I have replaced several parts on the rig while in my blogging hiatus and will summarize those for your reading pleasure.
As I approach my first major race (test) this year, I have decided to get down to my "race weight" of 162. I have wieghed significantly more than this in my life but had leveled off at 173. I can pretty much eat what I want (within reason) and exercise and maintain this weight. So, I figure if I am going to go down to race weight, I might need to focus some attention on the weight of my bike :).
I am not a weight weeny that is going to go for the lighting possible setup but a few pounds here and there could make a big difference.
The first things I changed were my handlebars and seatpost. I went with bontrager race light carbon bars and race light carbon seatpost (xxx). I also changed out the stem to make my position on the bike more aggressive. While at the bike shop for this change, Andy changed my grips and yelled at me for leaving the old ones on for so long. I guess he doesnt like the rubber to come off in his hands when he grabs the grips like I do....Believe it or not, this reduced the wieght by over a pound (thats a lot).
I have also replaced my wheelset with Stans notubes Crest wheels with hutchison python tubeless tires. This reduced the weight by almost 2 pounds!
The bike comes in at 24 pounds now and that is good enough for me.... The only thing to upgrade on this rig in the future is the brakes, I have mechanical disk brakes and NEED hydraulic disk brakes at some point....But for now, when I squeeze, it stops. So, the money flow has to stop before my wife kills me!
Go Big or Stay Home
Showing posts with label Gear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gear. Show all posts
Monday, July 4, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Computrainer Issues
So, for Christmas I bought Darla an iMac (which is awesome). This meant our desktop got "promoted" to my computrainer computer. The computer that came with my computrainer purchase from craigslist was ancient and very slow. The connection for the computrainer to plug into that computer went into a serial port, yes thats very old school.
Therefore, my new computer I had to get a serial to USB converter....well guess what, the drivers do not work with VISTA, go figure. After three weeks, countless hours, and two cords purchased that did not work, I have ordered a $50 piece from computrainers website that they say is just what I need. But I just couldn't pay the overnight shipping so I will wait for UPS ground.
I am excited to get it going as my coach has on my schedule to do my first LT Power test (Lactate Threshhold). This will tax my body but give us some great data to start training from.....
I can still use my computrainer in the meantime through a small head unit that comes with it but it is just very limited to what you can accomplish in this manner. So don't worry, I am still on the trainer just not utilizing all of the technology yet.
Go Big or Stay Home
Therefore, my new computer I had to get a serial to USB converter....well guess what, the drivers do not work with VISTA, go figure. After three weeks, countless hours, and two cords purchased that did not work, I have ordered a $50 piece from computrainers website that they say is just what I need. But I just couldn't pay the overnight shipping so I will wait for UPS ground.
I am excited to get it going as my coach has on my schedule to do my first LT Power test (Lactate Threshhold). This will tax my body but give us some great data to start training from.....
I can still use my computrainer in the meantime through a small head unit that comes with it but it is just very limited to what you can accomplish in this manner. So don't worry, I am still on the trainer just not utilizing all of the technology yet.
Go Big or Stay Home
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
New Paint Job!!!
Well, its been a while since my last post and I have a ton of excuses as to why but lets just say.....busy!
Scott at the powder coat shop was very gracious with redoing my bike. So now it is black! My favorite color. I picked it up a couple of weeks ago immediately called Mr. Mike Dixon to help with the decals for the finished look. Mike is about my age and grew up riding BMX like me. However, his hobby is restoring vintage 70's and 80's BMX bikes. As I type now, I wish I had taken some pics of his work while I was at his house but I did not. However, I do have pics of my finished product.... I am so happy with the outcome.
I took all of the stickers off of the wheels and fork to black it out as best I could.....very pleased with the outcome.
Go Big or Stay Home
Scott at the powder coat shop was very gracious with redoing my bike. So now it is black! My favorite color. I picked it up a couple of weeks ago immediately called Mr. Mike Dixon to help with the decals for the finished look. Mike is about my age and grew up riding BMX like me. However, his hobby is restoring vintage 70's and 80's BMX bikes. As I type now, I wish I had taken some pics of his work while I was at his house but I did not. However, I do have pics of my finished product.... I am so happy with the outcome.
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| Here it is!!! The pic does not do it justice. |
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| Old Color Scheme (NEON green stinks) |
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| New SLX crankset and chain and XT front derailer |
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| New Rear Cassette and Sram X9 long cage rear derailer |
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| Close up of the FLAMES! |
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| Hard to see REDLINE with FLAMES |
I took all of the stickers off of the wheels and fork to black it out as best I could.....very pleased with the outcome.
Go Big or Stay Home
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Bike Selection
For this race, I started from scratch with my planning which meant my current mountain bike.
Is it the right bike? I currently have a 2009 Redline D660. Yes the Redline from the days of my youth that was a BMX bike. Not many people choose Redlines on the Mountain but they make a great ride. Most of the bike is componentry anyway, the brand is pretty much just the frame.
