You gotta love riding in beaver country. 
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
The Gilford Run
The ride back from the mechanic's shop turned into a typical time trial racing sunset.
I had a headlight, but had not been able to find my blinky beacons. I suspected the cats had used them as hockey pucks. They like to swat things off my workbench. In fact, they like to swat things of any horizontal surface in the house.
I was probably 15 miles into the sprint when I realized I had left the beacons in the side pockets of my commuting bum bag. It was too late by then.
I didn't lose by much. The headlight came in handy a couple of times to alert oncoming cars. They're more dangerous in dusk and darkness because they'll hook turns in front of you. It wasn't even all that dusky, but dusky enough.
The Planet Bike Beamer 3 has a nifty flashing mode and a slightly bluish tinge. I love the effect of flashing blue lights on motorists. They all have at least somewhat of a guilty conscience.
My computer had mysteriously zeroed out, so I don't know what I hit for a maximum speed in free-fall down South Main Street into South Wolfeboro or what I averaged for my heroic efforts. Great! I can make stuff up!
Realistically, that hill is good for at least 40. As for the average speed, I doubt it was much over 16, with all the climbing and my natural slothfulness.
I had a headlight, but had not been able to find my blinky beacons. I suspected the cats had used them as hockey pucks. They like to swat things off my workbench. In fact, they like to swat things of any horizontal surface in the house.
I was probably 15 miles into the sprint when I realized I had left the beacons in the side pockets of my commuting bum bag. It was too late by then.
I didn't lose by much. The headlight came in handy a couple of times to alert oncoming cars. They're more dangerous in dusk and darkness because they'll hook turns in front of you. It wasn't even all that dusky, but dusky enough.
The Planet Bike Beamer 3 has a nifty flashing mode and a slightly bluish tinge. I love the effect of flashing blue lights on motorists. They all have at least somewhat of a guilty conscience.
My computer had mysteriously zeroed out, so I don't know what I hit for a maximum speed in free-fall down South Main Street into South Wolfeboro or what I averaged for my heroic efforts. Great! I can make stuff up!
Realistically, that hill is good for at least 40. As for the average speed, I doubt it was much over 16, with all the climbing and my natural slothfulness.
Pedaling a Solution
One of the cars urgently needs service. Fortunately, the weather has turned mild and the daylight is just long enough for me to give up my car so the other one can go into surgery.
Today I have to drive the ailing car to the mechanic, 40 miles away (he's that good), and then ride 25 of those miles to meet my wife and hitch home the rest of the way with her.
When the days are longer and I have more long rides on me I will knock off the whole 40 on these errands. It's just a little early, especially since we already grabbed a quick 12 going to the town offices on some other official business this morning.
The biggest question is which bike to use. I've been putting in most of my time on the fixed gear. It gives me the best control in the frost heaves, because I have pressure on the pedals whether accelerating or decelerating. That makes it easier to unweight to let the bike rock through the lumps and bumps like the kayak riding over waves. But the Gilford run is hilly and I'm doing it in the uphill direction.
The Surly is a tad heavy for a speed run, but it's set up for the lights if I decide to be that prudent.
The road bike is light and fast, but I haven't looked at it since last fall. After the Surly it feels downright flimsy, even though I know it isn't. The direct drive of the fixed gear makes it feel more solid.
Whichever bike I choose, I like riding with a mission.
Today I have to drive the ailing car to the mechanic, 40 miles away (he's that good), and then ride 25 of those miles to meet my wife and hitch home the rest of the way with her.
When the days are longer and I have more long rides on me I will knock off the whole 40 on these errands. It's just a little early, especially since we already grabbed a quick 12 going to the town offices on some other official business this morning.
The biggest question is which bike to use. I've been putting in most of my time on the fixed gear. It gives me the best control in the frost heaves, because I have pressure on the pedals whether accelerating or decelerating. That makes it easier to unweight to let the bike rock through the lumps and bumps like the kayak riding over waves. But the Gilford run is hilly and I'm doing it in the uphill direction.
The Surly is a tad heavy for a speed run, but it's set up for the lights if I decide to be that prudent.
The road bike is light and fast, but I haven't looked at it since last fall. After the Surly it feels downright flimsy, even though I know it isn't. The direct drive of the fixed gear makes it feel more solid.
Whichever bike I choose, I like riding with a mission.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
I Wonder, as I Assemble
Is SRAM a dummy corporation set up to make Shimano look good? These trigger shifters are lame. The ergonomics are bad. The lever throw is long. The return lever is badly placed... No wonder Shimano finally relented in court and let them produce them. Maybe it was all a put-on.
Think about it. SRAM absorbed Avid for brakes and Sachs for chains. If the shifting systems sink the company, will the suction take these valid Shimano competitors down with it? Rockshox would just be an unfortunate casualty. SRAM's demise would be one-stop shopping to put Shimano in uncontested control of the bike industry. It's nearly there as it is.
Shades of Suntour. It takes me back to the compatibility wars of the early 1990s. Cyclists lost a lot of choices during the mountain bike boom.
I don't see how SRAM can win. Shimano has better name recognition. What the hell's a SRAM? At least you can point to some guys named Shimano. So this has to run its bloody course.
The bike industry made it through its first century-plus using paying customers as product testers. That doesn't work as well anymore, since the industry got customers to expect a higher level of sophistication. You can't rush to market with a complex product and make in-season changes when you're dealing with global supply lines and so much proprietary product. You can't get a manufacturer to spec one or two pieces to showcase them, because the rival company is doing all it can to enforce compatibility only with its own line.
Brakes are still independent. Drive trains must be complete. So if SRAM doesn't have the financial muscle to make sweet OEM deals, they're as boned as Suntour was in the early 1990s. The stuff doesn't work quite as well as Shimano's and they can't get enough of it out there to get financial momentum to make improvements.
Maybe the other divisions of SRAM will be able to carry the drive trains for as long as it takes to get them really working. It better not be too long.
Funny how they want to flared side plates on the 9-speed chains. We're calling them "Sramano."
Think about it. SRAM absorbed Avid for brakes and Sachs for chains. If the shifting systems sink the company, will the suction take these valid Shimano competitors down with it? Rockshox would just be an unfortunate casualty. SRAM's demise would be one-stop shopping to put Shimano in uncontested control of the bike industry. It's nearly there as it is.
Shades of Suntour. It takes me back to the compatibility wars of the early 1990s. Cyclists lost a lot of choices during the mountain bike boom.
I don't see how SRAM can win. Shimano has better name recognition. What the hell's a SRAM? At least you can point to some guys named Shimano. So this has to run its bloody course.
The bike industry made it through its first century-plus using paying customers as product testers. That doesn't work as well anymore, since the industry got customers to expect a higher level of sophistication. You can't rush to market with a complex product and make in-season changes when you're dealing with global supply lines and so much proprietary product. You can't get a manufacturer to spec one or two pieces to showcase them, because the rival company is doing all it can to enforce compatibility only with its own line.
Brakes are still independent. Drive trains must be complete. So if SRAM doesn't have the financial muscle to make sweet OEM deals, they're as boned as Suntour was in the early 1990s. The stuff doesn't work quite as well as Shimano's and they can't get enough of it out there to get financial momentum to make improvements.
Maybe the other divisions of SRAM will be able to carry the drive trains for as long as it takes to get them really working. It better not be too long.
Funny how they want to flared side plates on the 9-speed chains. We're calling them "Sramano."
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