Big Bikes

Now With More Clickiness Factor

This is a pretty exciting Monday — a week from today I will be posting my first race-type-report of the season. Sunday's race in Rhode Island, The EFTA Glocester Grind will mark the first time I've race raced on gears since The Fat Tire Classic back in '08. It is a brutal, technical race that's more like a mountain bike ride than most races I've done. It's a feat just to finish the thing with your bike and body intact. We'll see how the XX holds up to the test. The XX and my teeth, I'm hoping not to pull any face-plants into any rock gardens this year.

2008 report HERE.
And 2009 report...WHERE?
I actually have no idea. I did the race, and I sucked it big time. I have no idea where I hid the report. Maybe you can find it.

One "quick" "tech" thing.

I've been having major issues with the stock buckles on my Shimano M230 shoes. I'm on my third or fourth pair of buckles at this point. I had just installed a new set last week and about two days after I did — WHAM! — nailed one on a rock. After that it didn't work so well and eventually I snapped it right off while over clickety-clicking it. While the shoes were off-line, I started wearing my old, beat up M225's and although they don't fit nearly as well as the crazy, moldable M230's, I found that the buckle was WAY better. I mean, even when the flimsy M230 buckles are functioning 100% awesome they are still rickety bitches compared to the old M225 buckle system.

Wow, this is exciting stuff. Almost as exciting as the time I was watching Conan The Destroyer the other night while doing yoga. There's this scene where Conan, after stabbing a dude on a horse to death, swings a vicious right hook into the dude's horse's jaw — knocking it out cold. I'm not making this up, it really happened, see:




That thing below, that's my girlie-man, old 230 buckle. It sucks.


So I replaced it with the non-matching but much more assertive and bad-ass M225 buckle. Ask your bike shop for 'em, I'm sure they've got them in the back. Except for my shop, because I cleaned them out.

Ah, now my fancy custom-fit shoe is that much more sweet.

See above: the strap is slightly more narrow but it doesn't really matter. It works really well.
The clickiness factor on this buckle is so much stronger than the, what did I just call it" — "Clickiness factor"of the stock 230 buckle.

Let me tell you something, pendejo. You pull any of your crazy shit with us, you flash a M230 out on the trails, I'll take it away from you, stick it up your ass and pull the fucking, um...lever on the buckle 'til it goes "click." (Which will be about three times before it breaks).

-t