Ah, the joys of breaking in a skid-stop capable fixed-gear bike… and fixed-gear capable organic engines.

Low: on Friday night, after doing some longer skids down my hill approaching my house from an alternate route, I felt slippage. Guh. I thought I had that stuff wrenched down, but of course these are new forces compared to backpedaling, so. This was expected. I took the wheel off, added Phil’s, cinched down the cog carrier and lockring, and was back in action.

High: On Tuesday, I began systematically trying to train myself for ambidextrous skidding, after that first attempt almost led me into the maws of Ole Coal Hi’sself. By the time I got to work, I had managed two reasonable ones (maybe 4") in gravely flotsam, and about 5 smaller ones on dry ground. It feels ridiculously alien, compared to the left leg forward on which I’ve been practicing normally.

Low: I’m starting to feel splints in my forearm tendons from gripping the drops and keeping my body as forward as possible.

High: On Wednesday, I had another 5 successful dry ground mini skids using the alternate right lef forward… still very alien, very hard to get my brain in gear. But baby steps. Lung waited a long time to go ambidextrous while in the meantime powersliding down whole city blocks with his dominant leg, so I thought I’d try and get ambidextrous from the get go if possible.

Low: Wednesday evening, I was stuck at the office late, and by the time I got off the horn, I was in hot water at home. I raced out the door, hit the light on my helmet, and shot down the street. It was some way down a little hill I descend that I realized I left my toolkit at the office. And my U-lock. Oh well, too late to turn back.

I skidded a few stop signs. On the third, I felt my leg drop and my cranks were spinning. I assumed I had some sort of crank or bottom bracket deaths, but when I pulled over to inspect, it was the other direction.

Scheiise! The lock ring had spun off and was dangling on the axle. The cog carrier (remember, I use these Sugino Keirin cogs) was about half way unthreaded, and the cog itself was off the carrier (nothing holds it on) and also rolling on the axle, still chained. I consider myself lucky: I knew at some point I’d probably unwind the cog, but when matters of drivetrain fail occur on a fixed-gear bike, if they didn’t send a chain to tangle the crank arm or simply send me to meet Ole Coal Hi’sself, I count myself in the win column. However, OF COURSE. No tools. And no U-lock means no Monkey socket end.

I spent about 10 minutes or so fiddling with it with my gloved fingers and managed to reseat the cog, re-spin the carrier a bit, and roll the lockring, despite threading problems. A few good pulls on the cranks got the carrier into place, re-hand-tightened the lockring, and then I just noodled home. I mean, I rode fast and hard and jumped on the cranks quite a bit to get that carrier cinched, but the real concern was the lockring rolling back off and then dropping the cog. It’s also really hard to ride without backpedaling. Not just not skidding. No counterpedaling to slow.

This morning, in Ye Shoppe, I examined the wheel off the frame, and saw that while the end of the hub had thread damage, and I saw some wear on the lockring, I was able to pull off the thread threads (You know what I mean, you can see one below) and then tighten everything down again. So, off I went.

High: Made it to work, including climbing Loring and doing a number of skids down the back side, without incident and the lockring doesn’t appear to have budged. I think from now on I’ll be checking this before each ride, though.

Tonight, more ambi skidding.

One more note: I checked my tyre again and since last check you can definitely see the difference, and by extension, the increase in my skid successes and confidence. Last time I saw no change to the tyre, and this time, I have three solid patches of wear. In fact, since I’ve been roll-stopping, or, you know, skid-hop-skid-hopping since I can’t seem to stay forward long enough to maintain the skid for more than at most 3 feet or so, the third patch is like a third of the wheel’s surface length. Ha. So I have two small contact skid patches and one looooooong one. Which also tells me that I need to consider a new ratio. Three skid patches is the worst possible. And while I won’t be skidding through expensive Gatorskins next time, Ineed more surface area. So, I suspect I’ll drop to a 17 cog, which will get me to 17 skid patches, though I’ll be back up to 75+ inchgear, which will make climbing again more onerous.

