Category: Equipment
Specialized tire testing camp in Stellenbosch
Burry Stander doing rolling resistance testing on the rollers. He rode at 25km/h and at 35km/h with about 20 different tires and measured the wattage needed to hold those speeds for each tire. On the right (reading the power tap numbers) is Benno Willeit, our Specialized mechanic, and on the left is Tire Specialist Frank Stacey.
We started in groups of 4. I’m on the red and black Honda. (Yes, the guy in the back!) The guy next to me on the far right, Willie “die Lem” (The Blade) won, and I finished 2nd. The guy on his back wheel crashed about half way through while in 2nd. He had a 2 inch thorn in the back of his hand- not sure if that’s CAUSED the crash or if it was BECAUSE of the crash.
I did my 1st Enduro dirt bike race today. Wow, what an experience! I grew op riding dirt bikes on our farm, but when I turned 16, and became really serious about triathlon, I sold the bike. (Also needed the money to buy a “faster” bicycle.) So the last 18 years I told myself “the day I retire from triathlon racing, I’ll buy a dirt bike again. But last year, after winning Xterra World champs, I thought: “Screw it, I cant wait anymore! You only live once.” I bought the perfect bike: a 2005 Honda CRF 450 X. The previous owner rode it a few times, crashed really hard, got scared and became a motivated seller….
Bike porn from Interbike 2007
The Avia bike drew a lot of attention and explained bike show goers why there’s running shoes at their “bike show”. Triathletes!
The sweetest bike of all. 2009 Specialized Epic S-works
The 2009 Specialized Epic S-works.
The press has hyped the bike up and Susi won the XC World Champs on it, but DANG, I was especially surprised by: a) the suspension and b) the weight. And, yes, it is a really pretty bike.
As you can see in the background, I tested the bike on a not-so-old lava flow at Edison snow park outside Bend, to see how the new Specialized Armadillo Elite (Fast Trak 2.00) tires would hold up through the sharp lava. I ran into big lumps of sharp lava as hard as I could (to test the tires for tire cut resistance) but every time the suspension just ate up the much anticipated jolt. When the suspension is not active, bike is 100% rigid- unlike anything I’ve felt since… well, since my Tarmac road bike. The New Epic’s suspension is definitely a few cuts above the “old” Epic. And I’m sure many cuts above anything else out there.
Caveman’s clever trick to lube a needy chain WITH YOUR CAR’S DIP STICK!
How to lube a rusted bike chain when you have no (Squirt) chain lube.
Disaster strikes. The airline took your luggage hostage. You have to pre ride the course, so you borrowed a bike, helmet, shoes 2 sizes too big and clothes. (Yay for someone else’s used chamois!) Read more about why and how this was the worst travel of my life: Flying the friendly skies.
But oh dear, no chain lube to be found!
Levels of lube:
– Best case scenario would obviously be Squirt lube.
– A very distant 2nd would be the other stuff they call chain lube. (But you’ll have to decontaminate your chain before re-applying Squirt once your luggage comes)
– When I was a kid I once sprayed energy drink on my chain every time the squeak got bad. It worked pretty well, but I realized the spraying intervals became really frequent and of course the noise came back worse than ever. And then the monumentous BONK on the way home when all your carbs went on the chain. (Like I said, I was a kid)
– Last resort would be:
Caveman’s clever trick to lube a needy chain WITH YOUR CAR’S DIP STICK!
1) Pop the bonnet. (Hood) in USA. *Read more about the bike at the bottom of post.
