Small Adventures

Yesterday, as I rolled out of my driveway it was snowing rather large flakes. For some of you, this is normal, but for us in the Willamette Valley, it's not. Sure the hills and mountains get snow all the time -- there is skiing here, you know -- but the valley doesn't see much. When I woke up and looked out the window, I was excited! This was going to be fun. It was going to be an adventure.

I like the idea of adventures. Something, some event, some ordeal that is out of the ordinary. There is the thrill that comes from not knowing the outcome. There is a danger component. There is a self sufficiency that comes from knowing that you got yourself into this mess and you'll have to be the one to get yourself out. There is the testing of yourself to see if you have the mettle to follow through and not give up. But, adventures are hard to come by in todays world... particularly for those of us who are parked in front of a computer. Life for many of us is easy. We have food. We have shelter. We have to go out of our way to make things hard.

I've always liked the idea of taking off and exploring the wild. You know, an Adventure with a capital A. We used to own an Isuzu Rodeo. I was going to lift it, put big tires on it and to 4-wheeling and have an Adventure! That truck was put into 4wd three times. All three were in the snow. The Adventure never happened.

I own a motorcycle. It's classified as an adventure touring bike. I have engine guards on it, dual sport tires on it and hard guards. I frequent the forums on advrider.com and dream of riding in faraway places on rugged roads, once I figure out how to carry my bicycle on it, of course. Chances are, though, it won't happen.

I have racks for my bike that have never been mounted. I have routes mapped that I have never ridden. I have plans... but not much else.

Life seems to get in the way of Adventure -- not the big A again -- there is a mortgage to pay, job obligations, family obligations, etc. I'm not complaining, you understand, I chose these things, and don't regret them. I like getting a paycheck.

So what do I do? I go after small adventures. I commute by bicycle and dice it up in traffic. I ride at night. I ride when it is snowing out, when many people are wondering if they should even drive.

And I continue to plan.

Housing

Last week I swapped out my moustache bars -- moment of silence please -- for more normal-ish drop bars on my 'cross bike. The moustache were hurting my wrists lately. You'd think that after a few thousand miles it wouldn't be a problem, but in the last few months they've been giving me enough grief that they had to go.

I decided to get these:


So far, I like them. However, setting up the bike with B-levers -- also called bar-top levers -- proved to be a chore. You see, Cannondale, in their infinite wisdom, put the cable stops on the wrong side of the bike. I guess in Europe, racers often run the brakes moto-style -- left lever actuating the rear brake -- so cable guides on the top tube are canted to the right, facilitating the rear brake cable coming from the left lever, around the head tube, then into the guide. There are two problems with this, 1) the bike is disc equiped and cannot be legally raced in UCI 'cross races and B) this isn't Europe.

Consequently I have a serious bend in the rear brake cable right after the B-lever since I can no longer go around the head tube. Thanks Cannondale. So... what to do? Fortunately I had some Nokon housing lying around that I was going to use on the wife's mountain bike, but have never gotten around to installing. Sorry, Honey. And, since the Nokon housing can handle tighter bends, I thought that this would be the cure.

Side note: If you aren't familiar with the Nokon housing, head HERE and read the review we did a couple of years ago about the shifter housing. The stuff is good, light weight and costly. Oh, and it takes a while to install.

Back to my tale.

Once I got the Nokon housing installed -- and I only had enough for the rear brake since this was the rim brake housing kit, not the longer disc brake housing kit -- all was well with my brakes.

Here is where it gets interesting, though. Normally, the front brake feels firmer -- shorter cable and all that -- but this time, the rear brake is absolutely firm, while the front one feels oh-so-mushy in comparison. The difference is the housing. When we did that review, we only looked at the shifter housing. I think, though, that the benefit is even greater on the brake side of things. This stuff is awesome. It really is. Sure, it's expensive, but it works very, very well. It has made my rear brake feel more powerful. I cannot recommend the Nokon's enough.

More Punishment

Growing up, my mother made it very clear to me that being out in the cold makes you sick. I'm not sure if that's true or not. However, if I'm sick, I try and stay out of the cold. About a week ago, I went for a ride in the cold and snow. Although fun, my throat started hurting and I started to regret my decision to throw caution to the wind (ahem--so to speak) and head out into the elements.

The next morning, expecting the worst, I cautiously stepped from my bed--fearful of a swallow which might expose what I felt would be inevitable.

What I felt was... fantastic. No symptoms to speak of.

Though you might think that, after this experience, I would never let bad weather slow me down. Not two days later, however, I was lying in my bed in the dark hours of the morning. Turning off my alarm. After all, I was starting to feel a little something approaching an illness and I didn't want to take my chances.