Final High: That 3′+ skid limit I mentioned? This morning, final skid before the front door skid (which my boss has noticed the marks on the sidewalk and given it the old WTF) and it was around a turn. Fun!

Experienced skid-stop fixie riders may or may not remember these days with nostalgia or disdain, but for me, all new.

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As you may have read in my previous posts, I was bouncing around a bit on my future Kid Carrier Cargo Bike, also known as the Team Lope Junior Squad Project. I settled on an Xtracycle conversion for maximum flexibility, and then decided further that the cost of a new entry-level bike would be less than the cost of the necessary components and frame mods for a conversion on one in my stable. I had planned on pushing the whole project out until the summer when I would actually need to carry two kids, or at least when the second kid was nearing ride age and the first kid was heavier, but I found a bike I really liked and had a great deal ON it, thanks to a combination of discounted price (on a small set of these the shop got in from their supplier, qty: 4) member discount (offered for members of gyms, 10%) and cashback on the card used (5% more)… so that, combined with the relative scarcity of this bike (Cannondale doesn’t allow their bikes to be sold through internet sites, only local shops, apparently, though I think you can get around this by walking in, or using a proxy, to make the sale locally and then having them ship) and my general distate for most factory bikes, I pulled the trigger.

I haven’t ridden a mountain bike of my own since 1998, and of any kind since about 2001 (actually, precisely 2001, as Monkeybiktes and I were on a mountain bike adventure when the Twin Towers were attacked) so I caveat my comments in the following ways: I’m not an avid mountain biker, I’m not buying this to ride mountains, and I haven’t purchased a factory bike since what, 1999-2000 (Toro)… so I am justifiably impressed with the value/quality/economy ratio these days, on at least some bikes. This is a future cargo bike. But I rode it this weekend for a test run, and this is what happened.

SICK!

Now, I caveat further that I spend 90% of my time on fixies and 10% on a road bike, so even knowing that I was hopping on a heavier bike with rolling resistance, upright riding position, suspension and low gear ratio, I was nonetheless very aware of these differences. The Cannondale Trail SL 29er 4 is second from the bottom in Cannondale’s 29er series of bikes, of which there are two models. As you go up the line, you get different frame materials, different componentry, and as a result, different weight. I liked this bike for the general look of it, the strange color, the minimal, subtle branding second only to none at all, and the feel. It retails for $900. So, setting aside any discounts or sweet, sweet deals, we’re talking about a fully rideable, aesthetically pleasing mountain bike with the big wheels, for under a grand. I really didn’t anticipate, prior to my research, anything being available under $1500, with whatever might be available before that being department store generics. So, right off the bat, super impressive what you can get for your money today.

Weight: This is not a light bike. Being contextually aware, no mountain bike is going to be ‘light’ by my standards from my other rides, and the big 29er wheels only make this more so. However, I polled a friend who rides under Mt. Tam Bike’s colors and his sweet, high-grade 29er was approximately 23 pounds. Cannondale reviews seem to bring this bike in stock between 29-30 pounds depending on frame size. It is an aluminum frame with a 21 speed groupo and front shocks, big 29er rims and giant knobby tyres. You could thin it up considerably by changing components and of course, aim at the wheels, offering heavy rotational weight. But here’s my thing: it’s a cargo bike. two kids plus groceries? Weight becomes meaningless, as long as you have gears.

