It is here!!

Media Fridays

We'll post videos or photos that will hopefully inspire trail shredding weekends.

I'll get into the details of everything next week, but I am too excited to get into the news part of things (which in itself is VERY exciting in itself!!).  In the meantime, feast your eyes on my new Asylum Meuse SSCX.

No build can begin without beer - I've learned the hardway...

Naked and sexy

Look at that, a little bit of NC right there in the bike - Cane Creek brake levers

Disc brakes... but not the kind that don't work - suckers!

With this fork I will discover new lands!

Interesting alternative to spacers...

For those that like the shifting... internal cable routing.  For my purposes - frame whistle!

After a shake down I will convert to tubeless (and if you missed it before, disc brakes)

Look at those curves!

comin' atcha!

Don't ask me where, but I'll be getting out today on this bad boy!

I DID race

Before I get on with the show you MUST go check out TheMutts page today.  I died laughing when I saw his "action" shot of me!!

I don't always build a bike, but when I do, I do the Harlem Shake.

TheMutt was kind enough to send over some evidence to prove I did some work during the build.  Like when I was spinning the cranks...

Or that time I was tying down the brake line and working on a sunburn

And of course, when I was riding around the yard

So, it is pretty much official.  After 6 long miles, 3 of which were on pavement I'm loving the singlespeed lifestyle.  

Since yesterday I've added another possible name into the mix - Simple Green.  Yeah it's a cleaning solution, but my bike is green, and with one gear - pretty damn simple.  I'm gonna give it a few more days, accumulate some more names and figure out how to do a survey all official like.  Or I'll just pick one and tell you all about that.  We shall see.

Ok, I've got to stop talking about the One9 today, because I'll likely be talking about it again tomorrow after tonight's group ride.  

So, let's get into the race on Sunday.  I mean, I've got another one this weekend so I've got to wrap this recap up!!  I got up early to head for Croft State Park in Spartanburg SC for the Stump Jump.  I hit 85 south and passed some landmarks that reminded me of the long drive from CT to UGA.

It always confused me why the giant peach was in SC and not GA...

I was tired for the entire 1:30 drive it took to get to the course.  My stomach wasn't too happy for some reason, so after checking in I visited the facilities.  As I got ready I scarfed down a clif bar and hydrated.  I headed out on the course for a warm up.  The course started in the grass and onto a short gravel grind, crossed a road to some "fun" grass, then up a short dirt climb to a big dirt decent banging a hard right into the singletrack.  

The singletrack here was fun and fast.  Beautiful even.  I wanted to stop to take a picture but I had left my phone in the pterodactyl, cause I don't need a phone to race.  I rode for a bit and then turned around - scientific.  I was watching the time, and knew I wanted to get back before 9:30.  But, for some reason it didn't click that my start time was 9:30 - until I showed up at the staging area and the Cat3 19-29 guys were going off and we were lining up.  THAT was close!!

The start sucked.  I was towards the back when we hit the gravel and I decided to just hang.  I figured I'd start really working the group once we hit the singletrack.  Once in I was stuck behind two riders.  The leader was doing ok, but just a tad slower than where I wanted to be and the guy in the middle just wouldn't pass!!  With the tight track and the constant twists there wasn't an opportunity to jump two at once.  

Luckily from my preride I had come upon a section that had a log crossing option or an end-around and I hoped that the two in front would go around so I could clear the logs and cut them off.  As I hoped, they both opted to go around so I went straight over the logs and got in front.  Unfortunately my move was short lived as we came upon a short steep climb that had riders ahead of us fumbling.  I came up fast and the rider stuck on the climb couldn't get out of my way fast enough forcing me to dismount - allowing the rider behind me to climb past me.  I jumped back on his wheel and followed him for a bit and was able to pass not too long after.  

At this point the field was spread and I worried that my time stuck in the beginning had given the leaders too large of a gap.  For the rest of the race I worked to gain ground on those ahead, and put in time on those behind.  

On the first lap I had a carrot to follow on the long, washed out service road climb.  By the top I was on him and soon after we got back into the singletrack he pulled to the right to let me go by.

Coming back through the start/finish the grass slowed me - I HATE riding in grass.  Hit the gravel and knew I had a rider on me so I just climbed without pushing.  I wanted to see who he was and let him push the pace if he wanted.  He passed me at the top but it was a rider from the 40-49 field so I let him go and worked my way back to the downhill and into the singletrack.  In the singletrack I was able to stay motivated initially because I did have a rider behind, so I pushed the pace and caught another rider, passing him and putting in a gap on the two behind.  I hit the short steep up fast and cleared it solidifying the gap I had on my two followers.

Now I was in no man's land.  Luckily the water crossing was coming, meaning the course doubles back a bit - so I looked through the trees and could see riders coming back from the water.  The chase was back on.  I was hoping I'd again catch riders on the service road climb, but I wasn't so lucky.  This time I was the carrot.  I was climbing ok, but couldn't find it in me to get up and push the climb.  Halfway up a rider passed and I couldn't tell if he was in my class or not, but I couldn't grab his wheel.  Now, it was the home stretch.  On the side of the trail was a fast rider from my class with a flat... maybe the lead isn't too far off??  I pushed the pace where I could and then it happened.

