Big Bikes

Remedy Mods - Last of The North East Kingdom Photos

I am loving the new bike but...on the first ride I dropped the chain twice to painful effect and by the second ride I had bashed the crap out of my big ring. The e.13 32 Special seemed to be just the thermoplastic Bandaid the Remedy needed.

A friend pushed me in the direction of the Lg-1 , although that thing might work for straight up downhilling I felt I required something that would deal with rocky, tight east coast style riding. I hit my chainring on stuff wicked hard, I use it to get up stuff. I didn't think the Lg-1 would last long.

The set up wasn't exactly straightforward. A whole bunch of fidgeting was required and it's still not 100% perfect. The upper guide still drags on the chain while in the 32 and 34 cogs. The ISCG adapter can't be pivoted any more and neither can the guide plate. I could do some filing or let the chain do it for me. Thermoplastic is deceptively tough, but I believe steel is still tougher.

This whole set up makes a ton of noise which, I suppose is par for the course with these beasts. I'm so used to a Ninja-silent single speed, all this clacking and klunking is anathema to me.

After the mods: shifter, derailleur, big ring, little ring...all off, tires converted to Stan's tubeless with non-UST Nevegals the bike dropped a half pound. It now weighs in at a respectable 31 Lbs.

Can't wait to get my shin-guards, full face helmet, and gi-normous Camel-Bag which I can fill with straight Red Bull. Yeah guy!
I'll see how the changes work out at Vietnam Thursday. We'll also see if a grow a pair and use them.

These are the last few NEK photos. Most people would only dream of doing this type of thing on their sixtieth birthday. My Mom has done so much to change my perception of age. When I was six I thought sixty year olds were only capable of lounging in recliners sipping Tom Collinseses, while watching The Price is Right.

I would say a solid 90% of the people out riding on Columbus day weekend were from Quebec. Hence the francophone-friendly signage. It seems that directional arrows point the opposite way in French. Several times over the weekend I ran into oncoming traffic (I mean fifty people at a time) while following directional arrows correctly.

Luckily for us the Canadians don't have a national holiday in honor of a murderous Italian Slave-trader (They are so lame) so monday we had the place pretty much to ourselves.

Miriam took my Mom's dually out for a test ride monday afternoon.

Here she cleans a bridge that eluded her sunday.

Drink!

You got a Benz, all I got is a Busket.

Those last two were really just for Todd. Now go update your BLWAG crackhead!

Full Suspension bikes really shine in the high speed rooty, rocky stuff. Particularly when it's dry. The speeds go down and things become more equal. At least in the XC world. Hucking off big rocks, that's another matter entirely.

Check back friday to see photos of me lying in a bloody heap under a big rock. In the Meantime check out this sick vid of some INSANE rigid, single speed, XC hucking in the Kingdom.