Ride: So, first of all, on a mountain bike you’re upright more than you would be on a road bike and most fixie riding positions. With the bigger wheels, I feel even more upright than normal, because I remember how it felt to ride my old mountain bikes. You feel like these wheels are like pennyfarthing beasts, even though technically? 29ers are 700c rims, just like road wheels. Just much wider. But the mountain bike standard is 26" and it’s noticeable. I decided on a 29er instead of a regular mountain bike because liked the idea of more power at the pedals, but really that just means power to the pedals similar to what I would generally expect from all of my 700c bikes, right? But you hop on a 26" wheel mountain bike and you notice the difference. So, on this, you’re upright, but you’re comfortable. The front suspension offers 80mm float, which is sort of in the middle for this general grade of component, which could be down to 50mm or as high as 110mm from what I’ve seen in an unscientific poll. This is important for mountain riding, less for cargo bikery, but even on the road, the suspension is a magical thing coming from years of purely suspension-free riding. Sure, it sucks your power, but on the other hand, the cushion! I like the turning and the maneuverability of the bike. Normal MTB people criticize cornering issues with the bigger wheels, and most critics AND marketers of 29ers point to bigger wheels as being an entry-to-mountain-biking feature, offering more forgiveness when hitting obstacles and holes, at the expense of cornering and handling that a skilled MTBer would expect. But I don’t really know if that is measurable in a meaningful way. I’ve read plenty of those claims and plenty counter-claims. Maybe of note to you. For my use, no. There’s also micro-suspension at the wheelstays.

Look: The color ‘saffron’ is unusual for factory bikes, and the subtle branding especially so. Look at Cannondale’s range of MTBs and it’s the only one like it, and this is the variant of the main SL 29er 4, which is garish. It’s the thing they do with some of the variants on the CAAD road bike line, too. You can’t peel the graphics, but you can easily ignore them. And that’s before stickerbombing. The rest of the bike is black hole black. Pretty gorgeous.

Components: entry level to just above. If you look at department store generics or special discount bikes like through Performance, many times you’ll see a tier below the bottom level for the name factory bikes and well-known component groups. In previous years, Cannondale did use some less-familiar generic components on the SL 4 and SL 5 but for 2012 the group is Shimano and Cannondale-branded (in the case of the brakes). I assume entry level in weight, but functionally smooth. I would also assume that another factor in MTB components is durability. Entry-level components being more prone to being smashed to atoms by rocks and such. Dunno. So far, so good.

Braking, Special Category: This is not so much specific to this bike, but in general, my reason for using this type of bike was disc brakes. I wanted the additional braking power for the heavy weight of the bike when loaded, and while I know there’s lots of arguments about true braking capability of calipers vs cantis vs disc in all sorts of scenarios, it just made me feel better to upsize to hydraulic brakes, and thus, I did. And yes, they stop on a dime. Or rather, would if you didn’t sweep the back out on a skid, ha.

Reviews have suggested that this is the best value in its class (the $1000 aluminim hardtail 29er) but I can’t say anything of the sort, with no personal experience with any other bike. I can say, however, that it suits me just fine!

Specs:
http://www.cannondale.com/2012/bikes/mo … er-4-20758

Into it!

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So, when I first started planning the bike capable of carrying 2 kids plus groceries, it was between a Metrofiet, CETMA, and an Xtracycle Conversion. The CETMA was the most awesome, the Xtracycle the most reasonable. I settled on the Xtracycle. In Team Lope Junior Squad Project Version 1.0, I imagined building out of a mountain bike, specifically a 29er, giving me the option of breaking free and riding it if I wanted, in a conventional mountain biking scenario. I waffled a bit between the 29er and a 26" MTB standard, each offering advantages and disadvantages. Then, this past week, I started plotting the conversion of Rapscallion INTO the cargo bike. Sure, it’s a fixed gear, but why not? The Xtracycle has a derailleur mount, grab the extra parts needed, and run with it!

Over the last few days, though, I did more research. For one thing, I was really hot for using disc brakes on this project, for some added stopping power with that rear load on these hills, as I plan to ride said hills. Nay, I plan to RAHHHHDE them. That would require a fork with disc brake mounts, and a new front wheel. Plus disc brake system, front and rear. Next, I’d need a second brake and brake lever, both of which I have in the shop. Next, bigger tyres for stability, keeping within the size limitation of the Xtracycle Free Radical frame. Next, full drivetrain (front and rear deraiileurs, new rear wheel with cassette. So, basically, almost a full kit. Then, Lung advised I check rear dropout spacing, and sure enough, even with the 700c Free Radical kit, I’m 10-15mm short on the fixie frame.

Hm.

