SteveAustin

Re: litespeed siena Hesh...Titanium is the shit, straight on. Before I got mine I borrowed a buddies old Cannondale R400. Aluminum frame, aluminum fork and low end Shimano with some 105 on it. I rode about 30 miles on it and raced it the same weekend. That bike beat the crap outta me. When I got mine I couldn't believe the difference in comfort. I've got a titanium frame and that bad ass Look HC3 Carbon fork (and steer tube). I can't believe how smooth that bike is. Gotta love that nice clean titanium look on the chain and seat stays. My next race is coming up this weekend. Its on a course I absolutely love and the weather looks like its going to be bad. For some reason I tend to do well under those circumstances.

I can't quite say I believe that 8000ft of climbing or the 45 miles for that matter. From what I know of the event its more of a drink fest with a bunch of guys "racing" the next day. I absolutely love that you have to go to a bar to find out where the race is. I've heard lots of stories about people puking during the race. They're probably starting the rumor just to discourage the faint of heart.

TEARZ Thats one hell of a nice looking ride, but nothing says mountain biker with a road bike, better than Time ATACs on the new ride. When I got my new Ti ride last year I put my mountain pedals on it just so I could start riding it. Well....one year later, they're still on there and I'm still bitching about them every time I ride. One of these days I'll switch em. Any recommendations?

SSWC2K+2 There's not much info out there at the moment. Just the basics and some rumors. Here's what I pulled from the singlespeedoutlaw website: "2002 Single Speed World Championships a.k.a. SSWC2K+2 - October 13, 2002 - Downieville, California - Rumor has it the course will be 45 miles with 8,000 feet of climbing. More details as they become available" There is no way I can pull 8000 feet of climbing on the setup I currently have (2:1). I'm trying to figure out a way to get myself a more climbing friendly setup. I don't suppose anyone has a 24 tooth rear cog (without shifting ramps) laying around collecting dust.

Where and when? I'm already planning on going to Cali for the Single Speed World Championships...maybe I can make it for both.

nice job cinnamon. sounds like your right on track man. you should be taking that first spot within a month. climbing is where its at. its so demoralizing to others when you blast past them on a climb, or up leave em dead in their tracks. We've got some nice technical stuff around where I live and I've never had a problem with the grip shift shifters. Guess I'm just used to it. I also missed the roubaix. I haven't gotten my cable connected since moving. Hopefully one of my boys taped it. um, what else. oh yeah, finally ordered a wheel for my fixie/single. I totally tacoed my singles rear. I knew it would happen eventually, but wasn't quite ready for it. I was cranking up a big ass hill, one spoke broke...and the whole wheel just twisted like a double wide in a tornado. walk home sucked.

Re: from toy statements to toy questions... Like Joker said, Zinn and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance. I bought that book and pretty much do all my maintenance now. Last bike I built I did everything except for the headset (no press) and the fork. As far as upgrades: Cranks...I would go with Truvativ. You can get a bad ass crank set and bottom bracket for under $150. Its a really nice, stiff, light weight set up. Headset...Pay the money now and be done with it. Chris King makes the best headsets period. I think they have something like a 10 year warranty. If its not threadless then switch it when you upgrade the fork. It'll set you back around a $100. Shifters...it sounds like you have the Grip Shift shifters. These have come along way in the past few years. SRAM is making the best set of these now. SRAM just started making a set of "trigger" shifters. I have no experience with them, but I'm sure the're nice. Other things. Just because you got me started. If you upgrade your seat and your not a vegan...go Selle Italia. I haven't found a better saddle yet. I just bought a Carbon Fiber SLR for $40! That thing weighs like 135 grams. I've got it on my racing road bike right now, but I'm gonna switch it to my cross bike and put my Trans Am back on the road. One of the best upgrades you can make to your bike is wheels. Mavic and Ritchey both have some nice wheel sets. Brakes...I'm a big fan of Avid brakes whether its v or disks...they rock. Hayes has the best hydraulic set up. good luck!

