bikinfool

Well, it is a Cadillac. Good luck, but you might find that as you pedal further and longer, and toughen up your flabby butt, that saddle won't cut it. Or not.

XCSKIBUM

Well, it ain't like it's welded to the frame so I'll change it out when/if it proves inadequate.

It's not all that soft anyway, just a lot better shape than the OE saddle.

https://mountainbikeshome.com/blog/se...icycle-saddle/

https://www.amazon.com/Serfas-Pro-Flo...owViewpoints=1

dminor 

Quote of the day right there.

XCSKIBUM

I took a break yesterday. The conditions were horrible W/high winds & rain @ mid 30s temperatures.

This morning it was a bit better W/no rain, temperatures rising from 32*F @ 7:00 AM, light winds (in the AM) & sun in the forecast.

I got a late start, but beat the wind. (for the 1st leg anyway) I pedaled 5 miles North & stopped @ the taxidermy shop to check on the form for this year's shouder mount (120 class 8 poiint Whiltetail buck) that arrived this week. After a 15 minute break I headed out & pedaled 2 mile to the hamlet of Helena, NY. I then crossed the Deer & St Regis rivers & made the turn West.

The wind had really picked up now & after 45 minutes in the saddle, I stopped, @ an abondoned farm, had a couple of handsful of trail mix & a few drinks from my water bottle. After heading out again after a 15 minute break, a few miles futher on, I turned south, getting a bit of a break from the wind.

A short leg East brought me to a Southward heading dirt (packed sand) road that was pretty well soaked from the rain yesterday. It was a lot softer than on my previous treks & was considerably harder to pedal. After a mile I took another 15 minute break to prepare for a short, steep climb on pavement out of the creek bottom that the dirt/sand road ran along. 10 minute later I was home.

Since most of my time in the next several weeks will be along paved roads, I invested in a fold-away mirror for my left handgrip.

Here is the mirror folded out.


And here it is folded back out of the way for potential trail use.


It is going to take another 4-6 weeks for the trails to dry out & I am going to try to pedal off as much weight as possible on the blacktop in the mean time. Hopefully I can shed another 15-20 pounds before heading off the pavement.

I experimented W/the spring preload on the rear shock, backing it off considerably & I backed off the preload on the front forks all the way. I now have a much better ride & since I seldom stand on the peadals while on the tarmack anyway, I am not experiencing any pedal bobbing of the suspension.

I did recieve the 1st (suspension) performance upgrade today. It was waiting on the back porch when I got home. I think this little item will let me "have my cake & eat it too" as far as reducing pedal bob when on the road as well as climbing on the trails while maintaining a civilized ride W/a moderate (air) spring rate.


Hopefully my LBS can set me up W/some bushings & a shock pump in the morning so I can go out & test this latest modification. I have clocked out some new routes in my truck so tomorrow I expect to get @ least another 20 miles in.

After 1 week & have clocked 63.7 miles in the 6 days I have been out W/the bike.

victim

Nice report so far. That's a great shock, with the pro pedal dampening on it should knock the bobbing way down. And when you open the shock back up it should make that bike ride like a..........................
I don't even have to say it!

XCSKIBUM

I started out looking for am OE take off (new) FOX RP2 but they were going in the $190 + shipping range. The last USED RP23 went for $201 + shipping W/O a return option so I just went ahead & did a "buy it now" OE (new) take off RP23 W/7 day return option for $239 shipped.

There isn't a mark on this unit. I can't wait to give it a try. I hope my LBS has the proper bushings. If not, I CAN (probably) make something up in the shop, but it will take too much time to get it right.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that either the LBS will have the proper bushings or I can use the OE bushings from the bike shock.

never

If you're at 300lbs, I don't know if an air shock is the best thing to be using.

XCSKIBUM

I'm not planning on subjecting it to any "severe duty" until I shed a LOT of weight.

I'm just looking to pedal off some weight on the pavement for now, moving to the PFARs & truck trails when they thaw/dry out moving to the ski/snowmobile trails & haul roads as I become more pysically capable.

I doubt I will put any more stress on this shock that a 160# hot jock would hucking (is that the right term?) off terrain.

If I blow the seals on the shock I can rebuild it for about $6.

Let me get down to the 200# range & I'll be puttin' some $hit to it.

I did get the front wheel in the air today playing around in the yard though!

dminor 

If your LBS is shy on bushings, let me know what width you need. I think I have a couple spare sets around still. Also, Cambria has a bunch of Fox bushings in various widths. Check this page:

https://www.cambriabike.com/shopdispl...ke+Frame+Parts

XCSKIBUM

The bushings I need are Part# 803-03-037

23.88 X 8mm.

https://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.a...ers+803-03-037

Let me know ASAP if you have these. Shipping will cost me more than the bushings.

dminor 

Hey, sorry man - - I should have checked my small-parts bin before I opened my yap. I could have swore I had some.

If your LBS has some that are too wide, at least snag those; they are easy enough to cut down if you are careful. I did a set once by carefully scribing them then "turning" them down on the drill press with a hacksaw blade. If you have an actual lathe, all the better.

XCSKIBUM

I waited for the winds to die down yesterday but that didn't happen. I set out around 3:00 PM W/the wind quartering on. I had to stay in the lower rear sprockets on flat ground & when I would hit an exposed area when the wind was gusting I would have to drop an additional 2 sprockets.

