On the road side….

Well, I am on my second road bike of the decade now.  After building up the steel Ritchey Logic bike, a project that really came out well, I decided that I was liking it well enough to dive in a bit deeper.  The Ritchey was built with SRAM Rival 10spd (love Doubletap), an FSA Mid Compact crank with 52/36 rings running into a 12-28 rear cassette, FSA brakes, stem, and seat post, Ritchey bars and tape, Ritchey pedals, and a Specialized saddle.  The wheels were American Classic tube-type Hurricane wheels with Conti 700x25 GP4000s.

It came in at 18.5 lbs with pedals and was really a fine bike.  It rode like a steel bike…smooth and silent... and that carbon fork kept the weight down.  I did a few centuries on it and some all around group rides, training rides, etc.  It was obvious that road riding was not a fad for me and I rode it more than anything else all summer.  But there were a couple of things I wanted to change a bit, so I began thinking about the next road bike.

The 59cm frame was just slightly long in the reach for me.  I was barely ok with a 10cm stem and that was a short as I feel is good for a road bike for someone my size.  It was a great handling bike all in all, but I was thinking I would like to back off the HT angle a bit from the 73.5° setup the Ritchey had.  I was also ready to try a good carbon frame and 11spd shifting.  What I was not ready for was disc brakes, thinking that the refinement is still happening on the road side.  Next bike, for sure, but not this one.

So I began looking around to see what was turning heads and setting the bar for endurance/sport bikes without costing me a fortune.  As much as I would have appreciated the higher end lay-ups in carbon frames like the S Works or Hi Mod type of stuff, I did not want to spend that much.  This was not going to be a 'super bike' build then, but just really, really good.  Working on a budget then, I looked at three bikes that were at the LBS:  The Specialized Roubaix SL4, the Cannondale Synapse Carbon, and the Giant Defy Advanced.  All were similar in spec and weight, and I only was able to ride them in the basic bike shop parking lot situation, hardly ideal.

Reading about the bikes as much as I can, I knew that the Giant Defy and Defy Advanced had set the bar for the endurance road bike market.  I had recently bought my wife the women's version of that bike, an Avail Advanced, and she absolutely loved it.  The Roubaix was where the modern endurance bike met the masses and it was loved by MAMILs everywhere.  But the Synapse had been re-done for 2014 and the new carbon layup, combined with a more sporting geometry than some others in its class, really had me intrigued.  Riding them, the Roubaix seemed a bit stodgy.  The Giant was likely the best of all and had a great, stable, yet fun feel to it.  The Synapse was the sportiest of the three and snapped up pretty well when asked to, but was as comfy as any of them.

In the end, the Synapse worked out the best for me as I was able to get it with a lower spec'd grouppo and work out my plan of replacing the parts and putting my own stuff on there.  So, since the frames/fork are all the same across the bottom few models, I bought a Shimano 105 bike and stripped it.  On went a complete SRAM Force 11 speed group and a compact crank in a 172.5mm length.  I was finding that the 175s that I run everywhere else…MTB, SS, etc, seemed to be a bit tiring to spin all day on a road ride.  I used the same model of Ritchey bars, added a Ritchey stem and tape, and the same model in a Specialized Ronin saddle.

The wheels were a pretty big step up.  A set of American Classic tubeless Argents with special graphics  shod with the same 700x25 Contis looked amazing and are darn light and stiff.  Tubeless ready, but not yet for me.

The end result was a bike that weighs 2 lbs less overall and accelerates and climbs better than the Ritchey, although the steel bike still out-smooves it.  I also got a better fit in the 58cm Synapse and even with a 110cm stem have a cockpit that is 1/2" closer at the brake hoods.  Perfect.  I also got a bit more stability in the overall vibe of the bike, something I notice on rough, fast corners and even on long straight sections of road, in the wind, etc.  Except for the slightly reduced comfort and the loss of some uniqueness, the Synapse has been total win.

