Ice And Snow Ride

River ice deposited on the trail made for some technical challenges.

Saturday I had a window of time to sneak in a bit of a fat bike ride in the Green Belt. It had been quite a while since I had ridden back there due to being sick for two weeks. In the meantime it had flooded, frozen, and flooded again. It had snowed, rained, and snowed again. Sub-freezing temperatures insured that I should have no issues with mud or water, but I didn't know what the Green Belt would be like after all of the changes in weather and water levels.

I decided to roll with the Blackborow DS. I had it in "high" range to start out, but after I got off the pavement I stopped and switched to "Low" range for the duration of the ride. Good thing too.

It didn't take long to find the trail littered with river ice broken up and laying like broken bits of pottery all over. Big bits of pottery! Riding on them was a bit sketchy since they would tilt and shift in ways that eventually made me get off and walk for safety's sake. There was no way around these chunks of ice, so I had to gingerly step across the debris field and remount on the further side once I got there.

Then onward to the bridge across the Black Hawk via the steep climb up from the recycling bins. I was put to the test, but I managed to clean that climb to Ansborough. Then I stopped to calm down the heart rate! Once calmed down, I amused some drivers by hopping the curbs and snow piles to the other side. It seems fat bikes are still capable of attracting attention despite their being much more numerous in the area now days.

The trail has become a frozen river of ice in many spots.

Those geometrically shaped objects on the left are more chunks of frozen river ice deposited by flooding.

The Green Belt is a flooded out mess right now, but due to the sub-freezing temperatures, it is passable. As soon as the temperatures get above freezing for an extended period of time though, things will quickly become a quagmire and impassable by cyclist or pedestrian. I was glad I took the chance to get out there. Monday things are forecast to swing back above freezing far enough that the beauty of the white covered desolation will be lost, I am afraid, even if you could still get back in there to ride.

I love how the crystalline structure of ice and the virgin white snow contrast against the water of the creek. 

The ice glowed and sparkled in the limited amount of light there was available late in the afternoon.

The ride was fine with little fanfare. I just had to keep aware of where the trail was snow versus ice. Keeping my tires on the snow meant traction. Avoidance maneuvers were executed aplenty. Ice chunks from the river were seen, but not to the extent that they became an obstacle you couldn't ride over. In fact, one other fat biker and one skinny tire mountain biker had been through here ahead of me. I used their lines to gain the best way up and over the ice in several places.

A view of the frozen lake in the Green Belt.

When I reached the turn off for the lake loop I veered left and back up away from the creek and all the frozen ice puddles on the trail. It appeared that there had been many hikers along the trail here, and maybe a snow shoe or two, but no bicycles as far as I could tell. No more ice chunks either. Just crunchy snow under the tires and silence otherwise. It was really beautiful. There was a lone ice fisherman on the lake and when he heard my tires crunching on the icy snow he turned to look and I gave him a friendly wave which he returned in kind.

Time for the lights to be turned on.

With all the crawling around ice patches and river ice, I was not making great time. It wasn't about going fast though. I was having fun, stopping to take in the beauty where I found it, and just enjoying being outdoors again after all the time off the bike. It got darker, so I stopped and fired up the light to help me see. I made my way around the lake as the lone ice fisherman decided to call it a day. We exchanged hellos again in the parking lot where his eyes grew wide at the sight of the Blackborow's enormous tires. I bet he talked about that afterward to his friends....

Nature is brutal

 I decided to take the bike trail home. I didn't come back North very far from Martin Road when I saw the remains of a deer right in the middle of the trail. A cruel reminder of the realities of nature, or maybe it was a left over from misguided hunters? Who knows. I saw no signs of blood anywhere, so maybe it was drug up out of the woods by dogs. In any case, it was a sight to behold in the wan light of the evening.

After that I pushed onward to find my home in the dark. The lights were on and my wife and son had just returned from the grocery store. Back to civilization!

I enjoy riding in Winter on fat bikes. I am sure glad we have that choice these days as I have always wanted to enjoy riding in Winter, but couldn't. Not with the limitations mountain bikes had up until the fat bike came around. That didn't stop me from trying, of course, and I recall thinking that a fat bike would really be great. I just never did get a Pugsley due to the fact that you had to build it up from scratch and that wasn't a very cost effective way to do things for a bike that, at the time, I thought had limited usage opportunities. Little did I understand that fat bikes were far more than just "snow bikes".

But I am glad that they are that too!

