A few more days like this and the trails will look more like trails
and less like muddy creeks.
It’s hard to believe, but today’s outing was my first road ride of the new year.
Oh, sure, I’ve been riding the road, but on a cyclocross bike, or a gravel bike, and then only to get to the dirt, where the fun is.
But the trails have gotten pretty gooey lately, and with the sun peeking out and the temps inching up I’d just as soon not add my 33mm scrawl to the graffiti being carved into Mother Earth. Thus, today, the road.
In other news, my man Hal Walter is talking about pulling together another e-book with the tentative title of “American Flats,” a reference to a section of the World Championship Pack-Burro Race out of Fairplay. More as I hear it.
Tags: Hal Walter, Soma Saga Disc
Mad Blog Media 
January 24, 2020 at 4:58 pm |
Wow, that sky! Nice day!
January 24, 2020 at 7:37 pm |
Yeah, Libby, it was pretty damn stellar. Still had to wear the long-sleeves and tights, but if the sun’s out, so am I.
January 24, 2020 at 5:07 pm |
Test rode a Topstone 105 in alloy today. Nice ride. Still not sure its better than my La Cruz. Gotta call you and discuss at some point.
January 24, 2020 at 7:42 pm |
I was pretty impressed with the thing, save for flat repair. Death to all tubeless tires and the rims they ride on. I piss on the technology from a considerable height.
At one point I tried to swap the OEM tires for a set I thought might be a little easier to get on and off, but failed utterly. Holy hell, was that rear tire on there. I gave up ’cause I could tell I was getting close to the point at which I would drag the wheel out into the arroyo behind the house and start shooting at it.
January 24, 2020 at 8:44 pm |
The Cannonball was quick and very stiff and has a similar geometry to my Salsa. My LaCruz is sprightly but has some compliance.Plus, I get to mount tires without shooting the bike. And for some reason, I like traditionally shaped bike tubes. Not sure.
January 25, 2020 at 3:11 am |
Khal – Reading your review I wonder what you’re not sure about? But when I read “quick” I think nervous and “stiff” means it’ll beat the crap out of you. Add in the awful tubeless setup that PO’G rants about and it seems clear to me this should be a pass rather than play?
January 25, 2020 at 7:43 am
I have owned several aluminum Cannondales, but all road bikes. Some of them were so non-compliant I nicknamed them “old boneshaker”. Putting deep dish paired spoke wheels on the CAAD 5 makes it almost unrideable except on ideal surfaces. But O’G had given the Topstone bike a good review as far as actually being comfy on trails. With the 700-38’s it did take the edge off.
My main issue is that I am getting to the point of having to do some major upgrades on the LaCruz. I’m not happy with the gearing and so am thinking of a subcompact crank. The Ultegra shifters are getting worn and I recently had to comb the catacombs for a used brifter. The new Shimano STI is not compatible with the old.
If I can find new old stock, I can do all the upgrades for less than the current price of the Topstone, which is on sale here but the Topstone is all new stuff and a the gearing is almost exactly what I want. What bugged me the most was the tube shapes. Kinda clunky. The tough tire repair would be a deal breaker too. I’ve had enough trouble with those Schwalbes and I don’t want to scare the neighbors by throwing the wheel in an arroyo and shooting it.
January 25, 2020 at 5:02 am |
Just read your Topstone review. Well done, again. There hasn’t been an aluminum bike in the garage in over 20 years. And you all know my answer for puncture protection. I have two friends with tubeless tires. Nothing but trouble, but they won’t give up on them. The things are not ready for prime time.
January 25, 2020 at 8:13 am
The same issue of Adventure reviewed some gizmo put out by Specialized that is basically a high volume air blaster that you pump up with a traditional floor pump. Then you use the high volume blaster give you that high volume boost you need to seat the beads on a tubeless tire, in a matter similar to watching a mechanic mount a car or motorcycle tubeless tire. If you need all that crap just to put a tire on a bicycle, its a problem.
