Book of Paul H

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
This week, I started my commute via bike from PABT to downtown Thomas St on W Broadway.

First day was a bit nerve wracking. I have ridden in the city before but it was on a decent bike I trust and with other experienced riders. Ok... I've done the ride on Sunday when I dropped off the bike to time myself but it is not the same as a weekday rush hr traffic. I went down 7th Ave that turns into Varick and eventually to W Broadway. No bike lane here until I get to W Broadway. What I found surprising is that at times, I was going faster than the cars then I remembered the times while I was driving in the city thinking I rather be on a bike because it was faster. Weird... but many times I felt like that yuppie in my jeans and dress shirt on a retro kinda bike (old POS) in pastel yellow and blue. One thing that distinguished me, was that I always had my helmet on. I decided to risk hat hair for safety. I guess I am still not too cool for school. Going back to PABT was a breeze! Hudson to 8th Ave, bike lane most of the way with a divider. Only real danger here... which are worse than cars IMO, are the non-attentative pedestrians. Some are just standing there oblivious to the world or some are yelling at me for getting out of the bike lane to get around those non-attentative pedestrians. Weird....

Second day, for whatever reason, it just felt like I've been doing this for years. I keep thinking that it would be so much more fun if I had my roadie or mtb with me. POSS is starting to make me nervous. All the potholes and I am starting to jump up and down curves to avoid car traffic. Hope it doesn't fall apart... I mean the damn thing is roughly around 30 yrs old and prolly more. Not to mention, POSS weighs a ton.... it takes a bit of an effort to get it going. But I guess thats why I built it with gears but I am finding that I only use 2-3 gears only. I am going to have to look into a POSA this winter to replace the POSS. 90 degree temps sucks! Ive been sweating like a pig. Mornings aren't bad... at least for now as its cooler but the ride back to PABT, my shirt is soaked! I don't think I stink.... cuz I can't smell it but usually, your own shit don't stink so... IDK... I just hope not.

Third day was rained out and on the 4th day, I tried going down the Greenway and not as exciting and bit longer but much safer and the constant pedaling makes it a better workout. Not to mention, flying by those slow poke citibike riders helps me with my ego... I RIKE IT AROT!

5th day was humid as shit. Easy, slow, no effort commute by taking the earlier bus in the morning affording me some more time. I am feeling like a pro by now... until I hit traffic and I can't do a proper track stand... errr...

The bike has not been stolen yet. It proves only 1 thing... that it IS a POSS. Not good enough to be stolen.

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qclabrat

Well-Known Member
let's see if it's there tomorrow
still a while till the 20 day o/u

btw: Cleanup with baby wipes after your ride
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
let's see if it's there tomorrow
still a while till the 20 day o/u

btw: Cleanup with baby wipes after your ride
Clean the POSS?
Maybe the saddle or grips
The saddle already went to shit... the plastic is all ripped up and the grips are feeling a bit sticky.... eww
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
no your stinky self
you don't want to be that guy in the office or the bus
wipe yourself now quickly in the bathroom, shouldn't take longer than a minute or two
Ah... I carry a towel with me
But it might not be too bad to stink... I assume no one will want to sit next to me and I can have more room on the bus! Lol :D
 
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Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
So... it's been 11 days I have biked to get from PABT to work and I can say that it's been manageable. I been taking the earlier bus in the morning so that I have some cool down time and the temps have been mostly cool in the mornings. I've been kinda stupid in the morning rides... I've been hammering it only in a way a noob can. I know my comfort speed is about 17mph on flats (on a good day) but I've been seeing 19 on strava during the commutes and sweating my balls off. I've actually said to myself that I'll just cruise in but never works out that way for whatever reason. I'll see a roadie and I'll try to wheel suck... or citibike slow pokes frustrates me and I try to blow by them and end up maintaining that speed the rest of the way. But it has been fun seeing myself climb up the ranks inch by inch on strava.

I initially thought that this commuting will make me not want to get on the roadie on the weekends. It's partially true because I haven't been on the roadie since I have started and only been on the mtb. But I'm dying to see how this has improved my strength and speed. This past weekend, while on the mtb, things felt smoother and I'm thinking it might be due the increased speed... even if it is only a 1/4 mph. I'm going to try to hit the road this weekend and see if there has been any quantifiable difference since.

One more thing... I actually don't mind coming into work... well... not as much as b4... because of the expectation of getting on the saddle... let's see how long this lasts!
 
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Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
Great weekend for biking for me.
The wife and kid went away for a church retreat... and it was time for this mouse to play.

