Making, baking, and (un-)breaking things in Southeast Michigan.
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After a nice bike ride I couldn’t think of what to have for dinner, and this is what resulted: hash browns, fried up in butter, with onion, roasted garlic, rosemary, spicy chicken sausage, and sweet corn, topped with mild cheddar. I’m eating this with a glass of Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout, a very nice, malty, licorice-y stout that goes wonderfully with savory food.
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Today while washing my Titus Racer X 29er I found the rear drive-side Horst link screw loose. If this had come completely apart the bike would have gone very floppy, but not failed catastrophically.
Thankfully Titus publishes the Titus Racer X Torque Specs (mirror on nuxx.net) so I was able to reset this screw and check the rest. Everything else was spot-on already, save for the top of the rear shock which I’d previously undone (to route brake lines) and done by feel. That shock mount doesn’t matter much, though, as the bolt itself carries very little load.
Now, time to figure out a place for today’s riding…
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Starting last week when up at Big M and the NCT I’ve had a set of Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires on my bike. Thanks to a nice (and fair to all) deal worked out with a MMBA forum member and my friend Bob I ended up with a nice, fat 2.4″ tire on the front and a quite sufficient 2.25″ on the rear for $75. This is quite a good deal, as these tires are normally $70/ea in local shops.
These are definitely different feeling from the 2.0″ Specialized The Captain Control tires that I’d fitted earlier in the year. They both seem to roll faster and grip better when the bike is leaned way over, and their extra volume makes things feel a little bit more comfortable on trails. I’ve found the point at which they let go a few times, but haven’t fallen yet. The super-fat (for me) front tire also means that it floats over sand quite nicely, which was very helpful at Big M and Bald Mountain; both trails known for having unexpected patches of the typical Michigan pine forest sandy soil.
I think I’ll keep these on the bike for a while.
For what it’s worth these tires have plenty of clearance on my bike:
2 Comments· Here is a photo of the clearance when a 2.4″ Schwalbe Racing Ralph is used on a Fox F29 RLC with a 23.9mm DT Swiss X470 rim.
· Here is the clearance of the 2.25″ Schwalbe Racing Ralph as the rear tire on a medium Titus Racer X 29er.