Last time this happened to me, I had my pedals set so tight that I couldn't get out of them. So, there I lay, in the road...on my back....with a bike still attached to me. I can't even begin to tell you how embarassed I was. After a little inspection I realized it wasn't necessarily the pedals tightness. The cleat on my right foot (typically the first one I unclip) was a little loose.

if someone wants to draw some shit up I can prep it. I've actually designed a couple jerseys already...its a side business. :D my ride last night got cut a little short. I rode out to some spots and noticed some new shit. I just stood there in awe. fucked up my ride, but it was worth it.

I busted 50 miles out on an absolutely gorgeous day. Thought about how I need to get the fixed road rollin the whole time. One of the things stallin me is the frame I wanted to use (old French Jeunet). The rear seat stays are so thin (think pencil) where they weld into the drops that I'm afraid I'm gonna break them. Anyone have any knowledge about this frame or anyone breaking frames on fixies?

Now that you mention that, I remember someone else saying the same exact thing. I might have to move up quicker just because. Supposedly I can move up based on my mountain results alone. Gonna have to find out. The mountain fixies are insane fast. Almost as fast as gears. I think the only thing that slows them down is the crash factor.

I'm racing Cat 5 on the road and sport class on the dirt side. I figure I'll cat up after I get a couple more road races under my belt. I probably have enough pts through my placing in cross, but I'm just not quite ready. My goal this year is to try and get enough pts to cat up to 3's by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. Also want to move up to Expert next year. I've been talking to some guys about getting on a fixed gear mtb race team. Crazy fuckers.

First Race Back I've been off my bike for damn near three months after seperating my shoulder. This weekend I went ahead and did my first race of the year. I've never been so thrilled about placing right smack in the middle. I was afraid I'd end up DFL or NDFL. Time to go play in traffic...

I'm definitely diggin cross. One season and I'm beyond hooked. I've been going through all my stuff trying to figure out what I can sell so I can buy a REAL cyclocross bike. I used my hardtail and single road this past year. I seperated my shoulder on Christmas Eve, so my season came to an early end. Just rode dirt for the first time last night and it felt hella good. The first race of the season is this weekend, so that ride last night was way overdue. Age...I love to be vague, so I'll just say I've already graduated. Dug the pics. I don't suppose you were in Kansas last year for the Nationals and Super Cup? I was there all three days and man oh man was it f'in cold. I seriously had every piece of bike clothing I owned on me. Plus a couple of wool sweaters and a coat. A lot of the racers were suffering from hypothermia. I've got some bad ass black and white pics from the whole weekend...I'll have to try and get them up. Scholarship is definitely cool. I've heard good things about the NC area. The dirt guys I know talk the technical riding up there quite a bit. One of my bikes that has to go...mid 80's Bianchi. Bought it at a garage sale, unfortunately for me its like a 59 or 60 cm rig.

ADD is what kicks me also. Total space cadet. Sugino has some bad ass polyeurathane socks that rock in inclement weather. I have a pair of the Garne Polars for when it gets really nasty. I started on mountain, but I do both now. Last year was my first year racing cyclo cross. Gotta love that sport. I'm working on my first fixie now. Trying to decide if I'm going to use my old Fuji road or my Jeunet.

Just now came across this thread. I used a heart rate monitor pretty religously a couple years ago. I also did most of my training indoors on a stationary. I'd like to get back to using the monitor. When I started using it I was cutting my places in half each race. I think I tend to space off every now and then, so having the monitor lets me know when I'm spacin. Using the stationary really helped my spinning, but it is so god awful boring. For those of you in the midwest that are in to dirt check this out: http://www.slimenundgrossen.com/racingnews.htm Look under the sub head Its a race. Click the "underground". I have it on good authority that the Minneapolis Mafia is going to be there en force. I've heard talk of other "celebrities" showing up for the other stuff the same weekend, but not too sure.