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361  Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Middleburn cranks and chainrings on: February 24, 2012, 11:56:46 AM
You have to consider how good your balance is at those speeds, and how well you can keep the front wheel on the ground.

Super low can be useful, but sometimes in the field you'll still be walking.
362  Forums / DIY / Make Your Own Gear (MYOG) / Re: How about tyvek on: February 24, 2012, 12:34:44 AM
When I made footprints for tents a while back, I used gaffa tape along the area I was going to stitch or holepunch, this added significant strength to the tyvek, the adhesive bonded to the tyvek really well.

I buy lightweight vek from a local art supply store, heavyweight vek is used in our building industry, hardware stores etc sell by the roll, or found on building sites as scrap.
363  Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Food ideas on: February 24, 2012, 12:28:54 AM
Hungarian salami, full flavour and can eat straight , cut into pieces and into rice/noodles/couscous/macaroni/ dehy mash spud.

Always buy the heat treated one though, this is the one that will remain fresh for a few days without refrigeration (in moderate ambient temps of course). Lots of fat, high protein, already oily so great for dishes that need a little oil like couscous.
364  Forums / Bikepacking / Re: Flinders Peak, Ipswich - Boonah trail on: February 24, 2012, 12:05:10 AM
That is awesome, i too wanted to explore that area when living in QLD>

Hey Rhino, man you'd love it. Did I buy a fork off you?
365  Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Middleburn cranks and chainrings on: February 22, 2012, 07:48:48 PM
I forgot to mention my XT cranks are older 9 spd. I ended up using a Tiagra 10spd triple front mech, as it had the correct pull location for fenders. I've used these mechs before on many builds, really happy with them with the range, cage shape and durability. Tuned up well, a few mods to it with shaping and tuning the cage to suit lift and drop requirements.

I'm running a 22 x 36, really good bailout gear.

I'll take some pics as soon as I can.
366  Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Middleburn cranks and chainrings on: February 21, 2012, 12:41:41 PM
To run a triple (XT crank) on my ti fargo and Apex, I ended up using an old X9 3x9 trigger I had in my spares bin, just to shift the triple only. I mounted it on the end of my aero bars. Works very well.

Invest in a Gore Professional cableset, I install these a lot and use them on all my SRAM bikes, shifting is superb and well sealed from contaminants. Not cheap, but in my experience the shift quality is so good it makes the price worth the quality shifting.

Is it an X9 10 speed rear mech with EXACT Actuation, or older X9 with 1:1? There is a difference with cable pull ratio. I use an Apex rear mech with my 12-36 with no issue, just a bit heavier.
367  Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Minneapolis - help me! on: February 18, 2012, 09:38:07 PM
Thanks Slim, turns out I can't get flights in time, so no trip now Sad Next year if it's in MN again, I'll head over with a plan, thanks for the links as it will help with that plan.

Not all bad though. Due to the disappointment of not going Smiley the funds I was going to allocate to the trip, can now be diverted to some new snow bikes. My wife thought that would be a great idea to cheer me up. To reinforce the 'Snowbike recovery package' I will continue to mope around the house for a few days Wink Muk for her (ducks disease) and Moon for me. Sob story

Nobody likes a brown winter either...
368  Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Threadless Stem Question on: February 18, 2012, 09:27:57 PM
Yep, I know exactly what you are thinking. I have two stems on one of my bikes, with a kiddy seat (LOCT) on the front of the bike. I have a second pair of bars (cut down carbon road bars into a stubby flatbar) for my daughter to hang onto. I used a BBB steerer extender and cannot fault the strength, but of course the weight is not a factor on this bike - 6" travel freeride bike with beef for 1.5 riders Smiley

I would not weld anything to a set of bars. Too critical an item to mess with, and too many variables to be stronger than original.

Why don't you want to use a steerer extender?
369  Forums / Question and Answer / Minneapolis - help me! on: February 16, 2012, 07:31:26 PM
Park Tool are running their annual Tech Summit in Minneapolis next week, a last minute decision for me is to go (I've been the last 3 years) and I wasn't planning on going...buuuuut Campag EPS is a pretty big drawcard for me in our shop.

So, I usually do an add on adventure while in whatever town the Summit is running. I'll probably only have a day or two - my immediate thought was snowbiking. Is there any? I'll be staying at Crown Plaza (host hotel of the Summit), not bringing a bike, so would need to hire or 'borrow a demo'.

I've not looked at locations yet, but will check out google maps over the weekend.

Any help appreciated!
370  Forums / Bikepacking / Re: Kiwi Brevet stories on: February 14, 2012, 07:21:03 PM
3.5 days for Ollie, geez incredible.

