Just Riding Along... New Airborne Bicycles edition.

One of my favorite things about the cycling industry, among many, is that every year new products start showing up. Every company has a new product that is bigger, better, lighter, faster, etc. You get the idea. Airborne Bicycles is no exception, and from the looks of it 2012 is going to be a big year for them. Enter the Guardian:

Building off of the very successful Goblin 29er, Airborne has launched a more wallet friendly 29er to, as they say, "Get more butts in saddles." I like that, more people on bikes is a good thing. Anyway, sharing quite a few components from the more expensive Goblin, the Guardian is a well spec'd entry level 29er, or just the rider on a budget. If you were on the fence about the Goblin due to the price, there is no reason for you to sit any longer. So what is the price? Head over the Airborne's site and check it out!

Well done Airborne, can't wait to see the rest of the line up.

Just keep spinning...

Photo from Airborne's website.

Just Riding Along... Bicycle shop?

For the past couple of months, and some time last year, I have been contemplating the home based small business. What type would that be? I will give you a couple guesses...

Correct! A used bicycle shop! Not the glitzy, high dollar, retail storefront type of shop that you might be thinking of, just something based on quality used bicycles that are sold out of my garage. Every time that I think about the idea, I get fully immersed in it. It sits in the forefront of my brain for such a long time that it starts to consume me. I think of all the bicycles that I could get under people for a quality price, positively impacting the planet with bicycle friendliness. I think of giving the consumer options on purchasing their next or first bicycle. Then I think too much on the topic, and start to second guess myself. Do I know enough? Can I do all of the maintenance that I think I can? What about the paperwork? What is an LLC? Then the topic fades to the backburner, but still lingers, slowly burning away at my psyche.

I feel that it is not the right time to start this project up. But then again, is there ever a "right time?"

This topic is starting to creep back into the light from the events of this week. It has been very productive on the topic of bikes, especially finding bicycles for people. It started with finding a road bicycle for my Brother-in-law. He has wanted to get into road biking for a little around a year now, but just recently gave me the green light to find him a bike. This week, that bike was found, in the form of a Cannondale R600. Sure it is an older model, but here are the highlights:

-Made in the states frame.
-Mavic rims matched to Shimano Dura Ace hubs.
-Shimano 105 component group.
-Chris King headset.

This bike is in great shape, and with the parts my Bro-in-law basically stole this bike from the seller. Amazing price, which will have a great re-sale if he decides to sell. It was a great way to start the day.

That afternoon, a friend called to see if I could check out the bike I had forwarded to him. The seller ended up delivering the bike, and selling it on the cheap for my friend's first mountain bike. It's details:

-Specialized Hardrock.
-Shimano drivetrain.
-Brand new Continental and Kenda tires.
-RST suspsension fork.

This bike amazed me with it's price. The seller not only delivered it, but basically gave it to my friend. This bike with a little work will be a solid entry into the mountain biking world. If it is not my friend's thing, then it will sell for WAY higher than he paid. After the sale, we celebrated with a flat Rivertown Roebling Porter.(Click here to read the recent review.) I have to admit, it was a great day for buying bicycles.

So that is the impetus for the bike shop revival. I even went out today and bought one of these to make bike maintenance a little easier. I had been using a bicycle stand from Harbor Freight, and it finally has bit the dust after around six months of use. It was super cheap, but I would not recommend it to anyone. The new stand seems really sturdy, and it was on sale. Double bonus.

Hopefully I can figure this all out in my head in the coming weeks. Like I stated earlier, is there ever really a right time? Only time will tell.

Ramble on...

Taking time off...

So I have kinda neglected my blogs for the time being. I basically had no motivation to do anything with them for the last couple months. Also work was being a little bit of a hassle. On the brighter side though, the XtraHaro has been performing beautifully! I have had quite a few rides on it. Basically, it is the only bike that I am riding now. I am riding it with my daughter, riding it to work, doing road rides on it, running errands, and hauling things. It is an amazing bike, and I wish that I would have converted my bike earlier. It has really made me realize some things though. It has made me aware that I should sell my mountain bike. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE mountain biking. But in this stage of life, it is very inconvenient. To get to any trail in the area, I am looking at a 30 minute drive. Gas is now $4 a gallon, and that is just not worth it to me. Especially when I can leave directly from my house on the XtraHaro, and get an awesome mixed surface ride, and spend zero cash on getting to the ride. Maybe I am getting older, but I feel it is streamlining my life a little bit. Just rambling...

