BikeSnobNYC's Blog, page 7

First Ride On The New Jones!

Firstly, they still haven't kicked me off the radio, which means I'll be on WBAI here in New York City once again this morning at 10am.

You can also listen online via their website.  Or listen to it later on their archives.  Or not listen at all for all I care.

Secondly, despite my myriad familial responsibilities, I did manage to get some quality time with the Jones LWB Complete this past weekend:


As I mentioned last week, the LWB is the longer-wheelbase, 29-plus-wheeled, ready-to-ride-right-out-of-the-box version of the SWB I've been riding and loving for the past year.  By the way, while I've put many miles on that bike, I also freely acknowledge I have not come even remotely close to realizing its full potential, mainly because I'm a homebody and my idea of bikepacking is stuffing a windbreaker in my handlebar bag in case it gets chilly.  In light of that, I recommend you read this extremely thorough review of the SWB from someone who actually puts all those attachment points to good use:


Still, I'd argue that even I can appreciate the sheer versatility of the Jones, inasmuch as I'm (mostly) a ride-to-the-ride person as opposed to a spend-20-minutes-futzing-with-an-air-compressor-next-to-my-pickup-truck-before-heading-into-the-park-for-a-45-minute-"session" person.  See, for me this is the real beauty of the Jones: not only do you enjoy it on the singletrack, but you also enjoy it on the 10 or 15 miles of road you need to ride in order to get there and back.  The SWB has been a revelation to me in that department, and I was eager to see how the LWB compared.

My first outing on the LWB was into the wilds of Yonkers this past Friday with my elder son, and all signs pointed to "promising:"


My appetite for fat-tire riding having been whetted, I was eager to undertake a longer adult-sized excursion over the weekend.  However, owing to my wife's demanding career I was parenting solo.  So how to meet the bike-testing requirements of my own not-at-all-demanding "career?"  Well, I popped the Jones LWB on the trusty Saris SuperClamp EX (which accommodated the substantial dimensions of the bicycle with nary a complaint):


Then we headed to my mother's place in Queens where the kids disembarked, and from there I hopped on the Jones and rode to to Cunningham Park, undoubtedly the finest mountain bike trail system within New York City limits.  It's a good 10 miles or so from where my mother lives straight through the heart of the city's largest borough, and the ride takes you past storied landmarks such as the Unisphere:


...and, well, that's pretty much the only storied landmark, unless you count the LIE.

Anyway, Queens is a brilliant patchwork of cultures, and undoubtedly one of the most interesting places in the United States if not the entire world.  At the same time...well, let's just say it's not exactly the first place you'd choose for a long ride.  I mention this because a trans-Queens ride on a hot day (on a bike with 3-inch wide knobby tires no less) has all the makings of a slog, but in this case it didn't feel like a slog at all, and I credit the Jones for this.  This is largely due to the comfortable upright position and the multiple hand positions afforded by the bars, but I also wonder if maybe the bigger wheels and longer wheelbase made it feel a bit more "cruisy" and gave it better road manners.  Granted, it could have just been new bike excitement, but either way I arrived at Cunningham feeling much fresher than I should have given the high temperatures and the roughly 450,000 traffic lights between the start of my ride and the trailhead:


So how was the Jones on the trail?  Well, awhile back one commenter postulated that "I'd imagine the turning radius is ridiculous, making that bike unsuitable for silly-tight singletrack."

Well, it doesn't get more silly-tight than six miles of trail crammed into a park in Queens:


And I'm here to tell you that the LWB carved it up like a tofurkey on a vegan Thanksgiving.  Having only ridden Cunningham once on the SWB I'm loath to make any sweeping pronouncements about the differences between the two bikes, but the LBW sidled through even the tightest turns, and it went over those logpiles as gracefully as Fred Astaire.  (Fred Astaire was an avid mountain biker, by the way, everyone knows that.)  It does feel "bigger" than the SWB of course, but in a good way--it's smooth and stable, whereas the SWB is nimble in a way that makes you want to throw it around despite its substantial heft.  Still, to really know the differences between the two bikes I need to take the LWB on my usual SWB routes.  Also, my only complaint about the SWB as a full-on mountain bike has been the fact that it's somewhat prone to pedal strike, and I'm very eager to see if the LWB does better in that regard.  (Pedal strike certainly wasn't an issue on my Cunningham outing, but it's not particularly rocky there compared to the trails north of the city.)