As you might have guess, pain and suffering was the punishment. Please, please. Please. Never get in the way of an opportunity to ride. Whatever you may think about staying in from the cold, riding a bike is much better for you. It isn't that my mother was wrong, mind you. She just never rode bikes much.

Getting more sleep, well, that's another matter.

What's Next?

One of the guys I ride with -- I'll call him C. -- has been riding for a few years now. He ride strictly off-road and has a good full squish mountain bike. He has the summer riding gear, the winter riding gear, lights -- of course --, computer and GPS. He has a helmet, naturally, hydration pack, gloves, etc. He is, in short, set up for riding off road any time and any place.

After a ride a few weeks ago C. asks me, what do I need to buy now? He wasn't referring to maintenance items like chains, cables, lube, tubes, etc. No, he was asking what else does he need to get to make this hobby more complete... what is he lacking?

My knee-jerk reaction was to say "a road bike, of course!"

You know how it is... the ideal number of bicycles that any cyclist should own is n+1, where n is the number of bicycles currently in the stable.

But C. wasn't so interested in riding on the road -- I'm still working on him -- so we were back to his dilemma, and what a great dilemma.

Barring a new bike, I told him tools. Now he has a bike and gear, it's time to build up the equipment needed to maintain that bike and equipment. First up -- he does have some tools -- is a work stand.

If you don't have a work stand, get one. For years I would use rope attached to the rafters to hoist my bike up to a level I could work on it. It was ok, but not ideal. More recently I've been using the Topeak stand with an integrated scale. It's been serving me well, but the clamp isn't as nice as I'd like.

Ultimate Support stands are also very nice, and Ultimate has an available scale, too. Unlike the Topeak, the clamp on the Ultimate works as it should and is easier to use.

There are other stands as well -- Park, Pedros, etc. -- but whatever brand you go with, make sure that A) it holds the bike securely from the seatpost and B) has enough height adjustment to get the drivetrain to near eye-level.

So, once he gets a stand, what's next? What tools do you use that you can't live without? What's next on your list?

Ceramic

I was going to post about how wonderful fenders are... but that will have to wait for a more rainy day.

Rather than go on about the joys of full fender-ship, I thought I'd pass on a press release I just received from Boca Bearing.

You've never heard of Boca Bearing?

For some time now, they have been supplying ceramic bearings for most anything bicycle related -- wheels, bottom brackets, etc... anywhere you find sealed cartridge bearings. Normally these are hybrid bearings, meaning that the balls are ceramic, but the races are metal. These have the benefit of very round bearings, but still require grease. This is the type of bearing found in nearly all of the "ceramic bearing" labeled parts on the market, like those used by FSA.

This is about to change, according to Boca. From the release:

FULL CERAMIC, SEALED BIKE BEARINGS!
The Boca Bearings Company is proud to announce their new line of Full Ceramic Zirconia bearings for bicycles. Boca Bearings is fast becoming the industry leader in ceramic bearing technology and has been working hard to develop a Full Ceramic bike bearing solution with protective Teflon seals. Now that the seals are available, Full Ceramic bearings are perfect for both competitive road and velodrome applications.

Full Ceramics will provide the absolute least amount of resistance of any bearing on the market. They are far lighter than standard steel or hybrid bearings by about 2/3 the weight, and require absolutely no lubrication at all. Because ceramic is non-porous with almost zero rolling resistance, the ceramic ball and race combination makes for the slickest ride around. Please visit our website for a list of the common bike sizes that are available or search by any bicycle brand to see if we are supplying a bearing kit for your component.

So, not only are they lighter, they have less rolling resistance and no lubrication is required. Pricing, however, is a tad prohibitive. Their normal hybrid ceramic bearing for a CrossMax SL Disc wheelset is about $50. The same bearing in Full Ceramic style is $160, or more than three times the price.

They should last a very long time, though.

A Message

To the guy in the white Chevy Tahoe with the aftermarket LED tail lights...
I am not sure that you wired them in correctly. The turn signals don't seem to work. You might want to get that looked at... before you hit the road again and cut someone off.

To the guy in the ricer '90 Civic hatchback...
Wow... you really took off from that stoplight fast. Of course, it's only a race if there is someone in the lane next to you. But you showed everyone else -- or just me on a bike -- that your pseudo-fast car is very, very loud.

To all the late model Honda Civics that cut me off...
Are you all on the same mailing list? Was today "zoom in front of cyclists and then make a right turn" day? How do I get on that list so I know when I should stay off the road?

To the ninja cyclist...
Yes, black is slimming, but so is getting run over. I'd at least add lights to the mix to give you a fighting chance.

