He's back

He's back. Been busy, and encountered a few computer problems. The Father day ride didn't happen as planned since the night before I was up to 2am with these guys.

These are some of the people that gave genesis to BMX in Kansas city. Maybe I should put that in other words. These are the kids of the parents gave genesis to BMX in Kansas City. It's been a little over 20 years since we (Patterson/Jameson Dist.)have been all together.
-
I'm going to get together a retrospective of the origins of BMX in Kansas City. I have already done a little history on the subject. But since getting together I have pictures and flyers from as far back as 1978, or 79.

As I like to say . . . There you have it!

What helmut size would he take?
-
The next ride will be in June on Father's Day. (June 21, 2009)
Sunrise to Sunset
5:53 AM - 8:47 PM
That's 14h, 54m for those who don't want to do the math.
So far I've got 3 ideas for a route.
-
1.) Ride from here to Nebraska Border and back. Just note that southeast corner is an Indian reservation. It's about 210 miles round trip (Might have to hussle).

2. A tour of the North. Basically going over the I'm mad as heck route. We will go over 210 liberty bridge, then ride East to Lexington, and back over the Missouri River over the Lexington Bridge.

3. A tour of South Missouri, A big 150 mile loop or so.
-
The ride will be called "A Day Without me". In short; avoid the usual obligations involved with Fathers Day. Ever notice all those Father's day commercials, where the day is dress in "Business Casual". Business Casual? . . . Sounds like an Oxymoron Yea that's what it is. It's Father's day, . . . your day, Fun (Casual); but you still have obligations (Business). Drop the Oxy . . . Moe-Ron!, and hit the road.

-

Thought this was pretty Cool. Click on it, and see it all it's biggness!

Lewis and other Oditys

Did I mention at the last ride there was a Lewis sighting. As you can see in this picture he's doing just fine. He did say he needed to lose a little weight, I can't disagree, but he seems to be doing fine other wise .

-

-

This is me all over, Who needs finese when you have brut Force?

-

-

Nice Tan!

-

What's the name of that cyclist essential again?

Last Week's Ride

Well . . . I had 3 people show up for the ride. I thought since I put up flyers at the coffee shop and rolled back to milage to 12 miles I might have gotten some more local participation. I could have got more participation if I posted the ride on Bike Info, JCBC , or other calenders, but it would have yielded the same local turnout I'm afraid. One rider did turn out though. I really strong rider named Seth. He says he does a lot of riding, and his performance prooved that, not that we were going fast since it was the 12 miles of leisure. It's just since there were 3 people we rode at a pace the whole group found comfortable.

Hey WunnSpeed I still have those glasses. I believe it was at the Cruise the Blues that I robbed these baby's from you because I forgot my sunglasses. As side from turning my nose bridge green they work perfect.

Click this sentence, then Scroll down to "Base Metal" and learn why your skin turns green.

What no Colnago? . . . Nope, Got Bob's Kona, King Zing

It's a cabon fiber frame. I suspect the whole bike weights around 15Lbs. Since it's Carbon fiber they can manipulate the tubes on the frame into different shaped to flex in certain ways. For example this is not your typical Chainstay shape.

On the otherside note the shark fin action. I'm sure they have a reason for this other than making it look really neat.

-

Full Campagnolo Record . The performance of the group is flawless, and resistence to wear is Epic.

-

FSA Carbon Bars, Stem, and Post.

Like Johnny Rotten says "This is what you want, this is what you get"! It's really Light, It's Stiff. It works really well. It's a race bike . . . Period. Contrasting this bike to the Colnago I was riding last week, I found the steering more stable, I found the Colnago was more twitchy. However I found this bike ride very . . . Dull. I'm going to give it another week, since it rained all last week and I had to ride the Raleigh. Plus I will add the frame is a tad too big.

-

Manufactures talk about frame flex, component flex, whatever. If you buy into all that. I think most of it is in your head. The Colnago was Steel, with a square taper Bottom Bracket. The Kona is Carbon Fiber with external bearing Bottom Bracket. I could not get the chain to rub the front deraileur under stress any differently on both bikes.

-

I like to go into bike shops and soon enough the guy will try to sell me a bicycle, and soon enought he's using the phrase "Transfer of Power". Look. I bet the difference in lose of drive train power between my Raliegh, and Kona is not much over the whole entire ride. . . . Call me "Crusty" . . . Call me old and grumpy. You will feel it when you out of the saddle and giving it H.E. Double Hockey sticks, but what percentage of the ride is that? . . . but that's just me. Ask anybody who knows me, I'm king of the phrase "Run What you Brung" . . . or is that "Broughten"?

