Ridenfool

Anyone still do the New Year's Day ride at the Madrone?

As trendy as it is to behold, couldn't it be a fixie?

That wheelie bar is mounted kinda high ...

Yeah, if you're not breaking things, going the less expensive route is justified. Especially if you need a rim with a braking surface and you already have quality hubs. With OEM wheelsets, I kept replacing spokes and truing often enough to be tired of all that. I was comparing buying a conventional built wheelset to the Spinergy wheelset. Going the Spinergy route made the most sense in that situation. Having since used the wheels on multiple frames I'm getting good value from what initially seemed like a big hit on the wallet. Whatever keeps the bike rolling, do it!

The thing about the Spinergy wheels are the fiber spokes. Ten times the strength of metal spokes and still very reasonable weight-wise. I have owned a 26" and a 29" set over the years and have never had to true them. Before riding Spinergy I broke spokes on a regular basis. Haven't used the truing stand in years. Now riding a set of Spank Oozys on the Transition because Spinergy didn't have a 27.5+ at the time. The 29" are on the Big Mama, in semi-retirement. The jury is out on the Oozys until I have more miles. The noisy rear hub and slack engagement bother me some. But am digging the wide tires on the Oozys and they seem to be holding up for now. Really miss the Hadley internals on the Spinergy wheelset for stealth and very short engagement. Waiting for their prices to come down on the 27.5" with wide rims. Their prices on 26" are great.

If you might consider a wheel instead of just a rim, I can attest to the durability of Spinergy's products. Amazing spoke strength with Hadley internals in the rear hub. https://www.spinergy.com/products/xyclone-disc-26-32h

I'm in the "digging it" camp for all the reasons stated. It makes it easy when I want to find info about a particular place to simply go to the section with the goods, rather than making a search in a general forum that nets every mention of the search term used. Getting too granular might eventually become an issue in certain realms, but it doesn't feel that way to me as it is now. Keep doin' what you're doin'. There's also several activity tools that can help keep current threads more visible.

The equinox is several days past. It's a Fall cold front.

A five course meal at Boggy Draw

Trails were dry, no standing water. The rocks and roots I rode over had good traction. Same with those I walked over, or Stridered over, sitting on the saddle and pushing with one foot down. Soil surfaces on Madrone were tacky, but didn't accumulate on the tire or frame. Juniper Ridge was a really ugly grunt. Clearly it was build with sustainability in mind, at the expense of flow. That is a trail for the dedicated followers of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. It will likely last forever, but I'd guess that the number of riders that will come back for more will be less than with other trails that offer some breaks between sections of techy stuff. While riding it I thought about how it reminded me of the Madrone, the one at Canyon Lake, and how they seemed similar to me. Only, Juniper Ridge is missing all the flowy bits to break up the torture session. Until today I never really thought of the Canyon Lake Madrone as "flowy" at all. Just needed the right reference point. I rode fifteen miles of trail today and sincerely believe that half of the time "riding" was spent on that first four and a half miles of Juniper Ridge starting from the parking lot end on to where I bailed at Madrone. Juniper Ridge is a very challenging hiking trail, even more so if you brought a bicycle along with you on the hike. Charlie, you got me good with this one. 👍 The fact that I'm significantly out of practice and out of shape may have played a part in my evaluation. After Madrone I took the right and returned via Jones Spring and Wolf Mountain trail. Mosquitoes were plentiful and fierce on the singletrack between Jones Spring and the interstate highway that Wolf Mountain becomes on the way back. (the equestrian trail might have been a better choice) The smell of the thought of the beer nestled in the van was wafting in the air and it may have been the sole motivation that got me back. The sun was out, the temps were climbing, and I was WFO (wore the fuck out). Also made a new friend on Juniper Ridge ... couldn't get the camera out fast enough to snap the shot of the critter laying straight in the trail. It was a colorful beastie.