Ice And Snow Ride

River ice deposited on the trail made for some technical challenges.

Saturday I had a window of time to sneak in a bit of a fat bike ride in the Green Belt. It had been quite a while since I had ridden back there due to being sick for two weeks. In the meantime it had flooded, frozen, and flooded again. It had snowed, rained, and snowed again. Sub-freezing temperatures insured that I should have no issues with mud or water, but I didn't know what the Green Belt would be like after all of the changes in weather and water levels.

I decided to roll with the Blackborow DS. I had it in "high" range to start out, but after I got off the pavement I stopped and switched to "Low" range for the duration of the ride. Good thing too.

It didn't take long to find the trail littered with river ice broken up and laying like broken bits of pottery all over. Big bits of pottery! Riding on them was a bit sketchy since they would tilt and shift in ways that eventually made me get off and walk for safety's sake. There was no way around these chunks of ice, so I had to gingerly step across the debris field and remount on the further side once I got there.

Then onward to the bridge across the Black Hawk via the steep climb up from the recycling bins. I was put to the test, but I managed to clean that climb to Ansborough. Then I stopped to calm down the heart rate! Once calmed down, I amused some drivers by hopping the curbs and snow piles to the other side. It seems fat bikes are still capable of attracting attention despite their being much more numerous in the area now days.

The trail has become a frozen river of ice in many spots.

Those geometrically shaped objects on the left are more chunks of frozen river ice deposited by flooding.

The Green Belt is a flooded out mess right now, but due to the sub-freezing temperatures, it is passable. As soon as the temperatures get above freezing for an extended period of time though, things will quickly become a quagmire and impassable by cyclist or pedestrian. I was glad I took the chance to get out there. Monday things are forecast to swing back above freezing far enough that the beauty of the white covered desolation will be lost, I am afraid, even if you could still get back in there to ride.

I love how the crystalline structure of ice and the virgin white snow contrast against the water of the creek. 

The ice glowed and sparkled in the limited amount of light there was available late in the afternoon.

The ride was fine with little fanfare. I just had to keep aware of where the trail was snow versus ice. Keeping my tires on the snow meant traction. Avoidance maneuvers were executed aplenty. Ice chunks from the river were seen, but not to the extent that they became an obstacle you couldn't ride over. In fact, one other fat biker and one skinny tire mountain biker had been through here ahead of me. I used their lines to gain the best way up and over the ice in several places.

A view of the frozen lake in the Green Belt.

When I reached the turn off for the lake loop I veered left and back up away from the creek and all the frozen ice puddles on the trail. It appeared that there had been many hikers along the trail here, and maybe a snow shoe or two, but no bicycles as far as I could tell. No more ice chunks either. Just crunchy snow under the tires and silence otherwise. It was really beautiful. There was a lone ice fisherman on the lake and when he heard my tires crunching on the icy snow he turned to look and I gave him a friendly wave which he returned in kind.

Time for the lights to be turned on.

With all the crawling around ice patches and river ice, I was not making great time. It wasn't about going fast though. I was having fun, stopping to take in the beauty where I found it, and just enjoying being outdoors again after all the time off the bike. It got darker, so I stopped and fired up the light to help me see. I made my way around the lake as the lone ice fisherman decided to call it a day. We exchanged hellos again in the parking lot where his eyes grew wide at the sight of the Blackborow's enormous tires. I bet he talked about that afterward to his friends....

Nature is brutal

 I decided to take the bike trail home. I didn't come back North very far from Martin Road when I saw the remains of a deer right in the middle of the trail. A cruel reminder of the realities of nature, or maybe it was a left over from misguided hunters? Who knows. I saw no signs of blood anywhere, so maybe it was drug up out of the woods by dogs. In any case, it was a sight to behold in the wan light of the evening.

After that I pushed onward to find my home in the dark. The lights were on and my wife and son had just returned from the grocery store. Back to civilization!

I enjoy riding in Winter on fat bikes. I am sure glad we have that choice these days as I have always wanted to enjoy riding in Winter, but couldn't. Not with the limitations mountain bikes had up until the fat bike came around. That didn't stop me from trying, of course, and I recall thinking that a fat bike would really be great. I just never did get a Pugsley due to the fact that you had to build it up from scratch and that wasn't a very cost effective way to do things for a bike that, at the time, I thought had limited usage opportunities. Little did I understand that fat bikes were far more than just "snow bikes".