Regardless, after 35 miles on a hot day in Queens I still love the bike, and that's saying something.

New Outside Column That Will Make You Rich!

Here's my latest Outside column, which is about how owning (or leasing) a car is like going through life half-drunk:


On top of that, if you're also a moderate drinker, you're basically going through life totally drunk.

Not that I follow my own advice, mind you.  Last weekend I loaded up The Car The Bank Owns Until I Finish Paying Them Back and did a mountain bike race in New Jersey.  On top of the registration fee I also spent money for fossil fuels and tolls, not to mention the amount of time I spent sitting on my ass in the car--at least an hour of which involved waiting to cross the George Washington Bridge back into New York City.

In the end, I probably spent like $100 and six hours just to ride my bicycle for an hour and 20 minutes, when in the same amount of time I could have woken up early, hopped on the Jones, and done an "epic" ride up to Blue Mountain and back.

Not that I regret the race, mind you--it's a fun course, and sometimes you've got to put a number on your bike and quantify just how badly you suck--but it's also important to quantify the resources you've squandered in order to do so.

And keep in mind I didn't even address the period of time during which I owned a Saab.  Had I sidestepped that pitfall my net worth would probably be at least 50% greater than it is now.  (My current net worth is two (2) Jones bicycle and the hatchet Grant Petersen sent me.)

I really should build a bike around that hatchet...

And The New Test Bike Is...

Well, school's out, and you know what that means:

I'm riding early!


In fact this morning as the sun was just peeking over the horizon I headed over the George Washington Bridge and once again encountered a "pesticide"-related road closure:


It's not unusual to find the so-called "River Road" barricaded, and it's common practice among cyclists to disregard them.  However, I've been riding on River Road for over 20 years, yet only now do I seem to be encountering closures due specifically to spraying.  Maybe it's just bad timing on my part, or maybe it's a vast conspiracy.  Either way, this time I said "Fuck it" and kept going--right past the pesticide truck as it was in mid-spritz, by the way, and I'm pleased to report I feel totally fine with no adverse affects whatsoeaeeiarEOEPWOIAR....U9HE.

In other news that you'll no doubt find far more interesting than my Fredly endeavors, I finally received my package from Jones Bikes, and here's what I got!

(Relax, I only got one bike.)
Yes, it's the new Jones LWB Complete!  Last year Jones introduced the SWB Complete, which is what I've been riding (and loving) for the past year, and now he's offering an inexpensive, ready-to-ride version of his LWB bike.  And I got one to test!
So what's the difference between the SWB and the LWB?  Well, here goes:"SWB" stands for "Short Wheel Base," "LWB" stands for "Long Wheel Base."  So the LWB has...a longer wheelbase!The SWB comes stock with 27.5+ wheels; the LWB comes stock with 29+ wheelsWhen ordering the LWB you can opt for a smooth tire setup or a knobby tire setup (I went with the latter)The SWB comes in black; the LWB comes in black or red!  (But I got black)The SWB sells for $1,799, and the LWB sells for $2,050With regard to that last bullet point, first I'll say that I've had absolutely no issues with any of the components on the SWB.  However, the LWB does feature some upgrades.  For example it's got a SRAM Eagle 12 speed drivetrain, whereas the SWB has a Shimano Deore 10 speed drivetrain.  It's also got a cartridge bearing headset versus the SWB's caged ball headset.  The tires on the LWB (whether smooth or knobby) are also tubeless ready, whereas the tires on the SWB are not.  (Though in a flagrant disregard for my own safety I've been running mine tubeless for many months now, and apart from some pesticide-related delirium I'm doing just fine.)  And oh yeah, the rims on the LWB have eyelets.  I may be missing other parts differences, but these are the ones that were most obvious to me while assembling the bike yesterday.
"So relatively minor component differences aside, what's really the difference?  Which one do I buy?"  Well, I haven't actually ridden the bike yet!  Also my kids are out of school and my wife has a business trip coming up so this thing may be taunting me for the next few days.  But rest assured once I've got some time on it I'll report back and do my best to articulate the differences.
In the meantime, here's a photo of the two bikes side-by-side:

(Photo: Elliott Weiss)
Please note I've preemptively replaced the saddle, but other than that (and the pedals) the bike is as I received it.
Anyway, until I've actually ridden the thing for awhile it's all speculation, but I am extremely excited to see what this thing can do.  There are lots of roots and rocks around here and on paper this looks like it should handle that sort of terrain with aplomb--maybe even two plombs!
I'll keep you posted.

