Wednesday, January 23, 2019

WHy is ThIs TItlLE BoUNCinG aLL OveR Oh Now I See I Had The Clutch Lever Switched Off

Hey there!

So what day is it?

Eh, whatever, it doesn't matter.

When last we spoke I'd been taking advantage of the dry/frozen conditions to ride the Jones:


On that particular Thursday, rather than ride the Forbidding Trails Behind The Mall, I continued north on the Old Croton Aqueduct to a small town park:


Which is pleasantly scenic: 


And also contains some fun trails:


A 30-ish mile mixed bag of dirt, pavement, and singletrack, it was the perfect ride for the Jones and exactly the sort of riding you should be doing in January in this part of the world.

Then Friday brought a dusting of snow, which meant more perfect conditions for plus-sized tires, so I met up with a friend for jaunt to the Highbridge trails in upper Manhattan:


Astute readers may have noticed Ol' Piney in the background, and you will be either pleased, saddened, or indifferent to learn that I have transferred custody of said bicycle to said friend.  I'll always love the Marin, but as someone with too many bicycles it made little sense for me to have two similarly-configured 27.5+ bicycles, plus the Marin happens to fit my friend's current needs perfectly.  This way everybody wins, and the world is a better place.  

So thank you Ol' Piney:


You will always be the bicycle that sparked my affection for plus-sized tires, and I know you will be happy in your new home.

Of course, given my demonstrated inability to pare down when it comes to bikes, it probably won't surprise you to learn that as soon as the Marin left my stable another bike rushed in to fill the void.  And since as of last year I'm a born-again Fred who has returned to sucking at bike racing, I've gone ahead an obtained a new road-racing bike.  So what did I get?  Well, I'm not going to tell you right now, for no other reason apart from the fact that my ability to withhold information from you is the only real leverage I have in the writer/reader power dynamic.

Nevertheless, I deemed it necessary to get a new racing bike because the other road-type bicycles I have were sub-optimal for the purpose.  There's the Milwaukee, which of course is fantastic, but which I prefer to keep configured with either fenders for winder riding or plump, soft tires for summer rambling:


Then there's the Renovo:


I did most of my "racing" (if you can call it that) on the Renovo last year, but it's a little short of gear and tall of headtube for that application.  Also, much more frustratingly, it's got that one water bottle cage on the seat tube.  (Or seat trunk since we're talking about a bike made from trees.)  I've mentioned this on numerous occasions, and for mellow rides that placement is perfectly fine, but when you're hunched over the bars and clinging desperately to the wheel in front of you it's roughly a thousand times more annoying to grab a bottle from the seat tube than it is to grab one from the down tube.

And of course there's the Ritte Rust-Bucket:


The problem with that bike is simple: it needs a complete rebuild.  I did most of my early spring riding on the Ritte last year, which included ample helpings of rain, snow, slush and road salt.  That, coupled with my tendency to neglect stuff, meant that by mid-April the bike was totally fucked.  Currently I have it stripped almost down to the frame, and I will likely delve into my parts bin and rebuild it, but when I get around to doing that is anybody's guess.

So instead of doing actual labor I did what any terminal Fred would do and got a new bike.

As for the attributes of the new bike, it's a stock out-of-the-box crabon model, and while I've only had one proper ride on it so far all indications are that it's excellent and that I won't have to change a thing.  Even the saddle seems like it'll work for me.  In fact this new bike feels way faster than any of my other bicycles--which, thanks to Strava, I know is not at all true.  And while succumbing to the crabon may indicate a certain lack of character on my part, at least the bike still has primitive rime breaks and cable-actuated shifting, which I like to think lends me...well, if not integrity, than at least an air of obstinance.

Also, everybody knows aluminum is the new crabon, so in that sense I'm a total retrogrouch.

So I guess what I'm saying is go out there and get yourself a new bike, because you deserve it.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your new bike sucks

In winder it is cold said...

Podium?

I'm scared of salt on the roads and my outdoor hose is turned off cuz it's, you know, winder [Ed. note -see today's Snobby blog] and sometimes (though not always) below 0 centigrade,

Anonymous said...

Podium?! Finally, I have achieved one of my new year's resolutions!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your permission to get another bike. I just know that it will tip the argument in my favor in our household.

Chazu said...

My jaw dropped a little when I read this. Partly because I'm a slack-jawed yokel, and partly because you admitted to purchasing a crabon bike. Mostly the latter.

Anonymous said...

hmmm, let's not jump to conclusions. Tan said he "obtained" a new crabon bike and that he "got" a new carbon bike. Nowhere does he say that he "purchased" anything...

