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@Judd 177109 wrote:

That’s some sweet paint. Is that powder coated?

Yeah, powder coat by ASCO (https://www.ascoweb.com/); I was originally going for something a little more “wow, gold!” — but they steered me away from my color choice since it was for outdoor application. In the end, it is a little more subdued, but I think will look great (probably better than the more yellowy/brassy colors I had chosen). And they did a great job on the frame.

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@dkel 177085 wrote:

True, but…bikes, you know?

I know, right! Lately, my bike projects are just for my kids, since I am restricted by space to adhering to the terrible N+1,-1 rule. Next up is a ‘cross & road bike for my older son, built around the Raleigh RX24. But the completely-superfluous 20″ project is also coming along nicely — but slowly (no rush, it’s a bit big for my son still). I think Harry M would appreciate the color (and the reflective decals):

[IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tv-bYGMcxHfqWskqVLe_xPw47ZuVGfH_CFN2Q0YDi7SR90uTy0nYgmvdqp5yXLWyCZqSUSesilDYRUKL4l_QUJx1ZUQqjBmHVOrM2rvU40IQI03DD77yD9PFcgXcvKqVTUIKTNpmVHs12vjjDtqQspB-Ar7MRsSJ2bQ9jk4G6bP2hPRANGY7VZ5oRwpqvdjbiwhxdX3MZkMSs85EB6a8k9Uup4eu7wSWPcBsjhWFd2npp-35HeIuFB5kxh5lS2dSdbed6vImlbhtM23OSQzoJGbVlzyN_0m3qLfUbgsi4RysMAEOSq90m3LJ40c7VQrckdSMkPSVtrmlCpw22OEb6JloMFmkuqWM3N3akVK2hDqtWZ7BR-Q5i8i72fNbk9pUot31ZW6mNRPkGVVAdY089YEHkJaYZWZ5PcYpcyjXYDGf8DO9eRjbXalt_hSPHgnU1vjqiSy8iQA0JR2jY98mDqd8y5qNoZutmgLSymeBVpKsJBjASLhRihwT9zrLmIoPf-rVd5G51SJ_3BJhbr9hBbcsZ5N2ftZRl4QSEgRucJ-Y_TLpvnWs1ASqPBwaM62vdSpJo0_fh6nKAkxZtO9NDlbd9rJenZ3XAdhASFGRtFINfoMsyxZb74MRy0Xlo3BIPlP_hraAe5YZXU1ezBGvrh0AnFx7fu1D-w=w1554-h1166-no[/IMG]

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@Harry Meatmotor 177073 wrote:

I think 38 plus fender is as big as I can go, 44 w/o fender. But very interested to try some compass tires. You know I’m a huge fan of not-very-durable-but-super-comfy cotton tires like the Turbo Cottons. I picked up the 28mm Hell of the North version for this racing season. 28 is the new 25!

Paint is stock from Spec – it’s crazy; really well executed off-white to black fade, with a reflective clear coat. See pic.

I was tempted to go H11 disc, but pricing is not very competitive. You’re basically stuck paying Super Record prices for Athena-level shifter guts. I did grab the H11 rotors, with the new rounded edges, kind of a neat trick to idiot-proof the rotors. I’ve only ridden it enough to bed the pads, but Campy Chorus is noticeably more Campy-feeling than the Athena. Athena shifts more like 105/Ultegra – Chorus more like/better than Dura Ace mechanical.

The reflective clearcoat is money! I want my next painted bike to be reflective. These damn titanium “forever frames” are making that n+1 a ways off, I think I suppose I could paint titanium, but that kinda defeats the point.

Good to know re: H11 disc. I’ll probably wait for that to settle down in a couple years.

My rear Schwabe Pro One rear tire has pretty much worn out at this point (lots of cuts), and my front is pretty worn too. But 3k miles on these according to Strava, so I consider that a decent run. I ordered a set of the Specialized Turbo 2Bliss 28mm tires to try them out. At $55 and 15% off it was comparable to ordering Schwalbe from the UK; I’m excited to give their “fastest tire in the world” a try.

Yeah, I don’t see any reason to run less than 28mm anymore. With wide rims the profile on my 28mm road tires (which measure 30mm) is great and the ride is fantastic.

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@Harry Meatmotor 177060 wrote:

Cool – I think I’m going to grab something in the 40-44mm range, probably compass, eventually. I do intend to not try to beat the p*ss out of this bike like i did my last commuter bike. Also trying the new cool sh*t for long wearing chain/lube: KMC DLC + Silca NFS lube. Also, the reflective clear coat on the frame is insane!

I am enjoying my 38mm Barlow Pass. They are fast tires (certainly feel faster than the Schwalbe G-One speed or the Roubaix Pro 2BR), especially at low speeds. I am just using standard casing — and have no burning desire to go to the extralite. No flats yet — knocking on wood. Though a couple of punctures (e.g. a thorn in sidewall) that were sealed by sealant. I have ridden these on a fair bit of gravel now; I think I am brave enough to even make these gravel race tires, if the course isn’t too rocky (e.g. not HBR, nor Iron Cross).

Compass makes a 44mm option. Can you fit 44mm under fenders on that bike ?!

