The above photo is of course from my 2015 Hallowed Weenus posting on the Brooks Blog, and I'm pleased to report that I've officially finished curating the BSNYC Pre-Fondon't Ride post for that same publication, which means you should be able to read it just as soon as Old Man Brooks has it legally vetted. In the meantime, here's a teaser:
Remember that time I marched everyone up a really steep hill even though there's a really easy way to get to the very same trail that requires no dismounting whatsoever?
That was awesome.
Hey, the first order of business on any ride should be punishing anyone who's using road cleats.
I am so over road cleats, and so should you be.
As for the next BSNYC-curated adventure, I'm hoping to carve out a little time for one before the weather gets too blustery and/or snowy, and I'd estimate the chances of that happening at something like 70/30. And if you're wondering whether that means there's a 70% chance for or against, the answer to that question is simply "yes."
Moving on, we here at BSNYC Enterprises work hard to bring you quality bike-related content:
To that end, I'm pleased to announce an imminent editorial shift into product testing:
Well, half-kidding anyway, for the truth is I should have some exciting tech stuff on which to report in the coming days. For one thing, I recently received an email informing me that after many, many weeks a Renovo wooden Fred Chariot has finally been hewn and shipped to my place of residence:
I'll believe it when I see it, but rest assured that as soon as it comes I'll strap on my coconut shell helmet and share my impressions with you:
Of course, riding a skinny-tired aero bike in November is about as seasonally appropriate as a g-string bikini, but I'm determined to make the best of it This may even require my participation in one of the area group Fred rides, which is something I haven't done in quite some time. Indeed, the very idea of a doing a Fred ride in the autumn strikes me as très gauche, and the discriminating cyclist is obviously focussed on more dirt-oriented exploits at this time of year, but alas I am at the mercy of Big Wood and its powerful lobbyists.
Oh, and if you ever need to know the model year of a Renovo bicycle, simply saw it in half and count the rings:
And in other tech news, who can forget my suspension column for Outside, which bike dorks all over the Internet are still talking about?
I mean seriously, get a freaking life already.
Anyway, while quite frankly I could have done without some of the attention (Pinkbike and the Radavist creep me out in the same way that sports bars and police stations do), I was quite excited to hear from one Jeff Jones of Jones Bikes, who it turns out appreciated what I'd written. No doubt you're familiar with his bikes:
And his handlebars:
And as he espoused his approach to fit, handling, and cycling in general I found myself nodding so vigorously in agreement that, like Tom Araya of Slayer, I can no longer headbang. Here's where he's coming from, in case you don't know:
The upshot of all of this is that I'll be taking delivery of an H-Bar, which I will install on my Marin, and I look forward to seeing if this transforms it into the all-day bike I suspect it could be.
I also really want to try one of this bikes now, so hopefully one of these days I can make that happen, because they look like the kind of bike you can use like 90% of the time. Between something like this and a WorkCycles I'd probably be totally covered.
And finally, this weekend is the Philly Bike Expo!
While I won't be giving a seminar I will be heading down there in a semi-professional capacity. Also, for the first time I'll actually be staying the night, and there's a sort-of-halfway-decent chance I'll partake in one of the concomitant rides. Indeed, I even got ahead of myself by making sort of an impulse buy the other day:
While I still believe strongly that the venerable Panaracer Pasela is the only tire you ever need for drop-bar riding, there these things were hanging on a hook in front of me and what kind of bike blogger would I be if I didn't try something new once in awhile? And while I tend to suspect the only purpose little knobs like this serve is to wear quickly I'm certainly willing to be proved wrong. So I'll throw them on the Milwaukee and see what happens.
And now to put the finishing touches on my Cipollini costume. Hot wax here I come!
The upshot of all of this is that I'll be taking delivery of an H-Bar, which I will install on my Marin, and I look forward to seeing if this transforms it into the all-day bike I suspect it could be.
I also really want to try one of this bikes now, so hopefully one of these days I can make that happen, because they look like the kind of bike you can use like 90% of the time. Between something like this and a WorkCycles I'd probably be totally covered.
And finally, this weekend is the Philly Bike Expo!
While I won't be giving a seminar I will be heading down there in a semi-professional capacity. Also, for the first time I'll actually be staying the night, and there's a sort-of-halfway-decent chance I'll partake in one of the concomitant rides. Indeed, I even got ahead of myself by making sort of an impulse buy the other day:
While I still believe strongly that the venerable Panaracer Pasela is the only tire you ever need for drop-bar riding, there these things were hanging on a hook in front of me and what kind of bike blogger would I be if I didn't try something new once in awhile? And while I tend to suspect the only purpose little knobs like this serve is to wear quickly I'm certainly willing to be proved wrong. So I'll throw them on the Milwaukee and see what happens.
And now to put the finishing touches on my Cipollini costume. Hot wax here I come!
44 comments:
Read it. Wept.
Sadly, I won’t be in Philly this year to see your talk at the bike show and win a BSNYC certified #whatpressureyourunning log book. Even more so about not getting in on the possible ride.
Those are good tires. Of course, what $48 tire isn't?
Podium, really?
...Boom shanky laka?
"...something like this, a Brompton, and a WorkCycles I'd probably be totally covered."
Fixed it for you.
BTW, that Clement is a great tire.
THose clement tires are awesome.
