Soothing My Utter & Soft Tails
Hotel Rooms and Lubed Up Chamois Bitz
Not too much going on today ride/training wise. Just some logistical stuff for upcoming races. Hotel rooms booked, new tent purchased, directions got, lists being made, etc,. All the mundane stuff that you have to do to make the mid pack magic happen.
At lunch, I hit Target today to pick up THIS much needed item...
From the utters of Vermont cows to my chamois ensconced boyz. Bag Balm is in za haus. Used my last two finger fulls of Greyhound Juice on Ssssssssssssaturday, so I needed to pony up for some utter cream to get my boyz & cheeks through.Let me ask you this- Why the f*ck do they keep Bag Balm behind the pharmacist's counter at Target? Are THAT many people stealing Bag Balm? Or is it like cold meds, where some douche bag is making crystal meth or something with it? If THAT'S the case, at races I'll lube the boyz, then smoke it, eat it, or whatever, to make those late race hours go faster! Nothing beats the late race "bonk" like some late night, skin absorbed hallucinogens right? I kid of course.
Other than that, just chilling with B-Man, playing, watching Kim Possible and counting the minutes until WIfey comes home. Not sure why, but this third and final week sees me and Brennan missing her big time. God's speed WIfey! I'm gettin' "randy"! KIDDDDING!!!
Is your tail soft or are you just unhappy to see me?
I'm a long time fan of the soft tail bike. In my opinion, the soft tail platform has only got better with the advent of the 29" platform. I continue to dig what the soft tail 29er (in my case the Salsa Dos Niner) can do for me. I think of my Dos Niner like this- Take 1" of pivotless suspension, add in 3 extra wheel inches (over a 26" tire bike) and you got yourself an extra FOUR inches of rock gobbling wheels and a little added comfort. And NO REAL maintenance other than experimenting to find my optimal air pressure in the Relish. Great for a mechanical putz like myself who barely knows how to properly lube a chain.
I think it all goes back to the days (yesterday?) and one of my all time "dream bikes"- the Moots YBB. I always loved the idea of corrosion free Ti, combined with a hint of maintenance free suspension to take the edge off the trail. Unfortunately, a YBB will always be a dream since the YBB is nearly $3,000 F.F.O. (F.F.O. stands for F*cking Frame Only!) compared to the Salsa Dos Niner at just under $1,000 retail, I gotta tell you, the Dos wins on price. Plus Scandium is corrosion resistant too.
Ti may aid in dulling some extra trail chatter, will win in the high zoot "bling" department, and may win in the llllllllllllong term durability department, but I feel the Dos Niner's flattened chain stays help too, and hell, I can barley keep a bike 1 year before I lust another so I'm not super concerned about it. I'm married to my wife, not my bike. Give me SOMETHING to slut around with, PLEASE! Not to mention Salsa has proven to stand behind their frames big time.
My Dos Niner fame and Master Tom's feet.Just 24 Hours before the '07 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey.
I do wonder why Moots seems to have ditched the air shock option for the YBB? I guess they've been making it long enough to know what works for their customers. I like the options that an air shock like Salsa's Relish gives me. I can't honestly tell you how well the Moots elastomer shock works, but it must work, since the YBB is sort of a freaking classic. Ti is pretty damn classic too. Just freaking pppppppppppricey.
I started thinking more about soft tails and 29er suspension recently when I saw that Guitar Ted and 29" Dot Com is going to be reviewing the Siren Song 29er soft tail soon. The Song looks to be sort of interesting. A 1.5" travel soft tail that uses a Cane Creek rear shock and a "flex-plate" to aid in the suspension.
I like the idea of an extra .5" of travel over what the Dos Niner gives my ass, but I have to say I personally don't know if and extra .5" is worth the possible "worry issue" of only a handful small bolts holding my bike together (see above pic). I will be anxious tor read what "G-Love" says for sure. One neat thing about the Siren other than the added travel, is that they can build the frame to your spec with a pretty fast turnaround (according to G-Ted & 29".com).Guitar Ted is also going to be testing out a Fisher Hi-Fi 29er with 4" of rear travel. I'm also interested in this. Not that I can envision myself on one, but I really don't see much out there about FS 29ers, so I'd like to hear more about how they handle. Personally I like the fact that with a 29er you can achieve many of a FS bikes ride qualities with simpler shock set ups (soft tail baby!), less travel, and or lower maintenance set ups. Not sure I'm crazy about what the Hi-Fi offers exactly, but I'd still like to read some feed back.
I think in the world of FS 29ers I find myself drawn more towards bikes like the above mentioned soft tails (including my Dos Niner of course), the 3" travel Titus Racer X 29er and it's now dead (?) cousin from Asylum Cycles. Not to mention I'm more than a LITTLE interested to see what comes out of Salsa land in the coming year or so.
That's all I got. Since today is St. Patrick's Day, I celebrated not being Irish, but married to red headed Irish chick. She's mostly Irish and the rest Scotch/English. Which means she enjoys 5 to 15 beers, wants YOU to pay for them, and can't cook to save her life. HA! That's a joke baby! I swear! You know I dig you the most!