Lazy and Shiftless

Good morning.

[Ahem.]

Yesterday I was on the radio because they haven't locked me out of the studio yet, and you can listen to that show here:


(They really should be wearing helmets.)
Of course the real reason I took the radio gig was because of the nearly 40 (!) mile round-trip bicycle commute to Brooklyn, which yesterday also served as something of a recovery ride since I did a mountain bike race on Sunday that kicked my ass:


I raced in the singlespeed category, and as you can see they staged the fat bike category before us.  (They like to keep the novelty bike doofuses together, you see.)  An aborted Central Park race the weekend before notwithstanding, it had been quite a few weeks since I'd raced a bicycle; moreover, it had been a good two years since I'd raced a mountain bike.  (I believe my last competitive outing was the so-called "Singlespeedapalooza" race in 2017.)  And on top of all that, this particular race starts with a lot of climbing, which meant that within minutes my face was bright purple and my heart was trying to eject itself from my throat.

Despite my distress, I was able to move up a bit, though as you might expect it's really hard to pass fat bikes on rooty climbs, especially when you're on a singlespeed bicycle.  See, the fat bike is all about taking advantage of a low gear and lots of traction, whereas the singlespeed is all about getting up that climb as fast as you possibly can so you don't lose momentum and fall over.  So basically, with a bunch of fat bikes ahead of you, it's like trying to sprint up the subway steps at rush hour.

Anyway, despite moving up I never really recovered from the effort, and by about halfway through the first lap the rest of the singlespeeds passed me and that was pretty much that.  Ultimately I did manage to finish in the top five, but I should probably disclose that the singlespeed field consisted of exactly five riders.  (Singlespeeds are totally out of style, remember?)  Even so, the race was well worth it, because signing up for a race ahead of time and paying a bunch of money is pretty much the only way I'll ever ride someplace different for a change.

Also there was beer after:


Also also, in addition to riding someplace different, racing is also pretty much the only situation in which I'll actually hose my bike down afterwards:


The politically incorrect plastic shopping bag is to protect the Brooks.

Finally, this past Friday I received a delivery from Classic Cycles:


Which went right onto my new-to-me Litespeed:


Now it's a "forever bike."

New Outside Column!

Hey, it's Friday!  I give every last one of you full permission to leave work early and head out for a ride--and I also give you permission to dress like a total slob:


I'm sure my mention of flip-flops will enrage those of you who have overtorqued sphincters.

Meanwhile, it continues to rain incessantly here in New York, and so lately I've found myself spending a lot of time on my Milwaukee:


While I may run a multi-media empire (Internet, print, radio, interpretive dance...), I also manage to do so without a single employee.  Incredible, right?  However, to a large extent it's my bicycles that are my work force, and occasionally I assign them to different departments in order to maximize workplace efficiency.  Such is the case with the Milwaukee, which currently plays the role of long-haul commuter-cum-rain bike.

Of course, when putting the Milwaukee in its new position I had to explain to it that this was in no way a demotion.  Indeed, this is a role that requires strength and fortitude, and in many ways entrusting a bicycle to it is the ultimate vote of confidence.  Predictably, the Milwaukee, then replied, "Oh yeah?  Then where's my raise?"  I then explained that there would be no raise, but I would equip it with these theft-proof skewers so at least its wheels wouldn't get stolen:


Though arguably the filthy state of my wheels is theft deterrent enough:


In fact this past Monday I had to change a tube and by the time I was done I looked like the Wile E. Coyote after a TNT mishap.

But yes, few bikes lead harder lives than this one does, and I even wake it up early for dawn rides when it's raining:


The Milwaukee handles it all with nary a complaint.

Speaking of bikes and harsh treatment, I was perusing the Twitter recently when this story about someone who rode Dirty Kanza on a "Walmart bike" caught my eye:


Eagerly I clicked on the video, only to learn it's just one of those high-end crabon bikes sold by a company that happens to be owned by Walmart:


At that point I felt duped and stopped watching.  Get back to me when you try it on a $324 mail order special:


I mean really, what kind of "Walmart bike" doesn't even have a pie plate?!?

