Today I went mountain biking for the first time in almost 3 years. I had a major crash on a stupid stunt that I had ridden before and it really messed with me. So much that I gave up trail riding and opted for the road and SS/FG. Well, today that changed.

Creepy shed that contains who knows what right in the middle of the trail. Have ridden this one before and the damn thing creeps me out in the middle of the day. The rusty bucket doesn't help.


Different trail that we rode first.


Riding a full rigid SS 29er mountain bike after not being on the trails for 3 years, and coming from a full suspension decked out Titus Racer X 29er was a HUGE difference. Currently feel like I have been hit by a truck. 23 miles on the trails, came home, then a buddy and I went out and rode another 29 miles on teh tarck bieks.

Nice.

Went to a climbing gym for the first time. Man was that difficult.

Saw a 2014 Rove exactly like mine on the street, WITH A FRONT PORTEUR RACK THAT MOUNTED MID-FORK.

Of course, there was no branding on it -_- God damn it. My search continues.

[MENTION=210004]Sherblock[/MENTION] - shoulda chased down and asked the dude



ive been using mine for 2 months on my mtb,: ate ****, bashed them on rocks, filled with mud and wood chunks, stream crossings, and thebearings are still smooth and non squeaky. one side of the left pedal comes out very easy but i think its because it has some log jammed in the mechanism and ive been too lazy to pick it out, i think theyre great pedals and id recommend them

Nothing beats the pleasure of lacing up some double eyeletted low profile rims.

It's on the complete opposite of the spectrum from relacing 90's shamals.

I participated in an alleycat today. I wasn't even planning on actually doing it, and just cruising around with a couple friends, but I ended up winning a couple t-shirts and a box of energy bars. That was pretty cool

hipster.

Yeah, right? It kills the flow having to mess with getting the nipple thought the rim, or worse, accidebtly dropping it inside the rim!

An easy DIY nipple tool you can make is to simply sharpen a ~1/8" or larger wire/rod/whatever to a point that you can wedge into the back of the nipple. Works great to get the nipple through the rim and engage a few threads. I made one out of a busted old wheel skewer.

I just use another spoke.

I bought a package of bamboo shishkabob skewers. Cost pennies. They are pointy and just the right size. Before beginning the lacing process, I mount 18 nipples on 18 skewers, that way I don't have to dick around with each one, over and over when I'm doing the second groups.

Someday I may buy one of these. One of the coolest time saving gadgets I've ever seen. Nipple Shuffler.


The driver is awesome too. Watch the video....it'll make you want one.

Wheel Fanatyk Nipple Shuffler - Wheel Fanatyk

I like that kabob skewer idea. I would only get that nipple shuffler if were regularly building wheels for money again.

this. you already got a bunch of em sitting right there

What about when you get to the last one?

The reason I like the bamboo skewers is because you can really JAM em into the nipple without hurting the threads. Plus, when you screw the nipple on, you just keep turning and it automatically ejects the skewer with no pulling required. I think I got the idea from the C&V forum IIRC.

Your reason is the same as mine for not buying a shuffler. it just wouldn't get used enough.

Tried it. I'll take the method with the least amount of fiddling, especially when I'm building several wheels a week.

I just found out that Vittoria makes tubeless gumwalls. I need them in my life right now.

And back! What'd I miss?

If anyone cares, I went to the pro challenge this year and took some photos. It was awesome and I want to move to Breckenridge.

Rohan Dennis climbing the last KOM before the finish in Breckenridge.


Brent Bookwalter closely behind:


Taylor Phinney's back! (pun!):


It was kind of comical watching tourists climb this hill all morning at about 5mph and then watching the pros fly up it at 20mph or so...and this guy riding a wheelie up it:


A well-deserved beer:


Ted King up front, Phil Gaimon in the orange:


Time Trialing in Breckenridge the following day:


Rohan destroying the field:


Hauling ass through Denver, I think they were hitting speeds close to 40mph that day:




There's a pile of other photos here...this was my first bike race so I went a bit overboard. Definitely a fun time and will probably go back next year. I totally got a bottle too, which was pretty exciting.
https://speshuled.smugmug.com/Bikes/...-Challenge-CO/

Even so, I'll more than gladly take indiscriminately dropping in nipples by hand and still having them line up every time. #stuffofdreams #newworldrecord

Without that option, I use the thread the nipple upside down on the spare spoke method.

Today I: ended up getting somebody else's food at the drive-in today. Usually I would be mad but I ended up with 4 people's worth of food for the price of 2.
Went in to tell them their mistake and not only got to keep the food but also got what I originally ordered.

Nice photos! [MENTION=333534]SpeshulEd[/MENTION]

Today I experienced falling snow for the first time in about 18 years! We rode a long mtb climb in the Yukon Territory called Mountain Hero. Around 3,000 ft we started getting snowed on and were riding through several inches of snowfall. We were unable to finish because of lack of traction. I'm thinking about going back next week with a Pugsley. It was amazing until we started descending and freezing our asses off.

I also brazed a coaster brake cog onto a freewheel body to make a 21t fixed cog. Next week I will try climbing the road up the local mountain pass on 42/21 fixed. If I don't post any photos next week you can assume the creation failed and I died.

rip

just cuz its not UST or TR dont necessarily mean you cant tubeless the tire, im willing to bet you could tubeless a pasela or any other simular panasonic mold tire, you just need a good bead lock

i have panasonic col de la vie gumwalls rockin on tubeless right now, and theyre basically a pasela with different tread and more volume

Could have cleaned it up better but I don't care much how it looks. Much better adhesion on this job than the disc tab.

Meh, not quite. My coworker tried to ghetto tubeless his Paselas and they would not seal adequately. Air and sealant bubbles just keep seeping out the sidewalls despite several attempts. I'd assume similar results with most other true skinwalls. I've found most blackwall tires are good to go, but mtb tires might burp easily if they're not tubeless specific. I ran nontubeless folding Weirwolfs and couldn't finish a ride without burping.