My MTB Journal

田鱼

Schaeffer Farm, Feb. 12, 2007

Two S's hadn't had much love from me recently - Schaeffer and my Surly. So I took half day off and rode pretty much everything in Schaeffer. The trail was frozen and super fast, and I had it all to myself . I found my legs were so weak though after being off single speed for about a month.

田鱼

Schaeffer Farm 2/16/2007

I thought it would be cool to ride after 6 in snow plus some freezing rain, but had to turn around due to trail closure. Oh well.

田鱼

Blackhill and Hoyles Mill Connector, 2/17/2007

I was itching to ride since the planned Schaeffer ride did not happen due to trail closure. Blackhill is about 10 minutes drive away. The terrain is mostly hilly but not many technical sections. However it was a totally different story when the whole thing was covered with 5-in smooth snow/ice. Uphill required a little more attention to body position adjustment so the rear wheel wouldn't spin. Downhill, some of them slightly slanted sideway, suddently became seriously challenging if I wanted to stay on the bike, and more so if I wanted to hike-a-bike. Anyway, it was a slow ride , took me twice as much time to covered the distance, but whole lot of fun, slip and slide all over the place, like riding in a ice rink.

田鱼

Mishap, 2/18/2007

OK, I tensioned the chain on the Surly, fixed some small stuff here and there, put the bike behind my car on the driveway, and went into the garage to gather my riding gears. Then somehow I decided to move the car off the driveway first -with the Surly leaning behind it! So here is what happened the next - the car backed into the downed bike. I got off the driver seat thinking my Surly is now history. To my surprise the only damage I found was the deformed Spot Rocket. The car rolled on top of Surly's rear wheel, bent the Rocket, but could do any further damage. The rear wheel - Mavic 717+DT spokes+Surly hub+WI freewheel - is still round and true, spins smoothly like butter. Now that's what we call "Bomb proof", but hopefully I never do that test again.

I'm thinking about getting a Surly tuggnut as replacement.

calvinsonic

引用第13楼田鱼于2007-02-19 02:31发表的:
Mishap, 2/18/2007

OK, I tensioned the chain on the Surly, fixed some small stuff here and there, put the bike behind my car on the driveway, and went into the garage to gather my riding gears. Then somehow I decided to move the car off the driveway first -with the Surly leaning behind it! So here is what happened the next - the car backed into the downed bike. I got off the driver seat thinking my Surly is now history. To my surprise the only damage I found was the deformed Spot Rocket. The car rolled on top of Surly's rear wheel, bent the Rocket, but could do any further damage. The rear wheel - Mavic 717+DT spokes+Surly hub+WI freewheel - is still round and true, spins smoothly like butter. Now that's what we call "Bomb proof", but hopefully I never do that test again.

I'm thinking about getting a Surly tuggnut as replacement.

All i can say is....you got lucky

fastjudy

NIce single speed you got there...always wondered how one rides, any feed back on that?

田鱼

引用第15楼fastjudy于2007-02-27 09:39发表的:
NIce single speed you got there...always wondered how one rides, any feed back on that?

You probably already know more about the pros and cons in singlespeeding so I won't bore you with those. With only one gear, I concentrate on pedaling and push it harder. Riding full rigid gives me direct trail feedback but at the same time demands a lot more body adjustment. All I want to say is it's addictive and intoxicating (Drink the Kool Aid ). You have to ride one to appreciate it. Many of my riding buddies here have gone to the dark side and never turned back.  

fastjudy

Thanks...sounds like fun! The only Single speed I’ve ridden is my BMX. Surly builds some serious single speed in very affordable price range...and I’m thinking of building a single speed roadster (not road bike, a hybrid) for high speed city cruising in Shanghai as well...

田鱼

引用第17楼fastjudy于2007-02-27 11:44发表的:
Thanks...sounds like fun! The only Single speed I’ve ridden is my BMX. Surly builds some serious single speed in very affordable price range...and I’m thinking of building a single speed roadster (not road bike, a hybrid) for high speed city cruising in Shanghai as well...

Surly bikes are made in Taiwan, that's why they are so much cheaper than other steel frames like Kelly or Wily.

For city type riding (especially in Shanghai) I was gonna suggest a fixie...

fastjudy

No way bro...fixie are way too dangerious especially with Shanghai's traffic condition and reckless drivers....