The Year In Pictures

The year that was

Since I'm hit and miss with my blogging I figured I had better do a year in review before 2011 rolls around. All in all it was a pretty good year. I bought my Jamis, rode BRAN, built a new house, lost a ton of weight. Lets talk gear though. With a new bike comes new gear, I love gear. My wife might say I like the hunt for gear better than the gear itself. I disagree, although the hunt is fun.

New gear:
Ortlieb Front and Rear Panniers - love them, best money can buy
Surly Front Nice Rack - built like a brick shithouse, adds weight, but worth it
Arkel Handlebar Bag - Huge almost too big, I'm contemplating buying the smaller version. The only con is it makes your bike top heavy and prone to tipping over.
Park Tool Frame Pump - not great, nothing to compare it to though. Only had to use it once on someone elses tire. Ended up using CO2.
Planet Bike Fenders - good so far no problems, love them in the rain
Planet Bike 2w Headlight - very bright, no issues
Giro Sarros Helmet - great design to match my bike, lighter than my old helmet
Pearl Izumi Elite Bib Shorts - I only wear bibs and these new ones are amazing. The elite chamois is incredible.
Keen Commuter Cycling Sandle - I was hesitant to buy these, but have to say they are comfy and great in the heat of summer. Good for casual flater rides.
Brooks B-17 Saddle - take care of it and it will take care of you. Use leather conditioner and adjust the stiffness as it loosens, tighten it slightly, keep doing this until you don't even know it's there.

I just completed the Bike Ride Across Nebraska last week on my Jamis Aurora Elite. I'm not sure what other conditions I can put this bike through to test it. It is the best bike I have ever owned. I did not have any problems with it the whole week except for a minor rear deraileur adjustment. I swapped out the 700x32 Vittoria Randonneur tires for a 700x28 Vitoria Pro Comp. These have a lower rolling resitance, higher tpi, and higher air pressure. They worked really well and I had no flats. My Brooks B-17 saddle is really getting broken in now that I have over 1000 miles on it. The road is wide open and I'm ready to ride off in the sunset with my Jamis.

2010 Jamis Aurora Elite (Partial Review)

Why a partial review? Well I've ridden it in various conditions flat, hilly, bike path, road, residential, long, and short rides. I have not however toured with it yet. So my partial review is for the non touring aspect of this bike. I'll have a touring review in January after completing a couple loaded tours with it.

The Bike:
The Jamis Aurora Elite has a great balance to it. The Reynolds 631 flexes beautifully offering a comfortable ride. If you do not own a steel frame bike, everything you have heard about the comfort of steel is true. I myself was not sure if the stories were fact or fiction. I am a true believer now. The other key feature is the stability of the bike. With steel not being as rigid as carbon fiber and aluminium the bike does not feel bouncy and jittery on rough roads. It simply eats them up and absorbs them. In another post I compared the feeling of this bike to a motorcycle. I stand by that statement, and love it for it.

The Components:
I specifically chose this bike over the more popular Surly LHT for several reasons related to components. First the Reynolds 631 is a better steel that 4030 cromoly. Second the bar end shifters on the LTH are junk, STI shifters are the way to go. You can dial in your gears better and I don't have to move my hands out of my normal riding position to shift. Third the disc brakes are far superior to cantilever brakes. When you are loaded down with 40 or more pounds of gear and going down a long steep hill, in the rain, you want disc breaks. Granted that is a worst case scenario but if you don't plan for the worst that is when something will go wrong. I like to ride in the rain so stopping power to me is important. Plus I am a bigger guy and canti brakes have never felt reliable and they sound horrible. Forth the Shimano XT rear deraileur.

