Sep 30

Making the Point

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General Blather

Nice wind we had today. I’m sure it would have powered all of Idaho if those hideous fans were turned on that now dot the southern skyline of our valley.

Rad Doc and I had been wanting to squeeze in a ride to Point Prominence before it snowed in, so we went for it today. This is a large stair-step-like climb that climbs about 4,000 ft. I wasn’t too sure that we’d be able to make it all the way, after yesterday watching the recent snow still sticking to the trees all day. The warm wind that came in made the climb perfect though, but the trip across the valley treacherous. The climb took a couple hours and even included some snow and ice before reaching the now-vacated lookout. Prudence kept us from climbing the lookout because the steps and railings were covered with ice. I think Rad wanted to climb it with his bike because it wasn’t much worse than the sections he pedaled up before getting there.

Meanwhile, as we got higher we were watching the wind continue to whip up an enormous dust storm in the valley. By the time we got back down, the wind was so strong that we had to ride sideways across the valley. Later wind checks confirmed gusts around 40 mph, which were the gusts sending us into the ditch. At one point, I couldn’t see Rad who was only about 10 ft in front of me.

In the last few days, I haven’t had much luck with transportation: Wednesday, broken spoke on road bike; Thursday, tire aneurysm on cyclocross bike; and Friday, transmission failure on F250 and out of control horse in a cattle drive. Even today I was attacked by a tumbleweed that was bigger than I was. I saw it tracking me from quite a ways off. A moment of indecision about whether to speed up or brake had me making the wrong decision and getting body slammed by the giant weed. Fortunately, in all the aforementioned cases I managed to make it home safely.

I’ve noticed my scars are finally healing from all the recent mountain biking. In the last few weeks I’ve already donned quite a bit of winter clothing. Winter is in the air, and I’m getting excited to start training for next race season.

Sep 16

Bicycle P*rn: The Fatty (Volume 3)

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My equipment

I built up this mountain bike last spring, and I’ve been riding it quite a bit this summer. I’ve already introduced my road racing bike and my cyclocross bike, so here is my Giant XTC:


Click for full-resolution image.

I’m mainly a roadie most of the winter and spring, scared to jump on a mountain bike for fear that all my training will be ruined by some silly encounter with a tree or rock. Later in the summer and fall, I tend to enjoy more mountain bike riding, especially because the snow finally melts off our good trails in Northeast Oregon. Most of my riding on this bike is on gravel roads, ATV trails, and some singletrack.  

I intend to do some XC racing next year, mostly in Oregon. The tires pictured are intended for the all-mountain riding that I’ve been doing this summer. I’m sure I’ll go with some different tires for racing. I don’t have enough experience with tires and I don’t stay up on the mountain bike tech, so I’ll be researching and experimenting with some different models.  

So far, I’ve really enjoyed the responsive feel of the bike, especially while climbing. I’m glad I decided to go with a hard tail. I have yet to hear a convincing enough arguments to change to either full suspension or disc brakes.

Another major reason I wanted this bike is for ice biking in the winter. I’ll still ride my cyclocross bike with studded tires on the smooth plowed roads, but this bike with a couple hundred studs on each wheel will allow me to hit more gnarly terrain. I suppose the winter riding is a convincing reason to go with disc brakes. We’ll see. I do have a gallon of ammonia ready to be used on the rims and brakes to keep the ice melted in the deep stuff.

Finding the Fizik Nisene allowed me to transfer my love affair with the Fizik Arione to my mountain bike. The Nisene has the exact same shape, but with more padding and some plastic protection on the side. I removed the front under-plate right away though. There is no need for that and it looked like it was going to rip up my Lycra. 

The immediate upgrade I want to install are Eggbeater Ti or Stainless pedals.  

I’ve put up a thread at the MTBR.com forums for anyone to vote on the bike. Comments and critique are welcome here too.

The weight as pictured is 22 lbs.

Here are the specifics:

Part Brand Model
Frame Giant XTC 21 inch
Fork Rock Shox SID Team 2006 w/ poplock
Wheelset Mavic Crossmax XL black
Tires Hutchinson Spider UST
Handlebar Ritchey Pro oversized 31.8
Grips WTB  
Stem Weyless 6061 Forged
Pedals Crank Bros. Eggbeater Chromo
Cage Nashbar Comp
Saddle Fizik Nisene Ti
Seat post Easton EA70
Shifters SRAM X9 trigger
Brake Levers Shimano XTR M950 V-brake lever
Brakes Shimano XTR BR-M960 V-brakes
Crankset Shimano XT M760, 22-32-44T size 180mm
Bottom Bracket Shimano XT M760
Front derailleur Shimano XTR
Rear derailleur SRAM X9
Cassette SRAM Powerglide II 11-32
Chain SRAM PC-971 9 speed ATB w/gold powerlink
Bar Ends Ritchey WCS Short

 
Click for full-resolution image.


Click for full-resolution image.


Click for full-resolution image.

Previous Entries

Live Ride Calendar (below) :: Training Plan (link)