FREE BYKS

Pist Off said...

Happy new bike to Snob! Crabon doesn’t always suck, or at least some of it doesn’t. I have one crabon Mtn bike and it’s pretty sweet. Carbon is usually repairable where aluminum pretty much ain’t. Hopefully you never need to find out.

Anonymous said...

I love that feeling of speed on a new bike. It's like being a kid again with new sneakers. Everyone knows you can run way faster with new sneakers.

Anonymous said...

Riding with imaginary friends is better than worshiping them

Anonymous said...

So, what you're saying is you went to a Performance close out and they had Crabon bikes for really cheap! - masmojo

HDEB said...

IMHO -- New bicycles are less cool than old bicycles. The Engin is the best bike in BSNYC's quiver. Drop bars are silly. Dorito Loco Tacos are disgusting and delicious all mixed into one. NYC xc skiing has been awful this season. I'm scared of getting older. I'm a self-absorbed fool!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, O'Pinny saw it coming when you switched over the little man purse up front. I'm surprised it toke you this long. Glad the old reliable has a new scranus to support. Giving away bikes is good karma, even more so when it's the right size and gets used.

Blog Drafter said...

I have some power in this relationship? Why do I refresh every minute or so from noon to two?

Congratulations, you've created, with a swoop of your mighty pen, a new category of riding: winder riding. Don't change it, it's perfect.

I'm guessing one of those fancier models they have now at REI?

Anonymous said...

Clutch lever? You must have a concealed motor in the seat tube of that fancy new crabon Fred sled. Only motorcycles have clutch levers.

Anonymous said...

jumped the shark

Chazu said...

Anon 3:04; I suppose this could mean that Carl Strong sent one of his handmade carbon Pursuit brand bikes to BSNYC for test and evaluation purposes?

https://pursuitcycles.com

N/A said...

Crabon? For fucksake, t'aint nothing sacred. I mean, at this point I can kinda overlook crabon forks, on account of that being the littered path we must travel these days. But lob-damned crabon bikes? I hope it at least has a nice motor in it, and comes with a nice set of Rapha bibs.

It's probably a specialedized.

Dooth said...

Howzabout we withhold comments in this reader/writer dynamic?! The new bike suspense is killing me.

dop said...

C’mon and admit that you’re the elf who always wanted to be a dentist & buy a titanium bike.

I’m sorry, obtain a titanium bike.

bad boy of the south said...

Well,at least ol' piney won't be too far away.
I'll just have to live vicariously through my own piney from here on out.

Anonymous said...

How did last year's one bike thing go for you Tan?

JLRB said...

Yea for new bikes! My latest impulse put has is still waiting for my fat azz to get back to winder riding. I have yet to even out the equation by giving away a bike but my son took over one of mine so I think karma is covered.

Ps- You succumbed to carbon right when Elon Musk abandonded it in favor of stainless for his BFR.

Anonymous said...

no way Tan would fork over cash for a bike when companies are constantly going out of business and in need of writing-off some of their stock.

Anonymous said...

Permission to get a new bike? I just ordered parts to rebuild a worn out mountain bike from the '90s. Actually it might be pretty cool to get something different. Maybe it'll be a recumbent. I'm excited.

huskerdont said...

Snobby is hereby disinvited from speaking at our house until he tells us what the new bike is. So there.

No real shame in having a carbon bike as long as you have a bunch of other bikes made of real metal. My metal/carbon ratio is 6:1, so I feel no shame. Well, I'm kinda ashamed of the press-fit thing. And that video my ex made of me back in the 90s, I suppose.

Anonymous said...

dop has it; aluminum, steel, and carbon will come and go, into and out of fashion, but quality titanium will always be the shit.

Unknown said...

I have a Volae club racer recumbent for sale. Light and fast, just as long as I'm not on it.

Anonymous said...

Seems the Snob's been kidnapped again and some industry shill is tapping out this shit until the ransom is paid. Free the Snob!!!

George Krpan said...

I succumbed to my first modern crabon bike a few months ago. Mine has hydroilic dics
breaks. Why did I buy it? Because I had the dough.

I say first modern crabon bike because I had a Specialized Allez crabon back in 1993, with downtube shifters!!!

Wesley Bellairs said...

Shoulda got a Colossi. I sell them.

Mr. Beattie said...

Can you install bottle cage mounts using rivnuts or a wood expansion nut on the down-tube of the Renovo? Since the company is done it could be worth a shot. I think the Ritte would look nice after a good cleaning/media/sand blasting and a fresh custom coat of wet paint or even a god forbid a powder coat.