer to my start than the other way.

I rode a bit, but soon it became apparent that this was too steep to ride, and I hike-a-biked up to the point I had spied out. All was well. It was right at the upper end of the park, but the missing jeep road was still a mystery. Oh well! I had some nice down hill trail to shred back to the car, so I did that instead of solving the mystery.

I know it seems to be  me harping on how tough these trails are, but even I forget, and I was reminded again how difficult this mountain is to ride. The rocks are just brutal. There is zero flow, and you are "rock crawling" for a lot of the first sector, (when you find the first sector!). I got derailed onto stuff I had never ridden before and it was just difficult, slow work. Not that it wasn't fun, but it takes an entirely different mindset to ride those trails, I think. Nothing about riding in the Mid-West really works out here.

But there wasn't much of this!

In the end it was a fun day on the bike, despite the issues, one more of which was a loose head set, by the way. Stopped and fixed that up right quick. But I bring that up to say that if any bike has a weakness, the trails of Franklin Mountain will find them out right quick.

I may get another chance at spending some time out there again before I pack up for home. If so, it'll be a different experience again, as I'll be on the hard tail and single speed at that.

I know one thing, if I lived out here, I would be riding an entirely different mountain bike than what I usually get to bring down here. I still have never brought the "right bike" to this place.

One of these ol' days maybe that will work itself out, but for now I will be satisfied with just getting out there and spending some time in this very unique, hardscrabble area for mountain biking.

Hardscrabble

What most of the "trail" looks like here.

Okay, first things first- I didn't crash on the rocks. No split open knee, no skin lost today. In other good news: I got to ride in the desert again, and I was outside, in a beautiful area.

But there were a few mitigating factors. One was the wheel set I had on this bike. Oh my! Ya know, if ya can't say anything good about something, you probably shouldn't say anything at all, right? Well, I won't be saying anything about those wheels and they will be replaced as soon as I get home.

That probably says enough right there!

Then the seat post head came loose. This may have been an oversight on my part, but the tricky arrows that need to be aligned, of which there are three, were not all obvious. One, (yes, the hard to notice one), wasn't lined up, so I had an issue. But that is what multi-tools are for. Fixed it trail side with a multi-tool, a needle nosed Vice Grip locking pliers, and a rock. Plenty of rocks out there, I didn't need to carry that in the hydration pack!

And this is what a lot of it looked like too...

 Then I got lost. Yup. It's always a good ride when you get lost, right? Well, I've been on this loop several times and things started not looking right after a few "detours" laid out by someone. Then I got re-directed up a steep ridge side and once on top, I picked up another clearly seen trail leading upward.

Well, that started snaking around this really exposed section that I had no recollection of. Let me tell you- exposure burns some permanent memory in my synapses. If I'd have ridden this before, I'd have totally remembered it, but it had no familiarity to me at all.

So I stopped to reassess. I looked around and saw far above me the familiar brown of the State Park's gate work. I had passed a trail spur, (another thing I had never seen before), a bit back and it appeared that this would lead me right up to that barricade. (If indeed that is what it was.)

And some more of it looked like this...

I wondered if that was the high end of the park, and if so, where was the jeep road leading back to the same area? I couldn't see it at all.

With nothing at all jiving with past memories, and me being on a limited water supply, I figured I'd better see what that barricade/gate was, and get my bearings. Besides that, it was leading me closer to my start than the other way.

I rode a bit, but soon it became apparent that this was too steep to ride, and I hike-a-biked up to the point I had spied out. All was well. It was right at the upper end of the park, but the missing jeep road was still a mystery. Oh well! I had some nice down hill trail to shred back to the car, so I did that instead of solving the mystery.

I know it seems to be  me harping on how tough these trails are, but even I forget, and I was reminded again how difficult this mountain is to ride. The rocks are just brutal. There is zero flow, and you are "rock crawling" for a lot of the first sector, (when you find the first sector!). I got derailed onto stuff I had never ridden before and it was just difficult, slow work. Not that it wasn't fun, but it takes an entirely different mindset to ride those trails, I think. Nothing about riding in the Mid-West really works out here.

But there wasn't much of this!

In the end it was a fun day on the bike, despite the issues, one more of which was a loose head set, by the way. Stopped and fixed that up right quick. But I bring that up to say that if any bike has a weakness, the trails of Franklin Mountain will find them out right quick.

