Bad Idea Racing

I figured I would be getting my balls busted about getting a ride report ASAP, so here goes:

A decent sized group of use headed to Pisgah Saturday for a 100% singletrack/doubletrack five hour ride. The area got a good soaking the day before so we were in for some slick conditions. I left the bike setup just the way it had been, and the front Rampage was aired up to 21.5 PSI. The initial descent out of the parking lot was a wee bit awkward for me. I was still having problems getting the front end up, so waterbar "geek air" was outta the question. Our single track route had us going through lots of mountain gaps, with small climbs and descents on moist to saturated trails. I had my first over the bar experience in the first hour of the ride. It's been a long time since I have done that, and I think I will avoid doing it again in the future. I didn't really get a good feel for the bike initially, so I took a further back spot in the group on the descents to figure things out. I had plenty of off-trail excursions, and I ended up laying in the laurels a few times. Bill "Big Worm" Fehr said maybe I could make wrecking my "new thing". Hmmm....

When we finally hit a long gradual climb I started to make friends with the bike. Even though initially I could feel the weight of the Rampage in the rear I felt like I was flying up the hill. I held on to Dennis's wheel without really feeling worked at all. All I could think was "Wow!". I kept thinking about all those 29'ers I raced against all year, and the huge advantage they had going up a climb like this ( just about every hundie I did last year had lots of them).

When we finally got to the descending finale' of the day I felt more settled in. It was quite a stretch to reach the bars and keep my weight back. Going down Turkey Pen there a lot of logs across the trails and waterbars that required some finesse to get over. It was difficult, but it was easy to pinpoint the long stem as the source of my woes. Here's where it got good. I have not been able to keep up with Eric Wever since he swapped to big wheels/rigid and I've been on small wheels/rigid. In the past my hands hurt, and I just couldn't keep the bike rolling fast enough. Things changed. On the descent I was able to keep him in sight, and as we got closer to the bottom I was able to stay on his wheel. I even had a huge temptation to go faster, and my hands weren't hurting at all. Nice. Once again I was reflecting on last season and those guys on their big wheels.

By the end of the day I had been on my ass a handful of times. I figured it was just a matter of me not being used to the bike. Oh contraire mon freire. I took a parking lot poll, and evidently everybody had their hands full trying to negotiate the greased pig of a trail. I don't think anybody present hadn't spent some time rolling around on the ground without a bike under them. Good to know, I thought I was the only one having a rough day.

I asked Eric a mess of questions. According to his blog this is what he heard:

"So, you think i should... reducemystemlengthandincreasemytoptubelengthordoyouthinkitwould bebettertoshortenmytoptubeandincreasemystemlengthordoyouthinkishouldgeta73mmbottom bracketsoicangetshorterseatstaysorshouldijustforgetaboutitandtrytooperatemywaterfilterwhile myeyesarecloseduntilihavepracticedfillingonegallonjugsenoughthaticandoitinundertwominutes?"

So anyways, I am convinced. Eric is letting me borrow a 40mm and 60mm stem to try out. Mike Brown hooked me up with the CroMoto fork off his El Mariachi to replace the K-K-Karate Monkey up front. It's not pretty, but this is the cockpit I'll be trying next.

I fiddled around this morning with risers, but I wasn't happy. The 40mm stem is inverted with the spacer to negate the rise. I think I'll end up with a 50mm when all is said and done. I wasn't sure if I was borrowing or keeping the fork, so that's why I have that sexy steer tube sticking out. I also swapped out the Brooks/Dean post with the SLR/Race Face Next post to get some more setback. I swapped out the rear Rampage with a 2.2 Jones XR (@ 1/3 lb lighter), and I'm gonna give it a whirl. Weird, but the bike is down to respectable 23 lbs with a 5 lb frame and steel fork. The way it's built now it feels a lot more playful when I did a quick driveway test.

I think I might skip the EBB on my next bike. I've come to realize it might limit my options. The BB was at 12" at 12 o'clock, and I was smacking the pedals alot. My Dean sits closer to 13", and I rarely ever clip a pedal. I know that the EBB can make things tight at the chainstay junction, so the sliding dropouts might make my stays slightly shorter without losing clearance. I'll have to ask my future builder what's possible.