Modifications:
The 2010 Jamis Aurora Elite comes with a rear rack rated at 40lbs and aluminium flat fenders. Not a bad start if you are on a budget. Fenders and a rack (or racks) are something that most touring bikes end up with. Since I knew I was in the market for a touring bike this year I had put the cart before the horse and got a bunch of touring gear for xmas. So I already had Planet Bike fenders, Surly front Nice Rack, Tubus Logo rear rack, Brooks B17 saddle, Park Tool frame pump, and several other small accessories. The first thing I did was removed the stock seat and seat post. I used the Brooks B17 and Bontrager seat post off my Trek. I can just swap seat/seat post between bikes now. I was also trying to remove as much of the chrome piece as I could. The seat and post are black. Next I removed the rear rack and fenders, both painted silver. I added the Planet Bike fenders next although I had some issues which I'll address in the next section. The Tubus Logo rack would not go on the bike around the disc brakes, same with the Surly Nice Rack. The Surly rack came with a boat load of hardware for various applications. The bracket and shims included for disc brake applications worked, but not to my liking. So I put the stock rack back on and ran with it until I could fabricate a couple brackets for the racks. After fabricating a couple L brackets for the rear rack I was able to get it on. It worked well, but the Tubus rack is real narrow at the top and does not accommodate a trunk bag at all. Since I always use a trunk bag, the Tubus was not going to work for me. I ended up painting the stock rack flat black and it looks just as good as my Surly Nice Rack. All of the times I took the rear rack on and off ended up stripping out one of the rear braze ons. The screw was cross threaded by my LBS when they put the bike together and kept getting worse each time I took the rack off. I had a different LBS retap the threads but ultimately it needs a helicoil thread repair kit to fix it. The bracket I needed for the Surly rack was a little more difficult to fabricate. I took a piece of galvanized plate steel and fabricated a bracket similar to the one that came with the rack. I had to add more of an angle to it in order for it to fit around the brake caliper. It's on and very stable.

The Cons:
You've heard the Pros, now the Cons. The only problem I've had has been adding fenders and racks. The disc breaks are just in the way and no one makes an off the shelf rack or fender that accommodates them without some tinkering. I am very handy, so it was not so much a problem for me as it was a fun challenge. However if you don't have the tools and are not handy it would be a little more difficult for you. Your best bet wold be to shop around to find a competent mechanic capable of dong what I did. The last thing I want to do is sway someone away from buying an Aurora Elite. Like I said in another post, disc brakes aren't a new thing but they are not mainstream on touring bikes. As more and more manufacturers follow Jamis's lead, more rack manufacturers will start making disc compatible racks. There are a few out there, but again they will require some tinkering to get them to work.

In Summation:
The 2010 Jamis Aurora Elite is a great bike with great components. The stock fenders and rear rack are more than adequate for touring. If you need to add a front rack definitely go with the Surly Nice Rack. Their brackets will work with the disc breaks I just chose to fabricate my own to make it work better. The tires are a great puncture proof, high tpi, rain tire. The Mavic rims are a reliable, sturdy rim for touring. The Shimano groupo set up is one of the best touring set ups out there. And the I can't say enough about the Shimano STI shifters. The ride quality is awesome and will take you on the long haul with out being surly at the end.

Metal Fabrication

Last night I fabricated some metal brackets to allow me to attach my front Surly Nice Rack and rear Tubus Logo rack.

A Tourist is Born

Take a look at my 2010 Jamis Aurora Elite page for more pics and build info.

I had a great weekend riding and building my new bike. First the ride. It is amazing how much different a steel frame rides. First thing is first, a steel touring bike weighs a lot more than an aluminium/carbon fiber road bike. My days of averaging 16-17mph on a training ride are not realistic on this bike. Saturday's 44 mile ride averaged just under 14mph with a headwind the whole ride. My legs were hurting when I got done. I'll have to acclimate my legs to addtional weight of the bike and the lack aerodynamics. The nice thing is I'll get into better shape riding this heavier bike. With that said the combination of weight and flex of the steel gives it a ride like no other bike I've ever ridden. The bike just felt solid on the road. It kind of reminded me of a motorcycle. Just a solid ride, no feeling of insecurity.

The extra weight was nice on the downhills and it climbed very well also. The wind was my worst enemy, but the ride was nice. I felt fresh up until the end of the ride. My body didn't hurt as bad as normal. I could definitely tell that this bike was made for long haul touring. The only problem I had was with my hands. I'm used to riding with aero bars on my road bike. Getting down on my forearms would allow me to rest my hands. I'm also used to having a beefier handlebar wrap on my bars.

I still have some tweaking to do on the fit of the bike, but it was pretty close to perfect right out of the store. The new handlebar wrap will help my hands, and moving the seat around will dial in the fit.

