29, Single, and Rigid

29, Single, and Rigid. No, this isn't about a single 29 year old porn star. It's about a bike. Not just any bike though. It's about a fully rigid single speed 29er, a Walt Works to be exact. Last night (20-Nov-09) was my first experience on one and I must say, I'm in love. After cracking my Paragon frame I've been in need of a loaner until the replacement frame comes in. I've been itching to take a single speed 29er for a spin and fortunately there are enough single speed 29er advocates out there that I was able to secure one for a ride.

The bike was custom made for a guy who is about the same height as me but weighs more than I. Needless to say there wasn't a lot of  shock absorption with my weight bearing down on the rigid fork. Also contributing to the ultra bumpy ride was the tire pressure. I didn't even think to check it until we were about half way though the ride. It was WAY to high for me. Yet another reminder that the bike belongs to someone a bit heavier than I am. It seemed to be a pretty slow turning bike too. I'm not sure if that's just they way it was designed or if it was just me getting used to a different geometry.

Despite the fact that the ride beat the crap out of me I had a great time. I'm definitely more interested in getting a single speed 29er. However, I have yet to decide weather to go fully rigid or not.  

(I have to give credit to treadlight for the title of this post. I stole it from his SWAMP forum signature. Sorry TL but it was so fitting!)

 

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My Bike

• Frame: Monocoque carbon, G2 29" Geometry
• Fork: Fox F80RL 29, 80mm travel, custom G2 Geometry 51mm offset crown, air spring, external rebound & lockout
• Headset: Cane Creek ZS6
• Crank: Shimano XT FC-M770
• Pedals: Time Atac XS Carbon
• Front Derailleur: Simano XT
• Rear Derailleur: SRAM X9
• Shifters: SRAM X9
• Cassette: SRAM PG950 9 speed
• Front Weel: Bontrager Race Disc 29
• Rear Wheel: Bontrager Race Disc 29
• Front Tire: Bontrager Jones XR 29x2.25"
• Rear Tire: WTB Nano Raptor 29x2.1"
• Front Brake: Avid Juicy 5 hydraulic disc
• Rear Brake: Avid Juicy 5 hydraulic disc
• Handlebar: Bontrager Race Lite Big Sweep OS
• Stem: Bontrager Select OS 7d
• Saddle: Specialized Avatar Gel 143
  
• Seat Post: Thomson Elite 27.2 x 410mm 16mm SB
• Computer: Cateye Micro Wireless
  

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Cracked

I just found a crack on my 07 fisher paragon frame. I've heard about them cracking, I just didn't think it would ever happen to mine. I just hope that Gary Fisher replaces it. I can't afford a new bike!

This is really going to put a damper on my training. I'm not really sure what I'll do while waiting for the replacement.

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First 25

I completed my first 25 mile training ride on Saturday morning (15-Nov-08) at Santos. My initial plan was to get 30 - 40 miles in with a 10 - 12 mph pace, however, the pace was set at around 14 to 15 mph right out of the gate. Needkes to say I didn't quite get 30 - 40 miles. I quickly realized that I couldn't maintain that pace for long. Fortunately the group didn't mind waiting for me to catch up. It was probably the most tiring training ride to date. Riding with guys of that caliber (specifically Luis) will defiantly force me to improve my skills, speed, and endurance. 

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Santos Sunday

Sunday was a long and tiring day. Not one of those dreaded long and tiring days though. It was more like a whole day of being a kid on Christmas eve. Excitement!!! This wasn’t excitement from Santa’s presents though, this excitement was from Santos’ presents! Yep, that’s right, I went to Santos! This was my first trip there and It couldn’t have been better. I was in great company with Luis, Kevin and Wayne. The weather, probably in the mid 70s, was absolutely perfect and the humidity was low. We rode a good range of yellow (easy), blue (intermediate), and red (hard) trails.

My day started fairly early with the alarm clock sounding at 5:30 am. I got out of bed, showered, ate some breakfast, and loaded up the bike and gear then headed over to Luis’ house. Apparently Kevin had been so excited that he forgot to set his alarm clock back for DS and showed up at Luis’ an hour early. Needless to say he was ready to hit the road by the time I got there. I transferred my gear and bike to Luis’ truck and we were on the Interstate by 7:10. With a short stop off to pick up Wayne we were in the Santos parking lot by 9:00 and hammering down the trails by 9:30. We started out on some yellow trails (easy), working our way to some blue trails (intermediate), and then on to some red trails (difficult). I was impressed with the seemingly endless miles of single track out there. 

We rode most of our warm miles up on blue trails but a majority of the 18+ miles we got in that day were done on the red trails. I was quite obviously the weakest of the 4 riders but I managed to do ok, especially considering that this was my first trip to Santos and I wasn’t familiar with the trails. The guys were great about it though. They would wait for me after each difficult section at which time we would all discuss any difficulties we had or didn’t have. They would also give me pointers on things that might help me through areas I was having trouble with. It was a great learning experience for me. 

After the ride we loaded up the truck and headed straight to Sonny’s for some southern style home cookin. I, of course, had the fried cat fish! Mmmm! During the drive home we were stuck in some pretty nasty traffic but we managed to stay sane through most of it (I was asleep). I rolled into the drive way around 7:00 pm. 

What a day!

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