Jshort’s bike thread
- Thread starter Jeremy
- Start date
No race, but whatever.. content!
The tale of the missing knarp
This weekend’s goal was to get the Habit dialed in and feeling good. I didn’t get fit on it, because I picked it up on the way home from the Mayhem race and by the time I got to Halters I just wanted to lay down and absorb some beer and water. So the last few rides I have been keeping a multi tool easily associable and adjusting the seat height, seat position, brake lever and shifter positions, and also figuring out how much air in the shock. The lefty, surprisingly was the easiest component to set up.
The challenge was the damn internally routed dropper post. – Long story short, I put it on and it seemed good to go. 5 minutes into my next ride and every bump I hit, the dropper would drop a few inches. The problem was that I didn’t leave enough slack on the cable, so it was partially unlocked. I made my way back to the lot and just pulled the cable out so it would lock.
The next day I wake up and start thinking about fixing it before my ride. As I gather the parts which I had shoved in my cameback, I realize I lost the knarp (AKA cable stop). Fuck.. this is the most obscure part to lose and I had no idea where it was. I shot up to @jimvreeland on my lunch break and he saved the day and had one I could use. That night after the kids went to bed, I went to work. I pulled the crank, ran the cable through the frame, set up the barrel adjuster, thread the cable through… and I find that the knarp he gave me didn’t fit in the damn hole.. fuckity fuck fuck….
I find a pack of Knarps of multiple sizes from some weird moped web site, and I order them even though I doubt they will ever make it. The dropper will have to wait.
Before I am about to go for a quick ride on Sunday I realize one of the zip ties from my brake line had snapped off. I run down to my basement bike shop to grab a few, and a nail clipper (which is the best way to trim BTW). I flip the bike upside down to begin my quick fix. As I flip it, I hear something rattling about . I start checking all the things that may be loose and I finally come to the conclusion that the missing knarp was left in the slot, only to fall out and was still rattling around inside my frame. Pull the post out, shake the bike around, and out falls the missing piece. Fucking A. 10 minutes later the dropper was installed and properly tensioned.
Habit update list
Snake Skin Nobby Nics, (the new ones) 2.35 front and 2.25 rear.
Shimano 1X11 with XTR Shifter, XT Cassette, XT Derailleur, Race Face 30T
Specialized command dropper post
Bike is still hovering around 28lbs. The 1x conversion negated the extra weight from the dropper. I think the next move is a wheelset upgrade. As @Utah pointed out (and the internet confirmed) the Stans rapid wheelset is 2000 grams, and an Arch wheelset would be ~1600ish.. Losing 400 grams on the wheels will make a huge difference. Maybe I’ll go nuts on a bravo set. We’ll see. I think I want to see how long these stock wheels can hold up.
What’d you call me?
After I got the bike together and all adjustments completed, I wanted to go for a ride on the loop which inspired the purchase of the bike in the first place… The old Voorhees – Nassau connection. I park in a quiet lot in Voorhees and make my way down 513 to the trail which takes me to the Columbia trail. The downhill is a freaking blast and I have a huge smile which lasts halfway down the Columbia. Once I get into my “Columbia Trail TT on a MTB” frame of mind I am keeping a decent tempo pace. Not that I want to push the CT is so damn boring I just want to get it over with.
Out of nowhere a cyclecraft guy comes flying by me on a Cannondale Slate (cross bike with the lefty). I give chase, just because that’s my mindset nowadays, but my 28 lb trail bike with a 30t ring is no match. I let up and tell myself to save my legs for the climbs that are going to feel much different than they do on my scalpel.
I make the left off the CT to go by the Iron Works in High Bridge and start BOMBING that little downhill. Its quick, but fun as hell. When I get halfway down I see the guy who had just passed me and he is making his way down. Once I see how fast I am gaining on him I lock up my rear tire and start slowing down. He must have heard me coming because he slowed to a crawl and as I got closer he just moved over for me to pass. I thought he said something but I had music in one ear so I wasn’t sure. I continue on.
