Picture
The Fear

 

It was Saturday night and I had a Sta. Rosa trail ride planned with Agu and Polly the next morning. Only got to ride once that week so I was in no shape for anything hardcore.  Agu texts me and says: “Work complete...why don’t you ride the demo Soul Cycles Dillinger bike”.  

 

*GULP*  Fully rigid, Aluminum?  Single Speed?  Was I ready for my back to feel like a pretzel and my knees to be ground in to dust?  I texted back:  “sure, bahala na” – a Filipino term for “we’ll burn that bridge when we get there”.

 

Single Speeding if you’ve never tried it is in a large part a mental game. Your body can actually do a lot more than your mind is willing to give it credit for.  The problem is my mind (along with my body)  has been fat and lazy for some time now.  I haven’t been on a single speed since probably mid-year last year. Rigid suspension less on the trail for much longer. Bahala na.. bahala naa.. I can always push…


So Agu picks me up with what I expect to be the destroyer of my spine’s curvature and the bringer of the syndrome known as “handlebar-palsy”.

I had to admit she looked gorgeous when built up. That polished raw color is pretty awesome, nice even scalloped welds and those flat chainstays look pretty awesome.  Better yet is that CnCed yoke and Purple EBB.  Niiice!


To Agu’s credit it was built up pretty nice. Tape wrapped bars, shimano cranks, 20T cog (AIEEE!!!!) Usagi Hygia Brakes.. Wonderful, if i actually got some speed going, these weight weenie brakes would probably send me into the bushes on the next corner.  His seat looked a little well worn to the point of being furry.. so I brought my own seat and seatpost from my  ‘Zo.  Which was also a 31.6mm
Picture
The Ride

 

After a little bit of seat height adjustment. (I’ve got legs as long as a supermodel’s, but definitely not as sexy).  We decided that starting on “cardiac” hill was out of the question for obvious reasons. So we did a slow ride up Upak trail in reverse.  I could tell Agu was worried I would hurt myself since he kept slowing down and making sure I was okay.  Either that or he didn’t want to have to explain to my mom why I needed CPR on the trail.


Strangely enough, I was okay.. I didn’t go anaerobic, and my hands didn’t go numb. WTF?  Pearl Jam’s "Alive" starts to go through my brain at the first rest stop. I’m actually doing fine…  so we hit therocky descent and later on the  bridge with the wicked riser right which loops back to the main road. Cleared that without stopping.. not baad!  We did the rooty stuff at church trail. no jarring shock, just a forgiving firm ride.  Heeey I can get used to this…

after some orienteering we scrabbled up the dusty steep trails of school trail.  wow! Not a problem. Okay lets do the lumpy rutty stuff at website trail. woohoo!!! By this time I was smiling so wide I literally had to spit out a bug. I was even passing some fully suspended dudes along the way. Forever lost Polly finally calls and says he’s at the main road. Turn back  and do the trial again so we can pick him up?  Nooo problem.  Right about here I kept repeating how much I loved this bike out loud. The more I rode it, the bigger my grin was. i was actually trying to compose a song about how happy I was bout the bike.  Near the end of the ride I was leading the way tearing through the various trails while whooping with joy like a madman.  Okay im getting one of these.
Picture
The Analysis
 

The comfort  I felt on this ride could probably be attributed to a couple of things, the 29 tires, the flat chain stays, the steel fork, my big butt… but bottom line things came together and really worked. 


Also for those who ride 32x18 on a 26er, despite popular reports its NOT the same as a 32x20 on a 29er.  The 32x20 is just a little bit easier to spin. That means a much easier gear on the uphills and a little bit more hamstering on the cemented flat stuff.


The ride felt like a soft tail with about an inch or two or front and rear travel. Not enough to drop off stuff but just enough to round off the edges of those rocky trails.  


The steel fork had some nice fore-aft flex that was barely noticeable unless you payed attention and really stared at it during the rough stuff (not a good idea).  The wheelbase and position was neutral like my old heckler. No need to lean forward during steep accents or  put your butt way back for the downhills. Just get your butt off the seat and keep it at the same position basically.



The Hygia Usagis worked fine after they were broken in. not as hard stopping as my Aspires but worked just right for XC stuff with enough braking power for cardiac in reverse. For a guy who’s 230lbs fully kitted that really says a lot.
 


Comments

Justin

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 1:20:07 am

Excellent review. Western Pa has been covered in a couple feet of snow since I built mine, so I will live vicariously through this review for now.

 

jay

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 9:47:28 am

thanks buddy!

i forgot to put in the part where i was dancing the jig while trying to compose a song. lol!

 



Leave a Reply