The Dirt Week That Wasn't

[Pssst: if you want to listen to my radio show from this past Monday it's here.  Or, if you want to listen to Carcass, you can do so here.]
Hey, everybody!  I've got some great news!

For me!

Yes, that's right, my new Jones bike has shipped!  Unfortunately I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you what it is yet, but that doesn't make me any less excited.  So in the meantime here's a picture of my current one as a placeholder:


In anticipation of this I had also dubbed this week as "Dirt Week," and had planned to set aside the road riding for a bit and spend as much time as possible on a bicycle with knobby tires instead.  However, it's been raining heavily pretty much every day so far, and so I've been forced to stick to the road instead:


Fortunately I don't mind so much, since I'm still all agog over my new-to-me titanium Forever Bike and relish any opportunity to ride it, even if I'm just making circles in the park:


In addition to the Jones I've also got some new-to-me wheels for this bike headed this way, which will nudge the bike more firmly into the "classic" column and further increase the Campy factor.  Hopefully they'll also help reign in my Fredness just a bit, otherwise before I know it I could find myself getting busted for doping at a Gran Fondo:


Regardless of how you feel about Gran Fondos, you've got to admit they're doing the cycling world a great service by keeping the zany, madcap spirit of doping alive.  In the pro ranks they're all using TUEs, which is like totally boring, but down in the Fondo ranks they're hatching sitcom-quality schemes:


That's why you should always have a pit twin.

Tune In Turn On Get Dropped

Well, they haven't kicked me off the radio yet, and today I'll be on at 10am talking about kids, bikes, and kids and bikes:


I'll also be talking to Henry Cutler of WorkCycles, makers of my personal Smugness Flotilla:


Henry was my guide on my trip to Amsterdam, which I wrote about in my third book, and we'll compare our school drop-off routines as well as marvel over the fact that in the Netherlands kids can ride on their own by the time the're like 10, whereas in America you've basically got to lease a Hyundai just to cross the street.

Also, awhile back I mentioned I divested myself of the Ritte Rust Bucket, and I'm pleased to announce that it is now part of the Classic Cycles collection on Bainbridge Island, WA!


This is all true, by the way:


The Ritte and I had a good run, but once my new-to-me titanium road bike entered the stable the trusty Rust Bucket could sense it was now the old nag destined for the glue factory:


Not only is the bike pictured above refreshingly bereft of rust and sweat stains, but it also rides beautifully, and having now logged a few hundred miles on it I've come to the conclusion that all that crap I've been hearing over the years about the marvels of titanium is totally true.  In fact, I like this bike so much it may very well have ruined me for my other road bikes, because my brand-new plastic Fred Sled now feels harsh and jittery in comparison.

Anyway, given the Ritte's storied and dignified history, it only seemed fitting to re-home it with the museum.  There, it joins the Renovo, and just as soon as I earn my first billion I'll endow that esteemed cultural institution with an entire wing in which to house them.

Speaking of my plastic bike, I headed out to race it yesterday in the predawn hours.  It was raining when I rolled out at like ass-thirty or whatever it was, and as I seem to do at least once a year I found myself slipping off the back almost immediately, like an elephant seal slathered in Vaseline and trying to climb a water slide.  This was mostly because, you know, everyone else out there was much stronger than me.  But another factor was that, as I hit the first descent, gritty wheelspray hitting me in the face, all I could think about was Phil Gaimon's recent tweets and how I really didn't want to spend Fathers Day on a gurney.  You know, you can work with not being strong enough, and you can work with bad weather conditions, but combine the two and you're asking for trouble.

After all these years you'd think I'd have learned the most important lesson of park racing by now:

If you wake up and there's any rain at all, go the fuck back to bed.
Oh well, there's always next week.

New Outside Column! And Other Stuff Too!

Firstly, I've got a new Outside column, and it's all about how I've become one of those sniveling sidewalk cyclists:


Deal with it.