I finish the Nassau side of the loop and make my way over to the springside part. As I get to the end of the trail I see this guy again. He met up with a few people who parked in that lot and they were headed into the trail. He rides by me and kind of stares me down. I thought it was this guy Chris D who used to work at High Gear. He had sunglasses on and I couldn’t really tell. I just smiled at him because A, I am polite, and B, I thought I may have known him. Anyway a few seconds passed and he said something about me passing him on the downhill. But he wasn’t really talking to me, more about me to the people he was with. I said something stupid about him passing me on the CT first.. as the people was with rode by me and we smile at each other because it was a beautiful day and we were outside.
A few minutes later and it finally clicked that this guy was probably mad at me for passing him ? I think he actually called me an asshole after I passed him. Can’t be sure. I really should not ride aggressively so it’s my own fault. If this guy happens to be on here and reads this, I apologize.
New Trails
I continue my ride and find new trails being made on the springside trial, on the switch back climb they are extending and added a bunch of stuff. Awesome. The work these guys do is so pro.. they use 2 (TWO) mini excavators, and a legit plate compactor so the trail is already nice and hardpacked. The trail isnt finished yet, but you can tell its going to be a great addition. I’m not sure how it will link together yet, but I’ll be happy to figure it out.
Sorry for the boring post, especially with no pics. But if you are reading this and got this far, you don’t have shit else to do anyway.
The tale of the missing knarp
This weekend’s goal was to get the Habit dialed in and feeling good. I didn’t get fit on it, because I picked it up on the way home from the Mayhem race and by the time I got to Halters I just wanted to lay down and absorb some beer and water. So the last few rides I have been keeping a multi tool easily associable and adjusting the seat height, seat position, brake lever and shifter positions, and also figuring out how much air in the shock. The lefty, surprisingly was the easiest component to set up.
The challenge was the damn internally routed dropper post. – Long story short, I put it on and it seemed good to go. 5 minutes into my next ride and every bump I hit, the dropper would drop a few inches. The problem was that I didn’t leave enough slack on the cable, so it was partially unlocked. I made my way back to the lot and just pulled the cable out so it would lock.
The next day I wake up and start thinking about fixing it before my ride. As I gather the parts which I had shoved in my cameback, I realize I lost the knarp (AKA cable stop). Fuck.. this is the most obscure part to lose and I had no idea where it was. I shot up to @jimvreeland on my lunch break and he saved the day and had one I could use. That night after the kids went to bed, I went to work. I pulled the crank, ran the cable through the frame, set up the barrel adjuster, thread the cable through… and I find that the knarp he gave me didn’t fit in the damn hole.. fuckity fuck fuck….
I find a pack of Knarps of multiple sizes from some weird moped web site, and I order them even though I doubt they will ever make it. The dropper will have to wait.
Before I am about to go for a quick ride on Sunday I realize one of the zip ties from my brake line had snapped off. I run down to my basement bike shop to grab a few, and a nail clipper (which is the best way to trim BTW). I flip the bike upside down to begin my quick fix. As I flip it, I hear something rattling about . I start checking all the things that may be loose and I finally come to the conclusion that the missing knarp was left in the slot, only to fall out and was still rattling around inside my frame. Pull the post out, shake the bike around, and out falls the missing piece. Fucking A. 10 minutes later the dropper was installed and properly tensioned.
Habit update list
Snake Skin Nobby Nics, (the new ones) 2.35 front and 2.25 rear.
Shimano 1X11 with XTR Shifter, XT Cassette, XT Derailleur, Race Face 30T
Specialized command dropper post
Bike is still hovering around 28lbs. The 1x conversion negated the extra weight from the dropper. I think the next move is a wheelset upgrade. As @Utah pointed out (and the internet confirmed) the Stans rapid wheelset is 2000 grams, and an Arch wheelset would be ~1600ish.. Losing 400 grams on the wheels will make a huge difference. Maybe I’ll go nuts on a bravo set. We’ll see. I think I want to see how long these stock wheels can hold up.
What’d you call me?