January 25, 2020 at 10:30 am |
I actually enjoyed riding the Topstone 105, though I’m not a fan of aluminum frames and oddball tube shapes.
That said, I also liked the Felt V100, which was another aluminum weirdo.
The Topstone 105 was great on the foothills trails, which are my short-notice getaway from the office. Only in a couple instances, mostly on heavily washboarded singletrack, did I get that jackboot-up-the-hole feeling from the bike. And Shimano 105 may be my new favorite group, replacing the pricier Ultegra.
But this inexorable march toward tubeless in everything is even dumber than disc brakes in everything. How much more of a pain in the ass do we want to make basic bicycle maintenance?
January 25, 2020 at 1:10 pm |
105 has always been my favorite road group. You can get prettier and a little lighter with Ultegra, but I couldn’t tell the difference in function after owning both for years. Ultegra on a C’Dale Road Warrior 2000 and 105 on a steel Specialized Allez, a Trek Portland, and my Soma. Speaking of aluminum, that C’Dale was stiff, fast and fit me well, but every little bump transmitted into the bars and saddle. Hard to describe, but the word buzz comes to mind. It’s hard to fault Deore LX or XT as well.
“If you have heard this story before, don’t stop me. I’d like to hear it again.” Groucho
January 25, 2020 at 10:19 am |
All this talk of “ throwing the wheel in an arroyo and shooting it.” has really got me worked up. What if I don’t have an arroyo? And what would be the proper firearm for dispatching the miscreant wheel? Would clubbing the wheel with an axe suffice? Does the wheel get to say any last words?
January 25, 2020 at 10:23 am |
Beating the mortal shit out of the wheel with a thighbone a la “2001: A Space Odyssey” (insert ominous hum from monolith here) would be a good deal more satisfying than simply pulling a trigger, ook ook ook chee chee chee. …
January 25, 2020 at 5:20 pm |
Gotta jump in here on the 2001: A Space Odyssey comment to ask what you all think the monolith was/contained/did. Knowledge from a more advanced civilization that was transferable? Knowledge/wisdom that we couldn’t access (think finding a thumb drive that contains infinite knowledge, but we can’t produce the device to read it)? Imprinting by a “superior species” as part of an “experiment” with Earthforms? Collection of data on an “inferior” Earthforms? Etc.
Next up: What is the meaning of life????
January 25, 2020 at 5:26 pm |
1. It was the iPhone 666.
2. 42.
2a. Also, a really funny Monty Python movie directed by the late Terry Jones.
January 25, 2020 at 5:55 pm
Meaning of Life was a fine movie.
January 25, 2020 at 9:13 pm |
Take your pick I think JD- all of ’em work, at some level. I’ve watched this film probably 50 times – including my first viewing of it on Psilocybin in Isla Vista when the film came out – and I don’t think there’s a definitive answer. Indeed, there is no answer.
January 26, 2020 at 12:21 am
The meaning of life? I coined this phrase many years ago and (no joke) have recently seen a photo of it tattooed onto someone’s leg (not mine!):
“Pedala forte, mangia bene!” It’s Italian for “ride hard (or strong, etc.) eat well.”
What else is there in life?
January 26, 2020 at 6:20 am
I watched “2001” a few dozen times, with various chemical assistants and without, and I think it boils down to this:
God was lonely and wanted company, but She* knew those monkeys were gonna be trouble. So She sent ’em the jumbo iPhone, rang ’em up, and said, “You can stay down there in the minors jerking off or you can step up to The Show and play with the big boys. Mind the toys, though. They make excellent servants but poor masters.”
* The role of God is played by Susan Sarandon. Monkeys include Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins. Wait a minute … I’m thinking of “Bull Durham.” Never mind. …
January 25, 2020 at 11:30 am |
I think clubbing with an axe or perhaps an aluminum bat would be more satisfying and less likely to violate local firearms discharge ordinances.