I wasn't hurt, just happened to park next to the ambulance

I clipped a tree.  I couldn't hold on and was headed straight for another so I had to bail.  This gave another rider just enough time to get past me.  I hustled back up and the chase was on.  Right before the last short steep climb I clipped a pedal, popping me out - so I ran the climb and the racer who flatted passed me with another teammate (who I was hoping was from the 40-49 field).  Again I got to chasing.

I knew the end was near and all of a sudden I could see the flatted racer struggling ahead.  He had lost his teammate and he seemed to be slowing.  I got to his wheel before we popped out of the singletrack and it was on!  We hit the pavement, gears popping as we both stomped.  He had the lead going into the gravel decent back to the finish line.  I hit the big ring and stomped, passing him in the gravel.  I held the lead into the grass and cleared the line.

After the finish I found the rider who had passed me while I was down from my crash, thankfully he was from the 40-49 field.  I had no idea where I was in the standings, but my gut was telling me it was a mid pack finish.  The start was just too slow to have been able to gain ground over the two laps.

Looking at my data you wouldn't really know that it was a race.  It did, after all, just look like a fast group ride.  And that is a really great description.  When I was behind another rider looking for a time/place to pass it felt like I was just on a fast group ride.  Sure we were moving quick, but I didn't really feel the push of a race.

But I can say this, those trails were FUN!!  TheMutt is talking about a trip down there for a group ride and I am 100% on board with that!!

I ended up finishing 8th out of 15.  After racing 2 races in the first 4 of the series I'm in 7th overall for the series.  I've got to start pushing harder on "training rides" if I'm gonna get back towards the top.  And I have to, cause I'm not staying in Cat3 next year.

Obvious

It's Monday and I already have so much to catch up on...

a fruitless quest to find a missing bottle.

a fun race that felt more like a fast group ride.

the start of something new.

I guess I'll have to start with the story that has already leaked by the wonders of social media through no one's fault but my own.  Who can blame me, it's hard to contain a beauty like this.

As you can see from the picture above, it's complete!!  What started way back in October with the acquisition of a One9 frame has FINALLY ended in a complete, and working, bike!!  Yeah yeah, I know.  Having the frame sit for about 5 1/2 months sounds like a sin, but I had to jump on the deal to get the frame and then wait to start spending the monies to acquire all the other beautiful parts.

The biggest purchase (other than the frame itself) was, of course, the wheels.  The wheels in of themselves were a bit of a hard decision - do I go with some stock Stan's wheels and upgrade later - or go for broke from the start?  When I decided to go for the gold I immediately knew who would build them for me - Dustin at Southern Wheelworks.

Crest rims with Hope hubs

I've long been a member of singletracks, a great resource for trail info, gear reviews, and all things mountain biking.  Dustin is a contributing writer there, but I think I even recognized him from around the forums before he got the sweet gig writing.  When I saw that he had started building up wheels I knew I'd go to him if I indeed went the custom wheel route.  Other than being a mountain biker through and through, he's a mechanical engineer - so there is a little extra cred as to why you might feel comfortable letting him set you up.

What can I say about my experience working
with Dustin?  It was phenomenally easy.  The process all starts out with a survey that Dustin asks everyone to fill out to give him a better sense of what you are looking for in your wheels.  If you know the exact specs you are looking for you can add that right into the survey and send them on over.  Dustin got back to me quickly with a few more questions to help him provide me with all my options.  My initial intention was to go the I9 route, but with it being bike building season and a new hub coming from I9 it was like looking for a bison burger at McDonald's.  Dustin provided me with detailed specs on performance, weight, and cost on many of the big name hubs to help me decided if I wanted to wait for the illusive I9s to become available or go with someone else.  He presents your options in a open and honest manner that allows you, the customer, to decide what you want to go with.  At no point did I feel undo pressure to go with any of his suggestions over my own desires.  My final decision was to go with the Hopes, and I couldn't be happier.

The kicker to the whole deal - Dustin doesn't charge a build fee - just what it costs to get your parts together to build.  Once Dustin got my hubs in, the turn around was super quick.  I think he got the hubs in on Tuesday and I got my wheels on Friday - and even that was held up due to a decal issue.  You can't beat that!!  Dustin can also provide you with everything you need to get your wheels up and ready to roll (sealant, tape, stems, and tires).

Maxxis Ardent up front, Maxxis Ignitor in the rear

If you are in the market for a custom set of wheels, road or mountain, I'd strongly suggest you talk to Dustin over at Southern Wheelworks - he's good people.

Ok, to the build itself.  Saturday I headed over to Good Guy Greg's bright and early to get the build on.  Good Guy Greg has all the tools one could want or need when it comes to bike building, plus he's just a good guy and likes to help out.  TheMutt showed up for "advising" purposes.