-

The real difference is ride geometry. If I can couple the steering performance of the Kona, to the ride perfomance of the Colnago, I'm golden!

The Colnago Master Light Report

Colnago is the Gucci of cycling. Colnago has been involved in cycling at the top level for longer than any other manufacture I can think of.
-
Everybody has their favorites, but I think it’s safe to say Colnago is no.1. It’s not hard to qualify that statement by looking at their body of work.
http://www.colnago.com/historyENG.html
-
This frame is a 57cm frame, normally I ride a 56cm. However I found that this frame is just my size. When you buy a bicycle frame you have to look at the geometry.
-
Seat Tube (C-T): 57.0cm
Seat Tube (C-C): 55.5cm
Top Tube: 55.5 cm
Seat Tube: 73°
Stem 13cm
-
Seat tube length is the first consideration. This measurement gets you into the ball park. The first thing you have to figure out is the measured from center of bottom bracket to top of seat tube, or center of bottom bracket to center of the top tube.
-
Top Tube in combination with the seat tube angle is the next consideration. This combination will give you an idea of how far you will have to reach for you handlebars. This frame’s top tube measures 55.5cm, and has a seat tube angle of 73°. Most people never look at the combination only top tube length. Say you have two frames both with 55.5cm top tubes, and seat angles of 73°, and 74°. The frame with 73° will bring the bars back into you about 1cm resulting in less reach than a frame with a 74° seat tube. Basically a frame with 73° /55.5cm seat tube and 55.5 top tube is the same as a 74° /55.5cm seat tube and 54.5 top tube. Do the Math! . . . here's a picture just in case you don't feel like breaking out the slide rule.

. . . and this is just my 2 cents worth on that.
-
I found the frame and fork to be really stiff and light. I can't imagine a frame any stiffer. A lot of the stiffness though has to do with contrasting my experience with my Raleigh Grad Prix with 28c tires I've been riding for the last 4 months. I like it when people come in to the bike shop anf test a bicycle to see how stiff it is by hold the bike by the bars and saddle, then pushing on the pedal with there foot. This really does nothing, as closer inspection will show you most the flex you think your feeling is coming from the tires and the wheel.
-
Another note is the fork. I found the Full sloping crown, straight blades to be very stiff. I know Colnago says they are supposed to be more responsive and compliant, but I don't see it. It's very stiff and ridged. The longer the fork blade, the more flex. Personally I like flex in my fork to absorb road shock. This is one of the concept behind long chainstays on touring frames. Here they have done all the can to make the stiffest fork possible. I'll give it a couple more days. Until then . . .
-
Official Site
http://www.colnago.com/masterENG.html
Everything Colnago
http://colnagomaster.com/
http://www.colnago.cc/

Colnago Master Light

What about Bob's Colnago Master Light, with Rabobank Paint scheme? A friend of mine came in from Seattle, so I borrowed it so we could hit the town. before I gave it back I snapped a few pictures. (notice anything funny?)

-
I think the Bicycle is a 1995ish. The frames tubing was specially designed by Columbus for Colnago by a company called Gilco.

-
The tubing is round at the ends, so they can fit into the lugs, but in the middle they take on different shapes. This picture give you a good idea.

-
Short Chainstays, Tight tire clearance. Also

-
Chrome lugs a +


-
The paint scheme is a little busy for me, but I'd take it. It's starting to grow on me. Bob might have to pry this from my cold, dead hands, if he wants it back

-

Gotta have a seat to match.

I found the ride of this bike to be very good. I suspect it has to do with it stiff tubing design. Very stiff and responsive. Over the last year I've only ridden bikes made from 4130. Now switch to a light weight heat treated air hardened steel.

-

So I guess it's Project time! I mean at $2500 for the frame only, why not make my own? Won't be Gilco designed Columbus tubing, but I bet I can get very close.

Continental Tire Toughness

Here's proof of how good Continental's 4 seasons tire casing is. This is a first for me with a road tire. I've never worn all the rubber off a road tire before. I got a flat last night, then looked at the tire . . . Wow . . . No Rubber . . . Usually I'll get so many puntures in a tire it will make the tire unusable way before the rubber is gone.

(Click on the picture to see it enlarged)
You might ask the question, how come you didn't notice the tire was in this condidtion to begin with. The tires are on my commuter bike that has fenders. I just haven't have a puncture in many many miles, and If had no need to look at them. All the hallmarks of the perfect tire. I highly recommend them.