But I am glad that they are that too!

Salsa Cycles Blackborow And Bluto Fork

The Bluto dealt with mud better than I thought it would

It was Wednesday and the mighty RAGBY was coming into town. I worked till about noon, bugged out, and got on my Blackborow to see how the Green Belt was doing. I had heard rumors that it had been mowed and was clear enough to ride through.

I had just installed a Rock Shox Bluto fork on the front of the Blackborow recently. My intentions were not to be running these wheels or the dinglespeed drive train on it, but the rest of my parts have not been procured as of yet, so I have to hold off riding, or decide just to go with it as is, and of course, that is what I did.

I had no idea what to expect other than what I had heard from a few trusted folks I know that were pretty positive that it would make my Blackborow better. One of those folks, MG, had plenty of time with one and had lots of good things to say, so I was positive about trying it out, but I didn't really think it would make that much difference. You see, the Green Belt is not necessarily known for it's elevation changes, nor for lots of rough trail features. I already had 4.8" fat bike tires at low pressures, what else could I need? Well, not a lot for the Green Belt, is what I was thinking. I took off on a sunny, pleasant afternoon and headed over to give it a go and see what all the fuss was about. I didn't even check the fork's air spring pressure, which was set by the previous owner and felt plenty stiff to me.

The beast emerges from the jungle!

The Bluto looks nice with the graphics on my Blackborow DS and compliments the bike nicely. 

The initial ride over and whatnot was nothing different than usual. Which is a positive thing, I think. Of course, the bike gained a bit of weight in the exchange, but as I pedaled it along, I didn't feel anything dragging me down. The Green Belt was mowed, as reported, so I dove in and cruised the mostly smooth trail for the first sector.

A lot of the trail was like this- no big deal.

I was going along and feeling good about the bike, but as I have said, the trail wasn't really all that demanding. In fact, at first I thought is was uncommonly dry for having had rain a day before. Much of the initial parts were so dry the earth was cracked.

Then I came across some sand, and I didn't catch this at first, but later on into the trail, I realized that instead of washing out the front wheel, I was able to correct the way the front end was headed, and avert any crashes or stops to catch myself from going down. I feel it was due to the suspension fork being able to absorb my initial corrections which gave me time to get the bike back underneath me and carry on. That was a good thing.

Then I started coming up on some blow downs that had trail work-arounds so you could get by the limbs and what not. This coincided with the occurrence of muddy spots and then out and out mud pits where the big 4.8's showed their worth. I was able to pretty much motor right through without too much trouble at all. All of that done in the "high" range on the dinglespeed drive train. That made me happy, because when I got the bike, using the "high" range wasn't working for me. Now I was pushing that gear with no real problem at all, and even climbing the dikes in it. Guess I must be in better shape than I thought.

A deep, sloppy mud hole that the Blackborow just floated right through.

Old school single track in Marky-Mark

I decided to try and take as much of the Green Belt in as possible, so I took several of the spur trails and they were all pretty clear, for the most part. I got into the Robinson Bird Sanctuary portion of the trails and things were still fine with the exception of about three or four blow downs that mostly had ride-able work-arounds already burned in. The sandy stuff way out by Shaulis Road was no big deal for the fat bike. In fact, with all the muddy spots and with the sand, a fat bike is the recommended bike to use out there, I would say.

On the way back I rode Marky-Mark, and much to my surprise it was clear and open to ride. That was nice to see. I blazed that trail, (mostly), myself back in 1997, so it is nice to find that, not only that it still exists at all, but that folks seem to care about that connector enough that they keep it clear to ride.

So- is the Bluto worth the trouble? That's a great question that I am inclined to say "yes" to right now. It handled all the gooey mud I threw at it without getting the front wheel bogged down. I used almost all the travel, (see image above for where the orange "O" ring is), and for the most part, I didn't notice any big differences in handling. The ride was definitely smoother, and big jolts were absorbed well so I didn't have numb hands or more fatigue than necessary. I felt cornering was enhanced a bit.

But let's not be hasty. I want to ride this some more on different trails before I get too excited about it. Stay tuned.....

Salsa Cycles Blackborow And Bluto Fork

The Bluto dealt with mud better than I thought it would

It was Wednesday and the mighty RAGBY was coming into town. I worked till about noon, bugged out, and got on my Blackborow to see how the Green Belt was doing. I had heard rumors that it had been mowed and was clear enough to ride through.

