A day on a bike...

Well I had a chance to demo a Titus Racer-X 29er in the San Ysidro Dirty Century thanks to the folks at High Desert Cycles. So I thought I’d do a write up on my impressions. Now mind you this is my opinion and I’m not looking to start any religious discussions here. Go to MTBR if you want one of those.

With that said I will give you a quick run-down on MY opinion of 29ers. I have an Orbea Alma 29er as my light duty XC Racing rig and I like it...A LOT!!! However, a 29er, like everything, has advantages and dis-advantages.

Obviously, what sets them apart from a 26er is the big wheel. The big wheel has more reciprocating mass further from the axel and has a larger contact patch to the ground. The rest of this is pure physics, even though it seems to get argued about…A LOT!!!

Like a Single Speed, I think that 29ers make you a stronger rider because they work you harder on the long sustained climbs. There is extra effort needed to get that reciprocating mass and the drag of the larger contact patch to the top of the climbs. But it is rewarded when you then unleash all that potential energy you have built up and stored, to roll back down hill.

A 29er builds up momentum faster because of the reciprocating weight. Due to the bigger wheel they roll smoother because of the shallower “angle of attack” to the ground. Consequently, they roll over obstacles easier. And because of the larger contact patch, they have better traction while climbing technical ledge sections as well as cornering. But they cut apexes wider and can be somewhat sluggish in their steering. The reciprocating mass and large contact patch also means they accelerate slower. There, enough said about that subject.












I presently ride a 26er Titus Racer-X Exogrid and was curious to see how it compared to the 29er version. Since I’m tackling religious subjects today, let me take a moment to extol the virtues of Exogrid.

Many people look at Exogrid and call it purely “bling”. Well it is bling no doubt, but it is also technology in action.

Until you have ridden an Exogrid frame it’s hard to express. I liken it to the ride difference between Titanium and Aluminum frames. The smoothness of Exogrid compared to pure Titanium is amazing. It really is that dramatic and can be instantly felt at the first stroke of the pedal.
















http://www.titusti.com/titus09/exogrid.php

The Exogrid frame is an “engineered” tube set that is designed to be light, stiff and provide exceptional “dampening”. The way that it dampens vibration is phenomenal, really really "quiet". This gets back to the point that until you ride one, it's hard to appreciate it.

My experience riding a RacerX Exogrid is, without a doubt, the finest riding frame I’ve ever had the honor of swinging a leg over. Ok, enough of that Titus advertisement.

So what did I think of the RacerX 29er? Well, in summary I would say it is an increadibly smooth race chassis. The RacerX is well respected for its stable climbing ability combined with excellent suspension response under braking and pedaling forces. Horst Link suspensions just plain work and even though many have tried to duplicate the capabilities in many ways, the simplicity of the Horst Swing Link design is hard to improve upon.

So it’s no surprise that the 29er version of the RacerX retains the climbing stability and suspension response of the original. This combination with a 29” wheel makes for an incredibly smooth and comfortable ride.

As to handling, manufacturers are starting to get the geometry of the frames dialed in. The head tube angles have been steepened, thanks to the increased 29er fork offsets. This has resulted in 29er bikes now feeling much more neutral compared to the sluggishness of earlier versions. What I mean by “neutral” is that they respond quickly to steering input, but aren’t twitchy. They feel like steering a good 26” wheeled frame. The RacerX as well as my Orbea, seem to exhibit this neutral quickness of steering.

So how does it climb? Well it works you, as it is a 29er after all. However, it seems really well balanced. I know MTBA commented that they felt the chain stays might be a little long at 18”. I found that “on the nose of the saddle” spinning resulted in a real solid climbing capability. Out of the saddle maybe was biased a bit forward and so you could spin the rear if not careful, but I was able to shift and weight the rear to get traction. So I’m not sure I’m totally convinced that the chain stays need to be shorter. I guess it could be a matter of cockpit setup and riding style.

As to weight, the Aluminum version I was on weighed about 28-29lbs. My Exogrid 26er weighs about 25lbs and it is pretty well understood that a 29er version of the exact same bike will weigh about 2 lbs more given the wheels and extra frame material. So I could see an Exogrid 29er coming in at around 27 lbs.

So now the big question, would I give up my 26er for a 29er RacerX. That’s a hard one and one I’m still struggling with, but I think ultimately I will make the switch. Why?

