As a continuation from yesterday's post - let's move on...
Remember that Leader 510H SS bike I built up? Well, I had yet another brilliant idea of swapping out frames for a dirt jumper. Here was my OCD/ridiculous justification:
I took it out for a "spin" that ended up being 25 miles to downtown San Jose and back, and aside from being extremely uncomfortable, it hopped and rolled the streets as a budget DJ bike should. I'm really happy with it, but the color scheme did not quite come out as I envisioned, so I may be changing the look soon.
This will be the bike I'm riding on the 4130 Subway Series Ride in a few weeks, and I'm positive that it will work perfectly for that and future rides.
Hicks Rd to Mt. Umunhum with Nelson34 (Robert)
With the Mt. Hamilton Superbowl Sunday ride coming up on Feb. 5th, a lot of the locals are getting ready for that big, grueling climb to the southbay's other highest peak, James Lick Observatory.
One of the more anxious riders is my pal, Robert (or "Nelson34" on MTBR), who is looking at improving his climbing endurance. He's a decent enough rider, and in fact, on this ride he was ahead of me the entire time, but he has that fire in his belly to improve.
When the both of us decided it was time to dust off the road bikes, we met at the Los Alamitos Creek trailhead with the intent on getting in a good road ride; and what better loop to do it on than Hicks Rd. to Mt. Umunhum? The Pacer is outfitted with a flat bar again - and the feel completely mimics my Pake C'Mute, which I like.
Well, the climb is as hard as it will always be and the Surly Pacer rolled it as it always does. Robert and I got to talking how a bike can make the difference, as his road race bike (as opposed to my simple "road bike") seemed to fly up that hill, even geared with the traditional 52/39 crankset and 11-28 gearing. Robert claims that the bike does make the difference, and I'm beginning to believe that claim. I would never trade in my Surly Pacer for an aggressive road bike, but this aspect of my traditional road riding bike is something to keep in mind when I feel like I'm getting dropped.
Remember that Leader 510H SS bike I built up? Well, I had yet another brilliant idea of swapping out frames for a dirt jumper. Here was my OCD/ridiculous justification:
"I already have a MTB... and I really love urban riding... boy, a frame on closeout can be had for cheap... all I need to do is swap out parts and sell the Leader frame to make it all balance out... yeah... urban dirt jumper..."So, finding a small Jamis Komodo for $120, I built this bad boy up. It's heavy, though, and square taper cranks are really not ideal for what I want to do with this. But, then again, I won't be doing anything more than bunny hopping piles of leaves and jumping curbs - so I figure it should hold up just fine.
I took it out for a "spin" that ended up being 25 miles to downtown San Jose and back, and aside from being extremely uncomfortable, it hopped and rolled the streets as a budget DJ bike should. I'm really happy with it, but the color scheme did not quite come out as I envisioned, so I may be changing the look soon.
This will be the bike I'm riding on the 4130 Subway Series Ride in a few weeks, and I'm positive that it will work perfectly for that and future rides.
Hicks Rd to Mt. Umunhum with Nelson34 (Robert)
With the Mt. Hamilton Superbowl Sunday ride coming up on Feb. 5th, a lot of the locals are getting ready for that big, grueling climb to the southbay's other highest peak, James Lick Observatory.
One of the more anxious riders is my pal, Robert (or "Nelson34" on MTBR), who is looking at improving his climbing endurance. He's a decent enough rider, and in fact, on this ride he was ahead of me the entire time, but he has that fire in his belly to improve.
When the both of us decided it was time to dust off the road bikes, we met at the Los Alamitos Creek trailhead with the intent on getting in a good road ride; and what better loop to do it on than Hicks Rd. to Mt. Umunhum? The Pacer is outfitted with a flat bar again - and the feel completely mimics my Pake C'Mute, which I like.
Well, the climb is as hard as it will always be and the Surly Pacer rolled it as it always does. Robert and I got to talking how a bike can make the difference, as his road race bike (as opposed to my simple "road bike") seemed to fly up that hill, even geared with the traditional 52/39 crankset and 11-28 gearing. Robert claims that the bike does make the difference, and I'm beginning to believe that claim. I would never trade in my Surly Pacer for an aggressive road bike, but this aspect of my traditional road riding bike is something to keep in mind when I feel like I'm getting dropped.
Source: http://www.dionridesbikes.com/2012/01/ride-reports-and-ramblings-pt2.html
