Going Long and Hard.

So...I'm back to 100% fat. Sold my 29er. I tried going back and forth but it's just not working out. I ordered something very light yesterday to up my game.

-Jim.
 
Carbon. The SL is very close to what I have but with XX1 and HED wheels.

There's a good possibility I swap the stock parts back onto the FatBoy and keep it set-up as a Single-Speed. I have a pile of stuff to go on eBay once I get my butt in gear.

-Jim.
 
Tuesday.

HbMTB Night Ride at undisclosed location (Watchung). Things to note. It was ICY!! Everyone crashed, some of us multiple times. I did not crash, but did end up sliding off the trail into the woods on many occasions. Last week I forgot my battery and rode with a china light and it was terrible, this week I forgot my headlamp and rode with a china light...Still terrible.

I've decided that I was right about the HuDu, it does not turn in singletrack with no snow on it. Larry is going back on the front until it snows enough to warrant the D5s again.

https://www.strava.com/activities/240928135

-Jim.
 
So my week has been on the lighter side. Went to commute in on Thursday (on my ROAD bike) and ripped the rear tire off the rim about a block from my house. It was a sign. I put the road bike away.

This morning Johnny and I pre-rode the Marty's course. It was sweet. There was ice, we got lost, we got kicked out of the woods, and generally had a great time. At least I think Johnny had a good time. If nothing else it was an adventure, which is right up my alley!!

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https://www.strava.com/activities/242461092

The course is pretty cool, it's going to be a fun day. There's just enough climbing to make it tough but not terrible. I reckon on race day it'll be about 5 hours, maybe under a bit, if conditions stay the same. If the ice clears up it'll be a 4-hour race. The GPS route for the course is almost irrelevant, I don't think they looked at any of the roads or trails when they made it :hmmm:

-Jim.
 
jimvreeland said:
Seriously, this is one area I have worked out and is key to long wet, winter rides. BONE DRY. For realz.

-Jim.
Click to expand...

Hi Jim, today I had to cut my ride short b/c I was soaking wet and freezing. I actually couldn't feel most of my hands and was shivering like crazy. Two weeks ago the same happened to me. Do you have some advice for how to dress for wet & cold rides?

FYI. Today I was wearing the Sidi Winter Dominator shoes w/ Pearl Izumi MTN booties, normal winter bibs and on top of that Endura Venturi II pants, a couple of light/dry fit layers and a Pearl Izumi "water proof" thin jacket w/ helmet cover. For gloves I had the liners of the Sturmfist 4 inside Specialized ? "waterproof" gloves to which I had applied 2 coats of Kiwi spray before.

5-7 miles into the ride my footbeds were wet! I adjusted the cuff of the over pants b/c I think the splash from standing water was getting in-between the over pant and the shoes but that didn't help much. Q: Do you use the 45NRTH gaiters? About the same time my hands were wet, although not that cold yet (I had the cuff of the jacket on top of the cuff of the gloves so the water would not drip from my arms into the gloves but that didn't help.

About 15 miles into the ride I had water up to my ankles inside the shoes. After that it was my whole legs and back that got wet. Coming back it my chest was wet too. BTW, about 20 miles into the ride I switched to another pair of gloves (Gore, which I was carrying in the front pockets of my jacket) and they lasted even less than the previous combination. In fact, I was much colder very soon and my fingers started freezing.

What can I do different?

Thanks!
 
Jim can probably answer much better, but for me there's only so much you can do riding in rain. I usually make best speed back to the car if I get caught in it. I do find that a lot of 'waterproof' stuff I have is more like 'water resistant'. Under constant rain, most of my rain gear will start getting soaked. Might be because of the materials age or wash cycles as the treatment may dwindled away. On long rides up in Maine I used to bring a poncho with me in case of downpours, but it was more of something you stop with until the rain passes. Wouldn't want to wear one for an entire ride because of breathability.
 
Pampa said:
FYI. Today I was wearing the Sidi Winter Dominator shoes w/ Pearl Izumi MTN booties, normal winter bibs and on top of that Endura Venturi II pants, a couple of light/dry fit layers and a Pearl Izumi "water proof" thin jacket w/ helmet cover. For gloves I had the liners of the Sturmfist 4 inside Specialized ? "waterproof" gloves to which I had applied 2 coats of Kiwi spray before.

5-7 miles into the ride my footbeds were wet! I adjusted the cuff of the over pants b/c I think the splash from standing water was getting in-between the over pant and the shoes but that didn't help much. Q: Do you use the 45NRTH gaiters? About the same time my hands were wet, although not that cold yet (I had the cuff of the jacket on top of the cuff of the gloves so the water would not drip from my arms into the gloves but that didn't help.