Now the build. Most of this is detailed on my Jamis Aurora Elite page so I'll just highlight a few things. First, disc brakes on a touring bike is not a new thing, but it's not mainstream. Racks and fenders are not made to compensate for a brake caliper being in the way. I have a Tubus Logo rack that I can not put on mmy bike because the caliper is in the way. Tubus does make a conversion kit for disc brakes, but I'm not sold yet that it will work on my bike. So for now I'm keeping the stock Jamis rack. The front Surly Nice Rack is compatable with my front fork/disc caliper. Well almost, I had to mess with it for a few hours trying to get it just right. I did have to deviate from their instructions though. I may end up making my own custom bracket to get around the caliper. I generally won't have a lot of weight on the front rack anyway, so no worries. My Planet Bike fenders were a little easier, although again not made for disc brakes. Everything else went on pretty easy. It's starting to look like a touring machine.

Awesome!

Steel

Today is the day! Last weekend I ordered a 2010 Jamis Aurora Elite and it will be in today. I'm hoping to pick it up tonight or tomorrow.

I am really excited to get this bike out and test it on some rough spots I normally ride. I really want to see how it compares to my aluminium road bike. There are times when my bike just feels like it is going to fall apart underneath me. The test ride was great but just doesn't tell tell the story. I'm really hoping all the talk about steel being more forgiving is true. I'm also excited about the disc brakes. I have never liked cantilever brakes. I feel like I'm going to wear the pads out going down a big hill.

This bike will do everything. I'll take it on the city trails, roads, & rail trails. I'll be able to hook all 4 of my Ortlieb panniers on and do a multi day self supported tour. I'm really excited to use it in all sorts of rides this year to see how it performs.

fork fork fork

last night I started working on painting the fork on my Project SS bike. There were a couple scratches in the paint so instead of trying to sand and feather the paint back I decided to to apply stipper and take all the paint off. It worked out quite well. I got all the paint/primer off with ease and a lot less dust and mess had i tried to sand it off. I was able to get 2 coats of primer on it as well.

My frame is at the blaster and should be done next week sometime. He is actually using walnut chips instead of sand. Sand will eat away at the metal so walnut chips is the way to go I guess.

Paint will be mostly black with the lugs painted green. There are a few finishing touches I may put on it but I need to wait to see the bike before I decide to do more.

The Latest Advancements

Last night I started tinkering with truing my front wheel. The plan all along has been to build em, and take em to the LBS to get trued. However I figured what do I have to loose, if I mess it up the LBS will fix it. So after about 40 minutes or so I had the thing as true as any bike shop could get it. It took a while to get the hang of how to do it but over all it went well. I can't get the rear wheel on my front fork (makeshift sturing stand) so I'll have to wait to do it when I get the frame back from the blaster. I'm hoping to have it back by the end of the week.

New Pics

I finally got the last of my parts in last night. I sent my frame off to get blasted. I wrapped my handlebars and got some pics of my wheels. Once I get my frame back (hopefully this week) I'll start painting.

Rear wheel laced up.


Side shot of wheel showing flip/flop hub with both fixed sprocket and freewheel.



Bullhorn handlebars with green bar wrap.

Parts list for Project SS

Now that I have finally aquired all the parts needed to complete my project, I have finally decided to list everything out for historical preservation.

Handlebars - bullhorn style (not sure of brand)
Handlebar tape - green Deda wrap
Threded stem - nashbar comfort stem in black
Rims - Mavic Sport 36hole in black with black spokes and nipples
Hubs - Harris Cyclery front/rear flip flop hub
Tires - Vittoria Rubino Pro 700x28
Tubes - Giant 700x28-32
Bottom Bracket - Shimano UN54 68x103
Crankset - Origin8 46T Track/SS
Chain - Origin8 1/2" black teflon coated
Freewheel - ACS 22T
Fixed Cog - Surly 22T
Pedals - Wellgo platform pedals
Brakes - TBD

OEM Parts
Frame
Fork
Seat
Seat post

Wow, it doesn't seem like much once I list it out. That is the simplicity of a fixed gear/singlespeed.

Project SS Update

I've almost got all the parts I need for my SS project. I've had a hard time with some online retailers being out of stock or backordering parts after I order them. Frustrating! I'm still waiting for a couple parts but everything else has been received. After stimulating the economy at Harris Cyclery, I got a box of goodies promptly sent to me. These guys are fast at shipping your order! I proceeded to build my wheels. This was an educational experience to put it lightly. After several screw ups I got both wheels laced. I'll be taking them to my LBS to get trued and dished. I had to get few other specialty parts from other places online.

