[GuyContinental]

Not one that isn’t going to destroy your tires… I’m sure that some sort of solvent would take it off but that same solvent would eat the sidewall too. Perhaps you could sand it off with 200 grit sandpaper (but that too would eat your sidewall)

[GuyContinental]

@Certifried 24775 wrote:

One other issue I need to look at is the lack of a shower at my new location. It’s also kind of remote, so not sure what alternatives are nearby.

ShowerPill or Action wipes… just ordered my 4th case of the year

At some point I need to post a before/after when I’m muddy from my new CX commute detour- you’d be amazed at how well they work. Except for the very hottest days (which suck even with a shower) I haven’t really missed not having one. BUT I do have a door and an office fan…

[GuyContinental]

I pass Dirt nearly every day, often twice (both ways); usually just west of Washington Blvd on the WO&D… one of these days I’m just going to hide in the bushes with a camera and wait…

I scanned this whole thread and don’t think that I see any of you! Hazard of riding early and the wrong way (WB) I suppose.

[GuyContinental]

@Dirt 24690 wrote:

When buying used, it really helps to know what you’re looking for. Things can work fine and look good, but if the cogs, chainrings and chain are worn, you’ll be spending $100-200 to replace all of that…. more if you have to pay someone to install all of that for you. That’s one example.

A good tool to have anyway is a basic chain measurement bar- I use the Park CC-3.2:
http://www.aawyeah.com/park-tool-cc-3-2c-chain-wear-indicator/

Yes, it’s not perfect and yes if you know what you are doing you can use a caliper but it’s cheap and easy. Buy one for $10 and check wear before you buy. Note that a new chain with a worn out cassette will quickly kill the new chain. A worn cassette might have lateral motion or more visually have “hooked” cogs.

Also, if you happen to be tall (6’3″ +) I’ve been ordered to clear out a well cared for 60cm road bike with lots of nice bits.

[GuyContinental]

Wow- that’s rough. Taking a generic “‘Bethesda” to “Bowie” google map the bike directions have 74 turns with 71 of them under a mile and the longest single road only 3 miles… That. Is. Awful.

http://goo.gl/maps/GLlu

[GuyContinental]

Perry the Squirrel:

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2011/11/squirrely-you-jest-blight-eyed-and.html

[GuyContinental]

Quick follow-up on this project- quite simply the front Paul brakes plus Kool Stop pads rule. The bike stops NOW with no stutter.

I took the bike on some technical trails in Rhode Island last week (think yellow loop at Gambril) and had no problem stopping (to portage…) before pitching off the 6′-10′ chutes. Taking the CX on real MTB trails was a heck of a lot of fun- it was absolutely not the right bike for the trail (7″ of travel and a FS would have been nice) but I had loads of fun in really unexpected ways- the CX required a LOT of riding strategy in both technical climbs and descents. I look forward to taking it out locally- it should be a nice equalizer when riding with my wife (I’ll be either walking or bleeding on the ground).
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1336[/ATTACH]- noop, I walked this one, probably would have on any bike. Easily a 10′ drop

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1337[/ATTACH]- I at least tried this- it laughed at me and spit me out.

[GuyContinental]

@DaveK 23535 wrote:

??Can you map this?

Sure, but I’d have to kill you.

The actual Cabin John Trail (LINK to MORE) is a couple of miles West on River Road. Good riding but don’t ride toward the river- it’s not Kosher with the NPS.

[GuyContinental]

@Certifried 23566 wrote:

I figured I would go ahead and get in on this game, especially since (inspired by Dirt) I picked up a little point-n-shoot this weekend so I could take some pix

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1263[/ATTACH]

The Pennywise avatar freaks me out… meethinks that you should crop and use that nice Sasquatch photo instead…

[GuyContinental]

@rcannon100 23552 wrote:

I have also been on the CCT near the Potomac. I think there is pretty much only counts as a hiking trail.

Beyond Old Georgetown Road I believe that the trail becomes NPS and thus verboten for bikes. I’ve never seen one down there but if it were allowed it would be quite rideable (with MTB) but not particualrly cool for the hikers

[GuyContinental]

@bluerider 23531 wrote:

Hey thanks,
I learned about some new trails today!!!!!

Errr don’t be misled- I was blathering about the WO&D to difficult run (DR) to cross county connector (CCT) to Lake Fairfax Park (LFP) not the Capital Crescent Trail (CC). Or do I have my acronyms still messed up…

However, there IS MTB off the cap crescent near cabin John.

[GuyContinental]

@rcannon100 23526 wrote:

(Did I mention that the other CCT is not overly bicycle friendly?? Let’s all play What Type of Pavement Will We Ride This Mile??)

And on the fourth day was created the Cyclecross bike, and the people rejoiced.

I can’t fully express how much joy my daily CX detour through DR, CCT and the MTB trails of Lake Fairfax Park has brought me… Now the new layer of filth that overpowers even my mighty ShowerPill is a work in process.

[GuyContinental]

Thanks for all of the thoughts!

As V1.1 I replaced the utterly dead v-brake inserts on the rear Shorty’s with Kool Stop Salmons, reduced the wheel clearance a bit/tuned the brakes and ordered the Paul MiniMoto (Paul stuff always tickles my bike-bling nerve which put them over the line vs the Avid Ultimates). If that doesn’t work over a few hundred miles, I’ll probably go with a mullet using an Avid BB5 mechanical, a new fork, rebuilt wheel and then put the Paul on the rear.

I meant to take it out this morning for my new-found mid-commute LFP romp but woke up with some toddler-vector inspired cough… sigh

FWIW I can’t figure out the physics behind Dirt’s note on the small tire surface area and disc brakes (but if anyone would know I assume that he would)- assuming two equally grabby brakes (set for power not modulation) braking from the hub (i.e. disc) is going to add modulation through the spokes and tire lugs whereas braking from the rim essentially limits that system modulation to the tire… thus, you should have more skidding from a rim brake than a disc. I’ve ridden narrow tires (2.1, so only 18mm wider than my CX tires) on my various disc-equipped mountain bikes from time to time at pretty high speed (albeit probably not as fast as Dirt…) and have never noticed a particular propensity to skid provided that I wasn’t locking up the brakes.

[GuyContinental]

@jopamora 23288 wrote:

Dude, did you buy this bike?

Nope- a black 57 with a known history.

[GuyContinental]

The Interwebs give a lot of cred to the little cheap Tektro 926 linear pull v-brakes plus kool stop pads-

Brakes- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002F91TP4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=A2TE9IQP68MWQU

Pads- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CJZ0Q2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

With adjustable 90 deg noodles and some new cables I’d be under $80 for the attempt. The Paul’s are super sexy but wow, they aren’t cheap ($130/per… I did say that I was willing to spend money though .

How does the mullet CX work out? Is it tough to balance braking power fore and aft? I really want stopping power irrespective of weather…

[Author]

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