Hill and Gully Rider

February 22, 2014

Hill And Gully Rider

My apologies to Harry Bellafonte for the use of his song title as my blog post, but it fit so well.

If you read my last blog post, you would see that my mountain bike is no longer in my bike stable, replaced instead by a cyclocross hybrid bike .... my idea of a adventure bike. One of those "if I could only have one bike" kind of bikes. A do everything and anything as good as it can, kind of bike. So, it was time to give it a try and see how well it'll work out to that description.It took a bit of time to transfer over all my stuff onto this bike, but soon, I was ready to ride.

First ride, out my front door, a little over one mile of pavement then 10 1/2 miles of gravel and back 3/4 mile to my front door. Most of our gravel roads around here are pretty well hard packed and not much loose rock on them. The compromise Kenda tires did pretty well on this ride, the bike rolled easily over the gravel roads and I was very happy with the outcome. It even rode better than I thought it might. I think some of this might be due to the fact that the bike has a very long wheelbase, 110cm, about 4 cm longer than my tourer even. The bike felt light and nimble compared to my mountain bike on the same roads. I was encouraged enough to want to take the bike up to Stillwater for a 36 mile gravel grinder they were hosting on Saturday. I went on one of their rides before, and have been anxious to go back and try a bit longer one. So .... I made sure the bike was ready, loaded it up on my carrier and headed north Saturday morning.

I barely made it in time, the group was almost ready to leave when I showed up, however they waited for me to get ready. There were about six of us today. Most were seasoned local riders .... read strong here. I felt that maybe I was a bit out of my class, but they are a pretty friendly and forgiving group, and no riders are left out on the course. This time, the course went quite a bit further east into a very primitive area that was probably unchanged since saber toothed cats ranged free in the area. I kept my eyes open, just in case. I apologize for the few photos and poor quality as most were taken on the fly and on rough gravel roads as well. Leaving Stillwater it became evident that I was soon to be coupled with another fairly new rider from Tulsa, a young lady that by choice or chance, was about my speed and power on the hills. Neither of us knew the turns. We needn't have worried, however, as the ride leader was waiting for us at the top of the steepest hill on the way east. I found out why I wanted that triple crank right there on that hill. The ride leader got a couple of pictures of us climbing it together, and I was hoping he would post them on their F/B page so I could grab one to include here, but to no avail. If he ever does, I'll include it here. The hill was very steep, and fairly loose, making pedaling difficult at best. If I tried to stand for more power, I was rewarded with the back tire spinning out, had to remain seated to put the weight on the back and just slog it up the hill. I found the lowest gear I had on this hill, and was glad for my choice of gearing on this bike. This was to be an adventure bike after all, and not an endurance racing bike. The gravel roads up here in this area are mostly very loose rock scattered across the road, and in some places got quite deep. The bike again did better than I expected.

This route took us by the ghost town of Ingalls, and while there isn't many who live here, there are still a few that hang on according to the trash can. This little ghost town is famous for it's gunfight between U.S. Marshals and the Doolin/Dalton gang. It is my understanding that the outlaws won this battle, and managed to escape. One of them was killed in the hotel which is the prominent building here. I wished it wasn't trash day, but it was, and so there it is. Still an interesting sight.

After this, the roads got more and more primitive, and ranch homes were almost non-existent. In fact, I wondered a couple of times why the roads even existed at all ..... until I noticed an oil well or two.

After riding through a delightful little valley that was so scenic, but required both hands on the handlebars, so no pictures, we came to a turn back to the west to head back to town. Thank goodness, they decided on a short rest. The hill you see in the background is much steeper and longer than it appears here, and was just one of many just like it. Steep, long and loose was the order of the day.

The last shot was just moseyin' up the road headed west. The hills on this stretch tended to string us out a bit as you can see.