Well, after all, I'm doing this to loose weight right? I did get a pretty good work out. At 1 point, when I turned & had the wind blowing directly across my direction of travel, I could hear the exposed cables onder my top tube whistling in the wind. I was smart enough to plan my route so that eventually I would have a tail wind. The last leg of the journey had the wind quartering from the rear so the last few miles were easy sailing.

I did cheat a little & plan my rest stops around some local bars. I made 3 "pit stops", 2 of them @ a bar named "The Pit Stop". Those 4 (light) beers didn't seem to hurt my weight loss though. I dropped about 1.3 pounds since yesterday. I'm hoping to best my previous biggest weekly weight loss of 4.4# this week. my goal is to loose @ least 6.8# during this & the next week to reach my 10% weight loss goal of 32#.

So far, my "cheap" little < $400 FSMTB has perfomed flawlessly. I screwed back the rear shock spring preload some more & the fork has all the preload adjusment backed off. The ride is much better & I am still not experiencing any significant pedal bob on the road. Those Kenda tires, when pumped up to the maximum specified pressure of 65 psi, roll along pretty good on the tarmack.

I guess my $35 + tax investment in the seat/grips brings my total to just over $425 including taxes, but still, a pretty admirable job for a "no Name" bike.

86.2 miles in 7 days, hoping to get another 20+ miles in today.

cryptid01

You stopped for beers?! You're figuring it out.

XCSKIBUM

I call it "calorie replacement therapy".

sscyco

You'll realize that when you adventures go off road you won't be able to stop for beers at your local bar. You'll have to carry them with you.

dminor 

. . . or just make sure your out-and-back ends in the parking lot of your favorite watering hole.

XCSKIBUM

I think it's a NY state law that all snowmobile trails must start/end @ a bar. I'll be concentrating on them once I get some more flab off my a$$ & the trails thaw/dry out..

XCSKIBUM

It was a balmy 23*F when I left the house @ 11:35 AM. Beaufort 3 winds ocasionally gusting to Beaufort 4. I left W/the wind quartering behind me for a short 3 mile leg South, then made a short Easterly ride to head North into the wind for about 7 miles. The ride into the wind was through state forest most of the way so I was sheltered a bit from the breeze by the large white pines along the roadway

After 13 miles I took a long break & then made the turn South for the 7 mile leg home W/the moderate breeze again quartering from behind. 20.3 miles total W/2 hours 15 minutes in the saddle. The temperatures never made it to 30*F.

My total mileage on the bike for 8 days in the saddle is 106.5 miles.

Tomorrow looks like the best day so far, high 40s & Beaufort 2 winds. out of the SSW. I hope to explore some new areas & maybe up my mileage a bit.

dminor 

With all of this wind you've been encountering, you may well want to take another 'tack' [so to speak] on your bike accessories purchases for the time being:

https://www.northwindiceboats.com/?Section=Pricelist

XCSKIBUM

As soon as the ice goes out on the lakes in the Adirondack, I'll be sailing this.

XCSKIBUM

When the wind isn't blowing I leave the sail off & do this.










That's me, 2nd from the right.

Realgun

I was researching all sorts of Mountain bikes and I came across the Caddy bike. I was hopeing for a review like yours. As to Myself I am a slighty shorter slightly (Very slighly!) less dense individual then yourself.

I can hardly wait to get my bike. paying 275 from Amazon. hope its like the bike you have brake wise.

DirtPedalerB

This is a really old thread, but interesting it's only been since March and the guys signature reads 90.2# of weight off & 8" gone from my waist, 31.6# & 4" to go!

That is some good progress, even with a crappy bike.

XCSKIBUM

Crappy bike?

Well, when I bought a Specialized Crosstrail Sport in August of last year I had logged over 3,400 miles on the Caddy over all sorts of terrain. I bought the "Sport" for less challenging terrain & road worthyness. A bit lighter & less rolling resistance.

I didn't do any jumping or other stunt style riding, but the fact that the "Caddy" bike stood up to my 300# + bulk (in the begining) W/only 3 broken spokes in all that time seems to indicate that the bike isn't so "crappy" after all.

I did replace the pedals as riding through water several times up over the bottom bracket did take it's toll on the unsealed pedal bearings.

In all those miles I still have the original running gear (sprokets, chain, bottom bracket,wheels, bearings, etc) other than the Krosstrail tires that offered less rolling resistance than the Kenda Navegals.

The Caddy is not the latest technology, but it is a rugged well made bike W/decent components.

I upgraded the suspension via e-bay. W/a Rock Shox Recon 351 u-turn adjustable travel fork W/pop-loc & Fox Float RP23 air shock. The bike is very versitile & performs W/bikes that cost 2X what I have in the whole set-up.

So what if it weighs a few ### more than the lastest wiz-bang, high tech, gotta have it high priced bike?

BTW: The Specialized has broken 3 spokes in less than 500 miles. Most of those miles are on pavement W/none on what could be called true off road terrain. I am sending the wheels back to Specialized for replacement. Let's hope that they are as good as Kent has been as far as customer service.

So far it looks like the "crappy' Cadillac is the better of the 2.

sscyco

^^ Wow you are a Cantankerous Old Fart arn't you.....

At least that is what your sig says