Framing Up A New Ride

A few months back I made mention of retiring my faithful old Giant XTC29er from racing duties. 

Well, that was done and she was relegated to general riding duties. Now it is almost time to retire her from that task as well. I have acquired a new frame from a local distributor at a significant discount, so good in fact that it trumped the usual on-line bike discount specialists and I couldn't not buy it! 

My intention was to simply transfer over all of the components from the Giant and ride on. But 9 speed drivetrains are so passe' you say? I still have quite a few spare parts for 9 speed in my stockpile so "old skool" it will be until I wear them out.

I discovered a wrinkle in my plan as I pondered the other components on the Giant. Namely the seat, seatpost, stem and handlebars. Three out of these four components were Giant branded items and it simply would not do to adorn the new steed with these items so it was back to the interwebs to source the required parts. 

I am pleased to say that black hole of bike shops revealed several components at competetive prices from local (read Aussie) stores. I have had to resort to the large online UK company for a few bits but was pleased to source so much stuff locally. Boggo Rd Bicycle Centre supplied the seat which I was able to pick up in person! A novel experience for someone who doesn't physically visit many stores of any kind if I can avoid it.

I am still awaiting a nice Chris King headset to arrive before I begin the build but that can't be too far away now. I am getting keen to turn the pedals and see how Titanium rides....I might start loitering by the mail box......

Cheers.

Getting Dust On New Tyres

Well I finally got the new bike out for a roll this morning. It has been hanging on the wall for over 2 weeks now, waiting for it's new wheelset to arrive.

These arrived Monday and I set straight to making them operational for tubeless running. This involves running Stan's yellow rim tape around the rim, fitting a tubeless valve then adding some Stan's Sealant then crossing one's fingers that you can get the bead to seat. 

Happily, it went silky smooth for me!

The maiden voyage was to be the Regular Wednesday Morning Ride in Daisy Hill Forest. Today was meant to the the coldest morning of the year so far at 9C (48F). Brrr. Well it is Winter!

It actually didn't feel that cold. Perhaps it was the inner warmth from riding a new bike that kept me from feeling the chill today?

I managed to catch Dean0 mid-chew and Chris contemplating riding his fat tyres back up that steep hill.

After a few laughs and some fun trails the guys peeled of to go back to the real world (work) and I, being at a loose end, headed back for breakfast, but not before taking in some more sweet single track goodness.

Burning? Yep, burning up the trails!

The verdict? The Merida feels very stiff and light climbing but the handling took some getting used to as the front end is so low. A result of it's race geometry. A new brand of tyre had me taking it quite gingerly as well but by the time I hit the down on Wallum Froglet, I was used to the slightly sketchier feel of the Racing Ralphs.

Happy?

Hell Yeah!!

New Pony In The Stable

Despite my wife's insistance that I have too many bikes (clearly incorrect), I have not actually added to my stable for almost 5 years now. Yep, I have been riding the same bikes all that time. 

Occasionally (very occasionally) throwing some maintenance love their way, they have all served me well. Obviously, my clear favourite just from the number of metric miles I put on it, is my Giant XTC29er. She is the first generation 29" mountain bike from Giant, bought waaaay back in 2010. I have taken her on many rides both local and to far flung destinations. 

More recently I have raced her in the first two Yakima Sunshine Series rounds, here in South East QLD. Yep, rocking her complete with bar ends, touring bike style,  and all.

She has done about 6 000km(3750mi) now and they have all been hard kilometres, so it is time to think about a replacement.

Shhh. Don't let on or she might buck me next time we are out....

but her racing days are over..........

Cheers.

BayViewing Solo

Feeling better today I decided to throw caution to the wind and head out for a highly dangerous SOLO ride. I thought about not wearing a helmet, but that would have been just plain silly! I could almost hear the outcry. I say almost, as with the wind whistling past my hemet straps, any further thought of this nanny state mentality is blown away........................

Time for a quick inspection of Bayview. The purpose is twofold. I need to get out and see if I can still ride after having a week or so off the bike and I need a single track fix.

Logging MTB style.

The way home..................

Fixed. All set for the Epic now. Bring on the cool weather.

                                                                     For Gaz........;)