I had just installed a Rock Shox Bluto fork on the front of the Blackborow recently. My intentions were not to be running these wheels or the dinglespeed drive train on it, but the rest of my parts have not been procured as of yet, so I have to hold off riding, or decide just to go with it as is, and of course, that is what I did.

I had no idea what to expect other than what I had heard from a few trusted folks I know that were pretty positive that it would make my Blackborow better. One of those folks, MG, had plenty of time with one and had lots of good things to say, so I was positive about trying it out, but I didn't really think it would make that much difference. You see, the Green Belt is not necessarily known for it's elevation changes, nor for lots of rough trail features. I already had 4.8" fat bike tires at low pressures, what else could I need? Well, not a lot for the Green Belt, is what I was thinking. I took off on a sunny, pleasant afternoon and headed over to give it a go and see what all the fuss was about. I didn't even check the fork's air spring pressure, which was set by the previous owner and felt plenty stiff to me.

The beast emerges from the jungle!

The Bluto looks nice with the graphics on my Blackborow DS and compliments the bike nicely. 

The initial ride over and whatnot was nothing different than usual. Which is a positive thing, I think. Of course, the bike gained a bit of weight in the exchange, but as I pedaled it along, I didn't feel anything dragging me down. The Green Belt was mowed, as reported, so I dove in and cruised the mostly smooth trail for the first sector.

A lot of the trail was like this- no big deal.

I was going along and feeling good about the bike, but as I have said, the trail wasn't really all that demanding. In fact, at first I thought is was uncommonly dry for having had rain a day before. Much of the initial parts were so dry the earth was cracked.

Then I came across some sand, and I didn't catch this at first, but later on into the trail, I realized that instead of washing out the front wheel, I was able to correct the way the front end was headed, and avert any crashes or stops to catch myself from going down. I feel it was due to the suspension fork being able to absorb my initial corrections which gave me time to get the bike back underneath me and carry on. That was a good thing.

Then I started coming up on some blow downs that had trail work-arounds so you could get by the limbs and what not. This coincided with the occurrence of muddy spots and then out and out mud pits where the big 4.8's showed their worth. I was able to pretty much motor right through without too much trouble at all. All of that done in the "high" range on the dinglespeed drive train. That made me happy, because when I got the bike, using the "high" range wasn't working for me. Now I was pushing that gear with no real problem at all, and even climbing the dikes in it. Guess I must be in better shape than I thought.

A deep, sloppy mud hole that the Blackborow just floated right through.

Old school single track in Marky-Mark

I decided to try and take as much of the Green Belt in as possible, so I took several of the spur trails and they were all pretty clear, for the most part. I got into the Robinson Bird Sanctuary portion of the trails and things were still fine with the exception of about three or four blow downs that mostly had ride-able work-arounds already burned in. The sandy stuff way out by Shaulis Road was no big deal for the fat bike. In fact, with all the muddy spots and with the sand, a fat bike is the recommended bike to use out there, I would say.

On the way back I rode Marky-Mark, and much to my surprise it was clear and open to ride. That was nice to see. I blazed that trail, (mostly), myself back in 1997, so it is nice to find that, not only that it still exists at all, but that folks seem to care about that connector enough that they keep it clear to ride.

So- is the Bluto worth the trouble? That's a great question that I am inclined to say "yes" to right now. It handled all the gooey mud I threw at it without getting the front wheel bogged down. I used almost all the travel, (see image above for where the orange "O" ring is), and for the most part, I didn't notice any big differences in handling. The ride was definitely smoother, and big jolts were absorbed well so I didn't have numb hands or more fatigue than necessary. I felt cornering was enhanced a bit.

But let's not be hasty. I want to ride this some more on different trails before I get too excited about it. Stay tuned.....

Blackborow DS: How To Change Gears & More

My new Blackborow DS size Large.

Today I wanted to answer a question I received yesterday concerning how one changes gears on a Blackborow DS. Obviously, there are no shifters and it must be done manually. I will show how it's done in some images and with words. Then I'll have a bit more to say about my impressions concerning the bike.

The Blackborow DS was ridden in the "high" ratio set of gears today, so I will demonstrate here a switch to "low range". It takes all of about three to four minutes to accomplish a gear change. You do not need any special tools and I would recommend a rag to clean your hands since the chain will likely be greasy when you do this, although mine is pretty good looking yet since it is so new!

