Crank Brothers m19 Multi-Tool Review

I guess the Crank Brothers m19 Multi-Tool is regarded as a "Mountain Bike" tool, but with more and more road bikes becoming equipped with disc brakes, there is hardly a need to draw that distinction anymore. For "road" you don't need the Torx-10 or Torx-25 wrenchs. The T-10 is for hydraulic brake lever fill bolts, and the T-25 is for rotor bolts. But then there are a few chainring bolt manufactures that make T-25 chainring bolts, so you were not completely out of the woods (pun intended). \

So what do I get?

 

A stainless steel carrying case:

If I've been lucky and had long enough runs without a flat that I've had a tools rub a hole in my spare inner tube in my bag. Well that my conclusion. A carrying case should prevent getting another hole, or using it as an excuse anyway.

 

 

chain tool: 8/9/10/11 speed compatible:
There have been very few times I've needed a chain tool, but When you need one, you got to have one. The first and obvious reason is when your chain breaks, another reason is if you break a derailleur hanger, and need to shorten the chain to make your bike a single speed to get you home.

 

spoke wrench: #0, 1, 2, 3

hex wrenches: #2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8

open wrench: 8mm, 10mm

screwdrivers: phillips #1, phillips #2, flat #2

torx: t-10, t-25

 

...and a lifetime warranty. The Quality of the tools are as good as you are going to get. These tools are not going to damage your components, and the only reason I see that you would replace it is if you lost it.

 

Vans Man

Don't know who this Owens guy is, but his Owens 2 shoe by Vans rocks. I've been riding skate parks lately. Running shoes are OK....I guess, but Vans work a lot better. I haven't had a pair of Vans in a long time.These are different than the regular high tops in that they have padded ankles, nice heel cups in the shoe, triple stitched, plus they have that velcro strap to tighten it all up for some nice ankle support. These are a lot better than the regular hightops. I could give or take the orange camo sole.

Nokian Hakkapeliitta Snow Test

Even though I rode the roller and trainer for 60 minutes this morning with the plan of driving to work because of the snow. The anticipation of trying out the Nokians proved too much.


Yep that's the cross bike. Why ride the cross bike when I have built a snow bike? I have to try out the studded tires. The usual 8 mile commute took about 15 more minutes than usual.


For some reason I had the bike setup 40x17 Fixed Gear. I'm not sure if that was a good idea or bad. Since riding in snow and ice is a game of balance, I found the fixed gear in some situations to provide more precise of control, than the brake. In other words you can feel the contact you have with the road better. I think there were more time I would have rather coasted then pedaled like the several parking lot curbs I had to go over, but it was a learning experience.
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I found 40x17 over geared for the fresh snow and unplowed street this morning. Since I could not take the the busy streets because I would freak out and/or annoy the drivers, I had to plow through the semi-fresh snow in the neighborhoods and on the sidewalks. This is where a nice set of Surly 3.7" wide Endomorphs would come in handy. No tire is perfect for all conditions.
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Another thing I noticed on the new snow is that once I had wide open stretchs and I was able to realize the potential of the 44x17. I was going so fast I couldn't feel the the tires contact with the road no longer. I did this a few time, but slowed down because I didn't feel like going down. Risk vs. Reward . . . Lots of Risk, no Reward. I've heard of this kind of thing before. They say a motorcycle going 100mph weights about 15Lbs. The 15Lbs. is in reguards to the verticle compliance of the motorcycles weight on the road.

However on the ride home after the snow had been plowed and the streets had a light cover, these tires hooked up nice. I had to slow down for cars. The shape of the thickness and shape of the knobs on the tire squeegeed the snow for beneith you, allowing the studs grip the road like a Bearcat or a Binuroug. Talk about riding with confidence.
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I think they are great for conditions like this evening; but for conditions that we had this morning, they were not perfect, they were better than regular cross tires, but exect then to hook up like your on rails.

A Trainer Day

I'm sure most of us are familiar with the phrase, "If it's not broke, don't fix it". However there is this thing called preventative maintanance, or Winter Cleaning!

I own a Blackburn Trak Stand Ultra.
http://www.trakstandultra.com/

I've owned it since 07, and I have to say this is the best I've owned or ridden. The majority of reviews on this train were nagative, that might explain why it's not made anymore. Maybe I'm just lucky, or I just know how to service and maintain it.


By simply turning this knob . . .


. . . You can set he trainer up for road bikes, or mountain bikes. Also you set it so the tire just misses the floor by 1/4" -3/8"and avoid having to set your front wheel up on something.

Ahhhh . . . The Mechanisim.