Carbon delivers the goods

This has been the longest time I have been on a carbon HT now, at least by a little bit, and the only time it has been a single speed bike and I am pretty darn impressed.  It is quite possibly the highest performing SS overall that I have ridden...light enough, stiff enough, very, very smooth riding, climbs like magic, aggressive handling but not over the top.  Great high performance all day bike.

Carbon is such a black box in many ways but if this is a good example of what it can be...and it looks to be exactly that...then we are living in a good time to be a bike rider in search of tall mountains and winding trails.

I still think that when you get right down to it that steel is still the best for value VS. performance in a hardtail bike but this Stumpjumper SS is amazing.  In fact, I think I need to go ride it again.

Be right back.

Batman Approved.

I have a theory that carbon fiber just might be the ultimate singlespeed frame...if there is such a thing.  This new carpet fiber molded beauty is 1600g/3.5lbs in an XL, has shapes and contours that no metal tubed frame can even hope to have, and it should pedal like crazy but they say that carbon has no soul.

We shall see.  First ride tonite.  Good looking frame...although thoroughly 'branded', it still has that Dark Knight kinda' thing going on.

Yep...it just came to me.  This is what Batman rides.

That is, when he's not on his Fat Bike.

Magic Carpet (Fibers)

Now that's a top tube!

Carbon Fiber...often derided as Carpet Fiber...is here to stay for cycling products.  No doubt there.  But the last year I have been able to ride three bikes, all full suspension, both in aluminum and carbon frames, and the difference has been quite striking.  Each time the pedaling response and the overall chassis feel has been noticeably superior.

Now I am on the 'Half-Caff' carbon front/alu rear Camber Expert 29er and the difference is there too.  It just pedals 'lighter' then the scale says it should.  And stiff too, from end to end, no doubt the 142+x12 back end is helping.

I am somewhat conflicted in that carbon is quite a nasty bit of chemicals and such in the making of it.  I am not a hard-core Greenie, but even I am not so crazy about this part.  Then the cost is high and likely to remain so unless you want to buy China Direct.  And, it breaks.  The shadow of fragility hangs over the carbon component like a shroud.  But I think that is fast becoming a thing of the past.  Everything can break (and will).  I have broken alu frames.  I have seen plenty of broken steel frames.  Ti can break too and does.  And, carbon can be repaired.

So it becomes a bit of a gamble.  Carbon is really good at hiding warts under a skin of beauty...hard to see how well the lay-up went and such what.  But the bike guys that do this well seem to have a very strong track record of longevity and I think that, unless you have a track record of bike abuse and breakage, that carbon should be fine for most folks.

I know it sure is wooing me and winning me over ever time I pedal one of the little dears.  It has me wondering when the right carbon fiber SS frame will come along and tempt me over to the dark side. 

Magic carpets indeed.  They only had one gear too.  I will pass on the monkey option, though.

Letting the genie out of the lamp?

Regarding wishes come true:

A few months ago I was thinking this:  What is Missing.  The idea being that there is nothing in the 29er FS market that hit all the buttons for an All Trail bike if you also wanted light weight.  Basically, like the old blog said...an Ibis Mojo 29er with less travel.

Well, it has been no secret that Ibis has been working on a 29er FS even if they did do it kicking and screaming along the way (seems that they are not...or have not been...ardent big wheel fans).  Here it is.

It is, at least at first glance, just what I wanted it to be.  If the geometry is 'in there', then I just may have to begin saving up big time cuz a CF Ibis is darn expensive.  But, I could trim the quiver a bit, eh?  This could replace the Epic AND the FSR and be as light or lighter than the Epic is.  Hard to argue with that one.  But that cost is daunting.  Well, you can't have it all.  Light...strong...cheap.  Pick two, as they say.

Time will tell, but I am stoked and I bet more than a few companies are looking at this one through  squinted eyes, wondering if they should have rubbed that magic lantern just a bit harder.

Al-a-kazam.

