Old School Bike Gets Stan's Tubeless System

After a few weeks with the Surley (see earlier post), I began
to look towards my next upgrade. Being a hardtail with a rigid
fork, I figured a tire with more air volume would be in order.
While the 2.3" tires I'd been riding are plenty comfy and offer excellent
grip, I figured it would be even better with lower pressure and
more air volume. That meant it was time to consider a tubeless
system.

I'd used a UST system back in the days of early tubeless, but the
tires ran without sealant, were VERY heavy and were a real pain
to seat. However, tubeless tire technology has come a long way in
the last five or six years. So, I started asking around, reading reviews
and scouring websites and one brand really stood out.
Stans NoTubes.

I've built several wheelsets for customers using the Stan's Crest
tubeless rims, so I figured I'd just order the components and build
up a set for myself. After pricing the rims, hubs, spokes, tape and
valves I realized that buying a complete Stan's Crest wheelset would
be cheaper and save me the trouble of building the wheels. I pulled
the trigger and ordered the wheels.

The Surley Karate Monkey has loads of tire clearance. It's actually
rated for up to 2.55" tire widths, so I felt confident ordering 29X2.4"
Schwalbe Racing Ralph tubeless tires.

The wheels and tires arrived Tuesday with the rims pre-taped out of
the box with valves installed. I mounted the tires, dropped 2oz. of
sealant into each one and chucked up the compressor hose.The front
tire inflated on the first try, and the rear on the fourth. Amazing! You'll
understand this if you've ever tried to get other tubeless systems to seal and
inflate. It can take up to ten minutes and sealant blows out all over you.
The Stan's didn't lose a drop. After installation, the bike weighed 26 lbs
even, with pedals and water bottle cage. That's 1lb, 12oz of weight lost in
the wheels alone!

So, wheelset mounted on the bike, the afternoon was spent experimenting
with various tire pressures in our shop test field and on the test trail behind
the Old Nunnery. Clint, Zac and I all came to the conclusion that 22psi
front and 22psi rear was a good starting point.
Wednesday, I hit the trails at Paris Mountain State Park. The weight
reduction in the wheels was immediately apparent. The bike climbed great,
but the rear wheel was a little squirmy when cornered hard, so I made a
mental note to up the pressure slightly. On the other hand, the front wheel
was a little bouncy so I planned on a little less pressure. Overall, the ride
was much improved over  my previous wheelset with the tube type tires.

For Thursday morning's Thanksgiving ride, I showed up with 21psi front and
23psi rear. Dang! I couldn't believe how much of a difference one psi made
at these low pressures. No more squirm and bounce. Both tires were firmly
planted and the bike seemed to roll even better that the day before. The road
section of the climb to the top was much easier than Wednesday's ride and
I had way too much confidence on the downhills for an old guy.

About the wheels: The Stans NoTubes 29" ZTR Crest wheelset is $530 and
1570 grams (Compare to Mavic's C29SS Max UST wheelset at $775 and
1755 grams). Stan's recommends this wheelset for riders up to 190lbs. I'm
around 180lbs dressed to ride, and after a couple of two hour rides on Paris
Mountain's root and rock strewn trails, my wheels and tires are perfect.

These wheels are a no brainer. Needless to say, we're now a Stan's NoTubes
Dealer.

http://www.notubes.com/


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Serfas TSL1000 Light Review

My first night ride after the time change was last night at Paris Mtn. State Park. We've been selling these new light sets from Serfas pretty steadily for the last few weeks, so I took our Demo Unit along to see how it performed. I'd always used halogen and HID systems, and occasionally a small LED light, but this was my first ride with a serious high power LED system.

First, the specs: This kit comes complete with light head, dual adjustable helmet and bar mounts, lightweight lithium ion battery pack, extension cable for helmet use, wall charger and a durable padded multi-pocket storage bag. At $289.95, the TSL1000 offers significantly more lumens per dollar than comparable high end lighting kits from the L&M and NR brands, as well as a better warranty: Lifetime on all components except the battery (1 year).  Equipped with cutting edge Cree LEDs, burn times are also significantly longer-

 

Although there was a full moon last night, the remaining leaves in the park kept things pretty dark. I started with a long climb and set the light on low (175 lumens). This proved to be plenty of light at climbing speed. The light pattern was nice and wide, allowing lots of light to cover upcoming turns without having to turn the handlebar. The stretch from the bike to the brightest spot of the light pattern was consistent, with no dark spots. When I got to the top and powered up to 1000 lumens, the whole trail opened up in front of me. This  is by far the brightest, most consistently patterned bicycle light I've used.



This picture was taken with an iPhone without flash, so it's not the best clarity, but you can get a pretty  good idea of the nice spread of the light pattern. The blue halo surrounding the mode button was a little distracting at first, but I didn't notice it after a couple of minutes, and it makes the button really easy to locate. Another thing that impressed me about the TSL1000 was that it was not at all effected by being mounted to the handlebar of a full rigid bike (see previous post). The steel fork transmits a good amount of shock to the bar, which would have caused my L&M HID light to turn itself off on just about any of the descents.