By the way, shoot me an email if anyone is interested in a 29er SS...

Road trip!

Taking the Haro V3 to test out the new gears to Maryland for the big Thanksgiving weekend. It will be nice to be able to shift on some of those hills! Also up, a nice big bottle of this. And probably some of this. Good times ahead, happy Thanksgiving and safe travels!

New Bike!

So here is a funny story: Back in 2008, while living in San Diego, I was searching for a new mountain bike. I went to my local bike shop, I forget the name now, and asked if they were planning to get one of the new Haro 29ers, and if not to see if they would bring one in for a test ride. I was going to buy it, but I wanted to see it, and also make sure that it would fit properly. Bike fit is crucial. Anyway, they would only bring one in as long as I would put all of my money down, sight unseen. I decided not to, looked around at other shops, and long story short, could not find a Haro Mary anywhere. That's when I found the 2008 redesigned Gary Fisher Rig, and the rest was history.

Fast forward two years, a cross country move, and two broken Rig frames later, and guess what pops up on the local Craigslist? A 2008 Haro Mary single speed! After a little negotiating, I ended up grabbing this bike for about 60% off of retail! And to top it off, this bike has only been "lightly" ridden three times. I'm still a little surprised and shocked at how clean this bike is.

So I have some big plans for this bike. My other Haro is becoming my cargo bike, but this bike will serve a dual duty. Since I have parted out the Rig, I did keep the wheel set, so now for the Mary I will have a road wheel set, and a mountain wheel set. Two birds with one stone.

I cannot say enough how durable Haro's products are. The Haro V3 that I have had since 2003 has been ridden to hell and back, and is still kicking. Great products, and their pricing is very reasonable. If you are in the market for a new mountain bike, definitely check them out! Now I'm off to do a little tweaking to the new ride...

Moving, moving...

Started yesterday adding parts to the Haro V3. Things are moving along very nicely. Crankset installed, new bars, new shifters, cassette added, etc. Everything is starting to fall into place. Also, big news on the mountain bike front. Not gonna dive into that until it arrives, just in case it falls through.

Parts list for upcoming Big Dummy...

Here are the random parts that I have accumulated over the past couple months for another project, to now go towards the future Big Dummy. If the frames ever come back into stock. Parts:

-Truvativ Fire X crankset with BB
-Avid BB7 with SD7 levers
-Sram X7 shifters
-Sram X9 rear derailleur
-Bontrager big sweep handlebars with matching stem
-Sun Ringle singletrack wheelset
-Maxxis Crossmark tires 26x2.1
-WTB speed v or SDG tifly saddle (leaning towards the cush of the WTB)
-Shimano XTR or Shimano clipless/flat pedals (leaning towards the combo pedal)

Parts that I still need:
-double length chain
-Seatpost (leaning towards Thompson)
-Headset
-Cassette
-Front Derailleur
-All necessary cables

I think this will be a very functional build kit, I am really excited about the wheelset, such a great local craigslist score. Eventually they will hold either a Maxxis Hookworm 26x2.5 or Schwalbe big apples 26x2.35. Basically for this build I have been trying to save some cash by using parts that I already have, hence the randomness. Hopefully I can score a frame before too much longer, looks like it is going to be around November. Patience....

New fork!

Ordered this guy today: Enabler Wheel and tire to follow, time to get excited!

Progress...

Moving forward with my "new" plan for my Gary Fisher Rig. First step, replace frame. Check. Second step, remove Fox fork. Check. Third step, place on eBay....

Replaced!