Pedernales Falls trail surface was dry. No standing water, you could tell it had been wet, but just enough left to keep the dust down. Madrone was a little tacky, but the tires were clean when I got back to the car. On the way, it misted on me through Austin and cleared up once I was past Dripping Springs. Didn't see any precip while there.

Um yeah, we're gonna need you to draw a stick-figure bike into that photo. It's da rulz.

Spying on a weather station near Pedernales Falls it looks like they got four tenths of an inch early in the morning yesterday and a total for the past week of just shy of an inch. I think I'll give it a whirl on Monday.

They didn't really answer the question, beyond the "Yes and No" response. It sounds as if they picked a particularly vague type of damage (surface damage), for a test where they knew the carbon would be more resilient. I'd be more interested to see a breaking strength (not bending strength) of both bars with controls clamped on them. What percentage of carbon bar failure is the result of surface damage from contact with rocks or the ground? Seems like most of the photos I've seen are breaks at clamping force points. Ditto with aluminum bar failure from surface damage? Most damaged aluminum bars are bent, not broken off. "The fatigue life of the aluminum bar was reduced ..." means they tested it using a method and applying a force in a way the carbon will perform well under and aluminum will not. So what? Were the levels of fatigue induced into the bars similar to normal use, or, was the force selected specifically because it would paint a rosy picture for carbon and was actually well beyond an aluminum bar's expected operational range? Then, the patent disclaimer at the end to buy more aluminum or carbon bars every time you fall down.

They're gonna fit right in with the other asylum inmates.

How's Pedernales Falls SP a couple days after a little rain?

I even bounced around the idea of that GHORBA ride at Huntsville State Park on Sunday to open new trail. Never had the pleasure of that place. Edit: which has been cancelled due to rain and rescheduled for Oct 7

"We advise that any product, carbon or aluminum, be replaced in the event of an accident. Once you have come off the bike, it’s hard to tell what forces may have gone through the handlebar as the bike cartwheeled down the trail. Particularly with carbon fiber, it may not be evident that there is structural damage. With aluminum, a bent handlebar is clear evidence that the structure has been compromised. Carbon fiber is much less ductile, and although the bar may look fine, the next big impact, like a heavy landing, may break the bar if the strength has been compromised in a previous impact. This could result in injury, hence our advice to change the bar following an accident. " 'nuff sed. I much prefer my handlebars to show "clear evidence that the structure has been compromised" over "although the bar may look fine, the next big impact, like a heavy landing, may break the bar" It's not so much that they will break with no clear evidence, it is also about how they will break at the worse possible moment. No siree, that ain't for me.

I'm contemplating my options for Monday, as I'm getting back some work time from last Sunday. Considering Reimers, SATN (never been), Madrone, Flat Rock, RPR, or someplace I have either not seen in a while or have not ridden at all. Heck, even Walnut might be a possibility. How busy is the park on a workday? I haven't been there in years.

I suppose Mt St Helens is one of those places you never tell someone going to "have a blast" on their vacation. Ba dum bum Beautiful photo!

So, you're bracing for Saturday then? (son of an Aggie, and married to an Aggie, which may explain a lot ...)

Ever since carbon bars came out all of the disclaimers and cautions regarding adhering to necessary care and install procedures have resulted in squelching any desire for considering them. When compared to an aluminum bar the potential cons far outweigh any potential benefit from having them. Seth's experience supports what, to me, still seems like sound reasoning. They are mostly bling with slight benefit that is bundled with a much higher degree of risk exposure. Mountain biking has enough built-in exposure, I have no desire to compromise my ability to control my bike in sketchy situations. Carbon bars provide an increased potential point of failure which does not justify pushing the envelope. All you Chuck Yeager's can continue to be test pilots. I've seen more carbon bar failures reported than aluminum by a significant margin. YMMV

Ute got it right! (I figured that shot with the Ute reclining in the background might help) You win an all expenses paid trip to Phil's World, as long as you pay all the expenses.

Anyone know this spot? Same Spot, 'nuther Shot