Bike Buffet

 Although it was on the table to start, no beer was consumed during the build.  I know, sacrilege!  But we started early and time flew by so fast it never felt that we were working that long or that it got "late enough" to start drinking.  I did, however, come away with some nice sunburn on my head, back of my neck, hands, and arms.

think we might have to trim the brake line?

Yup!!  Oh, and check out those sweet zip ties I had to use because I forgot the real clips somewhere (got them on the fork though!)

Good Guy Greg bleeding the brakes until they were perfect.  TheMutt... petting a cat.

 Overall it was a team effort, although a BIG THANKS goes out to Good Guy Greg for letting us invade his space, use his tools, and watch him do the hard stuff.  TheMutt showed me the ins and outs of the EBB and chain tension and showed me how to get a straight chain-line.

All finished and begging to be riddin

The saddle will be switched for something white, hopefully a Selle Italia SLR XC Gel like on the HiFi.

I did an unofficial weighing (bathroom scale) and it came out to 22.4lbs.  That is pretty freakin light compared to the 29 something the HiFi weighs.

For those that are interested, here's a build list:

Headset - Cane Creek 110 (black)

Spacers - Forte Carbon Spacer Kit (carbon)

Stem - Ritchey Comp 4-Axis (white)

Handlebar - Ritchey WCS Carbon Flat 5D (carbon)

Brakes - Avid Elixir 5 (white)

Grips - Sette Type-H Lock On (white)

Fork - Niner Reynolds Rigid (green)

Seatpost - Sette Edge Carbon (carbon)

Saddle - Bontrager take off from the HiFi (black)

Cranks - SRAM X5 (GXP BB)

Pedals - Shimano M540 (I had laying around)

Cages - Forte Omega Carbon (white)

Chainring - Surly (32)

Cog - Surly (20)

We did get out for a quick shakedown at Renni hitting up the short track.  First impressions, I felt fast in the berms and quicker on the exit into the gravel road.  Of course, we weren't at race pace, but this thing flew.  Being fully rigid was just fine as well.  The bike feels so light it's so easy to whip around the trail and lift up and over anything coming my way.  AND nothing fell off.  The seatpost slide down, I had forgotten to tighten that.  Even after tightening it slide... so Good Guy Greg to the rescue with some carbon grip that I later used and seems to be doing the job now.

So, what will the One9 be called...  While we were finishing up the build the question was thrown out there.
Kosher Dill first popped into my head.
TheMutt enthusiastically liked calling it just Dill.
After our first lap at Renni a short discussion about the worms came up and I then suggested calling it Big Worm, which again garnered support.
Annie later suggested calling it The Goblin, but Airborne already has one of those.
With all the green and white I can't help but think about the Celtics.  I did like the worm idea... put that together with Larry Bird (favorite Celtic of all time) and you've got Larry Worm... or The Early Bird (gets the worm).  Or just Bird.
I run 32 up front = Kevin McHale... so... I could call it... Kevin... I guess?

As you can see, I'm not quite there yet with the name.  I'm sure TheMutt will tell you that it's already named Worm, and it may in fact stick... maybe I'll put out a naming poll tomorrow.

THE build(up)

Ok... so it's not there, but it's getting there.

Over the holidays I was able to acquire some more stuff for the One9.  Due to snow storms, and orders after Christmas it took a bit for everything (so far) to come in... it's in.  And I'm more excited than ever.

So, without further ado, enjoy the part show.

The first to come in:

Maggie was psyched to see what it was

32t stainless steel crank and ss bolts

Kermit green Reynolds rigid steel Niner fork

Yup, it's a match!

Next to arrive:

Fresh white grips and a carbon seatpost

with ridges - for her your pleasure

And then the wait......  

While I waited I did a little tinkering... and now that I just took a picture I might have to make an adjustment.

The "Surly" is at the top of the picture... with SRAM being upside down.  The anal perfectionist (which comes out at odd times) wants to take it off and put it back on so the Surly and SRAM can be read at the same time...  ugh!

And finally, Ritchey got it's ass in gear and I got:

The cockpit

4-axis comp stem (100)

Carbon WCS... insanely light (620mm)

And then this happened...

pretty snazzy

 So what's left?

Plan is:
Cane Creek 110 headset (black likely).
Avid Elixir 5 in white (although I've seen some great deals on the 7 in carbon...) (180 up front/160 in the rear)
Wheels...  I'm looking and thinking and weighing options, but likely will end up with Stan's Arch EX (white) with Stan's singlespeed hub.
Tires will be likely Ardent up front and Ignitor in the rear.
Then we got chain and cog (still have to figure out what size to start out with around here) and we should be good to go!

Saddle, I'll either grab the Selle Italia off the HiFi or use (for the time being) the take off from the HiFi.
Pedals will be off the 4300 - Shimano M540s
(Both os these items will be upgraded later as/if needed)