Picked up my new frame today! It's almost like having an entirely new bike. It looks completely different, hopefully the welds are completely different as well. Since the bike is so different, I am planning on putting gears on it. I do really enjoy riding a singlespeed bicycle, but I do not think my knees enjoy all that much. I still have a couple other singlespeeds, so it will be nice to be able to switch it up every now and again. With some of the changes that I have in mind, this bike is going to be huge! If anyone is ever considering a Gary Fisher, or even a Trek, expect top notch customer service. No problems at all, I got this bike back in 6 days. Not too shabby. I'd buy another in a heartbeat. Lets just hope this frame doesn't break!

Broken Frame :{

It is always important to clean your bicycle after a ride. Usually, I spray the bike off with a low pressure hose, then wipe everything down with a clean rag. Afterward I will detail the drive train. Today, after deciding to sell my beloved Gary Fisher Rig, I thought I would give it the proper clean send off. While doing this, keep in mind, the rig has sat in the back of my bicycle area due to me spending more time on the road, I found another crack in the frame! I say "another," because this is the second frame that I have had of this model. My first, original, frame broke while I still lived in California, then I brought it back to Ohio and got my new frame. This was all about a year and a half ago. Now, frame number two, broken in the exact same spot. This is a common problem for this make and model, but it is very frustrating that I have been riding more on the road than the trails, and I have only been on this bike about ten times since getting a new frame. This is unacceptable! Needless to say, I will not be selling this bike now. Hopefully Mr. Fisher will keep up with their fantastic customer support, and turn this into a positive experience.
Now though, I am pricing new parts to convert this bike to gears, so once I get a new frame I will have a practically brand new ride! For all of the hassles, it might just turn out pretty awesome!

New Bike!

Here she is in all of her glory! This is my new "everyday/errand/nowhere to go in a hurry" bike. Big thanks goes out to my aunt and uncle for the free bike! I'm not planning on doing too much to it. Right off the bat I changed out the flat tubes and dry rotted tires to some 1.5" slicks that I had laying around and voila! Classic. After my quick trip around the neighborhood, it was High Life time! Good stuff!

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

We will start with beer:
The Good:
Troegenator. Fantastic beer. I had the pleasure of being in the D.C. area a few weeks ago, more on that later, and had the chance to try this wonderful brew from the tap. Such a malty nectar. This is definitely on my top 5 list of favorite beers.
Yuengling. Since I was in the D.C. area already, some of this beer made the journey back to Ohio with me since its not available here. It only makes sense, the oldest brewery in the states has it figured out.
The Bad:
Sam Adams Noble Pilsner. Not good at all. I did give it a couple tries though. Once on tap, and once from the bottle. To me, it tastes like a watered down version of their Imperial Pilsner. This was a little bit of a disappointment.
The Ugly:
Two different mountain bike rides in muddy conditions. One here in Ohio and one in the D.C. area. Both were a blast! At one point in D.C., the mud and muck was so think that the tires stopped rotating! Now before anyone starts to complain or start quoting IMBA trail rules, this was not pristine wilderness. This trail was located underneath a power line. I do think also, that here on the East coast we are a little too whiny when it comes to muddy conditions. I will step down from my soapbox. It was ugly, but it was awesome.

Tis the season...

So Christmas has come and gone, New Year's is in a few days, it's snowing here in SW Ohio... unfortunately it's indoor trainer season. For any cyclist, this is one of the hardest times of the year. Most roads during this time are not worth the effort or salt damage to your bike or drive train, so a road ride is out. For a mountain bike ride, you need to make sure the ground is still frozen so you don't destroy the trail. That's where the trainer comes in. Clamp your rear wheel in, and spin away.


Indoor trainers come in various models and prices, anywhere from $90 up to quite a few hundred. More often than not, you can pick one up on your local craigslist (www.craigslist.org) for quite the discount. I found mine online for $90, with a few extras. Think going to a spin class is cheaper? Factor in the driving, gym membership, pain in the ass... and buying one for your home is not such a bad idea.

I have been using a trainer for a couple years now, and it definitely has helped my cycling in the off season. And since the Winter Solstice has just passed, days are getting longer and the weather will turn for the better soon...