So I did some more research, went and did some field checks, and I think I have the new solution, Version 2.0, which is basically Version 1.0. I gave it a new version number because technically Version 1.5, the fixed conversion, slipped in there. I think I still like the 29er configuration. Little bit less maneuverable at low speeds, but much higher rolling speed per gear and easier over rough terrain. I spend all my time on road and fixed bikes anyway, so the 29er (the MTB industry can’t say 700c because, you know…) is a comfortable size for me. I tested the bike I was interested in today, and it felt VERY comfortable. I did the math: using a new bike was cheaper than a conversion. By a mile. I found the bike I was interested in, in my size, on sale, and test rode it. THis never happens to me, mind you, because I haven’t bought a built bike at a shop since what… 2000? Wow.

So, the new-old plan is thus:

Cannondale Trail SL 29er 4 in ‘Saffron’
Disc brakes, front suspension, 21 speeds, wide rims.

Xtracycle Free Radical Family Kit, with 2 seats, flight deck board and side panniers.
(I’ll get one seat first, the second in later summer)

And for tyres, switch out for sweet sweet Schwalbe Kodiak slicks.
I need the narrower tyre for the Xtracycle clearance, and I’m generally not planning single-track off-road rides with the kids and a bag full of eggs.

On track!

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I’d feel sorry for the fictional customer, being sold a bike with ‘top-spec gears’ and a ‘super light frame’, as it’s a steel fixie. But hey, I’m running short on sympathy for fictional characters. Especially cashing in on the Willamsburg Way.

http://www.rubenomalley.com/commercial/ … ike-store/

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Ive been slowly tweaking Rapscallion, my kid-and-cargo fixie hauler, to be a better balance between a reasonable ride with Zoe on it and a fun one when she’s not and the seat is removed. I had most recently put shortie arc bars on there, but it led to my face being against her cheek, which is not only a little uncomfortable but somewhat dodgy in terms of visibility unless I arched my back. So I got some sparrow knock-offs from Tam Bikes on New Years, along with the necessary 4-bolt stem upgrade for science and safety. The other day I actually installed the bars, reinstalled the brake lever and got the cable sorted, and did every other adjustment save for the grips, which I’m tired of having to destroy to remove just because I don’t have an air compressor (this brake lever is a one-bolt attachment so I have to get a grip off to remove the bars, even though I’m using a modern stem). I actually subsequently wrapped the bar ends in road tape for the test ride, but I’m now waiting on a different pair of grips that, for the first time around here, have hex bolt connections. Then we’ll see how the riding position has improved. I actually raised the stem height (by flipping it) from what it was before, to get more clearance in the cargo basket, so that necessitated raising the seat in the steerer stack, so we’ll see how much clearance I still have while riding.

That is all! Hopefully test ride tomorrow…

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Yesterday I took a day trip for business down to Los Angeles to survey a building. That’s dawn patrol, up at 4am etc and home again by about 8pm. And yeah, I’m already up with the baby so that’s fine. But here’s the thing: normally on these, I bring my laptop and sketchbook, fly in, rent a convertible of some nature, get in and out of the job, and then hit a cafe and work on TRDL stuff until it’s time to get back to the airport. THIS time, I brought a bike.

You’ve seen Lung’s ride reports of his use of his coupler bike on the Vegas trip. We got our frames coupled, so to speak, at the same time, but my last two trips fell apart due to illness or injury (Vegas and Chicago) so I had yet to actually use Carpetbagger AS a travel bike. It was completely overkill for a day trip where I’d have at BEST 3 hours to ride. But it was a test of the process, and frankly, it was because I could.

Onward for details!

I’m using a S&S soft backpack for transport. You can use hardshell cases, with more protection, but this is a sweet setup because you can compress it and wear the bag. It’s all about the ride away, or to, the airport thing.

So up top, there’s Carpetbagger, my coupler bike. It’s a mid-gearing fixie (I think it’s 72) and a custom finish and graphic set by self. You’ve seen pics before. I’d SAY this is the virgin shot before it gets beat to shit in transit, but realistically, my Wee Z beat it to shit before I even had it finished, thanks to ‘I FIX it, daddee.’ moments. So it had a few frame dents and some paint chipping. First step, as seen in that pic, is pulling these hard sidewalls out of the bag and bracing them against all sides, velcroing them together to make a losse square. Actually more like the shape of a gold tooth cap. It doesn’t get square proper, but enough to frame the frame.

