Giant Reign XO 2008

He went out for a morning ride on Saturday on his singlespeed rigid Vassago. He got the itch for the full-suspension bike after swapping bikes throught the ride with some of his riding pals.

Remembering a Craigslist ad for the Reign, he made contact with the owner and the deal was done on Sunday morning in a parking lot.

Two more wheels in the house and a lot more suspension. He "picked up" the 2008 Reign locally from a guy that recently switched to a Giant Trance. The Reign has Maestro suspension--which means I can wear my Giant bicycles t-shirt with the Maestro logo on the front without feeling like a weirdo.

The Vassago remains.

Friday Night

Friday night after a few beers in town. Basement internet-surfing and bike-building. Easton XC-2 wheels replacing the Stan's Arch. Tires seated in a matter of minutes(seconds) and a new birthday bike pump here: http://www.lezyne.com/index.php/products/floor-pumps/alloy-floor-drive-4.html.

March Update

Stan's Arch wheels are not in our house anymore (thank goodness). He spent an entire day (7am-5pm) working on bike stuff particularly hours trying to seat the tires while using a crappy pump. FAIL.



Dear Bill,
For your birthday I am going to get you a Lezyne bicycle floor pump. I hope it is the last one you ever own.

http://www.lezyne.com/index.php/products/floor-pumps.html

Anyone have experience with these products?



There was talk last week of selling the Vassago. After reviewing the bikes of '09 I think I convinced him to keep the steel bike.

Bikes of '09:
Niner SIR9 - Green, Steel, Rigid
Niner RIP9 - Blue, Full-sus
Gary Fisher Rig - '08 model that I'm now riding
OS Blackbuck - rigid, singlespeed, 29
Trek Remedy - Full suspension 26-inch (couch)-another bad decision (my thought)
Fisher Cobia - Brushed crome color-this was a bad decision (my thought)
Niner MCR - I don't even remember this bike. I think it was dark brown and glittery.
Gary Fisher Rig - '09

Early Spring Riding

The Vassago is pretty sweet. It is very similar to the Ferrous.

He went out for a 3 hour ride this past Saturday morning. Some frozen over backroads, and then some snowpack singletrack. The temps were perfect for riding on the snow. He got out back on to the road just as the snowpack started to get spongy from rising temps and sun.

Quiet Bikes

Don't you want your bike to be quiet? No chain slap, no creaks, etc.? Then why would you want this?




Seems awfully loud to me.

Awaiting Trial

He spent part of the evening in the basement working on it. All that needs to be done is a chain and chain ring. That and the snow to melt. 60 days until the trails will no longer be snow-covered.

The Arrival

Stan's Arch Wheels

The Speedgoat wheels arrived earlier this week. Some things that make them special--they are not quick release, the company didn't cheap out on the rim tape that they sent, they sent along extra spokes, and the wheels are white, the hubs are Surly disc. For some reason I have a difficult time when I'm having conversations about wheels and tires and interchange the words. I know what a wheel is and what a tire is but flip them around often. Maxxis Ignitor tires were hard to seat(he said).

JabberWocky

The Vassago Jabberwocky frame will be delivered on Friday. The wheels arrived yesterday from SpeedGoat. The (slow, I hope) build begins.

Valentine's day for a Biker

2 boxes of CTC (Cinnamon Toast Crunch)
Mountain Bike Action magazine and
BIKE Magazine's 2010 Buyers Guide (I think it is actually called THE BIBLE)
-he says it's mostly 26-inch full suspension bikes by Trek and Specialized.

Currently: eagerly waiting for the arrival of a Vassago Army Green 29-inch steel singlespeed.