What is missing?

This is.  The Ibis Mojo HD.  It has a carbon fiber frame and makes for a pretty light build, has enough travel for nearly all trail conditions, pedals well enough to climb for hours, and pretty much is darn close to an all around package for the weekend warrior as one could dream of.  Well, it is not really missing since you can go right out and buy one....unless you want one with big wheels.

Then, fuggit' about it.  You can't have it, not because Ibis does not make one...they don't...yet...but you cannot have one because NO ONE MAKES a 29er like this.  This occurred to me as I was riding with a guy that works for Ibis and we were talking about his Mojo.  It was an HD 140 built up with moderate but nice components.  It had 140mm of travel, was pedaling up the paved road we were on with hardly a unwanted wiggle from the DW link rear suspension, had a beefy Fox fork, a slacker head tube angle for all around trail fun, and weighed 27lbs.

You can't buy that type of bike in a 29er.  The closest thing right now is a Santa Cruz Tall Boy and it is lacking in travel and over zealous in the HT angle department.  Riding the recently built Specialized FSR points out how much fun a slacker HT angle and more travel in a good pedaling 29er can be, but it has very nice parts on it and it still weighs 31 pounds.  Too heavy for an all around everyday bike for where I live, but still fun on the right trail.

There has been a lot of noise about more and more, bigger and bigger travel 29ers but I still have my doubts as to how many riders will embrace that.  But I bet a ton of them would ride a 27lb, carbon, FS with great suspension manners, relaxed handling and 120+mm of travel.  If someone will only make one.  26" FS bikes have gone through a refinement process that brought them from shorter travel, steeper angled designs to 33-35 pounders that were waaay overbuilt for the average Joe to something like a Ibis Mojo or carbon Specialized Stumpjumper 26er.

If I were to pick a next direction for 29ers to go, it would be that-a-way.  But so far, no one has asked me.  Till then, in my opinion, something will be missing.

More carbon fiber thoughts: Going Above and Beyond

So, if you have a material and a way of using it that can bring tremendous creative and engineering choices to the table...such as unique shapes, fiber alignments, 'butting' or wall thickness profiles, 'tuned' ride characteristics, etc...at a level that is very difficult with a metal construction, why just stop at a frame that is normal in every way but the weight to strength ratio?

That thought came to mind as I was riding the CF Breezer Cloud 9 Pro that is on test at 29".com.  It is light, it is quite stiff laterally, it rides reasonably well, and seems to do what it was intended to do.  But can it be more?  It is, after all, just a hardtail.

Look at this bike for instance:  The Chiru Pulse 29er CF HT being talked about here.

Copied from TNI.com -

"Chiru Bikes founder, Pierre Arnaud, tells us that “The specifics of a Chiru bike is Comfort, Power transfer, and Reliability. We have specifically worked on the comfort of the PULSE, the seat stays design enables to filter high frequency vibrations from rugged trails.” Here are some bullet points on the frame….
-Asymetrical chain stay for optimum power transfer
-Carboflex 50 seat stay for high frequency vibration filtering.
-Multistandard bottom Bracket- (Fits 68 mm Bottom Bracket, fits GXP, BB30, PRESS FIT, Excentric BB for single speed)
-Tapered Headset compatible
-Handle bar protection plate
-Anti derailling device (This device is under development, the eyelet to fit it can be seen on the down tube )"
 
What caught my eye was the seatstay design and the goal of tuning the ride to be absorbent beyond a normal HT bike.  Will it succeed?  I don't know, but I applaud the attempt.  It seems to me that with all the lauded bennies of CF that exploring this type of compliant 'tuned ride' is well worth the trouble.

When you hear someone say that a frame rides well or is compliant...what that means is, while some materials do not transfer high freq vibrations and have natural 'damping' qualities, CF being that material (although it also makes it feel a bit wooden and dead...hence the lively ride of steel, etc), compliance is flex.  The frame is 'giving' in response to some force acting upon it. 