First, I layed this giant painting tarp up in there, used to fold and weave between major components. Great tip, among others, from One Lung. Here’s the front half of the coupler, dropped in first.

The tarp is folded over, then the rear wheel, cog down, fits in that void of the triangle. I put a top tube protector on one tube for science, since I didn’t bring any of my pipe insulation this time out. Other than that it’s just the tarp as protection. Remember that detail. Then rear triangle fits on top of the rear wheel.

Here’s the front wheel on top of the sandwich of tarp and parts and such below it. The backpack has rigidized panels where things make contact, such as the wheel axles.You don’t use other compression members in this situation. The saddle and seatpost fit into one of the extra spaces. I rolled up other parts like pedals and tools and such into microfiber towels and shirt rags and stuff, and put them here and there.

Here, possibly the most delicate part: placement of the handlebars. If using proper drops it’s even more of a hassle, threading them through the wheel, but I have Sparrows on this bike. But I still had to wrap it first, test the pressure on the spokes when you push on it, and wrap the brake caliper and stow that as well. I brought a ton of extra clothing and shoved them into all spaces and into the front and rear outer compartments, including a pair of Dickies and a long sleeve shirt and cardigan for the job site. Suave.

Boom! Packed! My first time, and from the point the first photo was taken, to the point the bag was zipped up, was about 45 minutes, including a call to Lung to check something and a few references to the S&S website (which actually has virtually no directions for the backpack.)

My cab came at 4:45 and I was off. When I checked the bag (Virgin America Main Cabin Select seating is a great deal: you get priority security line access, priority boarding, free food and drinks, and one checked bag.) the guy working the counter looked at it and lifted it and said ‘Hey, is this a bike?’

Now this is kind of a trick question. The whole point of this coupler system is to eliminate barriers to flying with the bike. If you bring an oversized bag, such as a bike box, it can run you up to $200 each way. If you bring a heavy bag, you get his with $50 fees each way. This system allows you to hand them a bag that is exactly within the 62" combined dimension for normal luggage (which you’d still pay for if you were in Main Cabin)… but also, there are ‘oversize’ cargo fees associated with BIKES. So, I merely said:

‘It’s actually a bag of bike parts’ Which is a true statement.

He laughed and said it was the coolest fucking thing he’d seen.

On the other side, a few delicious champagnes later, my baby rolled onto the carousel in LAX.
In one piece, so to speak. Well, point being, no crazy holes or ripped straps or zippers, and equally as nice, no obvious evidence of TSA searching, since that would lead to a) a mangled repacking job, and 2) confiscation of CO2 cartridges and probably all the tools. But I wouldn’t know for sure until I unpacked it. But no time! The plane was a bit delayed, and I had to basically haul ass in a taxi to Downtown LA, and would have to wait to see later. I wanted to ride FROM the airport, but I couldn’t risk being late.

Some girls I was talking to in SF found me at the taxi line, some designers heading to a big client meeting. ‘Hey, wait. Is there a BIKE in there?’ one said, mouth agape. I guess my helmet gave it away. You can see it in backpack mode, above. It’s heavy but manageable.

OK, so I didn’t want to break this down AT my project building for professional reasons, so I headed out into the fashion district (read ghetto downtown) to get over toa cafe I went to last time I visited this building, and do the build at the outdoor seating. But then I realized it was lunch hour. It would be packed. One of the fashion houses was upstairs. I finally decided, you know what, all the homeless and shifty hustlers have camped out on the street, I’m doing it. This marks the second time in 30 days I was doing bike assembly on a rough street.
That is how I ____O