The resistance unit works like this. What you see are 3 plates. A roller, a flywheel, and a stationary plate that does not spin with a gasket material on the inside.

When the roller spins, it forces these ball bearings out against the flywheel . . .

. . . then forces the flywheel to rub against the gasket material of the stationary plate. The faster the roller spins, the more resistance you create.

This resistance unit provides more than enough resistance. The stand resistance requires you to output 330 watts to ride at 25mph, you can increase the resistance by moving the 3 ball bearings to the outer ball bearing ramps requiring you to output 351 watts to maintain 25mph, or use all 6 requiring 745 watts to ride 25mph . . . Yep that ought to do it.

and it allows "Spindown". Spindown means when you quit pedaling, it takes some time for the rear wheel to stop spinning. It gives you a little bit of that road feel. I mean when you stop pedaling on the road, your bike doesn't come to a stop.

These are all the parts to it. It's so simple.

If you know me, you know I like to keep it local. If I can't keep it local, I like to keep it independent, or non-corporate. . . . More Mainstreet, and less Wall Street.

So here is the 3/50 project.
http://www.the350project.net/home.html

Basically pick 3 local business, and spend $50 in each on locally produced Items, once a month.

A couple locally owned business I like to visit that feature a lot of locally made products are

Nature's Pantry
http://www.pantry.biz/

The Store
http://thestoremeatmarket.com/

Today I discovered a locally made salsa from Jan's Organic. Pretty tasty.
http://jansorganicworld.com/main.html

TSOL . . . True Sounds Of Liberty


"I'm tired of looking (It's not in my vision)
I'm tired of seeing (Don't wanna see this)
I'm tired of hearing (Don't tell me your sht)
I'm tired of being (So why am I here?)
I'm tired of life (And all of its jokes)
Imaginary lines (To fool the fools)
Imaginary rules (To live your life by)
And all the worlds' fools

Life is so easy when you're told what to do
Where to work and how to be you,
But the jokes wears off and you're still laughing
Caught in your own trap and you're all happy

Too stupid to know it (Just try use your head)
Too stupid to care (You've all been fooled)
Just one voice screaming (Is there really a point)
Just one in a million (A little speck of flesh)
Who's gonna hear it (Scream till you die)
Who's gonna know it (Your conscience your mind)
Who even cares (No one but yourself)
It's hopeless (You're hopeless)

Because of the process, Because of the system,
Because you're still laughing, Because you don't listen,
Because of the process, Because of the system,
Because you're still laughing, Because you don't listen"

The PowerCam Crank Arm

Before Shimano with there Bio-Pace chainrings, we had . . . P O W E R C A M !

Yep . . . that's a 60 tooth chainring folks.

The concept is simple . . . the design, not so much. The concept is to advance the chainring during the bottom of the down stroke when your leg strength is at it's peak. Then during the up stroke the chainring retards to it's original position. Yes "advancing" and "retarding" are industry terms. Check the Science
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I traded something for it a long time ago. It works fine when you have chain tension. When you don't it tends to clang a bit if you don't watch it. It was desinged for time trials more than anything. It was heavy, and I didn't see any pros like Greg leMond, Bernard Hinault, or even Francesco Moser using one, so it sits in an old cardboard box since.

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Heck it might have worked, who knows, I'd never know, I followed the sheep rather than do some practice TTs on it and seen for myself. Hmmmmmmmm . . . I smell experiment . . . don't you?

Cinelli Clipless Pedals

Cinelli designed and put into production the first clipless pedal back in 1970. I guess Some people are just ahead of their time. For some reason it took another 15 years for this concept to catch on. Much like shimano with the cassette rear hub, and Vitus and the integrated headset.

I will say they are probably not the easiest pedal to get in and out of. They slide in and out easy enough, they just don't have a lot of play, so you would have to be dead on. I suspect a lot of people found it easier to slide the shoe in, then lace you their shoes.

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The pedal looks a lot like a speedplay . . . only in an anti-lollypop kind'a way
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The cleat slides in the slots.

Then when the cleat is in postion, you slide the slide in, then a pin comes up locking the cleat in. They used to call these pedals death traps, because you were not coming out of them once locked in. Then if you were like most of us, and used Campagnolo record pedals, you probably used two Alfredo Binda straps per pedal . . like you were getting out of that configuration either.

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.

Lake Winter Shoes

Today I had to break out my Lake Winter Shoes. When the temperature gets down to 25 to 5 below zero, these shoes will keep your feet warm and cozy. I've had these shoes now for 4 years and I highly recommend them. Not only do they keep your feet warmer than booties, I hate peeling on and off booties.