By the way, you shouldn't, (and cannot), cross chain the bike. I also will add that the rear hub has a full range free hub body, so if you should decide after getting a DS that you have to have gears, all you need are the parts plus a through axle, driveside, derailleur compatible Alternator plate. The cable stops are all there to run the cable to the rear derailleur should you decide to add that dangly bit. Okay, enough about all of that. Now I will get into how to change the gears here.

A closer look at the cogs and drop out. This is the side the axle screws in to. 

Here's the Maxle lever which you flip open like a normal QR, but then you use it like a wing nut and unscrew it.....

....until you can start to pull the axle clear of the wheel/hub. Leave the bike on the ground at this point. 

Then lift the rear of the bike straight up. This allows for some chain slack. See below for further instructions.

• Once the rear of the bike is up and you have created some chain slack, reach down with your hand and starting with the rear cog, grab the chain at the top of the cog, lift and move it over to the next cog. In my case, the inner one.
• This next step is crucial to an easy, smooth gear change. Reach down to the bottom run of the chain near the crank set and guide the chain onto the chain ring of choice, (in my case, the inner one), and push the chain "backwards", as if back pedaling, since the crank and cogs will free wheel backward while the wheels remain static. Make sure the pedals are free to rotate! Guide the chain carefully from the bottom up around to the top until it is on the chain ring. Oh.....you're still holding the bike up, by the way. 
• Once the chain is on the set of gears you want, gently lower the rear of the bike, making sure the rotor passes between the pads in the caliper. Line up the hub and the inner drop out "hoods" and then set the weight of the bike on the hub end caps. Replace the Maxle, screwing it into the drive side drop out snugly, but don't reef on it! Then close the lever. That's it!

The gears swapped and the wheel sitting on the hub end caps before reinstalling the Maxle. 

More Impressions: 

The Blackborow DS was ridden to work in "high" range and that makes a speed sufficient for brisk travel. It can be a chore in fluffy, slushy snow though, and going up longer inclines can get a bit wearisome. I'd say anyone used to a stout gear for mtb should be okay with it. My commute, about 4 miles or so, is mostly uphill and if there is any amount of fresh snow or a stiff wind, I'll probably be dumping it back into the low range. The high range was a chore yesterday, but it should make me stronger if I can get used to it. 

The wheel base feels shorter, but I'll have to confirm that. I feel that it is the reason it is really easy to pop a wheelie or loft the front end of this bike. Stand over is definitely what Salsa says, "the best of any" of their fat bikes. That's by at least an inch over the Beargrease and Mukluk. (Large vs Large sizes)

This is my first time on Clown Shoe rims with any of the bigger tires. I noted that this combination is "flatter" crowned than what I have seen with Surly tires. My titanium Mukluk has a Bud on a Rolling Darryl and is noticeably rounder in profile. This flatter profile manifests itself in a bit of self-steer at lower pressures and at similar pressures to the Bud/RD combo, the Clown Shoe/Lou combo is always a bit more prone to the self-steering feel. I'm okay with that with this bike since I got it for the maximum flotation of its tires and rims. It is also worth noting that the barely 4 inch wide Sterlings (made by Vee Tire) have far worse self-steer feelings at these same pressures than do the Clown Shoe/Lou combo. So, it isn't bad with the Blackborow DS, but it is there.

More on this bike later.....

Blackborow DS: How To Change Gears & More

My new Blackborow DS size Large.

Today I wanted to answer a question I received yesterday concerning how one changes gears on a Blackborow DS. Obviously, there are no shifters and it must be done manually. I will show how it's done in some images and with words. Then I'll have a bit more to say about my impressions concerning the bike.

The Blackborow DS was ridden in the "high" ratio set of gears today, so I will demonstrate here a switch to "low range". It takes all of about three to four minutes to accomplish a gear change. You do not need any special tools and I would recommend a rag to clean your hands since the chain will likely be greasy when you do this, although mine is pretty good looking yet since it is so new!

By the way, you shouldn't, (and cannot), cross chain the bike. I also will add that the rear hub has a full range free hub body, so if you should decide after getting a DS that you have to have gears, all you need are the parts plus a through axle, driveside, derailleur compatible Alternator plate. The cable stops are all there to run the cable to the rear derailleur should you decide to add that dangly bit. Okay, enough about all of that. Now I will get into how to change the gears here.

A closer look at the cogs and drop out. This is the side the axle screws in to. 

Here's the Maxle lever which you flip open like a normal QR, but then you use it like a wing nut and unscrew it.....

