Why I single Speed

I am married and I still prefer the single life.  Riding and Racing Single Speed Cyclocross is what I mean.  There is nothing pure like riding a single speed.  Nothing else matters.  Just me, the bike and course.  I get no assistant if the hill got more difficult.  The gearing is always wrong.

I love it because of the people.  Lots of support from the people who I have never met before.  I love it because it is fun!  The race condition is always bad because the races are held during the fall and early winter!  That means rain, cold and sometime snow.  To most people, these are miserable conditions.  If I don't enjoy it, and I don't think it is fun.  you gotta love it to do it!!

#sscx #singlespeed #cyclocross #norco #norcothreshold

my 29er experience so far

Her name is Big Wheel Battie and she is a Trek X-Caliber with 29" wheels.  She is my first 29er and the frame is also a size bigger than my old 26er.  Since I brought her home, I have been struggling with the fit with the handlebar.  She came with a set of 690mm Bontrager riser.  I like the width, but not the rise. I have ridden her with a set of Ritchey Flat bar for the last 6 months, but I wished the bar was wider.  I tired the riser again but I felt like that I was steering a truck.  I couldn't figure out why I prefer the flat and I thought that I was a retro grouch.

I posted something on a mountain biking forum and one person replied that he wish that he was short enough to use a flat bar.  because of this guy's comment, I finally know why I prefer flat.  I am short and the bike is tall.  The riser will make the bike even taller.  It is also not just the rise, the up sweep also part of the equation.

Being the birth place of freeriding and North Shore experience, bike shops in Vancouver don't normally stock flat bars for xc hardtails.  By chance, I found a set of Raceface Turbine Flat bar at a bike shop and they only want 29 bucks for it!! Scored!!

The initial ride down the road was positive.  I will have to try it out at the trail this weekend.  With the 720mm width, I may be able to add more leverage to the climb.  I don't know yet. and I may have to trim it down to more manageable 700mm.

This bar may also help me to transition her to a single speed.  I don't know yet.  as much as I enjoy racing my single speed in the local cross races, I still like a to have versatile bike!

to be continued!

#trekbikes #29er #xchardtail #flatbar #mountainbiking

Numbers don't lie

I just compared the time from 3 bikes on the same trails.  Apparently my new Single Speed Cross bike is the fastest of them all. I also don't think I am in a good shape either.  Yet, the Aluminum cross bike yield the fastest average speed.

The month of April

Soon after I ordered the bike, Shit happened.  When I was out with my dragon boat team, I managed to hurt my fingers.  The injury was pretty bad as my 2 of fingers required stitched to sew up the cut.  There were a total of 8 stitches.  Not only I wasn't able to be out with the team, I was sidelined for a few weeks from my bike as well.

The stitches were removed after 10 days, but I still had to make sure the wounds were to going to split. I had to stare at my cross bike for a few more days before I can take Paige out for a ride.

The maiden voyage with Paige was only a shakedown down.  I headed down the Poco Trails to test the bike and tried out the fit.  Of course, we all know that the factory fit was not the ideal setting.  I played around with the saddle height and the saddle position.  I rode the flat gravel trails and the bike was an instant hit. 

The Aluminium frame was fitted with a carbon fork and only 1 gear.  After the ride, I wished the stem was shorter and a higher rise.  That was a easy fix as I had one that fit the description in the part draw.  The long and low Norco OEM stem were off and Paige was fitted with a 60mm Bontrager Stem.  It changed the ride. On my second ride with Paige, I was able to use all of the hand positions.  I even spend lots of time on the drop.

I took Paige out for a few more times, because she is the newest member to the stable and I was also too lazy to put my road bike back together.  So far, Paige and I had logged more than 300km already.  At the same time, my mountain bike was completely ignored.  Big Wheel Battie was just resting in the stable since March 11th.