This is an exceptional light! Serfas has always offered top notch products and customer service and they've outdone themselves on this one. Click here for more details and reviews on the Serfas TSL1000, (Demo available at Sunshine).

http://www.serfas.com/product_details.asp?ID=898

Old Guy Goes Old School

So, after spending the better part of 2011 off the mountain bike, I decided it was time to get back into the woods. I’ve raced and/or ridden mountain bikes for the last 25 years, but that’s gradually been replaced with road riding. A couple of weeks ago I decided to build up a pretty basic bike to get back to what attracted me to mountain biking in the first place. I’ve had plenty of full and front suspension bikes, but seeing as I’m not racing and I don’t downhill like I used to, this is what I came up with-

This is a Surly “Karate Monkey” 100% chromoly steel frame and fork. It’s a 29er too. The fork is suspension corrected at 80mm for consistent geometry if a suspension fork is installed. We sell these at Sunshine Cycle as custom builds or as framesets. Here’s how I built mine up-

First, I decided to go with SRAM’s new X7 2X10 drivetrain. SRAM has been making a big deal about 2X10, and at first I was curious as to what was so special about it. Most of us have been riding 2X10 on our road bikes for the last 10 years. However, by using 26/39 chainrings and an 11/36 cassette SRAM has come very close to triple gearing without the sloppy shifting, and smaller chainrings mean better clearance, especially on 29ers. Shifting precision is MUCH better under load than the other “S” brand. It also tolerates cross chaining reasonably well. I’m not crazy about the X7 shifters, as I’ve always ridden Gripshift, so when the 10 speed versions come out I’ll install them.

The fork actually works well with the fat 29X2.3 WTB Exiwolf tires. I’m running 28psi front and rear, and the combination of steel frame/fork, 29” wheels and large tire air volume make for a very comfortable ride. Almost feels like an inch or so of suspension on a fully rigid bike. Traction is not an issue. Nice.

Another thing that makes a HUGE difference on a rigid forked bike is the grips. WTB Comfort Zone Clamp-Ons are the best grips I’ve ever ridden. Period. The paddle area of the grip is made of stiff dense rubber and isolates your outer palm area (the part that takes a beating with round grips) from handlebar shock. The Ritchey Comp alloy bar is quite stiff, so the grips do the trick. Also, a word about bar position on a fully rigid bike- high is good. With no shock to soak up front wheel hits, high bars take some weight off the hands and transfer it back to the saddle. This also keeps the front end light and responsive.

Other components are Easton EA70XC wheels, Ritchey Pro seatpost, Cane Creek 40 threadless headset, Avid BB7 Disc brakes with Avid Levers and Time ATAC pedals.

After three two hour plus rides at Paris Mountain State Park over the last week, I’d have to say I’m very pleased with the bike. I’m no more beat up than normal after a ride and although I have to descend a little slower, climbing seems to be easier and faster, especially the technical parts. No more fork bob!

So that’s my report on the new bike. No more checking shock pressures, just air up the tires and go. As equipped, the bike weighs 27lbs 12oz. That’s with heavy wheels, medium weight components and NO carbon fiber (except the X7 rear derailleur cage ??). Not Bad.

INDOOR TRAINING TIPS

"INDOOR TRAINER"
TRAINING TIPS

AIR IT OUT: Inflate your tires.
Even when riding indoors on the trainer, check tire pressure and air weekly.

GO BALD: Slick tires provide more friction between the tire and roller providing you with a better quality and quieter ride.

DATA, DATA, DATA: Get a rear mounted computer and log your workout difficulty, distance, time, power and speed.

SET GOALS: Use the ride data collected to establish goals and track progress to complete these goals.

BUY A COACH: Training DVDs will guarantee a quality workout with a proper warm-up, exercise and cool down. While these workouts are not easy, you will finish the indoor season as a faster, more powerful cyclist.

SPIN UP: It's easy to bog down on a trainer. Keep your cadence above 85. Your knees will thank you later.

ROUND OUT: Push "AND" Pull. Occasionally practice applying even pressure throughout your pedal stroke. The habit will stick and make you more efficient.

GET A PLAN: Create a workout schedule that works for you. The Cyclist's Training Bible is a favorite guide among cyclists. Or hire a personal trainer to create one. Visit Spivervals.com to get started.

TWEAK YOUR FORM: Video tape yourself from the side and analyze your position. Experiment with what feels comfortable and what is "correct" according to experts.

STRETCH: stretch, stretch, stretch

CRUSH BOREDOM: Keep focused by using a training video. Get several for daily variety.

WIPE UP YOUR SWEAT: Wiping your bike down after each workout keeps rust at bay.

RIGHT. LEFT.: Trainers are perfect for single leg pedaling to fine tune your form.

FROM RPM TO BPM: Strap on a heart rate monitor and learn to train in your zones.

DRINK UP: Just like out on the road, hydrate early and often. The more water you drink, the better you feel.

PUMP IRON TO PUMP LEGS: Focus on legs, back, and presses. Move from low weight/high reps to high weight/low reps.

BUILD A BASE: Before starting an intense training program, have a base of at least 500 miles of easy rides.

RIDE. REST.: Take at least one day of rest per week. Spin easy for a few minutes or stay off the bike alltogether.

PLAN YOUR PEAK: In training for a single day event, adjust your schedule so that you are rested and at your strongest.

BE FLEXIBLE: Design a flexible workout plan. Rigid programs are bound to fail.

EASY MEANS EASY: For interval training, active rest periods should lower you heart rate 60-65% of your max.

TEAM UP: Meet other riders at a gym or a house. Bring bikes. Bring trainers. Let the group ride begin.

GO LONG: Try to get a longer ride in at least once a week to build base.

CATCH A BREEZE: To stay comfortable on your trainer, turn on a fan .

SOP IT UP: Keep a towel handy. Without a headwind to dry your sweat, you drip.

KNOW THY WORKOUT: Just like on the open road, having a game plan results in a better workout.

THINK CLEATS: Clipless pedals offer better foot and body position and are more efficient than toe clips.

ADJUST ACCORDINGLY: Training on a different bike than you do on the road? Keep it (your trainer) adjusted the same for an easy transition.