I may get another chance at spending some time out there again before I pack up for home. If so, it'll be a different experience again, as I'll be on the hard tail and single speed at that.

I know one thing, if I lived out here, I would be riding an entirely different mountain bike than what I usually get to bring down here. I still have never brought the "right bike" to this place.

One of these ol' days maybe that will work itself out, but for now I will be satisfied with just getting out there and spending some time in this very unique, hardscrabble area for mountain biking.

Loading Up For The Trip

Dropper Post

As I posted yesterday, I am about to take off for my vacation. This bike here, the Titus Rockstar, will be the bike I try to redeem myself on after last year's debacle.

Last year, I had a major fail after only a few miles of Franklin Mountain  when I went OTB and split my left knee wide open on some rocks.

This year, I return with a dropper post again courtesy of Grannygear and Specialized, and I have elbow and knee pads too. I will have a ginormous Osprey hydration pack which should make sure I won't have any trouble having enough water, food, and gear to fix anything that may go upside down on me.

I'm hoping to get a couple of days in while we're there and a lot more miles than I got last time! This bike is much better suited to the task at hand too, what with the slacker geometry, great stand over clearance, and lighter weight than last year's rig. Look for something about my attempt while I'm down there this coming week.

And speaking of the blog here, posts might be a bit erratic until I get back. Stay tuned.....

Loading Up For The Trip

Dropper Post

As I posted yesterday, I am about to take off for my vacation. This bike here, the Titus Rockstar, will be the bike I try to redeem myself on after last year's debacle.

Last year, I had a major fail after only a few miles of Franklin Mountain  when I went OTB and split my left knee wide open on some rocks.

This year, I return with a dropper post again courtesy of Grannygear and Specialized, and I have elbow and knee pads too. I will have a ginormous Osprey hydration pack which should make sure I won't have any trouble having enough water, food, and gear to fix anything that may go upside down on me.

I'm hoping to get a couple of days in while we're there and a lot more miles than I got last time! This bike is much better suited to the task at hand too, what with the slacker geometry, great stand over clearance, and lighter weight than last year's rig. Look for something about my attempt while I'm down there this coming week.

And speaking of the blog here, posts might be a bit erratic until I get back. Stay tuned.....

Moving Ahead

Well, with the disappointment in missing CIRREM I figured I had better get busy and make the most of the extra time on my hands. But before we get to that, here is something I wanted to show...

I would have rather shown this covered in the grit from CIRREM roads, but here is the Orange Crush with my 42mm IRC tires and Planet Bike fenders that I stuck on it for the mucky-muck that was predicted.

I did initially try the fenders with the Bontrager XR-1's, but besides not being wide enough, there really wasn't any room to fit them anyway. So, I knew the IRC tires would motor me through the muck, and they have much better tread for that sort of thing anyway. They feature some side lugs that remind me of tractor lugs. They also have a pretty stiff casing. I rode the bike briefly on Sunday with 40psi in the tires, and it looked and felt like I had 55psi in there.

I used these tires when the bike was a single speed last year, so they do well on gravel too. I may leave them on there until something better, (Clement MSO), comes along. The fenders will stay for now as well. I figure it can't hurt anything and I went to all the trouble of putting them on there after all. If I like them, I may opt for some fancy-schmancy aluminum ones, or something.

I need to get a few more rides on the Retroshift set up before I render my final verdict on these. I have learned a trick or two in how to shift them, and I also have found that the shifters allow for unique hand placements on the hoods/levers. The cables don't get in the way at all, by the way. I know some folks were wondering about that.

I did think that if you run a handle bar bag, these shifters might work better. Maybe not for a huge touring bar bag, but smaller bags or rolls should fit just right even with the cables where they are. On a down tube cabled bike, it would even be better.

I spent a big chunk of time dialing in this new Titus Rockstar. It's the second generation of this frame, which I was mentioning Friday. Well, I got to tinkering with the wheels and setting them up tubeless.

I went with the "MG" formula, which is just really a notch above anything else out there. It and the fit of the Rubena Scylla tires on the Crank Brothers rims seems to be all a match made in heaven, because I think it ranks right up there with one of the easiest non-Bontrager set ups I've done.

The bike is billed as an XC/Trail bike. It seems a lot like the Specialized Epic Marathon I rode for a bit. It weighs a touch less, feels similar out of the box, and has similar angles. Biggest difference is in bottom bracket height. Makes me want a dropper post. In fact, this bike really calls out for one, in my mind.

