GT update...good and bad.

The good...

Yesterday the GT threadless rigid fork showed up, via Santa Clause in the brown truck. Today, Santa in the white truck delivered the NOS DiaCompe Aheadset, a proper era model for the 1995 frame. The stem is a Profile BOA, polished to match the Zaskar, and I even had an extra GT sticker for it...I'm a dork.
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Note my tomatoes growing crazy in the planter in the background. What can I say? I love bikes, AND tomatoes!
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Fork! Even has the original GT Cro Mo stickers....neat little GT dropouts too.
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Not bad at all...
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BOA, salvaged from the Trek 8500 carbon that I parted out earlier this year. Sticker came as an extra in the Xizang replacements I got for the Zaskar. Clearly I'm not using the Xizang stickers themselves, just all the others in the kit. They are the same style and color as the originals on this frame, so I grabbed 'em. Blue top cap here actually was the first top cap I bought, back in 1994, for the white EWR...still have it.
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Deore DX rear hub, but something's weird here...Hmmmm.
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Yup, its wearing an 8 speed hub body from the next generation XT hub.
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That's it for the Good...all Zaskar. Now for the bad.


Here's the RTS, also delivered by Santa in the brown truck. See anything here...compared to the Zaskar?...


It's Little! Not sure what I'm going to do here...but until I think of a game plan, I'm just going to hang it up. I may find a larger frame with a bad swing arm, or maybe one with no cable noodles or brake cam or a bad shock or something, and this sucker has all good stuff in those departments. I think it's a 16", what with the TT being CtC at 21.5" and the ST CtC at 16" on the nose. My stamped 18" Zaskar has a ST of exactly 18", so I expected the RTS to be the same size as that. If only it was an 18" like the Z. I judged the RTS size by the numbers on the auction (listed as 18" and 22.5") and the head tube and gusset layout, which matches the Zaskar's, but apparently the next smaller size down uses the same head tube orientation, and the RTS frame measurements were given in the auction as C-T, not CtC. Oops.
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Floating brake cam, complete. On bikes of this era, these usually went in the dumper when owners went to side-pull style brakes that needed no cable housing stop. This one is in great shape.
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Cable routing noodles, again complete.
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So the RTS is on hold for now...I'm in no raging hurry to buy a second one to rectify the situation, but if another el-cheapo deal comes along then I'll swing on it.

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Besides, Santa should be here soon with the Orange beastie a few posts below...

Zaskar - Resurrected

Before!...The ugly POS as it arrived on my doorstep...

And after..the acorn that has become the mighty oak...(in the immortal words of Bill Murray)

Uh-oh...

Sad ?

If this isn't what I think it is, then all apologies.




If this is what I think it is... Sad, just sad...

Feerless Gearless meets Kooka

What happens when folks that have no cycling background discover the joy of cycling by building up salvage yard specials and start fitting unsafe parts to their resulting fixie-hipster bikes?

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Yup...carnage. Here's a tip, hipsters, Kooka stuff is crap. Your fixie bikes put a load of forces on the crank arms, don't go glamor there. I hope at least you had on the appropriate safety gear, your skinny jeans and a faded Colnago hat!

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Hey, they aint just for biking anymore! Ask Wesley!

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Thomson Failure article from Cozy Beehive

This excellent post comes from the Cozy Beehive, one of the cycling blogs listed in the links to the right here on my own blog. The first reported failure of this Thomson Seat Post from Beehive got me very interested in the hows and whys, and I must say, that with 4 Thomson Elite posts, and 2 Thomson Stems in my quiver with not a whit of trouble from anything, my initial reaction to hearing of the failure was 'operator error'. I'm not writing it off as that, but just saying...