Secondly, I had an interesting final caller on my RADIO SHOW this past Monday, which made the digital pages of Gothamist:

"A lot of the problem with the cyclists, and I know you don't wanna say it, but it's people from third world cultures where they do not have traffic lights..." #bikenyc https://t.co/FRRFVICRu9— Christopher Robbins (@ChristRobbins) June 12, 2019

Here's a more direct link to the show:

Yesterday a member of the NYPD called into my radio show to comment on delivery cyclists. It's...rather enlightening. Starts at 52:02, have a listen:https://t.co/2eEQ8p6KYw— Bike Snob NYC (@bikesnobnyc) June 11, 2019

I'm still very much figuring this radio thing out, and I didn't respond at length to the caller because I thought I was out of time.  (My guest did however respond in a thoughtful and diplomatic manner.)  I suppose there's a certain type of person out there who gets off on making facile ethnic characterizations on a public forum (in fact one of them happens to be president), but even so I regret not pointing out to the caller that:
1. New York City already requires commercial cyclists to take a safety course;B. It's disturbing that, when a driver injures or kills a cyclist, this is the attitude of the person whose job it is to respond to the call and assess the situation.
Finally, when you're knee-deep in all this policy stuff it does start to weigh heavily on the soul, and so I do like to lose myself in the pure joy of bicycle cycling whenever possible.  One of my favorite tools for doing so is the Jones SWB Complete:

And I'm pleased to report that in the not-too-distant future I will be receiving another Jones bicycle, about which I am very, very excited, and about which I plan to type many words, and of which I plan to take many lousy photos.
I'm so excited I may even have to cut myself a new pair of jorts.

"Siri, set a reminder to listen to Bike Snob this morning at 10am. Also, how do you get red wine stains out of a bib short chamois?"

Hi!

Consider this a Post-it note on your forehead reminding you that they haven't canceled my radio show yet, and so I'll be on the air again this morning at 10am*:

And yes, you can listen online. 

And also yes, you can call in and ask questions.

Also also, I just happened to notice someone just left the following comment on a post that's like two years old:

Why yes I do!  A friend of mine has one of these:

You're welcome!

Sincerely,

Your's truley,

Best wishes and so forth,


--Tan Tenovo


*That's 10am my time, which is the time it is in New York City, USA.  I don't know or care what time zone you live in, so you figure it out.  It's not my problem and quite frankly I'm sick of all this hand-holding.

Oh Snap(ping Turtle)!

Yesterday I had a little rendez-vous with the Jones SWB:


Of all the moderate-length rides I keep in my hip pocket this one is perhaps my favorite:


Flat dirt for cruising, some singletrack, a little bucolic scenery...and best of all I don't have to cross any bridges inasmuch as I live in the mainland borough.

I did spend like a month's cellphone bill on two gluten-free brownies and an iced coffee though.

This morning I also headed out on an early morning jaunt through the suburbs upon my new-to-me vintage titanium Fred sled, and I was treated to wildlife sightings including deer:


When I first started riding regularly in Westchester I thought the deer were charming, but after a few months I figured out the things are basically big pests:


I imagine the people who move there from Park Slope because they read New York Times articles about how Hastings-on-Hudson is the new Brooklyn and find the deer beguiling when they drive up for open houses learn even more quickly.  Still, it's kind of fun to see them, even if they do scare the crap out of me sometimes when I'm on my mountain bike, and even if I do imagine I can see the ticks crawling all over them.

Then on the way home I happened upon this snapping turtle:


At first I was hesitant to approach it, thinking it might leap at me like the rabbit in "The Holy Grail," but then I realized if they did that I'd almost certainly have seen some hilarious YouTube videos of it by now.  Still, I did keep a safe distance, and I also refrained from scratching its head and cooing, "That's a good boy."

Finally, when I took a ride on the Ritte Rust Bucket last month, I didn't realize it would be my last:


But now that titanium has entered my life I have decided that it's time for the Ritte to embark upon the next chapter, and so I sent it off to its new home via Bike Flights, which I've had occasion to use twice now, and for which I'll offer an unsolicited plug since I've been very pleased with them.  In fact this time I used their cardboard box, which was very easy to assemble and pack, and I'm assuming the bike arrived in good condition since I haven't heard otherwise from the recipient.

Anyway, I'll let you know all about where the Ritte wound up in due course, but for now let's all join in bidding it adieu.  Here it is taking shape:


And here it is when I first received it:


I know its new curator will restore it to its former beauty--and more likely make it even more lovely than it was.