Riding Bikes

Yeah, Cowchippers are intriguing, but, they’re still dropped and just a round tube. I don’t see how they could ever top a nice ergo MTB bar and grips.

I failed to mention, the Space Horse is steel frame with a curved, steel fork. The frequency of deflection is much slower with that style of fork versus carbon, so it’ll ride much nicer. My BSA on 23mm tires is a like a cloud compared to my Tricross on 42mm. I’ve never ridden a 650B rando bike where there’s even more hook in the fork, but, they must be a magic carpet compared to a full-on race bike.

Rene Herse.

 

WOW! That LHT looks proper. I love it.

I’ve stripped anodized and painted parts, then, polished them on my buffer. This PK I bought is going to get that treatment of everything that’s ano blue or black. I don’t see the point in buying all replacement components. I’ve got detail bits trickling in, then, it’s going to get stripped, frame sent to C4 Labs for powdercoating, then, reassembled with an OG look. I can’t wait.

 

My Space Horse will be here by Wednesday, according to the shop. With All City offering 20% off, it seemed silly to not take advantage of the pricing. It’s kinda’ my unicorn; steel frame, curved steel fork, flat bar, and 1X10. And, I’m taking it in the box, so I can do the assembly, set stack height for aerobars, and route cabling. New bike day is always good. Hopefully, my week will go smooth. I just hopped in and out of Ford-KC in 20min...and my outbound racks were already loaded. Yay!

 

[QUOTE="ducnut, post: 12493955, member: I just hopped in and out of Ford-KC in 20min...and my outbound racks were already loaded. Yay![/QUOTE]

Dear Claycomo forum, i have heard of these stories for years. But i never believed they were true, until this happened to me......

 

Well, managed to work on getting the Space Horse together. This is the first bike I’ve been able to assemble myself, which means I can determine steer tube length. I have it set up where it feels really good. Initially, the TT felt too short, but, the <o<kpit length was actually about 40mm longer than my Tricross. Then, I swapped on my Tricross stem, which looks like a curmudgeon of a thing, and it felt even better. I think, the added stem height makes the <o<kpit length feel better, since I’m not so bent over. I’m going to take it into the local shop, Wednesday. I’ll either have the steerer cut or order the next size up (+20mm TT and +25mm HT), depending on their thoughts. They’re gravel guys and are familiar with this type of setup.

Just riding around the neighborhood, I’m so glad I took a chance on a flat bar. The Amazon ergo grips on the flat bar feel so much better to my hands than hoods on drop bar shifters. And, this microSHIFT drivetrain works way better than I thought it might. The gaps between the cog sizes don’t look workable, but, the chain climbs right up the cassette. Things have come a long way from the Apex drivetrain I put on my Tricross. And, I already have a buyer for my Tricross, through the shop. I just need to get it cleaned up.

This bike is as nice as the pictures depict on their website. The lugwork, paintwork, bosses, everything is top-notch. The hubs are thru-axle and the wheels sit perfectly centered in the F&F. The brake mounts are perfectly squared and centered. I’m very impressed.



This <o<kpit and I have thousands of miles together, as evidenced by the sun fading. The Brooks has been kept in great shape by regular doses of neatsfoot oil.

microSHIFT cassette (11-48) is ginormous. Haha.

 

I’ve rigged every past and present bike with that cabling. I’m going to check with shop about what new/best options there may be. If it’s still the same, I’ll be buying another Jagwire shift cable.

I’m fortunate to live in a somewhat sparsely populated area where I can just take chip-seal any direction I care to go. My bucket list is to leave here, ride down to Alhambra, IL, jump on the MCT trail system to STL, jump on the Katy Trail to KC, then, grab the Amtrak back up to Springfield, IL. I have enough tire and as plush of a F&F as I can, to deal with the Katy Trail’s bad sections. We’ll see how I progress to getting back into shape. The excess layer over my sitbones definitely had me fitting a lot differently to my Brooks.