....until you can start to pull the axle clear of the wheel/hub. Leave the bike on the ground at this point. 

Then lift the rear of the bike straight up. This allows for some chain slack. See below for further instructions.

• Once the rear of the bike is up and you have created some chain slack, reach down with your hand and starting with the rear cog, grab the chain at the top of the cog, lift and move it over to the next cog. In my case, the inner one.
• This next step is crucial to an easy, smooth gear change. Reach down to the bottom run of the chain near the crank set and guide the chain onto the chain ring of choice, (in my case, the inner one), and push the chain "backwards", as if back pedaling, since the crank and cogs will free wheel backward while the wheels remain static. Make sure the pedals are free to rotate! Guide the chain carefully from the bottom up around to the top until it is on the chain ring. Oh.....you're still holding the bike up, by the way. 
• Once the chain is on the set of gears you want, gently lower the rear of the bike, making sure the rotor passes between the pads in the caliper. Line up the hub and the inner drop out "hoods" and then set the weight of the bike on the hub end caps. Replace the Maxle, screwing it into the drive side drop out snugly, but don't reef on it! Then close the lever. That's it!

The gears swapped and the wheel sitting on the hub end caps before reinstalling the Maxle. 

More Impressions: 

The Blackborow DS was ridden to work in "high" range and that makes a speed sufficient for brisk travel. It can be a chore in fluffy, slushy snow though, and going up longer inclines can get a bit wearisome. I'd say anyone used to a stout gear for mtb should be okay with it. My commute, about 4 miles or so, is mostly uphill and if there is any amount of fresh snow or a stiff wind, I'll probably be dumping it back into the low range. The high range was a chore yesterday, but it should make me stronger if I can get used to it. 

The wheel base feels shorter, but I'll have to confirm that. I feel that it is the reason it is really easy to pop a wheelie or loft the front end of this bike. Stand over is definitely what Salsa says, "the best of any" of their fat bikes. That's by at least an inch over the Beargrease and Mukluk. (Large vs Large sizes)

This is my first time on Clown Shoe rims with any of the bigger tires. I noted that this combination is "flatter" crowned than what I have seen with Surly tires. My titanium Mukluk has a Bud on a Rolling Darryl and is noticeably rounder in profile. This flatter profile manifests itself in a bit of self-steer at lower pressures and at similar pressures to the Bud/RD combo, the Clown Shoe/Lou combo is always a bit more prone to the self-steering feel. I'm okay with that with this bike since I got it for the maximum flotation of its tires and rims. It is also worth noting that the barely 4 inch wide Sterlings (made by Vee Tire) have far worse self-steer feelings at these same pressures than do the Clown Shoe/Lou combo. So, it isn't bad with the Blackborow DS, but it is there.

More on this bike later.....

Friday News And Views

The Blackborow DS

It Came Early!

The Blackborow bikes were due to be delivered by late November. The geared ones, that is. The Dingle Speed ones were not supposed to show up until December. I wasn't thinking I'd see mine until then or later. I know the usual drill with bicycle companies- over-promise, under-deliver. I was fully expecting something along those lines.

However; I walked into the back door at work Thursday and there it was! The "Forest Service Green" Blackborow DS. Oh boy........I was excited but I also was in a pickle since my financial house wasn't quite ready for this. That's my problem, so I'll just tell you all what you really want to know- how does it ride? 

Two things: Smooth and nimble. The tires I figured would be horrible rollers, and while there is no escaping the tell-tale rumble of the Lou's tread, it rolls far better than I figured it would. Then there is the handling, which is really dialed and the shorter rear end is definitely noticeable.  This acts more like a "regular" mountain bike than you'd ever expect. I was cutting turns at slow speed in the shop that were eye opening from the standpoint of how easy it was to steer and maneuver. Kicking the pedal and popping the front end up is far easier than on a Mukluk. I can also see where putting a Bluto on this would be a really great idea. Stuffing the front wheel into a rocky rut for rain drainage out back showed me that much to be true.

The shop also received this geared Blackborow

The dinglespeed thing was intriguing, and I purposely put it in the "low" combination for my brief test ride to see what I thought. Honestly, it is pretty spot on for any single speeder's trails. It isn't that "super low" gear I might need for slogging through deeper stuff, but it'll be fun to see how far I can go. The higher gear should be perfect for commuting in the slop and on snowy streets.