I was in the middle of a badly managed divorce back in the 1980’s. On one particular bad mental health day on campus after an intramural softball game, I took an aluminum bat to a steel bookcase. Around the corner came a campus security guard. I just smiled and said “oh, sorry, don’t mind me. I’m just having a bad day”. He just smiled and did a Sgt. Schultz: “I see nothing, I was not here, I didn’t even show up for work this morning…”
January 25, 2020 at 5:22 pm |
Khal: Aluminum bat? “Steel is real”!!!! 🙂
January 25, 2020 at 5:59 pm |
I never cared for aluminum bats. Too tinny. Not woody.
January 25, 2020 at 6:02 pm
Advance to the 21 minute mark.
January 25, 2020 at 12:32 pm |
January 26, 2020 at 12:27 am |
Khal – is this Santa Cruz of while you speak made of steel? I’m of the mind these days a steel bike that you like that is the correct size should be kept forever. My current shopping bike’s aluminum but it’s rarely a bike I take out for fun or enjoyment. When it’s time for that the lively ride of steel is my overwhelming choice after trying bikes made with other materials over the years.
January 26, 2020 at 4:43 am |
What he said. I have not owned a titanium bike, but I no longer count grams. And, I live in the high desert where rust is not a problem. SOMA is now coating their frames on the inside, so no Framesaver required.
January 27, 2020 at 12:33 am |
I love that rationalization for a titanium bike – that it will never rust? C’mon, when’s the last time you had, saw or heard about a steel bike going to the scrapyard because of rust? Unless you ride ’em in the sea or they have no drain in the BB shell and you wash’ em all the time and/or ride ’em in the rain – it’s not an issue. Spraying some stuff around inside when you first put ’em together pretty much makes it impossible, based on my experience.
January 26, 2020 at 8:01 am |
This one. Yes steel. In this pic it has 700-32 Richey Cross Pros (or something like that) on it. Right now I’m running Donnelly 700-40’s. When we lived in BombTown it was set up as a commuter.
January 26, 2020 at 8:02 am |
Kinda remind me of showing baby pictures.
January 27, 2020 at 12:35 am |
Disky brakes? That thing’s not even very old and steel never wears out so…..
January 26, 2020 at 8:40 am |
Wow! Steel, fenders, a luggage rack, and (wait for it) disc brakes? A new category: Retro-Avant-Garde? Contempo-Retro? (Trademarked)
And I always was told nostalgia is a poor business strategy …. except in fashion, music, and human behavior.
“History doesn’t repeat itself; but it often rhymes” (Mark Twain).
January 26, 2020 at 10:32 am |
One bike to rule them all! Get some TRP Spyre SLC on it, and Bob’s your uncle. I love em after 2 years.
https://trpcycling.com/product/spyre-slc/
January 26, 2020 at 11:04 am |
Hmph. You’ll never be able to pick up the sumbitch and run with all them doodads, whizbangs and comosellamas cluttering up the main triangle.
January 26, 2020 at 12:35 pm |
Why would I pick up a perfectly good bike and run with it? Its been years since I could run like a man instead of whatever it is I am now.
That second picture is from when the LaCruz was a full time commuter, so it looked a bit like a fully loaded F4 Phantom, which is a good analogy to what most of my commuter bikes look like. Now that we live in Fanta Se, its a full time fun bike.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSo3pOSC6eWziU509IkhLrI1HH6sRVQVtvg1hx61iOuibg-5ePLvw&s
January 27, 2020 at 7:02 am |
My suggestion for a birthday gift? A nice frame pump of the correct size to fit nicely under that LaCruz’ toptube. Silca’s Impero’s “the Shiz” (as Hambini would say) with price-to-match, but there are others out there too like the classic Zefal you can see under my GIOS’ toptube http://cycleitalia.blogspot.com/2019/12/only-in-italy.html
January 26, 2020 at 9:32 am |
I recently picked up a used flat bar road bike with Ultegra “tubeless ready” wheels. I’ve got conventional clinchers on them, with no plans to do otherwise. What is the alleged “advantage” to tubeless?