Jeff, even Saunders reckons thats a pretty good feat.
371  Forums / Bikepacking / Flinders Peak, Ipswich - Boonah trail on: February 10, 2012, 06:50:32 PM
For a very long time I've wanted to get out to Flinders Peak. From afar, I would see them each day when riding to work. Local area maps revealed very little about the area, the trails within or the history...until recently. Ipswich and Boonah Shire councils have worked together open up and promote the are and its trails - most importantly the Ipswich-Boonah Trail.
 
I had an Audax offroad night ride at Peaks Crossing, so this was the perfect timing I needed to stage a bikepacking overnighter in the area. Seeing as I was supposed to be in NZ for the Kiwi Brevet and had a bit of form to spare, it was only fitting that I make it a door to door micro-adventure. So, loaded up the Fargo, set course and got truckin'!
 
From Daisy Hill, headed out via Greenbank, Springfield, then to Yamanto via the Centenary hway. Dropped into the Maccas drivethrough for some dinner. The Centenary hway stretch was bliss - smooth hotmix, wide shoulder and gentle rollers.
 
Afternoon view of the peaks in the distance from the Centenary hwy.



Dinner en route - chicken wrap and choc thickshake
 



 
The audax night ride was 35k (mostly) offroad loop, under a full moon. A variety of bikes, from my ti Fargo, to hybrids, mtbs and even a few road bikes with 23s on. With paperwork and a quick briefing done, it was off into the night. We went along one trail that was bottomless blacksoil goop, sodden from the previous weeks rain, I found a C line through the grass beside the trail - story goes the road bikes didn't fare so well, one rider was running Speedplays and lost a LOT of time digging mud out of his cleats...
 
After the ride we shared stories and chatted about each others bikes. One rider was a recent  (and many time rider) of PBP, he had some interesting stories about the bikes and riders of this years PBP.  I headed off to make camp, somewhere around midnight I crawled into the Contrail. The mozzies were horrendous, big greys, every 10 seconds or so during setup I'd go off on a Peter Garret dance to shake them off - glad I decided on a screened tarp instead of the bivvy.
 

 
A quick brekky and onto the trail - a lot of vertical and a bit of walking. Be interesting to see what the trail is like with fresh legs, I need to rethink my shoes with hike-a-bike sections in mind, feet got cut up a bit with the walking and pushing up the steeper 30%+ sections, some reminded me of Filbert, Lombard and Divisadero streets in San Francisco.
 





 
To add to the terrain, you constantly need to scan the trail ahead for these guys - Golden Orb spider. They spin a thick, super sticky yellow web with a Kevlar-like silk, can grow with a leg span as big as your hand and cause a pucker moment when you hit the web on a descent. You do the Garret dance as you strip off helmet, pack etc and wonder where the spider is...
 

 
I remember years ago when the Chuck Norris quotes were popular, I recall one quote as going "Chuck Norris has no chin, underneath his beard is another fist". The terrain was a bit like that on this trail, you'd ascend a bit then turn a corner, and find another climb and another climb after that - just like that fist. There'd be a short steep descent into a ravine, then you walk out of it to another climb.
 

 
Pretty soon I came to the saddle of Mt Blaine, with views directly out to Flinders Peak and beyond. The descent to Flinders plum was 35%+, rocky but in good condition.
 

 
Down near Sandy creek the trail disappeared into the long grass, was really glad for the gaiters and sock protectors from Moxie Gear. They have a 5mm closed cell shin guard around the front of the gaiter, with just lycra on the back panels. Great for trail brush, but not confident with them for reptile protection...
 





 
Reached Flinders Plum, to find the trail had been temporarily closed . I was planning to navigate past the base of Flinders Peak, then exit to the south east and return via Undullah, Jimboomba and Logan Village, but this track closure forced me to return on the same road route via Springfield and Greenbank. Ah well, next time a bit furthur.
 


372  Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: TD newbie qs on: February 03, 2012, 01:28:06 PM
I hear you mcmurv! No one on my team has had the problem either. But my rear tire had maybe 70 miles on it and had multiple blisters. I didn't bother counting all of them because one blister was the size of a dime and I knew the tire was dead.  But there were many tiny little blisters all over the tire too.  Most of the larger blisters seemed to be near the center of the tire with the smaller blisters being on the smooth sidewalls. I bought a set of ignitors on the same order and decided to sell them instead after reading about all the blisters that ignitor users have seen from a simple google search.  Too bad maxxis wouldn't communicate with me on the issue. A teammate who is also a bike mechanic said that it's not uncommon either. it turns out that not all rubber compounds deal well with Stans. I think some tire manufactures will say explicitly that they support Stans. Anyone out there with any solid industry information on the topic? All my info is just from my own experiences, no real science.