THose Clement tires are awesome
Those are nice tires. I have 'em and I never think about them, no matter what kind of terrain I'm on. I am scrupulous about tire pressure: I pump them up to something like 50PSI and 3 or so weeks later, I pump them up again.
Those are nice tires. I have 'em and I never think about them, no matter what kind of terrain I'm on. I am scrupulous about tire pressure: I pump them up to something like 50PSI and 3 or so weeks later, I pump them up again.
Well this is odd, my dog saw the teaser photo from the Gran Fondon't pre-ride and remarked that my portaging form reminded him that bears go to the bathroom in the woods.
I thought that was obvious.
Handlebars that look like bottle openers make me wonder if my wrists/forearms might pop like bottle tops in a crash.
As for knobs on tires on city streets, they seem to me that they offer one more little layer of protection against broken glass. At least I get a lot more flats when the knobs wear off.
That Jeff Jones guy. Didn't he used to be in ZZ Top?????........I've learned...never trust a guy with a big beard.
I put it to you that those tiny little knobs are also well suited for slicing open the knee of a newb trying to emulate a Peter Sagan top-tube louge descent...not sharp on their own but experience shows they can team up and turn into sawteeth with a couple dozen mph.
wow i'm late
got to lube my podi sprint
I might add that a g-string bikini is always seasonally appropriate. Or just damn appropriate.
NHcycler beat me to it... Can't believe the Brompton has already been demoted!
Dear Mr. Spokey @1:30PM - My dog disagrees re your aforementioned accoutrement's appropriateness.
But I think he's just jealous because it's a look not all of us can pull off.
I am 70ish% convinced that a Jones Plus and my current full-sus-abomination-to-all-dirt-Fred-sled are all the bikes I would ever need.
And this ashtray, all I need is this ashtray, and a Jones Plus, and my current abominable dirt Fred sled, and a pair of Clement MSOs, are all I need, and this Rivendell mixte, and this ashtray, and a Jones Plus...
mr leroy
perhaps unbeknownst to you, your dog is well aware of his looks in a string bikini. he does think that he cuts quite the dashing figure. i was not as convinced.
perhaps you need to keep a closer eye on his party invites?
"I also really want to try one of this bikes now, so hopefully one of these days I can make that happen, because they look like the kind of bike you can use like 90% of the time. Between something like this and a WorkCycles I'd probably be totally covered."
Uh, retro-grouch conversion complete.
I'm not saying throw whip-skids down every path you ride, but how about a timed run to the liquor store to grab a bottle once in a while? Even if it's for a bottle of single malt scotch, fellow old guy...
NHcycler,
Yes! Brommie for city, WorkCycles for local errands, Jones for everything else.
—Wildcat Etc.
Aww,the Philly bikey show! I was hoping on making it this year. I was there three years ago, but alas, the best laid plans,yada yada.
Dear Mr. Spokey - I think my dog is jealous of how I look in a string bikini. I'm pretty sure that's why he picked out my Halloween costume this year.
I'll add my $.02 to the other common-taters and say that the Clements makes good tires. I too prefer a good Panaracer, but when I'm feelin' jazzy, I'll break out the Italian road bike with the Clements and find them to be far too good for my paltry needs.
Perhaps it's all in my head, but the 28mm, which is all I can fit in that bike, feels relatively as cushy as the 32mm Paselas on another roadish bike.
Renovo must be the Paul Masson of timbered bike frame makers, thus accounting for the severe delay in sending you one. Company motto -"We will fell no tree before its time!"
Leroy, I think I just heard a lot of screaming coming from the orange one's various white houses when they saw your get up.and I heard it down here in NC.
Wtf!what happened on the west side near Stuyvesant high school?(in Manhattan)
bike tragedy near world trade center :( sorry to report... wle..
bad things. stay gold.
hope none of the Snobber fans up in NY were affected by the senseless shit headed attack. ugh. scary shit.
Sad, sad, sad
Schwalbe Studded Tire for your next month, maybe.
We can only hope.
people are one fucked up species
Bad news from NYC. Condolences from flyover country.
Never been at the mercy of big wood. But big wood certainly offended my inlaws when my wife and I were dating.
Shouting “allahu akbar”, plows his truck into bike riders, and a school bus. Really?
Before there was good information on the news my first thought was that a driver just lost it from road rage and ran some cyclists down. Nah, just terror with the most convenient modern weapon. Nauseating
I've been digging those Clement Xplor USH 'cross tires for a couple of years now. Very versatile. Anxious to hear your impressions.
Jones H Loop bars. Best invention since round wheels.
Looking forward to a comprehensive review of the H-Bar.
Good article on the Outside about your Brompton.
I'm running a Jones bar on my no suspension 29+. It is absolutely the best bar for no suspension riding. You're going to love it.
interesting how people have different experiences with the same equipment
my 2002 americano came with paselas. they flatted all over the place. about a month or two of ownership, i was on the farmland ride (out in snobbie's hemorrhoids) and flatted 3 or 4 times on I think the 50 mile route.
that was it. gave those things to my brother and went back to contis (had been using top touring on the cannondale up until then). probably top touring 2K at that point. i've stuck with tt2k, now travel contact(?) and never looked back.
my experience with continental has been great. long lasting, few punctures, reasonably priced, and a breeze to take off / put on by hand.
but quite a few people (besides snobbie) swear by those panaracers. i just swore at them. i guess for anything the odds are that some will have a good experience and love 'em and some will have a bad experience and hate them.
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