January 26, 2020 at 11:01 am |
As I understand it, the advantage of tubeless is being able to run lower tire pressures in the quest for some mythical improvement in “ride quality.”
That, and the chance to brush up on your profanity when you flat.
January 26, 2020 at 12:30 pm |
Thank you, Patrick. I think I’ll file that under “yeah, ok, but no…….”
January 26, 2020 at 12:22 pm |
That one is Pulitzer-worthy.
January 26, 2020 at 12:26 pm |
Did Hal ever post the back story as to how Harrison’s Apple keynote vid came to happen?
January 26, 2020 at 5:36 pm |
Well, I did my 66 km today in honor of another lap around the sun. Actually ended up with 67 so I can bank one for next year.
Man, those hills keep getting steeper. That’s the trouble with living in an area that is tectonically active. Or is it just me getting old?
January 26, 2020 at 5:38 pm |
Was today the big day? Congrats on making another loop with the shiny side up.
I’m no scientist, but it seems to me that gravity is getting stronger while comedy is getting weaker. There must be some correlation there.
January 26, 2020 at 5:46 pm |
Friday was the beeg day but I was at work for half a day and then two good friends of ours dragged us out to The Shed for margaritas and dinner. So today was the day to ride off all that sinful eating.
January 26, 2020 at 6:30 pm |
Well, you’re past the pit now, so you gotta finish the lap before you can grab the spare bike. Flat and you’ll have to ride ’er in soft.
January 26, 2020 at 6:39 pm |
Yep. It was Friday when I rode around town and looked at that Topstone with the idea that I could rationalize it in honor of living this long and hitting the finish line for another lap. But then the Salsa LaCruz gave me this long look as if to say “are you gonna dump me for a sexy younger bike just because it has eleven cogs and tubeless tires?”I couldn’t do it. Loyalty is not everything, but even for a bike ferchrissakes, it’s something.
January 27, 2020 at 5:19 am |
Happy b’day buddy! See, there is life, and a damn good one, after 65. Andy knows; we showed him.
January 27, 2020 at 6:29 am |
Speaking of tectonics, did you all feel this one?
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us60007ghh/executive
January 27, 2020 at 7:16 am |
Not here, but with a M2.9 you would practically have to be standing right over it to notice. Kinda like a truck passing by.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richter_magnitude_scale#Richter_magnitudes
January 27, 2020 at 7:34 am |
49 responses! What’s the record PO’G??
January 27, 2020 at 1:53 pm |
50
Sorry, JD, but you made me do it.
January 27, 2020 at 2:06 pm |
Oh, well, lets break the damn record. Here is a post without any meaningful comment.
January 27, 2020 at 3:44 pm |
Records? you want Records!
Try this bad boy for responses to a post.
http://drunkcyclist.com/2011/04/25/tucson-f-for-failure-pile-on-the-bicycle-safety/
January 27, 2020 at 4:08 pm |
316 comments. Wow. Or given the content of that blog post, Fuckin Wow…
January 27, 2020 at 4:39 pm |
It sort of developed a life of its own.
January 27, 2020 at 5:26 pm
This one is on it’s way!! Even a dead fish can go with the flow, so jump right in!!!!! 🙂
January 27, 2020 at 6:42 pm |
Beats me, JD. I don’t pay any attention to stats, eyeballs, click-throughs, or any of them other whizbangs, doodads and comosellamas.
But if there’s a record, this’ere sumbitch is probably it. Well done, everyone.
January 27, 2020 at 7:53 pm |
January 27, 2020 at 8:14 pm |
Roy Orbison. Oh man, that calls for the Travelling Wilburys.
January 27, 2020 at 10:53 pm |