26 or 29er? This is the size of the wheels. In the last few years 29ers (29 inch wheels) have gained popularity as they roll over big obstacles better but are suspect in the handling department. My current rig is a 29er. (and I love it and have been known to say I will never go back to a 26 inch set up)
Hardtail or Full Suspension? I used to ride full suspension but feel more comfortable on a hardtail. I think they are better for climbing but can chatter your teeth on the downhills sometimes. Overall, the hardtail is my mountain bike of choice. However, not ever have ridden the leadville terrain I wanted to make sure this was the correct choice.
Gearing? The main problem with my Redline for Leadville is gearing. Is has a 1X9 setup. Meaning one chainring in the front and 9 in the back. Hence only 9 gears, not nearly enough for going up the side of a mountain.
So, as I have done over the last 18 years or so, I called Steve Wilson (my semi-pro riding, mountain biker, bike shop owner, leadville 100 finisher, friend). Steve and I worked together in Calvert City Kentucky at BFGoodrich. This was my first job out of college and we logged some major time on the mountain bike trail. One major note, this was also when I did my first big race which was the 24 Hours of Canaan (Canaan, WV, we had a blast).
Steve asked, do you like your current bike? I said, I love it but its not the right one for this race, is it? And to summarize our hour long conversation, he said....wheels, wheels, wheels! For a race like this or any mountain bike race, as long as you are on a decent rig, wheels are what make the difference in Steve's opinion. And as luck would have it, he had a set in the shop he could give me a good deal on! He aslo recommended changing the gearing on my ride to accommodate some more climbing potential.
So, Steve's overall recommendation's were:
1. New wheels, Bontrager Race X Lite, Retail $XXX we'll see.
2. New Crankset, Shimano SLX, $180
3. New Front Derailer (cause I do not have gearing in the front currently I will have to add this), $40
4. New Front Shifter $40
Therefore, other than the new wheels which can be added later, the changes are not insurmountable cost wise.
Now for the personal touches. I have never liked the Green Lettering on my bike, I am a you can have any color as long as its black guy. So, yes, you guessed it, while I have to take off my cranks to install new, what better time to strip my bike down and paint it! And because its a Redline, I can get some cool vintage stickers from the 80's to deck it out.
Here is the first pic of the new paint job. I know it looks black like I like but in the sun it is actually dark blue. The powdercoat guy talked me into blue pearl and I'm not sure I can live with it. So it might get repainted black!
Vintage Redline Stickers from mid 1980's
More Vinatge Stickers, these flames will go on the top tube and down tube! It will be awesome!
This bike should be back together about the second week of January. In the meantime, I will be riding my road bike on the trainer in the basement.
Go Big or Stay Home
Is it the right bike? I currently have a 2009 Redline D660. Yes the Redline from the days of my youth that was a BMX bike. Not many people choose Redlines on the Mountain but they make a great ride. Most of the bike is componentry anyway, the brand is pretty much just the frame.
26 or 29er? This is the size of the wheels. In the last few years 29ers (29 inch wheels) have gained popularity as they roll over big obstacles better but are suspect in the handling department. My current rig is a 29er. (and I love it and have been known to say I will never go back to a 26 inch set up)
Hardtail or Full Suspension? I used to ride full suspension but feel more comfortable on a hardtail. I think they are better for climbing but can chatter your teeth on the downhills sometimes. Overall, the hardtail is my mountain bike of choice. However, not ever have ridden the leadville terrain I wanted to make sure this was the correct choice.
Gearing? The main problem with my Redline for Leadville is gearing. Is has a 1X9 setup. Meaning one chainring in the front and 9 in the back. Hence only 9 gears, not nearly enough for going up the side of a mountain.
So, as I have done over the last 18 years or so, I called Steve Wilson (my semi-pro riding, mountain biker, bike shop owner, leadville 100 finisher, friend). Steve and I worked together in Calvert City Kentucky at BFGoodrich. This was my first job out of college and we logged some major time on the mountain bike trail. One major note, this was also when I did my first big race which was the 24 Hours of Canaan (Canaan, WV, we had a blast).
Steve asked, do you like your current bike? I said, I love it but its not the right one for this race, is it? And to summarize our hour long conversation, he said....wheels, wheels, wheels! For a race like this or any mountain bike race, as long as you are on a decent rig, wheels are what make the difference in Steve's opinion. And as luck would have it, he had a set in the shop he could give me a good deal on! He aslo recommended changing the gearing on my ride to accommodate some more climbing potential.
So, Steve's overall recommendation's were:
1. New wheels, Bontrager Race X Lite, Retail $XXX we'll see.
2. New Crankset, Shimano SLX, $180
3. New Front Derailer (cause I do not have gearing in the front currently I will have to add this), $40
4. New Front Shifter $40
Therefore, other than the new wheels which can be added later, the changes are not insurmountable cost wise.
Now for the personal touches. I have never liked the Green Lettering on my bike, I am a you can have any color as long as its black guy. So, yes, you guessed it, while I have to take off my cranks to install new, what better time to strip my bike down and paint it! And because its a Redline, I can get some cool vintage stickers from the 80's to deck it out.
Here is the first pic of the new paint job. I know it looks black like I like but in the sun it is actually dark blue. The powdercoat guy talked me into blue pearl and I'm not sure I can live with it. So it might get repainted black!
This bike should be back together about the second week of January. In the meantime, I will be riding my road bike on the trainer in the basement.
Go Big or Stay Home
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