Next up for the tubeless conversion? By-Tor the Titanium Mukluk. Yup. Gotta do it because I'm taking it to Texas soon. That and a set of wheels I just built up, and re-charging some older wheels. Yeah. It must be Spring time or something!

Time to move ahead and get ready to roll.

Moving Ahead

Well, with the disappointment in missing CIRREM I figured I had better get busy and make the most of the extra time on my hands. But before we get to that, here is something I wanted to show...

I would have rather shown this covered in the grit from CIRREM roads, but here is the Orange Crush with my 42mm IRC tires and Planet Bike fenders that I stuck on it for the mucky-muck that was predicted.

I did initially try the fenders with the Bontrager XR-1's, but besides not being wide enough, there really wasn't any room to fit them anyway. So, I knew the IRC tires would motor me through the muck, and they have much better tread for that sort of thing anyway. They feature some side lugs that remind me of tractor lugs. They also have a pretty stiff casing. I rode the bike briefly on Sunday with 40psi in the tires, and it looked and felt like I had 55psi in there.

I used these tires when the bike was a single speed last year, so they do well on gravel too. I may leave them on there until something better, (Clement MSO), comes along. The fenders will stay for now as well. I figure it can't hurt anything and I went to all the trouble of putting them on there after all. If I like them, I may opt for some fancy-schmancy aluminum ones, or something.

I need to get a few more rides on the Retroshift set up before I render my final verdict on these. I have learned a trick or two in how to shift them, and I also have found that the shifters allow for unique hand placements on the hoods/levers. The cables don't get in the way at all, by the way. I know some folks were wondering about that.

I did think that if you run a handle bar bag, these shifters might work better. Maybe not for a huge touring bar bag, but smaller bags or rolls should fit just right even with the cables where they are. On a down tube cabled bike, it would even be better.

I spent a big chunk of time dialing in this new Titus Rockstar. It's the second generation of this frame, which I was mentioning Friday. Well, I got to tinkering with the wheels and setting them up tubeless.

I went with the "MG" formula, which is just really a notch above anything else out there. It and the fit of the Rubena Scylla tires on the Crank Brothers rims seems to be all a match made in heaven, because I think it ranks right up there with one of the easiest non-Bontrager set ups I've done.

The bike is billed as an XC/Trail bike. It seems a lot like the Specialized Epic Marathon I rode for a bit. It weighs a touch less, feels similar out of the box, and has similar angles. Biggest difference is in bottom bracket height. Makes me want a dropper post. In fact, this bike really calls out for one, in my mind.

Next up for the tubeless conversion? By-Tor the Titanium Mukluk. Yup. Gotta do it because I'm taking it to Texas soon. That and a set of wheels I just built up, and re-charging some older wheels. Yeah. It must be Spring time or something!

Time to move ahead and get ready to roll.

Friday News And Views

CIRREM rig, for better or worse...

Snow! Yes, it snowed again, but ya know......it is still February and all. It's just that it was all looking so good, so dry, and the Orange Crush would have been the perfect rig for the 62 mile CIRREM race. Now I probably should be bringing By-Tor The Titanium Mukluk instead, but I guess I'm going to stick to my guns. Peanut butter roads or no.

Besides, it is all for testing! I just need to get out there in something mucky and dirty to see if these Retroshift shifters are all they are cracked up to be. (You can read about the initial install and thoughts here.)

And it looks as though I'll be getting my wish. The course has been rained on, snowed on, and will have had some melting on it before the event tomorrow. Then it will be sunny and over the freezing mark, so you know it's going to be a big ol' mess out there! I suspect I'll be sacrificing my drive train and bottom bracket at the very least. Oh well! I've got a month to get it all back in order before the Renegade Gents race April 7th.

At least it should be warmer on Saturday than it was last year when I about froze my left foot off. Hopefully I'll just be warm and dirty this time. (Wait.......that didn't come out quite right!)
                                                                                                                                                                                          

Kinda like this, only with wheels and stuff...

Like A Rock (star): Okay, here's a frame that is supposed to be hitting the ground here today, only it will have decals and components bolted to it!

Ya know.....kinda like one of them bicycle thingies! Right then...