Looking at the M.A.S.S. French Creek, registration. Anxious to race there again. Looks like they're gonna have a field for $5 tent camping. Sweet! The 6 hour endurance info has one of the best quotes ever- "The Endurance race will be 6 hours. If you are considering the Endurance race you should really have your head examined". While I've never had my head "officially" examined I have occasional been on medication. HA! The FC course is challenging, but I'm not sure it's "head examined worthy" The old 24 Hours of Snowshoe course... THAT was head examination worthy! ;)
Later.
Siren photo from: iHeartSingleSpeed
posted by Jason @ 6:05 PM
12 comments
12 Comments:
Man, you covered a lot of ground with this post... But strangely, it all comes back to your beeeeehind, one way or another, 'eh Jason? Funny.
My $.02 is that Bag Balm is da Bomb for the tainted 'taint, and that it'll be worth it to hold out for spicy stuff from the folks up north when it comes to the squishy big wheel bikes. No jokin', it'll be smokin'.
Oh, and more unsolicited optionion... I'm not sure I want a bolted-together flex plate at my BB -- especially the bolts at the BB shell. Seems like a bad couple 'o stress risers as I see it, but I know Guitar Ted will find that one out for us and report his experience. I like the Dos' flex-stay design better, however, just eyeballing the two designs. I've got a clear pro-Salsa bias, however. You know that as well as I do.
Scandium... It just sounds fast. And kinda' naughty.
I like YBBs too. They kick butt. I must compliment your taste in bicycles. It's good.
Happy trails, my friend. Hope you have a great week of riding.
Cheers,
MG
I should also clarify (for readers other than Jason) that my 'bias' is more of a confidence in the Dos design borne out of the experience of racing Dos Niners for the past two seasons without issues, despite the flexing chainstays. That's all I was really saying there...
... and I really can spell opinion. Really, I can! ;-)
My dad has a 26" ybb and it is a truely lovely bike, he bought it used with full XTR for uder $2000 and being Ti with no obvious flaws, it was a pretty good buy. The problem is that there probably aren't many 29ers around. Some day I'd love a Moots, probably my next road bike... hmmm It's be a couple of years yet though...
My Salsa build is going well in the basement...
Good read, lots of info. Never tried the Bag Balm (but have heard lots of good things) always been a Butt Butter person.
I'm just hoping we don't get rain again at French Creek, that one two years back was NASTY...but a blast.
MG,
Talk of my ass seems to be the downfall of a blog called the "soiled chamois". Yes, I too hold some Salsa bias. I look forward to when we see some new stuff, but not THAT forward, since I doubt I can get another ride anytime soon! ;)
William, glad to hear the build is progressing for you. Look forward to seeing it.
Travis- yep, I remember that race well. I was there, my rear brakes were not! ;) One of the few times in my life I ever podiumed. Only because seemingly everyone else DNFed! I saw this year it's a "weather dependent" race.
yeah, wifey is definitely out of town right now considering the lenght of the post. no crime fighting to interrupt writing.
bag balm works well and stays on during wet rides which is nice. one warning though, your saddle will get all shiny and greasy from it so remember not to ride your bike in civies afterwards and then walk into a coffee shop with a greasy stain in your ass. not that I know from experience mind you!
I know how you feel about bikelust. I'm the same way. Oh. Thanks for the advice on the Delgados.Got mine in last week.SWEEEEEETTTTTTTT!!!! Love the way they look and much lighter than I would've thought.
Travis/Jason - Yep, any rain and we have to cancel/postpone the race. I'm riding the race loop tomorrow (weather permitting) and will forward some intel on degree of difficulty.
Allan,
Glad you're digging the hoops. I'd love to get another set soon with some DT Swiss hubs.
Thanks Rich.,
I think it's for the best. In '06 there was a BIG hurt put on the course. When it's a public place/park, it just makes us look like assholes.
Did someone say Hi-Fi? I picked my new Hi-Fi 29er up from TRM a couple weeks ago, really like it.
As far as the G2 geometry goes I don't have any other 29ers to compare it against except for a paragon 29er I got to take out a couple of times last summer. Seems to be an improvement to me. The bike corners better than the old paragon but still G2 doesn't come near the cornering capabilities of a well built 26" bike. Still no regrets for me all the other advantages of the 29er is worth the trade off for me.
I bought a full suspension bike because I have an old man back, I prefer a hard tail but I wanted something that would be a little nicer to me back. Now climbing in the saddle no doubt the suspension stays solid but when you stand up it's major bob. It's a super power suck, so much that I don't climb out of the saddle anymore. They don't make a remote lockout that works for the fox shock that come on the Hi-Fi. Now I haven't messed with the shock yet. The guy at the shop set it up pretty couchy. So the verdict is still out. If I stiffen up the shock I may feel differently.
Shred.
Nice to have a local checking in. I have a feeling that some playing around with your shock might get it a bit more stable for you. Good luck. I look forward to reading more.
Jason, I aggree with you on the soft tail design. Saves my ass too. I haven't convinced my wife that I should make the 29" jump yet, so I'm still riding my DEAN Duke 26" Ti soft tail, and I'll have to say, I do still love this bike. BTW, DEAN makes a 29" version at a much more affordable price than Moots. http://www.deanbikes.com/mountain/duke/duke.htm They changed the design of the shock placement in 2008, but it's still pivotless. Still skiing, but looking forward to spring mountainbiking.
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