After I got the bike together and all adjustments completed, I wanted to go for a ride on the loop which inspired the purchase of the bike in the first place… The old Voorhees – Nassau connection. I park in a quiet lot in Voorhees and make my way down 513 to the trail which takes me to the Columbia trail. The downhill is a freaking blast and I have a huge smile which lasts halfway down the Columbia. Once I get into my “Columbia Trail TT on a MTB” frame of mind I am keeping a decent tempo pace. Not that I want to push the CT is so damn boring I just want to get it over with.
Out of nowhere a cyclecraft guy comes flying by me on a Cannondale Slate (cross bike with the lefty). I give chase, just because that’s my mindset nowadays, but my 28 lb trail bike with a 30t ring is no match. I let up and tell myself to save my legs for the climbs that are going to feel much different than they do on my scalpel.
I make the left off the CT to go by the Iron Works in High Bridge and start BOMBING that little downhill. Its quick, but fun as hell. When I get halfway down I see the guy who had just passed me and he is making his way down. Once I see how fast I am gaining on him I lock up my rear tire and start slowing down. He must have heard me coming because he slowed to a crawl and as I got closer he just moved over for me to pass. I thought he said something but I had music in one ear so I wasn’t sure. I continue on.
I finish the Nassau side of the loop and make my way over to the springside part. As I get to the end of the trail I see this guy again. He met up with a few people who parked in that lot and they were headed into the trail. He rides by me and kind of stares me down. I thought it was this guy Chris D who used to work at High Gear. He had sunglasses on and I couldn’t really tell. I just smiled at him because A, I am polite, and B, I thought I may have known him. Anyway a few seconds passed and he said something about me passing him on the downhill. But he wasn’t really talking to me, more about me to the people he was with. I said something stupid about him passing me on the CT first.. as the people was with rode by me and we smile at each other because it was a beautiful day and we were outside.
A few minutes later and it finally clicked that this guy was probably mad at me for passing him ? I think he actually called me an asshole after I passed him. Can’t be sure. I really should not ride aggressively so it’s my own fault. If this guy happens to be on here and reads this, I apologize.
New Trails
I continue my ride and find new trails being made on the springside trial, on the switch back climb they are extending and added a bunch of stuff. Awesome. The work these guys do is so pro.. they use 2 (TWO) mini excavators, and a legit plate compactor so the trail is already nice and hardpacked. The trail isnt finished yet, but you can tell its going to be a great addition. I’m not sure how it will link together yet, but I’ll be happy to figure it out.
Sorry for the boring post, especially with no pics. But if you are reading this and got this far, you don’t have shit else to do anyway.
It would have been fine if you hollered "Strava!!!" at him first.
Two of them...
Who are you and what have you done with jshort?
Have you never heard of Strava Flyby?
http://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/#541758713?c=dr4xrhvt&z=D&t=1N2g1y
Dude's name is Brian.
http://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/#541758713?c=dr4xrhvt&z=D&t=1N2g1y
Dude's name is Brian.
ktmrider
Well-Known Member
Do you enter the trail behind vorhees that is below the last field ? It's better then going down the road . Here is a link to my strava
https://www.strava.com/activities/532908962
I have a new segment on that called Colorado high that has a nice bounty if you can get the KOM
https://www.strava.com/activities/532908962
I have a new segment on that called Colorado high that has a nice bounty if you can get the KOM
I've gone down the road and came up that trail, but never went down. I'll check it out
So things came together nicely for me this weekend. Actually, first, a quick update to the last race result… the kid who beat me (by a mile) was only 16 which meant he raced in the 15-18 class which means that I technically won the race. It is what it is,.. he crushed me on the last lap, but if I do enough of the H2H races and go for the series, it may help. Whatever, moving on.
I got to the race bright and early to help out, but the team being super efficient didnt really need any help. So I just hung out and tried to look cool… story of my life. The lineup was a little different but it was still all uphill, so it’s more of the same.
@Norm finally got a suitable starting horn….Seriously this thing is sick. I’m pretty sure Pat was the mastermind behind this, and I think it originated somewhere in this thread but has since been painted.