Seriously, a Titus Rockstar is supposed to be on a truck to me today for a review on Twenty Nine Inches.  I've no clear idea of exactly what Titus saw fit to bolt onto this rig, so it should be fun cracking open the box when it arrives. I only know a few bits are SRAM and the wheels are pretty blingy, but I'll save all the suspense for next week on TNI. 

A couple odd things about this Titus. First- the model name. I remember when it first came out there were a lot of groans about the name "Rockstar". Well, I guess as far as I am concerned, maybe it's a bit pretentious, but I don't know that it is that big of a deal. I just know some folks were really turned off by the name. That matters too, by the way, because sometimes you buy a bike, or not, based on the name to some degree. (Really. I mean, I knew I would buy a Karate Monkey, just for the awesome name.)

Then there is the carbon rear swing arm and aluminum front triangle. Usually it goes the other way around, but Titus has gotten it backwards, or they got it absolutely right. We'll see, but no one else is really doing this on 29"ers. It's a "Horst Link" sort of deal as well, which should be okay. Otherwise, it seems a lot like a Salsa Cycles Spearfish, at least at a glance. I know someone who has ridden one or two of those besides myself, so maybe I can get a hand with how they compare. (You listening Captain?)

Seems like thre used to be a mid-90's company that did a carbon rear ended full suspension bike with an aluminum front triangle. I was thinking Dagger, or Battle. (Don't even say Cannondale. Those were two wheeled insects, not bicycles!)

Anyway, expect a full on CIRREM report soon with whatever else happens this weekend coming your way Monday at the latest. have a great weekend and have fun!

Friday News And Views

CIRREM rig, for better or worse...

Snow! Yes, it snowed again, but ya know......it is still February and all. It's just that it was all looking so good, so dry, and the Orange Crush would have been the perfect rig for the 62 mile CIRREM race. Now I probably should be bringing By-Tor The Titanium Mukluk instead, but I guess I'm going to stick to my guns. Peanut butter roads or no.

Besides, it is all for testing! I just need to get out there in something mucky and dirty to see if these Retroshift shifters are all they are cracked up to be. (You can read about the initial install and thoughts here.)

And it looks as though I'll be getting my wish. The course has been rained on, snowed on, and will have had some melting on it before the event tomorrow. Then it will be sunny and over the freezing mark, so you know it's going to be a big ol' mess out there! I suspect I'll be sacrificing my drive train and bottom bracket at the very least. Oh well! I've got a month to get it all back in order before the Renegade Gents race April 7th.

At least it should be warmer on Saturday than it was last year when I about froze my left foot off. Hopefully I'll just be warm and dirty this time. (Wait.......that didn't come out quite right!)
                                                                                                                                                                                          

Kinda like this, only with wheels and stuff...

Like A Rock (star): Okay, here's a frame that is supposed to be hitting the ground here today, only it will have decals and components bolted to it!

Ya know.....kinda like one of them bicycle thingies! Right then...

Seriously, a Titus Rockstar is supposed to be on a truck to me today for a review on Twenty Nine Inches.  I've no clear idea of exactly what Titus saw fit to bolt onto this rig, so it should be fun cracking open the box when it arrives. I only know a few bits are SRAM and the wheels are pretty blingy, but I'll save all the suspense for next week on TNI. 

A couple odd things about this Titus. First- the model name. I remember when it first came out there were a lot of groans about the name "Rockstar". Well, I guess as far as I am concerned, maybe it's a bit pretentious, but I don't know that it is that big of a deal. I just know some folks were really turned off by the name. That matters too, by the way, because sometimes you buy a bike, or not, based on the name to some degree. (Really. I mean, I knew I would buy a Karate Monkey, just for the awesome name.)

Then there is the carbon rear swing arm and aluminum front triangle. Usually it goes the other way around, but Titus has gotten it backwards, or they got it absolutely right. We'll see, but no one else is really doing this on 29"ers. It's a "Horst Link" sort of deal as well, which should be okay. Otherwise, it seems a lot like a Salsa Cycles Spearfish, at least at a glance. I know someone who has ridden one or two of those besides myself, so maybe I can get a hand with how they compare. (You listening Captain?)

Seems like thre used to be a mid-90's company that did a carbon rear ended full suspension bike with an aluminum front triangle. I was thinking Dagger, or Battle. (Don't even say Cannondale. Those were two wheeled insects, not bicycles!)

Anyway, expect a full on CIRREM report soon with whatever else happens this weekend coming your way Monday at the latest. have a great weekend and have fun!