To the cyclist lit up like a Christmas tree...
That is what conspicuity is all about. Good for you. Wave that freak flag -- unlike the ninja cyclist, you'll be seen. If you get hit, it'll be intentional.

To the other cyclist lit up like a Christmas tree...
Didn't I just see you?

To my boss...
Thanks for letting me store my bike in my office. It gets lonely outside. Sorry about the mud on the carpet, though.

Back in the [Commuting] Saddle

Confession time:

I barely commuted by bike during December. In fact, this week was the first I've ridden in to work in 2008. Sad, I know. I have excuses -- many and varied, but I won't list them here. They are the usual sort about being busy, hauling lights to and from work, etc. That isn't to say that I haven't been riding, because I have. Ironically, by not commuting to work, I've been able to ride more off road.

However, my commute is 12 miles each way, you see, and by not commuting I have not put in the saddle time I normally do. It's hard to find a couple of hours every day to ride, if I am driving to work.

Yesterday, though, the weather was unusually nice so I took off from work early to get some riding in while the sun was still up. T. and I decided to ride home off road, tacking on an additional 9 miles and about 1600 ft of climbing.

Remember what I said about not riding much?

Today, I am feeling that ride much more than I ought to be. So, I am back to being a committed bicycle commuter. There is just not substitute for the miles and there is no easier way to find the time than to ride my bike to work. This is one wagon I am glad to be back on.

WIGITMT (What I Got In The Mail Today) Vol. 1

Yes, folks, you wouldn't believe it, but the very day posted about wanting this hat, I got it. My unseen benefactor? Non other than the illustrious Jan Tindall. This is history in the making, folks. It is unprecedented for a WIWTBT to turn into a WIGITMT, but there you have it.

Here's a picture of some stylish model showing it off.

And another view.

I'm happy to say, in addition, that it works great. Although it didn't happen to be raining when I used it on Saturday. It kept my head warm and kept some of the sun off my eyes. It was a very sunny day and, what with all the snow on the ground and all, made for a very bright day. Hopefully, we'll get more precipitation soon and I can test it out with snow actually falling from the sky. Naturally, I'll report back here my findings.

WIWTBT Vol. 6

As I look back on past WIWTBTs, I've noticed that I don't own any of those items. Hmm, this is a bad trend. No matter, I'm not the sort to be deterred and I will just push on ahead.

Today's item is traditional in what it is, but not in the materials used. But, before I go into what it is, let me tell you why I've never considered owning this, and why I need it now.

I'm a fairly fair-weather cyclist. In Utah, at least in the summer, this is an easy thing to be. It just doesn't rain that much. Now that I've started riding in the snow more, I've been caught in more than a few snow storms. After asking around about what's to be done to keep rain and/or snow out of my eyes as I ride, I was told to buy a cycling cap. In fact, that's what they're made for.

However, cycling caps are cotton. Cotton! I mean, in this [cycling] world of synthetics or wool, why would anyone in the industry create anything cycling specific made of cotton?!

Therefore, I have decided that when I get a cycling cap, it won't be cotton. I found exactly one that isn't. Here it is:

Surly Cycling Cap


It will fit nicely under my helmet and keep the elements out of my eyes. It might be a tad warm in the Summer, but I live in a desert and it really doesn't rain in the summer. Or snow.

I actually don't think they make this any more because I can't find it listed on Surly's site. Please don't rush out and buy so many that there are none left for me. That's all I ask.

All Done

Yesterday, we teased you with the single emitter lights. Today, we're throwing the doors wide and letting you see it all.

Click on HERE, grab a beverage of your choice -- I prefer Mountain Dew at the moment, but your mileage may vary -- and sit down in a nice comfy chair. It's a biggie.

In fact, this has to be the largest review I have ever written. In school I avoided writing like this... heck, I focused on science in college so didn't have to write papers this long.

Ironic, huh.

Single Emitters -- Now Live!

I read your comments yesterday about the beam shots and... well... chose the easy route. We're using both. You can thank me later.

I mentioned that we were probably going to have to post the review piece-meal, and that is what we're doing. There is just a TON of stuff to post. So, without further ado, click HERE and head over to the the review.

You'll notice that our format is slightly different. Clicking on the section head -- in this case "Single Emitters" will take you to the reviews of those lights. Or, if you are looking for a specific light, click on it and you'll jump right there.

Once you are in the wordy part of the review, clicking the link under the lights name on the link that says "(click here to view the images and graphs specific to this light)" will take you do a page that has the run time graphs, beam shots, beam line plots and the 3D image.

We'll be back soon with the rest of the review.