Did you do that paint job? It is very bling — and very distinctive.

The brakes are a nice complement too. Too bad Paul doesn’t make those in flat-mount (yet).

Actually, I am really surprised you didn’t do the new Campy hydro.

My midlife crisis bike might be a steel road disc bike, I think — Campy hydro. Maybe even CK hubs

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@Harry Meatmotor 177054 wrote:

NBD!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17722[/ATTACH]

Spec Sequoia Pro Module, Roval Fusee, Roubaix Pro 700×32, Campy Athena (52-36, 11-30), Paul’s Klampers, Zipp cockpit (waiting on stem…). PDW fenders coming at some point.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17723[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17724[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17725[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17726[/ATTACH]

As always, very nice!

What’s that saddle?

Also, someone is selling a set of Compass 32mm tires on eBay if you want to try them out (sadly not tubeless): https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F192496454157

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@Judd 177014 wrote:

About 95% of my car use last year involved driving to biking events. Last year that was less than 2,000 miles, although the previous year I traveled much more for biking things. It was costing me about $700 a year for liability insurance, registration, inspection and tax so I figured that renting a car for the times I can’t trick Josephine into driving me will probably come out a bit cheaper.

The one other thing that I used my car for regularly was grocery shopping since I buy a lot of canned food. I’m probably gonna have to get all Bobco and get a trailer. The grocery store situation at the new place is a bit less convenient for walking and biking since it’s further away, involves crossing the Pike and has a lot more traffic.

It sounds like a fun adventure and kudos to you for doing it!

I should run the numbers more carefully as it might end up being worth it to drop the second car, even with occasional renting. Likely, the cost effective thing to do will be just not to buy another car when this 10-year-old car finally dies.

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@Steve O 177010 wrote:

Mountain biking? Or anything else, for that matter:
– Hertz
– Zipcar
– Metro
– Car2Go
– Friends
– Uber
– Taxi
– Amtrak
– MARC
– Etc.

It’s not hard.

It doesn’t sound *hard*, but … if I have 2 hours to go mountain biking and be home in time to get the kids to cub scouts – or whatever – it’s also not happening. Of course, driving to mountain bike isn’t exactly the most eco-friendly thing in the world. But this is a cycling forum, so it’s a valid counter-argument to restricting transportation options.

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@Judd 177008 wrote:

Can I bum a ride?

My new place puts me a couple of miles closer to biking out to Wakefield.

Riding to Wakefield is, luckily, quite easy. As is Lake Fairfax. And riding to Schaeffer is very pleasant — if a little long. I’d love to learn a good bike route to Fountainhead, though I have not spent a lot of time analyzing this.

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I lent my car to visiting family for the weekend, which seemed appropriate since I don’t drive it. So we’re down to 1 car for a few days! Scary!

I’ve considered getting rid of my car, as for most errands and outings the bike and main family car are sufficient. But I do use my car at least once a month for an all-day, a-few-hours-away race or ride. And as the kids get older I want to more mountain biking with them. So for those reasons I think the second car is worth it (it doesn’t cost much to insure, since it isn’t driven much).

If I was single lving in the city, though, I would probably get rid of the car and use Zipcar for the races/rides. OTOH, if I were single I’d be doing a lot more MTB and travel for races …

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@n18 176807 wrote:

It’s amazing that only 24 hours ago we thought the melting would take days, but it’s mostly clear now. I am guessing that you won’t be using Lawyers RD tomorrow, and I hope that you don’t consider using Lawyers RD in the future until they add bike lanes. After reading this study which shows that adding bike lanes reduces injuries by 50%(90% for protected bike lanes), I stopped considering roads without bike lanes unless the speed limit is 25 MPH with light traffic. No bike lanes, no me!

Yeah, it was completely clear for me on the way home. No need to use Lawyers tomorrow! (And I took off the studded tires.). I’m riding out to Leesburg,so hopefully west of Reston is similarly dry/clear.

(I ride on roads without bike lanes with some regularity, but I do prefer slower roads — and wider roads. Lawyers isn’t the worst, though.)

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Planning to be there! Thanks for organizing!

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@dkel 176744 wrote:

So maybe I should take the streets instead of riding studs. Or do both.

I would do both. Yes, at least you have a street option. I took the streets to Vienna then out to Clarks Crossing, but unless I want to ride on Browns Mill my options are then a little limited, so I took the trail.

Tomorrow, I’ll take Lawyers all the way into Reston.

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@n18 176738 wrote:

Uncleared trails are probably icy rutted mess in the morning. In the afternoon, it’s easy. Here in the western part of Vienna it’s 27.9 F now. Unfortunately, I can’t easily get to the W&OD.

The W&OD west of EFC is a mess. A little better near Hunter Mill / Reston where less travelled, but I avoided it as much as I could and the other parts were slow.

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@dkel 176732 wrote:

Fortunately for me it’s a grab-the-bike-with-studs or grab-the-bike-without-studs question, not a mounting tires question. Still, I’ll be happy to get some expert advice to maximize my decision!

Definitely take the bike with studs.

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I put studs on, I hope they aren’t especially necessary, but it looks like it could be icy. I’ll follow up.

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