Plus they have the BOA system. This make during ride adjustment possible. Like I said I've had the shoes now 4 years, I ride almost every day, and no problems, I also ride my mountain bike a lot, is that's any testament to their durability. They are expensive, but worth it. They are one of the few Items design to get more than one season. I don't see why I should be able to get 10 more years from them.


The padding in the bottom of the shoe looks like it's a piece of bubble insulation. You can buy bubble insulation at your hardware store. This is a great idea. Not for just cycling, but say you work outside, standing on concert all day, this will help your feet from getting cold.

They're Here.

What's in? . . . The Kenda 2.7" Nevegals . . . Yep 2.7". In case your interested Crusty, they weight in at 1431 grams, or 3.15 Lbs. a piece.

Next to them are the 2.1" Nevegals. Pictures don't quite capture how much bigger they are, although it's obvious they are a lot taller, but how much?

The 2.1" measured 54mm tread/50mm casing, 670mm tall; the 2.7" measured 66mm tread/ 58mm casing, 690mm tall.

Operation Snow Bike. The design is going to look like a SE QuadAngle. Now how to get the clearance?

Fixie Cross Anybody?

Yea Plaza. The famous Plaza Fountain.


On the other side of the fountain I found this Orange Bicycle.
I know White Bikes (Ghost Bikes) are for "People" that got killed while riding their bicycle. I guess Orange bikes are for "People" that got hit on their bicycle.

On the brighter side, what's new?

Cane Creek Brake lever for my CycloCross bike. I got a set of their SCR-5 brake levers. They look like nice levers . . . and are nice for the price ($40)

The hoods are nice and big, they really give you something to hold on to. The hoods are also real tight so they will not roll around on you . . . or the lever.

Cane Creek is an American company. According to Cane Creek

Most major Cane Creek components are designed and assembled by us at our
headquarters, including shocks, wheels and high-end threadless headsets. The
hands-on workmanship assures us and you of the highest quality control and also
reduces the time between a component's date of manufacture and the day it's on
your bike. We have a great deal of pride in being a US company that maintains
the highest standards of manufacturing excellence. It's another reason we stand
behind what we make

The only thing I don't like about them is lever seems to have more slop on the pivot than I would like. It's not bad. All in all I say they are the best value going. The thing is most levers have a shifting mechanism in them. If you race SS you don't need it and have to find a set of brake levers without it.

There you have it. Fixed SS CX (Fixed Gear Single Speed Cyclo-Cross) Before you could just say Fixie and single speed was implied, now Sturmey archer is coming out with a 3 speed fixed gear hub that has changed.

Mounted and ready to go.



I also have braze-ons to make this a 3 speed if I want to.

What's he into now?

I was able to find out what year my Raleigh was made.

It's a 1970. I can only image what a boat anchor this bike was. I suspect it's all steel except for the stem, tubes, and tires. It's vintage.

However not all vintage things are not bad things, you can find some good buys on E-Bay, Craigs list, or other place if you know what to look for.

For example Suntour "Power Ratchet" shifters

So what gives these levers the POWER. It's the racheting wheel. Ahhh yes the days of Friction shifting, back in the day when people actually had to shift their bikes. The levers are designed so that when you pull back there isn't friction, all you feel is the tension of the derailleur spring. but the ratcheting wheel doesn't let the shifter shift down. Now in this respect it performs like a friction shifter.

I took mine apart to clean it and make sure nothing inside was broken.

An now re-assembled with smooth Phil Wood Grease for buttery smooth action. "Very Simple, Very Easy" (Does anybody in Kansas City remember "The Green Grocer".

Suntour's bar end shifter work on the same principle and were the king of bar end shifter for a long, long time. Suntour was not the only manufactures to make retro-friction levers.

Simplex for one. If you were a fan of the Pro peleton in the late 80's a lot of pros dumped their Campy or Shimano lever for the ones you see on the very left). They are very nice . . . Who knew I'd ever praise a french manufactured component? . . . Oh and my love for Mafac brake calipers, but I'll save that for another day.

(Photo borrowed from Orange velo)

http://velo-orange.blogspot.com/

Notice the more compact and elegant designs.

I think Simplex went out of business and In the early 90's Mavic took over the design and sold it along with the Mavic component group. Campy would also make a retro-friction lever in the early 90's. Funny enough Shimano never did jump on that band wagon as far as I know. They went straight from friction to index in one swoop.

In my research to fins information on Simplex deraileurs and shifter I found this cool site on Old school derailleurs. Or are they so old I think you have to call them "Old World" shift levers.

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hadland/derailleur/index.htm

Then visit his whole Site Tony Hadland's Links

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hadland/