El Mariachi

I think the El Mariachi is going to be ridden for a while. Aside from some normal positioning adjustments he seems to like this bike. He's noticing the shorter fork length compared to the Singular. To accommodate this a riser bar may be swapped. He's saying numbers like 490 --perhaps the length of the fork?

Other components include his standard, trusty Bontrager wheels, straight seatpost, and Ergon grips. He has messed around with the gear ratio depending on the ride he's doing that particular week.

Epic Photos

I had a picture after all.
Specialized Epic Comp 2010.

Epic Out, El Mariachi In

Spending too much time messing with it in the basement, thinking about it when he was riding, and wanting a hardtail bike again, the Epic has been sold.

I don't even know if I have kept the Epic photos on my computer.

He is now in posession of a Salsa El Mariachi. Here's a link to an article by Matt James about the Salsa 29er:
http://www.examiner.com/cycling-gear-in-national/salsa-cycles-brings-steel-back-to-the-forefront-with-new-el-mariachi

Quick and dirty:
Steel, rigid, 29er, blue. The fork length is shorter than the Singular Swift fork. He's noticing that difference. One thing that he seems to like is the rear dropout and the ability to adjust that area. He's using Bontrager wheels because they never give him problems.

Specialized Epic Comp 29

Purchased locally, the Epic does what he wants...so far.

Here's a webpage that has a nice picture gallery:
http://www.artscyclery.com/descpage-SP0EPC9.html

Researching Full Suspension Bicycles

Considerations:

-ride to the trail by road without being totally inefficient (ie: not a 6-inch travel bike)

-gears

-29er

-decent components

-not upgrading parts

-not rigid

He says:

"A do-it-all-reasonably-well-and still pedal fast bike. I wanted a performance bike…I have been marketed to. I want to ride every kind of MQT/Midwest trail and have a bike that performs consistently in all conditions. My rigid does this…but in a way that is more costly to my physiology.

Hate to admit it…sound engineering…over 10 years of refinement to linkages, bearings, tube shapes, suspension bits.

Warranty. Lifetime. Good LBS support.

Fit and finish had to be high quality…"

What do you think he bought? What would you buy? Or would you alter your Singular to accomodate your current desires?

Testing Out the Bike Rack

While testing out some beer. Both worked very well.

Bikes pictured: Gary Fisher Rig (2008), two Trek Classic Cruisers(2005/6), Kona Honky Tonk (2009), and the bike rack (2010).

Siren Bicycles

Do you know about Siren Bicycles? How about Ride the Divide?

When he was researching steel hardtail bikes he considered a custom build and found Siren Bicycles. I started following them on Twitter for the heck of it and then heard about Ride the Divide out west.

http://www.sirenbicycles.com/mainpage.html

http://sirenbicycles.wordpress.com/

Have some time on a Friday afternoon? Check them out.

He's getting ready for a 6 hour race/ride tomorrow. Read about the 12 Hours of Potluck here:
http://blindstoker.com/12hour.aspx

Steel Road Bike

He had been looking for a steel road bike for over a year. Two days ago he saw an 09 Kona Honky Tonk two blocks from our house at Quick Stop Bike Shop. What are the odds?

http://bikes.konaworld.com/09/09_honkytonk_en.cfm

There's a new steel bike in our house.

Upgraded the wheels, changed the seat and pedals.

Kona's 2010 website has nice commentary about the new bikes here:

http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=honkytonk

Singular SWIFT (not Siren)

The bike is still with us. The fork is not. He's riding rigid and riding single speed. 6 hour race this weekend.

Oops, not a Siren. I must have heard about the Siren Bikes in his quest for this steel bike.

Identify It...