So at CX Nationals Ted came 6th and my old friend Chris (who I mentioned here a little while back.. AB provincial CX champ, and national 30-39 TT champ) got 2nd (by 1s!) in their respective categories. Strong Ontario showing too..

http://www.pedalmag.com/index.php?mo...&item_id=11919

hey wes, i noticed you went with cantis for your new build - you were talking about going with the short v-brakes for a while...

Those CX picts looks like a lot of fun.

So are you down for tuesday if it's not first thing? Anyone else?

i should be so long as i don't get called into work; i'll let you know tomorrow. keep in mind i'm out of shape.

So you aren't human shaped anymore???!!!

still in human shape, just more of me to love, as it were...

Thanks for the pedal tips, guys - I tried some different leverage and it squeaked free with a few belts of the hammer on the end of the wrench. It got me worried there. I cleaned the threads with WD and q-tips/cloth to try and get out the ****e.

I'm down, if it's an evening ride. Tuesday would work better than Monday for me, too. I'd like to hit up the bluffs hill again, with a bit more vigour this time.

Rode a fixie for the first time today, my buddy got his conversion going. Toe cages aren't my bag, but it was fun. He's got 52/16 on there right now, which hurts, but he'll figure something out. He switched his drivetrain over to the left side of the bike after a bit, too - that was weird - but more importantly, are there any detrimental/bad things that can happen by doing this? (assuming chainline is good, etc.) It seems like everything should be kushty, but I don't know much about dem der fixies yet.

In terms of thread grease, what should I use?

Mini v-brakes weren't available at the time and we were building it up the day before a race. I used what was on-hand at the shop to get the bike ready.

Well there's still quite a bit less of me than before. I have a lot of shoulder muscle-ness to regain still.

yeah there are several detrimental things to building a left-side drive. namely that all the threads on a bike are designed for the chain to be on the right, so when you switch it over the pressure you put in the drivetrain from forward pedalling helps to unscrew everything, namely pedal threads (which would mount backwards) and the rear cog. if you're friend is running 52x16 that cog should spin off in no time. the wright brothers invented a reverse-thread left pedal to solve that very problem 100 years ago.

in terms of grease i find phil's is good for most threads on a bike.

I still am, they haven't shown up yet.

The only negative about the phil grease is the nasty green colour. And it has a habit of running out of loose ball stuff in downpours making everything HYPER dirty. It is the best grease though.

Thanks.

I asked him what his thoughts were on stripping the cog off, he said "usually that happens under braking, now it'll happen under load and tighten up under braking again" - not sure how sound of mind that is, though ;) Pedals are a good call too, as he swapped the crank arms over - they might well unwind.

I'll tell him I have concerns :)

It IS fun! All you people contemplating buying road bikes should just buy 'cross bikes instead! They're so multi-purpose.

Also, all the local cross races will let you race on MTBs as well, if anyone owns one (Fuzzz) and wants to give it a try. The only exception might be the races at Centennial Park as they're done under UCI rules methinks.

ps: who here is racing on Friday @ Toby's race?

Now I wanna ask about slappin road wheels on your cross. A worthwhile double duty or merely fooling one's self? I know we'd all love 10 bikes each....but realistically, is the cross' geometry forgiving of taking it to the road? How many local cross races are happening? I'm a gonna have to git my SS MTB from Cavern and get that tensioner fixed so I'm not dropping chain on every bump.

I am racing in full costume.

As for bike rules....I don't think you would be prevented from riding an MTB in anything except Senior 1/2 or Masters 1 but I could be wrong.

Throw some 23's on a cross and it will do just fine on the road. I wouldn't plan on trying to be competitive in a serious road race but other than that it's all good.
There are 2 races in Centennial Park in Etobicoke. Those are the only 2 left that are "local".

Speaking as someone who rode his cx bike to Montreal, I can tell you they're absolutely fine on the road. In fact, they're generally pretty comfortable due to the relaxed angles and longer wheelbase. Depending on the rear spacing (130/135) you can just slap on whatever road wheelset you feel like and have at it. Otherwise, a set of XTs on Open Pros is an easy solution. Blah blah keep an eye on chain length, 9sp/10sp compatibility, but ya ... totally doable.

Hell, Devinci is selling a cx bike next year that comes w/ two sets of tires - slick and knobby - just because cx bikes are that "do almost everything" bike for so many people.

Yes, I really like my cross bike. :)

Okay, time to borrow the Jamis ss 29er and go ride in the Don. Wee!

Yeah, what Mike/Keith said. :)

PS. My plan of having a rigid fork on the Niner was smashed when I heard about their exclusive w/ Rock Shox for next year. Reba Race 29er w/ U-Turn (70-100mm).

If I were to entertain the possibility of this.... what's required? Should I run out and 2:1 my SS MTB gearing? I'm at 44:18 44:16 currently and Keith had suggested a 22 for the MTB riding in SS mode.

A second set of wheels sounds like a wonderful solution...yea,no dreams of competitive roadie riding.

I dunno, you're fast as hell but having a comfortably low gear is normally the issue I've found. You can't get back up to speed quickly w/ too big a gear (oh look, you just got dropped) and grinding for 40 minutes = suffering. Maybe try a practice run at Bickford part or wherever and see how you hold up w/ an 18/20/22 ...

Yeah, I'd go ride around in the grass someplace and see how comfortable you feel. I think the most important thing, gearing wise, is that you're comfortable riding around on a flat area for an extended period. Any terrain that's too steep to climb will probably have many other folks off the bike and running as well, and there doesn't tend to be any really extended climbs in cx racing to my knowledge. I'd try out the 44x18 and see how that feels, but you might wind up with something slightly easier.