There is good flex and bad flex.  Bad flex is a frame that will not hold a line or cannot keep the wheels in line under hard riding.  That sucks up energy and handles poorly.  But good flex can make a bike feel like a living thing on the trail, something that well made steel bikes have in spades.  SO the trick is having the right amount of flex...or...the right KIND of flex to get the result you want.

The Giant alu HT I have IMO rides a bit softer than the CF Breezer...it is a small difference, but it is there.  That is nice to sit on.  But I can get that rear end on that alu frame to twist like Chubby Checker, and not in a good way.  The price paid?  Likely so.   That steel SS I am on trumps them all...it is just smoove...but it is heavier than the CF frame by 3lbs.  That is a lot of grams.  And it pedals quite well, but not at the level that the CF frame does.

Truth be told, a well designed, round, butted tube is pretty hard to beat all around, but it sure seems that it is no match for the complex shapes and profiles of CF frames.  So when I see something like this Chiru, it makes me think that CF has hopes of going beyond just being lighter and stronger and stiffer, but actually noticeably smoother and lighter and stiffer and stronger too.

I want it all.  But can I have it my way with a CF bike, or is that just limited to Burger King?

"hold the pickles, hold the lettuce..."

I still think that at some point, the ultimate soft tail will come out of this that will give me all that I want and I think that design will finally be made the better mousetrap because of CF and what it can do.  But until then, I wonder if Chiru is on the path to the better "firm tail"?

Is Carbon Fiber the answer?

And if so, what are the questions?

I have been a bit of a CF (carbon fiber) skeptic, based mostly on past performance and some recent performance of one brand of bike in particular.  But a recent conversation with a bike company owner that is making inroads into CF frames and components was interesting in the absolute statements in the discussion.  He said that a well built CF frame will last waaaay past the life span of an alu frame of the same type.  Not just as good or maybe as good, but speaking to failure related to fatigue cycles...and that is the typical killer of alu frames...CF was so far beyond that as to be impossible to break due to just pedaling it to death.  Basically, the thought here is that it is beyond the ability of a human powered motor to ride it long enough and hard enough to get beyond the fatigue failure point.  Then we looked at a new CF handlebar they have coming to market and he said basically that the CF bar was so much stronger than the alu version that it was just off the charts....lighter, too.

Now taking crash damage out of the equation, that is a pretty strong statement and came as a response to my musing that I like a metal frame because I tend to keep my bikes a long time.  The reply was, in that case, that CF is the material of choice for guys like me too and not just a one season, race day frame.

Now, like any material that bike frames are made from, the devil is in the details.  Just because it is glue and cloth stuck together does not make it Kryptonite.  His comment was assuming a well engineered and well built frame that did not try to be the lightest and/or cheapest thing out there on the market.  If there is any one of the materials that require intense QC, it is CF.  They all look good on the outside, but the insides are where it all comes together.  The way the bladder works to keep wall thickness and shape correct, the quality and alignment/layering of the cloth, the heat applied, etc. And I am a complete novice and may have not gotten even the terms right, but just about anyone can pick up a dozen sticks of steel and get a reliable steel frame.  Even alu is easy.  Just keep it to thick pieces of tubes, stick it in an oven, and it will do fine, pretty much.  Ti is a bit trickier.

So there really seems to be a minimum standard here.  Remember the old adage:  "Light, Cheap, Strong...pick two."?  That really seems to apply to CF over any other material.  It sure can be light.  I am riding a CF Breezer 29er HT in an XL size and the frame weight is purported to be 2.5lbs.  Wow!  It also pedals like nothing else I have ridden that was not CF.  According to the previously mentioned bike company owner (and others), it sure can be strong, if they are to be believed.  I was talking to a buddy that works for Ibis Cycles and I asked him how CF has been for them as far as warranty or failure on the well liked Mojo and Tranny bikes.  He just flat out said it is not an issue and they rarely see a failure, even under very hard riding conditions.  Sure, stuff breaks, but they have no more and likely fewer issues than if they were making alu versions.  Their frames are not cheap, but they are lasting and lasting.