The damage was minimal. A major gash on the downtube (so yeah, THATS the one to protect, since the shifting of the parcel obviously pushed the cog through the tarp into the frame) and a few other scratches. But that’s what this is for. Scars are sexy. Building it on the street was funny. Just like in Oakland, I got a lot of attention from streetfolk and otherwise sketchy folks that came to observe and yack at me, which kind of slows you down as you are watching your shit but at the same time, it’s cool that people are curious. Best part was a cholo painter crew walking past me when I was first unpacking, and then on their way back from the taco truck were like ‘Orale! What is that mang!’ I said it was a bike broken in half to travel with. ‘Its a fixie BRO!! TSCH!’ one said to another. ‘Ey, got that new Yanni cassette?’ Wait no, wrong story. ‘Ey, where can I get one?’ and I said ‘It’s custom. You’d have to be me.’ and they laughed and gave me a hand slap and they were off. Pretty good. Oh, also, no TSA tag.

I actually left a few of the rags in a nearby trash can, and even abandoned my Adidas. I have more, and it was a lot of weight I could shed, now that I was in my Vittorias. So someone scored some sweet Sammies.

My buddy Raul was stuck in a meeting, but I was able to hook up with my high school pal Christine, who works at KCRW and is into competitive roller derby ie. HOT. She’s in Culver City, so I basically made a beeline for her down Venice Blvd, because I didn’t want to dilly-dally. It was maybe a 20 minute reassembly and repacking, much faster, but I was still racing the clock now at 1:15pm or so with a 5:30pm flight meaning I’d need to be checked in at 4:45pm. So, this sent me down some nassssty business to get to where she lives, like the back side of Koreatown and the ‘Byzantine Latino Quarter’ and another section where the side streets are actually GATED. It was pretty awesome doing it by bike, though. I was rolling next to some rough types in cars and some dodgy types on the sidewalks, all that sort of thing: shopping carts in the street and such, and here I am on a white and chrome fixed gear with old timey bars and leather and elkhide, in proper Team Lope kit, with a big ass backpack on. Pretty rad. Got to Culver City in about 45 minutes, and here I am, waiting for her to come out.

Side note: remember that Kickstarter project about a rubber bracelet that you can wind your earbuds into? OK, how about skipping the bracelet altogether? Works GREAT.

I missed some great photo ops in my speed ride to her house, including a toothless guy in the lane in front of me projectile vomiting like the cartoons, where the total diameter of the vomit spray is exactly equal to the diameter of his mouth. Also, a 35mph street sign hanging upside down and with a bullet hole in it. Also some cool business offering transmission repair AND greymarket stereos. One thing I DID manage to capture, near her place, was a random display of motorcycle cops and what not going off. I thought it was some bad business, but she gleefully exclaimed ‘yay! Santa.’ and lo, it was. Only in LA.

We had lunch at a mexican place near her house. Al Pastor tacos and margaritas, yes.

The waiter was a rider so he was geeking out on the bike, and it was a nice mellow lunch.
When done, I checked the clock and it was about 3:15pm, so that put me into a bit of pressure, as I’d have to gear up and get on the road to LAX. Not too far as the crow flies, but we’re talking LA traffic. Sure I don’t get stuck in the traffic jams but I do have to wait for the megalights on these big boulevards, and also, lots of big vehicles i and out of the side businesses and freeway onramps etc so you have to be vigilant.

I wonder WHY in LA. To live and DIE in LA.

At 4:10pm, I rolled up into LAX and dismounted at my terminal. Tole you what, I’ve ridden in many sketchy traffic conditions of somewhat surreal natures, like critical mass and bad ballgame traffic and so on… but riding the lanes around the terminals at rush hour is a video game with ONE LIFE LEFT AND NO EFFING TOKENS. Exhilarating though. And no deaths or ticket punchings.

While I was breaking the bike down again to re-pack it, I had even more spectators than on the street. It started with an inquisitive airline guy, and then three homeland security cops came up, but not to give me trouble, just to oggle at the process. Two stewardesses (and I’ve been watching Pan Am so I got thirsty for a scotch at that point) and a few tourists. Again, I’m working fast as nails, but having to narrate and answer questions. Crazy. I thought girls in line at bars and coffee shops who grab at your sleeves or poke at your arms to see your ink were invasive, but these people are like lifting bike parts and checking out the couplers and so on. You have to laugh. Any time regular folks have a non-violent interest in a bike or a rider, I consider it a win.