Beam Shots

I've taken the beam shots from two different angles. I prefer the ones where the camera was at an angle, not in line with, the beams -- I think that they show the shape of the beam better. However, I've had requests to show the other, in line images, though. Which do you prefer?

Last week, I posted this image of the Stella's beam:

This is the same light, same location, same camera settings... but with the camera behind the light.

So... which is better?

Rollers, Trainers, and Other Such Torture Devices

A Side Note From Jon: Many people have wondered why we have ads to BackCountry.com in the side bar of the site. (Well, no one has actually mentioned it, but I know you've been thinking it.) A casual browser won't find any bike-related gear perusing BackCountry.com. However, the outlet portion of that site, BackCountryOutlet.com is practically teeming with good deals on random bike goodness. Just do a search for "bike" and you'll find all kinds of sweet deals.

Three days this week I've meant to get up and get on the rollers. Two days, I'll blame my alarm for missing my indoor training session. This morning, it went off, but I went to bed late and slept so poorly that my early-morning self decided the extra hour of sleep was more important. At this point, I'm very close to failing, in my first week of the year, to meet my time-on-the-bike goal I've made for myself this year.

As an expert on the subject, however, I thought I'd share my ideas to helping to pass the lonely "trainer months", as I like to call them, indoors.

Distractions
If your goals for the trainer/rollers/iron maiden revolve mainly around just time on the bike pedaling, your focus should be distracting yourself. Of course, if you can forget that you're on a bike pedaling, you might find that you're not actually pedaling. This is fine if you're bike is securely clamped to a rear-wheel trainer. (Well, it isn't exactly helping your fitness, but at least you're safe and securely clamped in.) However, if you allow yourself to be that distracted on the rollers, chances are it'll end in disaster.

For some, music strikes the perfect balance--distracting you enough to approach enjoyment while riding-without-moving, and allowing you to focus on your riding enough to keep your heart-rate up.

For others, nothing makes the pain of stationary riding fade like a good movie. With a Netflix (tm) account, you can keep the content fresh. Is it a training day? Check your mailbox and see if there's a little red envelope there. (Note, this doesn't work with Blockbuster (tm). Don't ask why, but trust me on this one.)

Of course, I find that while watching pro races (like the Tour de France), I can let my imagination wander enough to think I'm working my way up to that level. I have an active imagination when I'm delirious.

Measure
Another way to make time on rollers/trainers/the rack more enjoyable is to measure everything. Sure, you aren't going anywhere, but that doesn't mean you can't fake it! Not only should you have speed and distance*, but you should, if possible, have heart rate, cadence and power. I found that adding heart rate alone was enough to extend my maximum-ride-time-before-insanity another 20-30 minutes (bringing the total up to between 21 and 31 minutes).

Intervals
Okay, let me just go on record as saying that if I'm on the trainer/rollers/"The Machine", I want to benefit from it. To that end, if I'm suffering anyway (and, although you can hide it (see "Distractions" above), there is no way to use these devices without suffering), I want to really suffer--and with a purpose.

Intervals are great that way. They hurt. Like "not to 50!" kind of hurt. For me, though, one of the key benefits to intervals (besides the obvious strengthening of the muscles) is how it makes the time pass. In fact, I've found that I can hardly get on the rollers without breaking into intervals. Try varying the length of both the interval and the rest period between them to mix it up a bit.

Of course, if all this sounds a bit scary to you, you can always use the alarm excuse.

* You can't, however, count these as overall miles... because you're not moving or going anywhere.

Time To Start

All ready it's the 3rd day in 2008 -- do you say twenty-oh-eight or two-thousand-eight? -- and I've yet to post. Fear not! We are here diligently working on new posts, new product reviews and that seemingly never ending light review.

In an effort to speed up this process, we are going to start posting the review piecemeal. This should begin in the next couple of days with the introduction and single LED lights, like the Stella by Light and Motion.

I've posted images of the Stella 180-L before, but I'd like to use it as an example, if I may. This is what each light will have, in addition to the write up. This is what is taking so long.

First, the beam shot:

As I stated in my Teaser Beam Shots post, the flags start at 20ft from the lights. They are placed at 20ft intervals, with three flags at 100ft. All of the lights were aimed at 100ft.

Now, the run time graph:

As you can see, the Stella -- with the Li-Ion battery -- runs a long, long time.

The image of the light on the target:

The graphs below were made by analyzing this image.

The 3D graph:

Finally, a line plot of the beam.

The line plot has four parts. The red, green and blue lines are the red, green and blue spectrum. The black line is the average value for all three. The blue line would have gone higher, but it overpowered the sensor of my camera. The Stella had the most blue tint of any of the lights.

As soon as anything is up at GearReview, I'll link to it here, naturally.