I really did like the ride of the 29er. I feel that the geometry is now getting refined to the point where the handling is really spot on and responsive. I’m also beginning to be convinced that the advantages of the 29er wheelset out weigh the main disadvantage of the extra effort required on the long sustained climbs. The extra traction is a big plus both on decents and while climbing technical ledgy sections. The ability to smooth out rugged terrain on the decents also helps with control.

As I said in the beginning of this post, the extra effort needed to climb on a 29er will make you a stronger rider. That extra power that you develop climbing will pay off in the flats and undulating terrain where you can let the big wheels do what they do best….roll baby roll!!!

Yes we can all get along!

Well folks, I upgraded the Litespeed App Cross rig this spring. As I mentioned, I intend to do a lot more road riding, both commuting and training, so I figured I probably ought to upgrade the drive train. It was an old 16 speed vintage Campy Veloce and Mirage setup. Kinda budget based components to boot.

The real issue was it had a standard crank with 38-46 gearing. I really felt I needed a lower end for the grass Cross courses and I didn’t feel I had enough top end when I was out on the road sections. So the first step was a SRAM Force 34-50 Compact Crank set. That has given me a much better range.



However, the interesting thing about this upgrade is what I did with the rest of the transmission. You see I’ve always had a bit of a Franken-bike. I run Spinergy wheels with a Shimano Hub (it’s what came with the bike). The eight speed cassette was spaced to work with the Campy derailleur. Fair enough.

However, when I started looking at upgrading, the question of running all Shimano came to mind. The problem was I REALLY like Campy shifters. The thumb shifter is so natural and double tap just doesn’t work for me. So what to do? Go all Campy?

Well that would have required a new wheel set and since I had two sets of Spinergy Wheels for Cross and Road, I was in a bit of a dilemma.

Then I saw it. Like some sort of premonition it was written up in Cyclocross Magazine in their Bike Hacker column. “Can’t we all just get along?” was the title. It basically pointed out that the Campy 10 speed Ergo shifters pull more cable than a Shimano shifter, so if you mate the Campy up with a Shimano 10 speed Derailleur you could make it work. Unfortunately, it only works with an 8 speed cassette.

Great, not many of them around unless you want to build it from individual cogs like my original cassette. However, here’s the magic. They pointed out that with a little change in how the cable is mounted to the derailleur, you can get it to work with a 9 speed cassette.

Well now were talking. 9 Speed cassettes are still plentiful and probably will be for some time. A 9 speed works a little better than a 10 speed in the dirt and muck of a Cross race. Plus it’s a wee bit lighter. Well let’s giv’er a go!!!

Rod, my mechanic at the Bike Coop was a little skeptical as was Greg and the rest of the gang. But there it was, written up plain as day in the magazine. Ok, they said, they’d work with me on it and maybe we’d all learn something. Not everyday you get to teach some of the most experienced mechanics in Albuquerque a new trick.

So I got a Dura Ace derailleur, a SRAM 11-26 9 speed cassette/chain and a set of Campy Chorus Ergo 10 shifters. I was also fortunate to have one of the Nob Hill Velo guys stripping his Campy stuff for SRAM and he offered me a smokin’ deal on a Record Compact front derailleur. I was set. Rod went to work and with a little fussing to get the shifting dialed in he had it ready in a day.

I’ve been out on it for about three rides and had it tweaked for the expected cable stretch. How’s it shift? Really nicely. Solid and predictable. Much smoother than my original setup, but of course we’re talking much higher end componentry.

Rod feels it’s maybe not as “buttery” as a single manufacturer 10 speed setup of that quality, but he also feels that it’s bullet proof. 9 Speed setups are just so much more predictable in their shifting. A single touch of the lever, a solid clunk and I’m in gear…sweet!!!

So what you see here has affectionately been named the “UN of bikes” by Rod. Not only because of the components, but also because it's blue. Plus it proves that yes we can all get along!!!

And yep, those are Chimay Bottle Corks for bar end plugs. I got the idea from a combination of Steve Williamson telling me to shove corks in the ends when I lost a bar plug and seeing Mike Pease using the Chimay Caps as ends. I figured what the heck, use the whole damn cork and cap. Now what could be better than a Belgian Bottle cap on a Cross Bike...truely is the UN of Bikes!!!