Anyway, Norm initiates the boom and the horn goes off and we all spin our back tires in the super loose rocks. I felt like I was riding in 3 inches of loose gravel (because we were 🙂 ). Once we got going on the more secure ground and I was able to put down some power, I crested the hill in 4th position. After we made the right turn and went downhill I took advantage of my gravitational advantage and the 34t in the front and passed @Delish and Perry (is Perry on here?). I went into the single track 2nd but that lasted for about 1.2 seconds because I got aggro and went around the youngin in 1st to take the lead going up the hill.
Once I had a clear line in front of me, I put my head down and rode like I wanted to. I’m not used to being in the lead, its been a while since I was in the mix in these races. Not following someone else’s possibly flawed lines, and not getting hung up behind someone dabbing is huge.
I pre-rode 6 laps over 2 sessions in the week leading up the race so I knew it better than any other course. Before I went to bed on Saturday night, I visualized an entire lap, thinking about all the sections that could be problematic. I was comfortable on the pre-rides, but even smaller obstacles at race pace can be killers. This course was LOADED with bike and flow killing landmines. so all of that prep really helped me on the first lap. After I passed Luke and started freakin middle (I think that’s the trail) I kept it pinned hoping to build a lead . Once I got to the top of bitch slap (I think that’s the name of the big climb in the back) I took a look back and didn’t see anyone close. Thank god. If I saw someone on my wheel, that would have hurt.
I made my way down the descents fast but conservatively. I was not taking any chances and instead I was trying to recover where I could. I did the short track section which is pretty cruel at this part of the lap. Then I passed the pond and started the long climb up the rocky trail next to the road, then past the registration village, up the road passed the s/f line then onto the tail again. I stayed focused, kept a certain cadence up the climb, and kept an eye on my HR, seeing it in a certain range I knew I could maintain. Going past the village is definitely the highlight of each lap. This is a “home course” and lots of cheering really gives a shot of adrenaline. I just need to be careful and not overdo it with that shot.
After I passed Luke again and made my way along FM, I noticed by back tire was low, but not flat. I didn’t remember hitting anything abnormally hard, but it was definitely too low. I stopped, got my camelbak off, got a CO2 and gave it a shot. It seemed to hold and I thought I put enough in. As I CX remount the bike I look back and see Orange and Blue coming up faaaast. I assumed this was @Delish making up time on me and once I got moving again, I started pressing. I was taking sloppy lines and not doing myself any good. When I got to the bottom of the climb I had to give myself another shot of air. Like a moron, I put the CO2 back in the camelback instead of in my pocket so I had to dig it out again. I gave another shot of air and as I got back on I realized that the Orange and Blue was @merritt and not EO. 1, that was a relief and 2, God damn Merrit is fast as hell.
Going into the last lap I was following Mike’s wheel and by the time was passed the scoring table he gapped me a little. I was fine with him getting away. I was playing the conservation game here. I was really concerned about my rear tire so when I got the nasty rock gardens I just dismounted and ran over them like it was a cross race. I wasn’t taking any chances killing this tire on the last lap. Once I got by @gtluke for the last time, I heard someone yelling in the woods. It sounded like Mike, but I didn’t see one for a minute or so. Unfortunately mike flatted when he was in the lead in his group by a mile. Super suck. I told him to fix it because he had a huge lead but he didn’t look convinced.
I did have to give my tire 1 final shot of air. I’m not sure I needed it, but I had the lead and decided it was the smart move. I must have not put enough in the previous two times I stopped, because I had a lot left in the tank and when it was spent the tire was pretty solid.
The rest of the lap was pretty uneventful. I made my way around and maintained a fast but in control pace. Not taking any risks when passing the endurance riders of which there were a ton of on the last lap.
For the first time since upgrading to Cat 1, I finished first. I gotta say, it felt pretty damn good.
I got to the race bright and early to help out, but the team being super efficient didnt really need any help. So I just hung out and tried to look cool… story of my life. The lineup was a little different but it was still all uphill, so it’s more of the same.
@Norm finally got a suitable starting horn….Seriously this thing is sick. I’m pretty sure Pat was the mastermind behind this, and I think it originated somewhere in this thread but has since been painted.