The bag was unmolested on the return flight (visibly anyway I haven’t actually opened it yet) and I was home after dark, exhausted, sore from the heavy bag, but super charged for getting to take my bike with me and ride in yet another city.*

And of course, what cab did I take?

*Note I grew up in LA, and we rode up through the beach and Brentwood and Westwood on Aids Lifecycle, but I’m talking general transportation and exploration.

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Doesn’t beat me doing fixie gear work on the street in Downtown Oakland, but pretty cool…

http://sfist.com/2011/11/01/free_bike_r … p_in_n.php

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I finally did something I’ve wanted to do for awhile now: I changed up the bars, and as a result, the riding position, of Rapscallion, my kid carrier cargo fixie. Until now it has had an upright riding position thanks to big moon bars I put on it to clear the kid seat. Over time, especially as Wee Z has gotten heavier and I carry increasing weight in the cargo basket, I’ve grown to dislike that riding position (I mean, I always have, but it grew to annoy me) so I set about the other night* to sort out how to get to a normal bar while still being able to use the kid carrier as a kid carrier**.

This took quite a bit of work. It involved not just the easy part, swapping bars for bars of like clamp dimension, adding new brake lever and restringing it. It also meant more of the rabbit warren of connections that is involved with a bike seat, cargo rack and front brake all slammed together. I did a lot of adjustments to get the kid seat in a place where I could clear Wee Z and still reach the bars. In doing so, threading the struts of the seat into the cargo basket risers themselves, I also found a way, by shifting the seat forward in this manner, to also clear for lowering it as well since I wouldn’t have the knee obstructions any longer, which meant that the top cap is no longer on top of the seat mount, but rather now the seat mount is under several spacers, which is even safer.

I chose some pretty short chopped down arc bars, for science, that once belonged to wrongbike. I may have to go with some wider arcs, since the way these were cut, even with all my adjustments I’m sort of riding with my head next to hers on one side or the other. But for now it’s working great! Kierin grips and all. She likes it too because I’m down by her face talking to her more.

Side note, while the red Jawbones were a fun brand-aware experiment, they were starting to annoy me, and not just because of the bold aesthetic: I was very distracted by seeing a rim of bright plastic red around the periphery. I’m someone who doesn’t like to see my glasses or sunglasses when I’m wearing them. It’s distracting. So, I’m going back to black. Thus ends this brand-aware dalliance!

*And with a toddler and a newborn, ‘the other night’ means a span of about seven shorter wrenching sessions over three days.

**Until I upgrade to an Xtracycle or scoop-hauler custom when the wee lad is ready to ride too.

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1. Bike Build Process Log: Rapscallion – Live Load Test Ride
2. Bike Build Process Log- Rapscallion: Minding the Gap
3. Bike Build Process Log- Rapscallion: Get On Up

This is what I was really interested in doing with the Burley Bee trailer: take longer rides on the road bike, with a youngling, and get some exercise. And get it I did, today.

I took a route up into the hills between Mill Valley and Corte Madera mostly by winging it, and there were some steep climbs and a section of hiking trail I had to cyclocross and then walk, to get around all the rivulets and valleys and such. Took me about an hour, all told, to get to Joe Trade (Trader Joes, if you aren’t Filipino, which I’m not, but anyway)… my excuse for this ride.

Wee Z loves the little shopping carts Joe Trade makes available for kids at the expense of circulation flow, and so we loaded up on milk, eggs, tri-tip, salad, and Panda Puffs, the cereal of her desire. Also, her baby.

The groceries were stashed easily in the back of the trailer which is pretty nice: protected from sun and rain, too. And no, the eggs didn’t break despite the road conditions.

Ready to embark for home.

The way back, I went down to the stretch behind Peets byt he freeway, and up a residential road that snaked to the top of the hill before you descend to MV, then took the bike path along the freeway down into town, and the back way across that ridge before descending to the marshland bike path near my house. Much faster, maybe 35 minutes.