Another thing I hear from product mangers is how CF will never get that much cheaper due to the high level of labor and time involved in making it.  It is easy to pop out thousands of expanded 'beer can' alu frames one right after another and robot weld them in fixtures.  CF is hand made for the most part.  And, since I want my CF to last and NOT break, I am sure looking for a builder who had someone perform the due diligence of proper engineering and QC all along the creative process.  I also assume that all that QC attention takes time and money. That leads me back to the adage of "...pick two".

Most of the CF is coming out of China.   And now, direct to the consumer from the manufacturer, are CF frames that are are light and cheap...really cheap.  Some of that cheap is from eliminating the middle man...I get that, but ya gotta wonder who is looking out for the end user here?  Ibis is looking out for the Ibis bike buyer.  Niner is looking out for the Niner bike buyer...Specialized, Giant, Breezer, etc.  Who is looking out for you from the China-Direct factory?  Will they answer the phone, and if so, what would you say?  Can you talk to the product manger?  Scary?  Maybe so.  Time will tell.

However, if the cheapy CF frames do hit all three of the points in that adage, then watch the big dog's prices fall on CF frames.  They will have to just to keep the informed enthusiast on board.

But, I digress.  I still love my steel SS.  It is not costly, it is smooth riding, fun, and will last for years.  But this new CF frame I am on is impressive.  It rides very well, not quite like the steely, but not harsh at all.  It is at LEAST 2 lbs lighter.  That is a lot.  It pedals like nothing in steel can do, IMO.  Crazy responsive and just rock solid at the BB.  It has shapes that can be tweaked to get just what the designer wants in the way of performance.  And, as long as I do not punch a rock through a tube or chain suck it to death, it may outlive me.  I bet it will outlast the alu HT frame I have 10-1 based on the amount of flex in the alu frame I see and it is probably lighter still.  Flex kills alu.

Crazy.  And hard to ignore.  I already would prefer a good CF h-bar.  I trust them.  I sure see the bennies of a CF frame (I can't imagine racing anything else but CF) and a may yet come to trust them.

So, I still have questions.  But more and more, CF is providing the answers.

San Fran Ramble post mortem.

Sat was a stunning day in February.  It was the kind of weather that 3/4s of the US would like to have but does not.  And on that note, 11 brave souls struck out for the 2nd Ramble Ride, the San Fran Ramble, so named for the way it criss-crossed San Francisquito Cyn.  We staged out of Castaic.

JeffJ gearing-up.  It was a clyde friendly day.

My ride for the day...the Breezer Cloud 9 carbon 29er.

I was uncertain of the exact mileage, but I expected it to be over 30 and under 40.  I got that right...barely...sort of.  I also figured on 4-5 hours to complete.  Missed that pretty much completely, but it was a friendly pace.  I like to make Ramble Rides 'no-drop' events if possible.  The route began on the local backyard trails and roads and kept climbing for another 6 miles or so on fireroad.  That was a bit of an energy sucker as it dropped nearly as much as it gained and by the time we found our connector road to the next section, we had lost 3 riders to time constraints.

And then there were 8.

Typical So Cal ridgeline fireroad.

  A bit of pavement brought us to the next climb.  This bit of uphill was made easier by the paved surface and is a Dept of Water and Power access road.  It climbs above the site of the St Francis Dam disaster, one of the worst calamities on California history.  We were a good couple of hours into the day at this point and about a third of the way along.

Road work.

Gates in So Cal have a hard life.

At the top, we re-grouped at a small reservoir.  Everyone was still feeling pretty good, myself included, so the pace was moderate and conversation was happy.  One cool surprise was the appearance of KT the Man, and old friend and super MTB rider.  He was the pace leader for the day.

The Magnificent 7...KT the Man makes 8>>>

KT the Man is also a scoff law.  Caught in the act.