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The Cozy Beehive link

Broken Thomson Seatposts & The Overtightening Syndrome

and the thread on MTBR

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=5620957#poststop
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Picture is from the MTBR thread...posted by 'Apacherider'
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When I worked in the bike business way back when, we joked about the "JRA" failures. That is, when a customer comes in to the shop with a bike or frame that he or she has clearly abused to the point of failure, and then explains culpability for the failure away from themselves by claiming that they were "Just Riding Along". Just by looking at the part, or bike, or what have you, a huge percentage of these failures were pretty obvious in how they developed, although I've never calculated statistics for the hows and whys. As shop staff, we would cut the customer a deal that typically meant eating the profit for the sale in the first place...customer is always right, even with a wacky JRA story as their only excuse.
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I hated the JRA cyclists. I never understood not wanting to take responsibility for breaking something. Hey, most of the time, if the guy would have just owned up to it, the shop would probably come to your aid in the first place, without your having to resort to some wacky tale. I don't know enough about the circumstances of this failure, but my experience with the product in question, and my belief that something big had to happen to this post to set the stage for the break...crash, roof rack garage interference issue, rider weight and/or style, makes me wonder...was he really just riding along?
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I knew a guy in college that had a Diamond Back Apex mountain bike, a pretty nice True Temper OX steel tubed rigid bike with full Deore DX parts and a nice smattering of ancillary parts. Well, he had the bike for about a month when one night he was riding across campus in the dark, and cut through what he thought was a field, but which was in reality a temporary parking lot frames in big pressure treated pine logs, much like telephone poles lying prone on the ground. He rode headlong into one of those logs and obviously, wrecked the bike. The fork pushed back and buckled the down tube of the frame. He actually had the audacity to take the bike back to the Diamond Back dealer and request a warranty replacement. I'm sorry, but that's not Diamond Back's fault, and you were not Just Riding Along. Sad really...it wasn't a super fancy bike, but it deserved better...

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Conversely, I do not hide my disdain for companies that I feel make crappy parts. Kooka, for example. Kooka introduced some CNC machined aluminum cranks at Interbike in 1993. They were beautiful. They were also fragile flexy crap. Kooka changed their cranks design and chosen materials and manufacturing process many times, and yet I've seen multiple examples of broken Kooka cranks regardless of their manufacture date. Kooka just made crap, and they're out of business today because of it. (Actually, I think the brand still markets bike junk made overseas, but only after the originators of the Kooka name left it unprotected as a trademark after going belly up.)
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There are two choices with this seat post, either A - the Thomson Elite Post has some inherent design issue or materials shortcoming that resulted in this failure, or B - like the Diamond Back Apex frame that bit the dust after being ridden headlong into a felled tree, this post failed because of operator error, either by being hurled off a cliff or clipped off the roof of a car by a Burger King Drive Thru or some other such catastrophe.

I'm inclined toward B.

Suntour Greatest Hits...

Thread popped up on the retro board...something about "what did you like about Suntour and why?", and it got me thinking about my Suntour Greatest Hits.

XC Pro Rear Derailleur



Command Shifters

WTB Licensed Grease Guard Bottom Bracket

XC Pro Cranks

WTB Grease Guard Headset

and finally...the Superbe Pro road derailleur. This one was actually mine for a while, and I sold it on the eBay and UPS lost it...response from buyer was "box delivered, contents missing." RIP, poor thing...

What's for lunch?

Cleo's!

A funky little joint, way out on the north side of town, that specializes in of all things...Taco Salads!







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It sure sounds strange, and it gets even stranger when you see the place, a tiny little shop...tiny!







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Order your food, and then retire to one of the screened shaded gazebos out back to eat! It's a nice quiet place, surrounded by the growing industrial epicenter of Jacksonville, near the Blount Island Marine Terminal. One of my coworkers needed to do some fieldwork out there, so we combined it with a trip to Cleo's. I've only been out there once, but it was a load of weirdness and fun that is very representative of old Florida and how folks used to live, work and conduct their business, and eat, in Jacksonville back in the day.

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The Taco Salads are, truly, "The Best in Town."

Susan Boyle, who?

Not cycling related at all...not even about home brewed beer, but we'll call it relevant due to current events...

Before there was Susan Boyle, the dowdy frump dazzling the Internet lunkeys the world over with her sappy rendition of lame show tunes, there was Paul Potts. Sure, Boyle can sing pretty well, and as her handlers pointed out, nobody expected her performance on "Got Talent", and I'll give you, it was pretty funny that she tried to walk straight off rather than face the judges, but she's not the pinnacle of the frump-does-good. Nope, that goes to Potts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEo5bjnJViA

Cell phone salesman takes the stage...crooked teeth and all, and declares that he's there to sing opera. Everyone sniggers...at least until...

At which point the chick on the show melts into a frothy pool of lust and desire...

And Simon gnaws his pen into submission, with raging anticipation of the millions about to be made by his private record label...

If you haven't seen Potts' clip on YouTube...check it out. Not to take anything away from Susan Boyle, but Potts is truly amazing. I'm not much of a fan of opera, and these types of talent shows leave me clammy, but this clip gives me goose bumps every time I hear it. I even bought the Potts CD. A great story.