We went along on this road up, and down for about 8 miles before turning back north again to return to the main gravel back to Stillwater. When we turned north, I came to this really cool, not too long but steep downhill and decided to turn it loose .... got 32mph for a top speed going down, then hit a very large sharp rock near the bottom, and halfway up the next hill .....flat tire. Pinch flat from the big rock. My companion held my bike for me while I knelt on the rocky road (not very comfy) and changed out the tube, pumped it up with my trusty Topeak Road Morph to 6o pounds this time. I was only running 48. It'll take a bit of experimenting with these tires to get the right pressure for whatever roads I'm riding on at the time. I will say, however, that 32 mph on gravel is a real adrenaline pumper, but whether or not it was worth a flat tire is debatable. I'll take a minute to say a bit about handlebars here. All cyclocross bikes have road bars, I think it has something to do with the race rules. They are designed as racing bikes after all. I really felt that I would be more comfortable riding this type of road with mountain bike bars, and could not have been more pleased with my choice after this ride. They worked out great over the entire range of conditions. The alloy frame and fork also exceeded my expectations as well, very good riding in the roughest of conditions, and I always felt in control. When we got to the turn back to town point, my companion decided to go around again .... this would give her about 63 miles when the day was done. They grow them tough up here. I had enough .... I was very tired by this time and just eased it back to town. The next day, my legs got even with me for the torture I put them through by being really sore all day. Still, Sunday was a nice day, and I got out and rode a twenty mile loop from home and worked the kinks out. A great ride, a good trial for a new bike, and even though I was tired, I would do it again. The bike lived up to all my expectations, and I think once I get used to it and maybe get some wider tires eventually, it'll be a better bike for my style of riding than my faithful mountain bike. Happy Gravel Grinder ..... That's me!

A Quick Ride

February 22, 2014


A change was in order, but it took me three months to find it.

To start with, the front suspension unit .... "Headshok", Cannondale calls it, failed again for the third time in the last three years. Mine is one of those "new fangled" air shock types with air spring and oil damping. Very light, and very responsive with great handling. I've got to hand it to Cannondale engineering .... what a great idea ..... Just too bad it don't work ..... Anyway, I have little patience with things that don't work for me, and I had decided when it went bad this time, that I was going to do something different.

The front shock portion goes through the oversize headtube and continues down to the fork crown, which makes it a very long steering tube. My first thought was to replace it with a standard mountain bike twin fork shock unit. Checked them out. I didn't want air..... still the same kind of problems, and even spring forks require regular maintenance. Also, the coil spring forks weighed 4 1/2 pounds (2200 grams). I don't really want an extra 4 1/2 pounds of weight hanging over the front end of the bike, thank you. So ...lets look at rigid. First off..... short head tube..... the bike frame is not really made for a rigid fork. I measured the length of the fork from axle to the bottom of the headtube (which would be where the fork crown would be on a normal fork) and found that the only forks that came close would be 29er forks. That's going to leave a lot of empty space between the top of my 26 inch tire and the top of the fork. Probably look rather ridiculous, and may have an effect on handling as well. The Niner carbon fork would have looked fine on the bike, and fit well for length and trail, but at almost $600 was not in my price range. Now that I'm retired for good, I no longer have unlimited amounts to spend on toys. So, still looking ....can't really decide. Looked at some cyclocross bikes, test rode one, and I didn't really care for it. It was light, it did handle well .... it was a road bike made with a frame width that would accept larger tires. It was also expensive. This sent me back to looking at my mountain bike again and what I could do with it. Three months of this agonizing went by .... until ...... I found the answer at our local bike shop .... I thought ..... It was an answer, but it still required a bit more attention. First ..... let us say goodbye to a beloved friend that took me many interesting places. I don't ride a mountain bike much, and this one had only about 2000 lifetime miles on it, but it took me to far away places and was my companion for so many unique and interesting trips and we saw so many wonderful things together. I'll miss you ...