In my experience and talking to our tech reps from Maxxis, they were not warrantying the tyres that had been installed with Stans. Stans has an ammonia content that is incompatible with the rubber chemistry of Maxxis tyres, hence the blister failures. I've used Caffelatex (no ammonia), Geax TNT and tubeless therapy with great success on a wide range of tyres and tubs, both road and offroad.
373  Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Advice please -- putting aerobars on a Flash on: January 29, 2012, 07:33:09 PM

Thanks for the fact checking Area54, I stand corrected.

All good, quite the opposite in fact, as my 1.5" did not equal 39.6mm.
374  Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Advice please -- putting aerobars on a Flash on: January 29, 2012, 03:16:36 PM
I just measured one of the 2012 Flashs in our shop, steerer measures 39.6mm, 1.5" = 38.1mm.  thumbsup
375  Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Night Riding Lights on: January 27, 2012, 08:56:11 PM
For the Kiwi this year, I'm running an Exposure Race, top it up with power from a SON 28 NEW via E-Werk. Not a cheap option, but I like the integrated nature of the Exposure (internal battery) and external charge port availability during use.

Ayups as backup.
376  Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Advice please -- putting aerobars on a Flash on: January 27, 2012, 08:51:37 PM
If you've got enough steer-tube exposed, this will work:
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,2765.msg27221.html#msg27221

If not, post up in the Classifieds as "Wanted" that you are looking to buy a "Fred Bar"... you might get lucky and someone has one they no longer need. Unfortunately, you can't buy them new any longer.

One more option, then I'll stop:
http://jtekengineering.com/jtek_Axe_aerobar.htm



Neither of those options will work with your lefty (1.5 steerer). Best bet is to buy a set of quality alloy riser bars with a wide clamping area, to ensure the aerobars will get a firm grip with no slip. Assemble with carbon paste too.

Some carbon bars do have a wide and thickened area for clamping, but I doubt that any (mainstream) mtb bar maker would build a bar to specifically accept clip ons the way that road bars do.


Nice Flash too.
377  Forums / Winter bikepacking / Re: Snwbike Rim to tire locking experience/suggestions? on: January 08, 2012, 02:48:21 AM
Make up some plates from thick HDPE plastic sheet (think quality plastic cutting boards the fishos use) that will have a mirror profile to the rim (the tyre side), bolt them through holes in the rim. So loosen the bolts, fit tyre, then tighten bolts and these plates will clamp the inside bead of the tyre to the inside on the rim bead seat.

Yep, motos and drag/circuit track racers have used the bodgy screwlocks for decades, the malaysian rainforest challenge racers (4x4s) use an internal beadlock, comprising a kelvar sleeve that fits close to the rim, has a special shaped tube inside and when inflated puts positive pressure on the beads of the tyre. A second valve is fitted to the rim to enable regular inflation of the tyre carcass. This internal beadlock is very neat and also keeps the bead totally free of debris that would break the seal of the tubeless tyre. Kinda hard to adapt this to a bike tyre unless running a tubeless setup.

You could try a few extra wraps of cloth rim tape right on the bead seat of the rim, to increase the friction directly at the bead seat of the rim and tyre. Cheap, reversible if no worky.
378  Forums / Bikepacking / Re: Which Tarptent? on: December 25, 2011, 02:23:15 AM
Edit:  Oops,  I just realized the original poster is referring to Tarptent as a brand, I originally interperted Tarptent as a type of tent. 

Me too, my bad.

Anyhow, forge on. Slightly off topic, but relates to my input. So bivvy tarptent up in the backyard, not really happy with it, so it goes back to the shop. Spent all xmas eve researching tents,  came back to the Contrail. Looks roomy, light, packable. I like to see the outside at night - moon, stars, critters - and the huge opening will deliver that and more.
379  Forums / Bikepacking / Re: Which Tarptent? on: December 23, 2011, 03:57:08 PM
My Terra Nova bivi tarp just arrived. Has mesh liner, tub floor (sealed) but fly is not sealed. Raining out now, just about to cut in the footprint and get outside for setup in the rain.
380  Forums / Winter bikepacking / Re: foot systems on: December 19, 2011, 01:03:33 AM
I used a pair of Shimano MW80s for my stint in winter Chicago, I have a broad foot + high instep and the MW80s are built on the 'volume plus' last, which gave me a heap of room for foot, wool liner, bulky technical wool sock - and enough room for a powerbar stuffed down under each neoprene cuff.

I think the model has been superceded with the MW81.

I hope this helps, I got nothing else as the coldest winter we get here is around 7 degree C...
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