I’m pretty sure Wee Z fell asleep in there at some point, but it was a cush ride. Blanket, baby doll, snacks… It was in the 50s when we left so we took precautions against an Alive type situation.

I think we both prefer the front-view ride on the fixie Rapscallion, but this method at least gets me farther and allows for more strenuous effort. Boy, when you hit a gradient beyond your gearing, unlike normal, you STOP. There’s too much rear weight and no mechanical advantage and you just can’t muscle through. All in all, pretty good ride though!

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If you read this for WENCHERY, you’ve been led astray.

So I’ve been talking with Mannie Rabara about helping him out on his fixie commuter for a few months now, but our mutual kid-management and work schedules have prevented either of us from getting to the other’s houses. Mannie rode Aids Lifecycle with us last year, and is the older brother of Maynard, the rad dude who donated his old Mixte frame that became the first Zoe Carrier. Mannie and I both went to Cal Poly for university, at different times. Anyway, he bought a Factory Fixie awhile back to get his feet wet, and decided it was time for, as we say, UPGRADES. I have a copious overstock of bike parts perpetually being sold, traded or stolen, so I hooked him up with some Sugino cranks and a shorty black stem (again, wrong site, for some of you)… the problem was merely getting it done. The plan was to install them for him and show him how to do it.

I had an opportunity to take Wee Z out for the morning to give her mombot(tm) a break, so I shot over the bridge and down to Oakland and met Mannie near his office. I’ve never actually BEEN to downtown Oakland before. It reminds me of Chicago: wide streets, similar heights and construction style of much of the buildings. No private place to work, so i said, what the hell, let’s do it on the street, the Team Lope way! (again, perhaps wrong site)

Zoe was eager to help, right out of the gate, and was wielding my field tool kit. It was a bit too heavy for her, admittedly.

Along with my regular tools, I brought everything needed for a full overhaul, since I wasn’t sure yet what to expect and I wanted him to be be able to ride away. Drivetrain tools, cog and lock ring tools, chain, Phils Lube, WD-40, and so on.

Downtown Oakland isn’t really sketchy, just more like upper lower Market, lots of homeless and dudes wandering around, mixed with working folk. I parked in front of a sweet Thai joint and set up in front of the MINI. I was aware of the spectacle, but hey. It must be done!

It went very well. His bike was new enough that there wasn’t a lot of junk in the bolts and the lube was still good for the most part so it came apart pretty easily. Which is what you want, doing field repairs. I pulled off his generic cranks and noted that his no name bottom bracket was probably not much different than the basic Shimano BB I brought, so we decided to leave it in place. I cleaned and mounted the new cranks, lubed and added his pedals and toe straps, and the tightened it all down. Reset the rear wheel, and sent him off to test it. I had brought extra cogs so we could change gearing if needed, as he was moving to a 46t chainring on the Sugino cranks, but he liked it as it was. Retightened after his test ride, gave him a 12mm key and some 2-day tips (you know, re-check and tighten everything after two days of riding) and he was good to go. He took the stem for later use, and was generally stoked to be able to ride back to work with his new gear good to go.

It was pretty fun. Best part was that I had a total of five different people stop and ask for my card, thinking I was a mobile bike tune-up kit. There’s definitely a market there. Everyone seemed into the idea that someone could come and help them with their bikes on their lunch hours, and you know, with the free time necessary, it could be fun to do just that, much like how Mike’s has a mobile mechanic out on the bike path during certain events and ALC training days. Mostly, I got a lot of interest from other passerby that just hadn’t seen bike repair in front of a Thai restaurant before.

Zoe slept through the whole thing.

I think Mannie’s fixie is on the fast track to customization and personalization, just as ours are. He already has the bug. What’s next? He has a new wheel and cranks and stem… possibly bars… maybe frame? And then he’s doomed! Nice to see Mannie and fun excursion in the middle of the 24-hour triage of newborn management…

Forgot to mention my work isn’t covered in the event of nuclear detonation, however. Oops.

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