Sat: 6MR with @qclabrat
Last time I was there, was about a year ago and I guess a year makes a difference. Last year, half a loop of the place and I thought I was going to die from exhaustion and ran out of water a 3/4 of the way. To fair, it was hot AF last year and heat exhaustion might have factored in a bit. Also, didn't know the place and my starting pace was prolly faster than it should have been. Nonetheless, this time I finished the 6MR loop with water to spare and PR'ed quite a bit. 1 more difference.... last year I rode all the bridges and I remember being a bit scared but did it regardless.... but this year.... I developed bridge-a-phobia big time and just couldn't do it. I guess 6MR being a bit wet didn't help either because those bridges felt pretty slippery. Not to mention, when I was at Lew Mo couple of weeks ago, the bridge there were wet and slippery as well and I remember sliding around a bit. Not a good feeling. When we came to the first 6MR bridge, I rode over it and then I suddenly remembered how slippery the Lew Mo bridge was. After that, it was game over... could not ride over another bridge. Overly cautious or chicken shit... you be the judge. No matter, it was 6MR, whats more to say other than fun was had and my bike was blessed with 6MR dirt/mud.

Sun: Clayton with @qclabrat and @BigDB67 ... and then @Julio Arocho
Walt, Dan and I have been scheming to ride at 6MR together for over a month but due to weather and schedule, just couldn't get it together. Then the stars aligned and Sunday we ride! Two things tho, due to rain Sat afternoon, we decided 6MR would prolly not work and we decided on Allaire. Cool!... and then Christie Kreme would close all state parks.... asshole! Anyways, last minute change of venue and we decided on Clayton. Thru out my drive on the 95, couldn't stop thinking Christy is an asshole! because of the... "ALL STATE PARKS CLOSED" signs lit up along the way. I drive into the lot and I spot a park ranger... I am thinking, is he going to kick me out because of the state closure thing? Nope.... as he was driving by I say good morning and he returns a wave and a smile. Cool! Clayton... what a fun park! For this noob, this was "THE feel good" park! Flowy and not overly twisty that you can really rip it on a downhill. We started early enough that there weren't any hikers so we were able to ride with some speed. WOW... I just had a lot of fun here. I just wish the park was a bit bigger. After the first loop, Dan didn't feel too well. It was starting to get hot and really humid and I guess as we get older, can't take your health for granted. Dan made the good call to call it a day, but Walt and I were having too much fun and decided to do another loop...but in reverse. By now, ppl are flowing in and it seemed like every rider we spoke to, originally had Allaire as their destination but because of the state closure, found themselves at Clayton just like we did. After the 2nd the loop, we ran into Julio. He recognized us from the pic Walt posted from the 6mr ride lol!! So... we had to do another loop with Julio. We thought that the clockwise loop had the better flow and less of a climb... not too sure about the climbs now but good times were had! One last thought about the Clayton.. per se... I am prolly going to get myself killed at HM trying to ride it like I did at Clayton. Luckily... I ordered thicker knee pads and it was delivered yesterday! HA!

Mon: local road ride
Ever since I started commuting via bike, I wanted to see if there has been any improvements to strength and endurance and wanted to test it out on a road ride. I guess it wasn't a good idea to do this test after 2 days of riding dirt. I was less winded but energy level was way low. My legs just didn't want to spin. It was going to be just another average ride so I decided to cut it short and opted to wash the mtb instead. Nothing to see here.

Today is going to be a rest day... and maybe some maintenance on the bikes. I'll prolly come back with questions where you are going to want to bash your head against the wall... but you guys are used to that kinda stuff from me by now.
 
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Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
Ok.. the Trance is ready to ride.
Took off all the plastic junk like reflectors (except the rear since I ride road) and guards, adjusted the shifter/levers and saddle height and angle and changed out the grips. The Giant grips felt a bit goofy and its longer. With my small hands, reach to the levers was bit of a stretch as I like to grab at the edge of the bars. I got the L... the M initially felt more nimble but I felt that it will kill my back on the longer rides. Switched out to a 40mm stem and she feels right at home. The Trance comes with a 750 bar but can't tell the difference from the 740 I've been riding with. Only thing I didn't do is convert to tubeless because I am almost out of stans... what I have left is prolly enough for 1 wheel but I figured I would take care of both at a later date. Its been on order and I am expecting it to arrive sometimes next week. Compared to the Talon, the Trance may be a hair heavier.... again, can't really tell the difference.

Questions...
1. Saddle bag on a dropper post? I am thinking no?... in which case, I guess I just gotta move all the stuff into the hydro pack.

2. Is there a weight and performance difference between the Deore and SLX brakes? Stopping power and modulations feels about the same but then again, I am a bit numb when it comes to things like this until I am told the differences and only then I start feeling it. Not to mention, the 180 rotor on the Trance could offset things. The SLX is currently on the Talon and eventually want to switch them over to the Trance. But if the difference is minute, maybe I'll just leave them as they are so that I don't have to deal with the hose length. Right now the Deore hoses on the Trance are a perfect length. When I installed the SLX on the Talon, I only cut the hose a little bit only on the rear because I knew I would want to switch them over to another bike in the future and I didn't want to have to deal with a short hose.

