This weeks bling

Fresh off the stand this is a beauty. Nic named the Darth Vader bike, this is a top shelf Niner JET9. Full XTR, SID XX fork and Stan's NoTubes Crest 29" Wheels. There are some bikes that are just fun to build, and there are some details that just boggle ones mind, like hydraulic fork lockouts and Niner Carbon Bars. I could talk about this bike all day, but until you pick one up and ride one there are just no true words. The bike will be on its way out the door today so if you want to see it, just stop in. These are available for order and require about a week of lead time. Price available on request.

Can you fix this??

I don't know if this falls into the "epic fail" category, or the "next time leave it to the pro's" category, but what just came through my door is something I hadn't seen before.

If the guy hadn't been injured pumping up the tire it would boarder on funny, but what you see here is what happens when you put WAY too much pressure in a tire mounted on a single walled rim. I wish I had taken a picture before it was removed from the bike, but what you are looking at is a rim that has been split down its center. Somehow the tire is okay, but we will be replacing the wheel.

The repair itself was actually a bit tricky because the first thing we had to do was remove the freewheel. Normally with the entire rim for leverage freewheels pop off with just a little man power. In this case trying to find a way to get a good grip on the hub and apply that much torque to the freewheel was a bit more of a trick that I would like to admit. Thankfully Jake was around to demonstrate just exactly how a sailor cusses.

So for those of you who are thinking about pumping up your own tires out there, just remember, tire pressure is like gambling. Know when to stop before you start.

Local races are fun

Just rediscovered how cool it is to race locally. The Apex Mini Triathlon was this weekend and I talked myself into it despite that fact that I don't swim, I only run when chased, and I just sold my road bike. But only in a local race can you convert your mountain bike to a road bike and head out just to enjoy the day and try not to drown.


What I discovered is that I had forgotten how cool it is to race locally. Aside from being able to show up with crazy rigs and be under trained, you find that you know a good portion of the people there. This is not because it is the same people following a circuit that you have been on all year, but because they are friends of friends. People you work with, guys you saw on a club ride once or people you just happen to run into in your every day life. So thanks to the gang at Oldham County Parks and Recreation for putting on this event again, and thanks to my wife for convincing me to come out and do the race. I will be back again next year and next time I will be able to swim.

For those of you who are interested the Photo above in a Niner EMD9 fitted with 700X23 tires. You can do this? Yes. I was a little unsure at first if the rims would be a little wide to accomodate a true road tire, but they beaded up just nicely. If you try it though you will want to make a note that the bike has considerably less pedal clearance this way, so don't pedal through the corners as you might otherwise.