                                         

Now, for the replacement. Cyclocross? They all seemed to be geared awfully high with 46/36 cranks and 11/28 cassettes on the back..... at least for me. There were many times I used all the gears on my mountain bike. I needed old man gears. I know, Oklahoma is flat, what do I need gears for. Well, I don't always stay right around here, and besides, Oklahoma isn't really that flat. I looked at newer 29er mountain bikes .... not really what I wanted either, heavy, slow handling, and not what I really needed. I don't jump off cliffs, or rock or root gardens, or really do much that would get me injured too seriously. Old bones take a long time to heal. So what? Back to looking at Cyclocross bikes ..... nope .... Wait ..... who was this wallflower in the back ...... sexy colored outfit ..... cute lookin' thing with her shiny brushed aluminum and black finish ... what is this? It's a Cannondale Quick CX-1 ..... a hybrid 'cross bike. A mixture of a Cyclocross frame and mountain bike gearing. Let me ride it! So he did .... I fell in love. Told him to put my name on it until the bike shop owner got back from Europe. It had a Headshok front end....... but, it was coil spring. Really didn't think it would be a problem until I talked to others that had bought the same bike and had a problem with the Headshok the first year. Take my name off....... more research! Okay ....... Cannondale also has a rigid model of basically the same bike. This one is designed around the rigid fork and the frame geometry changed to accommodate that style fork. Cheaper components, but still, all Shimano. And really, what I've found to be pretty much true is that the cheaper Shimano components are just as durable, or maybe more so because they are made from steel, not soft aluminum alloy, but they are heavier. That is the price you pay for the downgrade ...... weight. I had to assess requirements here, and not let fluff and shiny new stuff go to my head.

First: It had to be durable, and simple.

Second: It had to be relatively trouble free, and if there was maintenance I wanted to be able to do it myself, something I couldn't do with the Headshok.

Third:  It had to be cost effective. This is not my main bike, it is just one I grab for rides I want to do when I couldn't use the road bike, and didn't really want to use the touring bike.

Fourth:    It was to be a "beater" bike. Not one to wreck, but one I could take anywhere and do anything with without concern for it's fragile expensive components or frame. Cheaper components, and standard (not proprietary) components that I could replace cheaply and easily myself was also a necessity. This ruled out $2000 bikes, (the range of most cyclocross bikes). I also looked at steel bike manufacturers who seem to think steel is more expensive than carbon fiber. I thought about building one from a frame, and changed my mind.

Fifth:   It had to be geared to go anywhere I took it, and be capable of anything I wanted to do with it. This left out road bike gearing. Not many rigid mountain bikes to be found either.

So ...... I know .....if you've stayed with me this far, the suspense has to be killing you by now. Here it is ....



                                                                                     

Meet Cannondale Quick CX-4. It's a Hybrid bike that is a cross between a cyclocross and a mountain bike. A 'cross frame, and mountain bike gearing. Like most hybrids, it is a compromise. Because of the cheaper components, it is heavier than most 'cross bikes, but because of the lighter frame, and rigid front fork, (still mountain bike strong) it is still lighter than most mountain bikes. Not the sexy brushed aluminum and black finish of the CX-1, but I really liked the understated matte battleship gray no-nonsense color scheme. The bike came with 700/35 'cross tires, but has room for 40's. I thought I'd wear these out getting used to the bike and get what I really want (Clement Xplor MSO 40's) later. The front fork is an aluminum alloy, which I had trepidations about. I needn't have had. It rode better, in most places, than my suspension fork on the mountain bike. Cannondale's Fatty fork has a well deserved reputation for ride and handling, as well as toughness. The bike has gearing of  48/36/26 in front .... on a triple crank. The back has an 11/32 cassette. Low enough for get down and grunt gears, and high enough to suit my old man's need for speed, which isn't what it was when I was younger, a 30 mph bike, give or take a bit. Bare bike weight, before I put my stuff on it was around 23 pounds. Light enough to make me happy. The cost difference, including my trade in, (mountain bike needing repairs) was little more than a new standard coil spring suspension fork, and the labor to install it on my mountain bike. Now for a test ride or two ...... following in the next blog post .....