About 15 miles into the ride I had water up to my ankles inside the shoes. After that it was my whole legs and back that got wet. Coming back it my chest was wet too. BTW, about 20 miles into the ride I switched to another pair of gloves (Gore, which I was carrying in the front pockets of my jacket) and they lasted even less than the previous combination. In fact, I was much colder very soon and my fingers started freezing.

What can I do different?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Well, the feet are easy. Wolvhammers are 100% waterproof. Like, you can walk through water all day kinda waterproof. I don't use gaiters, but the rain pants I use have a velcro leg enclosure so you can get them very tight under the loop of the Wolvhammer which makes the waist down water-tight. For the really bad days I also have a pair of North Face ski bibs. They're a little more bulky but I usually only have to wear a normal bib short under them.

For the top I haven't found anything that works all the time. On cold rainy days a gore jacket with a rain slick over it is 100% waterproof, but you'll sweat to death if it's over 30 degrees. It was warm yesterday which is the worst rain to dress for. I keep a Showers Pass packable in my frame bag. If it comes down hard, I use it under my jacket almost like a base layer. The jacket will get soaked, you will get less soaked.

My hands are unaffected by the cold and wet so I can't offer you a lot of help there. As far as I go is to wear latex mechanic's gloves under my Radiants. The only real way to stay dry there is to use Pogies.

Hope that helps.

Jim.
 
jimvreeland said:
As far as I go is to wear latex mechanic's gloves under my Radiants.

Hope that helps.

Jim.
Click to expand...
This all day everyday. I keep a pair in my pack and my rain coat just in case I get caught with it being colder than expected. The gloves don't breathe so your hands end up getting wet from the sweat but the sweat warms up and keeps my hands good to go.

In fact this is such my go to for my hands that I investigated latex socks for my feet. There are some options but haven't tried any yet
 
jimvreeland said:
Well, the feet are easy. Wolvhammers are 100% waterproof. Like, you can walk through water all day kinda waterproof. I don't use gaiters, but the rain pants I use have a velcro leg enclosure so you can get them very tight under the loop of the Wolvhammer which makes the waist down water-tight. For the really bad days I also have a pair of North Face ski bibs. They're a little more bulky but I usually only have to wear a normal bib short under them.

For the top I haven't found anything that works all the time. On cold rainy days a gore jacket with a rain slick over it is 100% waterproof, but you'll sweat to death if it's over 30 degrees. It was warm yesterday which is the worst rain to dress for. I keep a Showers Pass packable in my frame bag. If it comes down hard, I use it under my jacket almost like a base layer. The jacket will get soaked, you will get less soaked.

My hands are unaffected by the cold and wet so I can't offer you a lot of help there. As far as I go is to wear latex mechanic's gloves under my Radiants. The only real way to stay dry there is to use Pogies.

Hope that helps.

Jim.
Click to expand...

Thank you Jim! Yesterday I didn't take the Wolvhammers b/c it was too warm for them and I know my feet would sweat a lot, but in retrospective that would have been 100 times better than wearing the Sidi's. I did get the pant's cuff tight over the Sidi's and booties but the height of those shoes is less than the Wolvhammer's so that might have been the problem. I'll try with the Wolvehammers next time.

For the hands, I was about to wear a pair of latex gloves and decided against that at last minute (and in favor of carrying a second pair of gloves)-bad move. I was expecting "periods of (light) rain" and not sustained heavy rain for the whole ride. I'll start looking for a pair of neoprene gloves too.

The pants I had are supposed to be pretty good so I'll give try them a few more times improving the other areas and see if they do their job or not. In yesterday's ride I was getting water through some many places AND sweating like a pig too, that it's hard to tell if they worked or not.
 
Super hectic day at the shop today, but I managed to bang this out 😀

Sneek peek at the new whip.

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That's not some shitty China bike your sporting, oh wait we are all riding shitty bikes these days
 
It's a LaMere. Chinese open mold #? Same one as the Yampa it looks like, they're damn near identical. About the same price as well, only $400 difference for the frame/fork. I bought a frame only and used the FatBoy fork as it's light as balls, and I own it. The head tube is a little taller so I might look for a 450mm fork for it and rebuild the Fatboy as a SS said.

It weighs 24 pounds in the picture. I may get a lighter crank and eventually summer wheels which should get it under or at least at 23 pounds. Nothing else on the bike will get swapped,
Some stuff just isn't worth the weigh savings...
 
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