3. If I decide to switch out to the SLX, is it better to disconnect the hose on the lever side or the caliper side?

4. The Trance has 2.35 tires up front and 2.25 on the rear. I am thinking about using the 2.35 on the rear for additional traction on steep hills at HM... any reason I should not do this?

Awesome....grats to ya
Danke! Let's ride!
congrats, let us know how it tackled HM
Arigato gozaimas! Going out to HM tomorrow morning... I expect to come back with multiple scratches... LOL :(
Congrats Paul! Time to set a Strava record on Ancients.
Muchas gracias! I got a feeling I am going to baby it for a while.... until the novelty wears off. LOL :D
 
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Magic

Formerly 1sh0t1b33r
Team MTBNJ Halter's
1. Saddle bag on a dropper post?
Yes, you can do it. I had one on mine when I had a dropper. If you always ride with a pack, no reason for both though. Pack FTW.
2. Is there a weight and performance difference between the Deore and SLX brakes?
The differences are so minute you shouldn't mess with it if it's perfect.
3. If I decide to switch out to the SLX, is it better to disconnect the hose on the lever side or the caliper side?
Lever, then buy a new barb and olive.
The Trance has 2.35 tires up front and 2.25 on the rear. I am thinking about using the 2.35
You're talking about .1". You probably won't notice much of a difference, but if you feel like spending a bunch of money for no reason, sure. Wait until it's new tires time.

Basically, don't mess with it and enjoy it. No reason to mess it all up when it's brand new. Congrats!
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
Always good advice from @1sh0t1b33r
My hydropack is rather small. Bladder and hand pump and some food and there really is not much room left. I do have a larger one but it's not as comfortable as the small one. I havent used the bigger one in a while because of this. Gotta figure something out.

As for the tires, when it's time to replace, I'm going to go with 2.6 but for now... what meant was to use the current tires and switching the front and back to 2.25 in front and 2.35 in the rear.
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
congrats, let us know how it tackled HM
When I started looking for another bike, I knew I wanted a FS and I think I said at one pt that I wanted a FS version of "my" Talon. I said "my" Talon because the bike is set up with a 140 fork and this is prolly overkill but loved the way the front end floated over the technical stuff. Another requirement was that it had to be a climber. One thing I hated about the Superlight was that this bike didn't like to climb. I would lift up the front quite a bit if I didn't exaggerate shifting body weight.

In order to get.a 140ish travel, it had to be a trail bike. Now my concern, was the climbing aspect. I was told that a trail bike would not climb as well. I saw and read plenty of reviews where they said that the 2017 Trance was a goat but I was still skeptical nonetheless. I wasn't expecting much but this Trance, climbs as well as my Talon. It was a pleasant surprise and I didn't notice any bobbing! The rear suspension was pretty sweet and the bike would just eat up rocks for breakfast! On 1 particular rock garden, the damn thing floated over everything. I couldn't stop laughing because it was so easy.... crazy guy in the woods, laughing out loud.. literally! On a rocky downhill, I missed a turn because it would just roll over everything in its path and it wanted more. If I was on the Talon, I would have been knocked off the saddle by now. Another thing I was impressed with, the bike turns! Lean in a bit and it almost turns on its own. I had couple of spots where it wanted to wash out a bit. I need to practice shifting my body weight on those turns.

I tried using the dropper post, and I definitely see the advantage. B4, I had to make the conscience effort to move my weight to the rear but once the dropper goes down, weight shift was almost automatic. Someone once told me that having a dropper post is like cheating and I see that. I just gotta practice using it... I was having problems getting the seat up again for an immediate uphill. Also, with my small hands, I couldn't reach it in time. I think I need to relocate the lever closer or get a different lever that is a horizontal press. Oh... the brakes.... after riding the trails, I do think the SLX has better stopping power. Either that or the Deore needs a bit more oil or the stock rotors suck.

Now the one thing I got really annoyed with. The lower BB cause a lot more pedal strikes than I wanted. With the Talon, I would have maybe 2 or 3 pedal strikes but on Trance, I had more strikes than I can count. I need to relearn how to ride at HM. One particular pedal strike almost cause a crash and almost got knocked out by a tree.

I also had a couple of close call OTB's and this was not the bikes fault. I was asking the bike to do too much. I guess I was so impressed with the bike, that I was expecting it to do all the work for me. lol

This is all coming from a noob whose only FS experience was on a 2001 Superlight... so take it FWIW.

Oh... no issues with saddle bag on the dropper. :)
 
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Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
Dammit! I test fitted the SLX brakes on the Trance and the hose for the rear is too short! :mad:
Changed the front to SLX and only swapped the lever for the rear for now so they match.
The SLX definitely has more bite.
 
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