The frame is my big hold up at this point though. I need to get it stripped and painted. The paint scheme I'm working on should be pretty kick ass.

Condescending Flip Flopping

So after all the talk about getting a Surly Long Haul Trucker, I've changed my mind. I realized that the last time I bought a bike based on color, I ended up not liking the fit of the bike and lost my a lot of money when I sold it for half it's original purchase price. Lesson learned I thought, until today.

I met my dad today to help him buy his first "real" bike. He picked out a Jamis Coda Elite. Steele frame, carbon fork, XT components, and disc breaks. It's a nice bike, one he'll get years of use out of. While I was there I checked out the Jamis Aurora Elite, a bike I had considered second best to the LHT. The 2010 model has disc breaks as an upgrade from last years model. That is one huge drawback the LHT had, I really wanted disc breaks. I came back to work and got on the Jamis website and looked at Aurora Elite. I compared it to the LHT and made a ranking, component vs component. The Jamis came out on top by several points. In my mind this is where is beats the LHT: better breaks, steel, shifters, derailers, tires, rims, & cassette. Had I gone forward with the LHT I would have replaced the bar end shifters for STI's, swapped out the wheelset, and probably upgraded the derailers. Instead the Jamis will just need my laundry list of xmas items added to it. I'll replace the stock seat with my Brooks and re-wrap the bars with black tape to match the seat. Above all else I won't have to wait until July to get it like I would the Black LHT. I may have to order one in my size, but to wait a few weeks is better than a few months. I'm going to talk to the LBS on Saturday to get it ordered.

Project 74 is gone. Project SS is born.

Recently I decided to ditch my 1974 Schwinn Varsity project. The frame is too small for me and there is no point dumping time and money into a bike I can not ride. So I started searching for another bike that had a big enough frame that I could use. I was lucky enough to find a bike on cragislist for $50. It's a 1988 Panasonic Sport 500. There is not a ton of info out there on these bikes, but from what I could find they were well made Japanese bikes. This model was the bottom of the line bike for Panasonic. That is the bad news I guess...if I cared. I got a steel frame, double butted, for cheap.

My plan is to turn this into a single speed bike. I am looking into different ideas for components, and paint. I found several sites dedicated to fixed gear and single speed bikes. Some of the pictures of these bikes inspired my Project SS. They weren't just bikes, they were works of art. The clean lines, the vibrant paint, and simplicity of one gear.

I decided to order a set of Park tools (AK-37) so I can tear into this bike. Right now the project is on hold because I need a crank puller. It should be here Wednesday so just a couple more days. More to come...

Bike Build

My desire to build a bike from the ground up has not gone away and gotten the best of me. I am in the process of trying to buy a bike off craigslist to use to build up into a single speed. It's a $50 Panasonic Sport 500. The cost is ideal, but the steel frame is the key piece I want.

I found some neat sites dedicated to fixed gear and single speed bikes. Some of them look like pieces of art. The cleanliness of them just looks awesome. That got me thinking about what I wanted to do with my bike. I remembered seeing a site that allowed you to design a virtual bike. The site is bikeforest.com they have a Bike CAD program for you to use. So far so good, I haven't used it too much.

I've got most of the parts I need for a single speed picked out already, just waiting to see if this bike pans out. I'm going to use the Bike CAD to develop a color scheme that fits the artistic clean lines look that I'm going for.

More to come!

The final decision

After a long thoughtout debate (with myself) I've decided to buy the complete LHT and repalce a few things on it. The thought of building a bike from scratch was getting overwhelming. Too many things that are out of my skill level. Someday...I will build a bike from scratch. I want to be able to take my time and do it right. I'll have had time to research everything and buy all the tools I need.
The LHT as it comes is a solid bike. I'm just not a fan of the handlebar setup though. I want to remove the bar end shifter and put shifter/brakes on it and possibly cross brakes as well. I'd also wrap the bars with the Aztec Vibewrap system since I like the feel of it on my other bike now. I've heard complaints about the brake pads so I'll replace those as well.

