The BipedFred Blog

In my last post (here) I wrote that I had trouble doing steep climbs last Wednesday with my new Continental Grand Prix 24mm tires, but that I wanted to try the same route with my usual Conti GP4000 700x23c tires just to make sure it was the tires and not my legs, or the weather, or something else.

So I rode Horestooth Res again today and there is definitely a difference between the tires on 7% and higher grades. When I’m standing and pushing hard the GPS4000′s feel snappy where the Grand Prix 24mm tires feel soft, like they are absorbing the energy that should be going into the hill.

I don’t even want to pretend that’s a technical evaluation, that’s just the way they feel to me.

That’s disappointing because the 24′s may be a little faster than the GPS4000′s, they smooth out the rough patches, and they feel rock solid on fast descents. I just don’t like them on the steep parts.

I’ve used Continental GP4000 700x23c tires as my main road bike tires for the past three seasons but when it came time to change them I mounted a set of Conti Grand Prix 24mm on my Salsa Podio.

The 24mm Grand Prix’s aren’t the same as the GP4000’s in a wider size, they are altogether a different tire.  I don’t have a clue what the specific differences are, I’m just sure they’re different.

 Anyway, I rode yesterday and I started falling in love with the new tires immediately. Smooth, cushy, comfy, fast…  even on some little stretches of chip-seal they felt smooth (if you don’t know what chip-seal roads are – they feel smooth in a car but can get ‘buzzy’ riding 120psi skinny road tires).

 I was dreaming up superlatives I could use talking about the 24mm tires when I hit the first climbs up Horsetooth Res. When I got onto 7-8% grades and higher it felt like I was trying to run in sand.

 I spent the rest of the ride trying to decide if the problem was my legs, headwinds/tailwinds, or the tires and I decided my problem was the tires. I like to use my 21 and 23 cogs when I stand on the 7-13% grades but it felt like it was taking much more energy than usual.  Sitting and grinding it out on the 26 cog felt normal, but I ended up skipping the last few climbs because I used up my legs trying to stand and climb like I normally do.

 It’s just too darn bad for me because I still think these are great tires for a lot of things, especially for 50mph descents and cornering, just not steep climbs. So I’m going  back to Conti GP4000’s and moving the 24’s to my secondary wheels for flat rides.

 (There is always I chance that I’m simply wrong about this, so I plan on doing the same climbs this weekend on GP4000 23’s just to make sure.) 

Update: I did another Horestooth ride with GPS 4000′s.

I got a package!

The Contents:

The Celebration:

(Sing to the tune of Happy Birthday)

Happy Birthday to me,

Happy Birthday to me,

Happy Birthday dear Larey,

Happy Birthday to me.

Me: Dude how did you know this is exactly what I wanted!  And even the right size.

Me: Well, I am I and you are you and we are the Eggman Coo Coo Ca Choo.

Yeah, so it’s not really my birthday. Pricey? Yes, but not bad compared to what a pair of Sidis cost. Besides, I expect to be enjoying these till the end of my riding days. Happy Birthday to me!

http://www.dromarti.com

I hooked up my Burley trailer to my Salsa Fargo for the first time and made a run down to Wal-Mart just to try it out. The big Coleman hinged box is probably overkill (heavy) but it is nice to be able to lock it closed when shopping at more than one store.

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Pulling it with the Fargo feels a lot more solid than it ever did with my aluminum bikes. I don’t use the trailer very often, but like a pick-up truck — it sure is handy to have sometimes.

I had a couple of people ask me how I mounted the rear light on my Surly Nice Rack.  I took a look at the Surly website and noticed they didn’t show the light mount, so I took some quick snaps of mine:

I’m not sure what it’s called, but there is a little barrel kind of thing welded onto the last cross piece and it is threaded.

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Planet Bike sells a rack mount for their lights here and the light I’m using here comes with the mount included.

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Using one of the machine screws that comes with the PB mount, simply screw it into the rack (use Loctite).

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That’s all there is to it.

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I have three or four other Planet Bike tail lights, including a PB Superflash, and they all work with this mount. I have another of these mounts on the Tubus Logo rack on my LHT, so my bikes and lights are all interchangeable.

Brilliant.

I get most of this blog’s referrals from search engine phrases in two categories.

The first is (paraphrasing) “Salsa Fargo + Commuter”.  I find it a bit surprising that so many (well, a more accurate term would be “several”) people are seeking information about a specific model of bike for the generic purpose of riding to a particular location on a set schedule (commuting).

I bet these visitors are looking for some way to justify buying a bike they want, even if they aren’t quite sure why they want it so much. 

So, Salsa Guys, if you include the word “Commute” in your Fargo web-site and maybe a picture of a Fargo with fenders and a Surly Nice Rack you would help push a few more buyers over the top.

(Here’s my brief review: Fargo — the best commuter bike ever. The pictures are here.)

The other search phrase includes “U-Lock + Carry”.  Which doesn’t surprise me in the least because I used to obsess over the best way to haul a U-lock on my bike. Here is the best way.

I’m reluctant to admit that I no longer carry a U-lock (but the Walnut Studilio holster is still the best way to carry one) since Fort Collins is not a high theft risk area for those who don’t park overnight near the CSU campus.

 I’ve been using an ABUS Steel-O-Chain which is altogether much handier than a u-lock; it’s easier to use and chains up to almost anything.

Thanks for the traffic, please send money.

It’s too windy to ride, it’s too early to hit the bike stores, and I’m bored. Let’s do a poll!

I have four bikes that have 170 mm, 172.5 mm (x2), and 175 mm cranks.  I recently ordered a whole new Crankset to change the 175 mm down to 170 mm on my LHT, to make things more consistent (but also because Shimano doesn’t make XT cranks in 172.5 mm).

I never thought much about crank length before, but now I’m kinda curious.  What crank lengths do you ride?  Sorry if I missed a popular length, check as many as you like.

In retrospect I should have included the choice “Whatever came on my bike” and I bet that would have gotten 95% of the votes. 

I changed out the Shimano 105 SPD-SL pedals on my Salsa Podio for a set of Look Keo 2 Max Carbon  (No pictures, they look just like the catalog shots) and got the chance to try them yesterday on a 40mi ride up Horsetooth reservoir.

It was my first time riding Look pedals and I’m sold.

I’ve used Shimano Ultegra and 105 SPD-SL Pedals the last couple of years.  The big difference seems to be clicking-in. I can feel when the nose of the Looks is engaged with the front of the pedal and then it only takes a very light weight on the heel to get clicked in.  The difference is subtle, but I like the feel.

If you can believe the reviews, the cleats won’t last as long as the SPD-SL’s, but they have a wear indicator so I don’t really care if I have to replace them once (or twice) a season.  They have a little alignment piece that stays on the shoe so you can mount replacement cleats in the exact same position, but my shoes don’t have the added mounting point . No big deal.

In the past I used SpeedPlay Road and Frog pedals, and at least three different variants of Crank Bros Egg Beaters, plus the aforementioned Shimano SPD-SL’s.  I like my new Look Keo 2 Max pedals better.

(For my road bike that is, I’m sticking with Shimano SPD’s for my touring bikes.)