The bike has all the braze ons for a geared set up, I'd just need a new drive side Alternator plate and I can gear this up no problem. I figured I'd try this set up for Winter and then decide where to go from there. I really feel that this will be the smart way to go for at least the Winter time. Last year I trashed a chain and many of my drive train bits were really put through the ringer along with the brakes. I had a piston seize up on a caliper and rust set in on the rotors as well. It was a rougher year last year, but still. Wasting decent 9 or 10 speed stuff on roads for commuting really doesn't make sense when this dinglespeed set up is made to resist that sort of corrosion. Time will tell how that works out.

Trans Iowa Clinic:

We're all done with T.I.V11 registration so now we are announcing that the Trans Iowa Clinic will again be happening. The date is December 6th. The place will be the same as last year's venue, which was then called Tacopocalypse, but is now dubbed Krunkwich Ramen House. Of course, this is all in Des Moines Iowa.

We're working on bringing some gear out all set up for Trans Iowa and the panel will consist of a few women and men that have finished Trans Iowa who will be available for a Q&A session. There may be a couple of slides and we may be doing something for those who will not be available to attend, so that the riders who live far off can maybe pick up some pointers.

One question: Does anyone want to see the movie "300 Miles Of Gravel" again? Give us a shout out here so we can add that in if there seems to be enough interest in seeing that again. More details will be released soon as far as specific times and hopefully we'll have a sign up list going soon. Stay tuned......

Friday News And Views

The Blackborow DS

It Came Early!

The Blackborow bikes were due to be delivered by late November. The geared ones, that is. The Dingle Speed ones were not supposed to show up until December. I wasn't thinking I'd see mine until then or later. I know the usual drill with bicycle companies- over-promise, under-deliver. I was fully expecting something along those lines.

However; I walked into the back door at work Thursday and there it was! The "Forest Service Green" Blackborow DS. Oh boy........I was excited but I also was in a pickle since my financial house wasn't quite ready for this. That's my problem, so I'll just tell you all what you really want to know- how does it ride? 

Two things: Smooth and nimble. The tires I figured would be horrible rollers, and while there is no escaping the tell-tale rumble of the Lou's tread, it rolls far better than I figured it would. Then there is the handling, which is really dialed and the shorter rear end is definitely noticeable.  This acts more like a "regular" mountain bike than you'd ever expect. I was cutting turns at slow speed in the shop that were eye opening from the standpoint of how easy it was to steer and maneuver. Kicking the pedal and popping the front end up is far easier than on a Mukluk. I can also see where putting a Bluto on this would be a really great idea. Stuffing the front wheel into a rocky rut for rain drainage out back showed me that much to be true.

The shop also received this geared Blackborow

The dinglespeed thing was intriguing, and I purposely put it in the "low" combination for my brief test ride to see what I thought. Honestly, it is pretty spot on for any single speeder's trails. It isn't that "super low" gear I might need for slogging through deeper stuff, but it'll be fun to see how far I can go. The higher gear should be perfect for commuting in the slop and on snowy streets.

The bike has all the braze ons for a geared set up, I'd just need a new drive side Alternator plate and I can gear this up no problem. I figured I'd try this set up for Winter and then decide where to go from there. I really feel that this will be the smart way to go for at least the Winter time. Last year I trashed a chain and many of my drive train bits were really put through the ringer along with the brakes. I had a piston seize up on a caliper and rust set in on the rotors as well. It was a rougher year last year, but still. Wasting decent 9 or 10 speed stuff on roads for commuting really doesn't make sense when this dinglespeed set up is made to resist that sort of corrosion. Time will tell how that works out.

Trans Iowa Clinic:

We're all done with T.I.V11 registration so now we are announcing that the Trans Iowa Clinic will again be happening. The date is December 6th. The place will be the same as last year's venue, which was then called Tacopocalypse, but is now dubbed Krunkwich Ramen House. Of course, this is all in Des Moines Iowa.

We're working on bringing some gear out all set up for Trans Iowa and the panel will consist of a few women and men that have finished Trans Iowa who will be available for a Q&A session. There may be a couple of slides and we may be doing something for those who will not be available to attend, so that the riders who live far off can maybe pick up some pointers.

One question: Does anyone want to see the movie "300 Miles Of Gravel" again? Give us a shout out here so we can add that in if there seems to be enough interest in seeing that again. More details will be released soon as far as specific times and hopefully we'll have a sign up list going soon. Stay tuned......