Anyway, Norm initiates the boom and the horn goes off and we all spin our back tires in the super loose rocks. I felt like I was riding in 3 inches of loose gravel (because we were 🙂 ). Once we got going on the more secure ground and I was able to put down some power, I crested the hill in 4th position. After we made the right turn and went downhill I took advantage of my gravitational advantage and the 34t in the front and passed @Delish and Perry (is Perry on here?). I went into the single track 2nd but that lasted for about 1.2 seconds because I got aggro and went around the youngin in 1st to take the lead going up the hill.
Once I had a clear line in front of me, I put my head down and rode like I wanted to. I’m not used to being in the lead, its been a while since I was in the mix in these races. Not following someone else’s possibly flawed lines, and not getting hung up behind someone dabbing is huge.
I pre-rode 6 laps over 2 sessions in the week leading up the race so I knew it better than any other course. Before I went to bed on Saturday night, I visualized an entire lap, thinking about all the sections that could be problematic. I was comfortable on the pre-rides, but even smaller obstacles at race pace can be killers. This course was LOADED with bike and flow killing landmines. so all of that prep really helped me on the first lap. After I passed Luke and started freakin middle (I think that’s the trail) I kept it pinned hoping to build a lead . Once I got to the top of bitch slap (I think that’s the name of the big climb in the back) I took a look back and didn’t see anyone close. Thank god. If I saw someone on my wheel, that would have hurt.
I made my way down the descents fast but conservatively. I was not taking any chances and instead I was trying to recover where I could. I did the short track section which is pretty cruel at this part of the lap. Then I passed the pond and started the long climb up the rocky trail next to the road, then past the registration village, up the road passed the s/f line then onto the tail again. I stayed focused, kept a certain cadence up the climb, and kept an eye on my HR, seeing it in a certain range I knew I could maintain. Going past the village is definitely the highlight of each lap. This is a “home course” and lots of cheering really gives a shot of adrenaline. I just need to be careful and not overdo it with that shot.
After I passed Luke again and made my way along FM, I noticed by back tire was low, but not flat. I didn’t remember hitting anything abnormally hard, but it was definitely too low. I stopped, got my camelbak off, got a CO2 and gave it a shot. It seemed to hold and I thought I put enough in. As I CX remount the bike I look back and see Orange and Blue coming up faaaast. I assumed this was @Delish making up time on me and once I got moving again, I started pressing. I was taking sloppy lines and not doing myself any good. When I got to the bottom of the climb I had to give myself another shot of air. Like a moron, I put the CO2 back in the camelback instead of in my pocket so I had to dig it out again. I gave another shot of air and as I got back on I realized that the Orange and Blue was @merritt and not EO. 1, that was a relief and 2, God damn Merrit is fast as hell.
Going into the last lap I was following Mike’s wheel and by the time was passed the scoring table he gapped me a little. I was fine with him getting away. I was playing the conservation game here. I was really concerned about my rear tire so when I got the nasty rock gardens I just dismounted and ran over them like it was a cross race. I wasn’t taking any chances killing this tire on the last lap. Once I got by @gtluke for the last time, I heard someone yelling in the woods. It sounded like Mike, but I didn’t see one for a minute or so. Unfortunately mike flatted when he was in the lead in his group by a mile. Super suck. I told him to fix it because he had a huge lead but he didn’t look convinced.
I did have to give my tire 1 final shot of air. I’m not sure I needed it, but I had the lead and decided it was the smart move. I must have not put enough in the previous two times I stopped, because I had a lot left in the tank and when it was spent the tire was pretty solid.
The rest of the lap was pretty uneventful. I made my way around and maintained a fast but in control pace. Not taking any risks when passing the endurance riders of which there were a ton of on the last lap.
For the first time since upgrading to Cat 1, I finished first. I gotta say, it felt pretty damn good.
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
congrats jeremy - I'm looking forward to following your season.
Really good recap. Excellent start to the season. Still winging the rest of the season or are you putting a plan together? Maybe you can get that state championship you were cheated out of years ago, this one would feel even better.