A few more miles of easy climbing into a wide valley brought us to the high point of the day and let us enjoy a motorcycle built singletrack that rolled and dipped across whoopdies and loose rock, taking us back parallel to the way we had entered.  That connected to one more section of singletrack, this one even better. It followed a ridge line and was quite fast and narrow, having taken the shape of a tiny bobsled run from years of moto use.  It really was the best part of the ride, fun wise.

JeffJ, grinning and riding.

Sometimes you really did not want to turn right.  On the edge of a biiig drop.

I was noticing that I was beginning to feel a bit tired here.  My back was getting a bit beat up from the hardtail and a very stiff seatpost.  I was out of any kind of performance drink, so I was running on just water and Elete.  Some of the group was running strong though.  I had always wondered how Kevin did it...he always looks good, always is fast, and seems, well, more than a mere mortal.  Then, as we were watching, something amazing happened.  Jeff was taking some pics as Kevin took a classic Greek pose. 

Looking very manly, but....

Then...it happened.  The clouds swirled in.  The sky darkened a bit and the true nature of the man was revealed.  Behold, Hermes the winged messenger of the gods.  Ahhhh...that explains a lot.  Kevin has a new name.

The truth is revealed.

At this point, KT the Man took us a bit off the intended path.  I asked him if he was sure that this trail converged to the main road.  "I am positively sure", said he.  He has such a trusting face.  How could I say no?

You know how sometimes you just know you are going the wrong way?  Yep.  But why does it always seem that you go the wrong way downhill!  This was a fun hill to go down.  Not so fun to go back up.

What goes down in error, sometimes goes right back up in misery.

Back in town, and back on the right path, we stopped off to re-supply at a stop-and-snack.  We were about 36 miles into it by now and had been going for over 4 hours.  JeffJ was having back issues and called for the SAG wagon.  I was not much better, having been beaten into submission by the Marquis De Sade seatpost and CF hardtail.  We pretty much took over the front of the store.  Sorry about that.

Still bravely smilin'.  The worst was yet to come.

From here, we hit a couple of miles of pavement and then turned off onto a dirt road that I knew existed, but had never been on.  It connected to the local trail network we began the day on.  I don't know what the bulldozer driver had in mind when he graded this road, but it was not providing a gentle grade for tired mountain bikers.  Man, it had me off the bike and pushing.  It was then I knew I was failing slowly but surely.  I was out of gas, flat...broken...frammeled.  My back muscles were completely peeved at me and even pushing was difficult.  I was even fighting leg cramps, something that hardly ever happens anymore.  I was very glad to have a 22/36 on this bike.  A 20/38 would have been nice. 

Finally I made it to the singletracks that we began on, but I was in so much pain, I could barely navigate the creekbed.  Every bump shot arrows through my back and I was whining like a little girl.

Finally we were back with right at 40 miles and 5 3/4 hours under our belts.  I made a couple of errors.  I have not been on any longer rides lately, mostly just after work night stuff....nothing over 3 hours.  I was thinking I could get by with basically just water and electrolytes and I really do run better on some kind of performance drink like Carborocket.  I also underestimated that last bit of ridiculously steep trail by the water tank...the Trail of Tears...The Bataan Death March...Armageddon.

Well, OK, I am sure with fresh legs it ain't no biggie, but I was waaaaay past fresh.  I was firmly on the day-old rack like a bit of stale bagels.  KT the Man rode up it like it was flat.  He rocks.  Even Hermes pushed.  I guess having wings on your helmet is not all that it is cracked up to be, huh big guy?

It was a great day on the bikes, the company was stellar...not one whiner among them...and the trails were just for us to enjoy.  We never saw another soul once we left the local loop.

What is next?  Not sure, but I am enjoying the Ramble Ride idea.  I guess it is time to get out the maps and plan Ramble #3.

High Fiber Diet

Mmmmmm...tasty and so good for you, too.