The consideration of a build

One of my ongoing projects is complete strip down of an old Schwinn Varsity. I'm in the ready for paint stage but due to the cold weather (ie. cold garage) I'm at a stand still. I recently thought about modernizing it and putting a lot of new parts on it. After doing some research I realized that the expense was not worth it. Plus I liked the idea of reusing all the old parts and keeping it original. The researching of components got me thinging about my new Surly LHT. What if I bought the frame and did a custom build? I could have a one off custom bike like no other. I could have all the pieces and parts that I wanted, not what Surly gave me on a complete bike. This is a bike I want for multiple uses, why not make it the best bike I can. At roughtly $1100 the LHT is bargain. There is some definite room for improvement on the components. SO why not spend $430 for the frame and maybe $1000 on the compoments. The frame is the main reason people buy a LHT anyway, not the components that come on it.
The decision to want to do a custom build is two fold. The first part I just explained, the bonus of better components. The second part is actually doing the build. That is where I an on the fence. It's easy to get the credit card out and go on a spending spree online buying pieces and parts. The hard part is actually installing the parts and making sure you buy the right parts. I addition to all the parts I'll buy some specialty tools that not everyone has in their tool box. Now grated I could pay more money and have a local bike shop help me pick everything out and put it all together. But what's the fun in that. I do most of the work on my bike anyway, so why not know how it all works. My plan would be to go into my LBS (local bike shop) and have them help me with the questions I have and maybe ever order some parts for me, but I'll do all the work myself. I may bring the bike back in to have my work looked over.
That is the decision I'm facing. We'll see where my research leads me.

Truckin

As mentioned before I am buying a new bike this year. I've decided on the Surly Long Haul Trucker. It's steel frame, gearing, mounting points for racks and fenders, owner reviews, and color scheme all played a part in my decision to go with the Surly. The one thing keeping me from pullng the trigger is the color. Surly is releasing two new colors this year, blue and black. The blue is starting to hit the bike shops now, but the black will not be relased until mid year (June/July). The look of the bike is so important to me that I am willing to wait 4 to 5 more months. I'm going to miss having it now and riding most of my 2010 miles on it, but to get what I want I'll wait. I plan to use it as my primary bike. My Trek Pilot will be a training type bike used for speed work and other short distance type riding. The Surly will be my road bike, my rail trail bike, and my commuter bike. I bought a new wheel set for my Trek last year to try to make it my all around bike but the carbon front fork and alluminium frame just really concern me with my weight and carrying a load. It did perform well on my Wabash Tour last year, but from what I've heard about the ride quality of a steel frame I just have to try it. I'm planning on repeating the Wabash Tour this year and adding a tour to Lincoln via the MoPac Trail. I'll have the Surly by then to really get a feel for it as a loaded touring bike.

The Motherload

For xmas I went with a theme again this year. Bike accessories! I am going to buy a new bike this year so I decided to use xmas to pre accessorize it. Truly putting the cart before the horse. I'm getting a touring bike (more on that later) so I asked for and received the following:
Ortlieb Bike Packer Plus
Ortlieb Front Roller Plus
Tubus Logo Rear Rack
Surly Front Nice Rack
Planet Bike Hardcore Hybrid Fenders
Planet Bike 1W Headlight
Park Tool Dial Adjust Frame Pump

Not having the bike yet to put all this stuff on and test out I can't really give a review at this time. I'll do that once I am able to give a comprehensive review from a loaded tour. Stay tuned...

Back in the saddle

In an effort to get back to blogging I'm going to start blogging about my cycling miles. One of my goals is to complete BRAN (Bike Ride Across Nebraska) in June. My goal is to have at least 1000 miles by June 1st. I started training Feb 1 inside on my trainer. Winter here in Nebraska has been brutal this year so getting outside to ride has been impossible. Hopefully by March it will start to warm up and melt all this snow off. We had two blizzards roll through here in Dec and haven't had many days over freezing. My other goal is to get over 2000 miles on my bike this year. I'm sure I can get more, but 2000 is where I will start. Once I reach that, I'll bump it up. I think 3000 is attainable. So far I have set small goals of 50 miles a week on the trainer. 10 miles a day M-F. Although I got my 50 miles in last week I skipped a couple days and made up for it by doing a couple 15 mile rides. Although I didn't follow my plan (I rarely do) I did realize that 10 miles is too easy. So this week I'm doing 15 miles for a weekly goal of 75 miles. i can do 15 miles in under an hour so it doesn't take a huge amount of time and for now it's a good distance.