What is it with all these aesthetically challenged English folks just busting at the seams with talent? Is it the tea?...the crumpets?...the rain?

GT RTS

OK, I may have an addictive personality after all!
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I've never liked full suspension bikes, and I've always resisted having a modern longer travel rig...and my experience with a Cannondale Rush left me convinced that I was spot on. For my style and local trails, I don't need 4-5 inches in the rear. I could probably make due with a Moots YBB type soft-tail actually. I'm also coming to terms with the realization that I'm more enamored with the idea of liking my new EWR, as opposed to actually liking it. When I ride locally, I always reach for the white EWR, and the blue re-release EWR hangs on the rack. One of my buddies has an orange re-release EWR with a Maverick SC32 inverted fork, and he says that the fork is a night and day improvement over the Rock Shox Pike that he had on the frame originally. I'm running a Rock Shox Revelation on my blue EWR, which aside from the standard axle as opposed to the 20mm thru-axle on the Pike, is essentially the same fork. Maybe the Maverick SC32 is what I need for the EWR? I need to build some wheels for it anyway...hmmm...

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Revelation and the Shimano Deore XT/ Mavic 217 wheels from my blue EWR would work nicely on a GT RTS...where the Noleen coil-over rear shock on the RTS would balance well with the Revelation, which is also a coil unit...hmmm...

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I've always heard the knock on the GT RTS is that it firms up quite a bit under pedal forces, and is only reactive while cruising. So here's my idea. I want a cross country bike to help me take the edge off...hey what can I say my back isn't getting any younger! I don't want to ride a couch either. The rub is, I don't want to spend a load of dough on what would essentially be an experiment. So, as I've got loads of parts for a build up of just about anything, I've decided to pick up an Asian made RTS frame on the cheap and build it up to see if the suspension design fits what I'm looking for.

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Again, this is not a USA made RTS, but rather an imported RTS-3 that I picked up on the old fleabay. (I don't have it yet, so forgive the auction pics) I was drawn to this frame because of the completeness of all the little geegaws like the brake cam and the cable noodles. I'll be able to use the original brake arrangement while I proof the concept, then the cro-mo butted steel rear swing-arm assembly on the RTS will allow me to have a local builder weld up a disc mount and burn off the rim brake fittings.

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The blue and silver color scheme will die a slow death... I'll polish the blue main frame up to a finish similar to the Zaskar's, and the rear will get gloss black spray...compliments of my staggeringly skillful backyard abilities with a rattle can. I may drink heavily while I do the deed...maybe with an old lawnmower engine swinging from one of the trees in the backyard as a backdrop...

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My one question...can any of you GT gurus out there confirm for me that the geometry of the RTS-3 is the same as that of the USA made RTS? Are there any GT gurus out there even remotely interested in my blog? Hello?

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I'm going to build up the 3 and if it fits the bill for a firm-under-pedaling limited travel, durable full suspension bike, I may move up to an RTS... Or maybe I'll just continue to collect frames that have no actual chance of seeing the light of day on a trail...

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And for those of you cynics out there that think I'm squandering my child's college dough on old crappy bikes...let me assuage your fears. Old crappy bikes are CHEAP! This old RTS, the beauty that she is, is on her way to me for the measly sum of 99 bucks, plus shipping, of course. Considering that I sold my Cannondale Rush frame for almost $900, I'd say I'm doing ok! Besides...like the Light Action derailleur in a previous post, this junk is therapeutic! Cheers!

RIP Deore MT-60, Hello LIght Action!

This is the story of a Deore rear derailleur with a very big problem...the thing is perfect except for the steel back plate which has sheared at the pivot. RIP Deore!

Here we are, stripped of all our remotely usable guts...waiting for a donor...

And here's the donor!

These 'Light Action' derailleurs are the cheaper little cousins to the 700CX fitness group derailleurs, and the precursor to the RX100 long cage stuff available a few years later. Similar in quality to the Deore LX and Exage 500LX derailleurs available in mountain groupos of the time, these guys get no love today...

But there's a secret...

They are nearly identical to Deore DX short cage derailleurs, and where they are different, they're made of steel. Darn strong steel.

Plus...the whole Light Action moniker is a total misnomer, as they have a very stout return spring and snap off firm shifts even when caked with muck or pranged on something hard.

So, Deore MT60 parts in one hand, and a rusted solid, filthy Light Action in the other, I got down to business and put together a solid unit, ready to serve urban bike duty and be beat to a pulp...a fate I'd never deploy one of my Deore DX units to undertake. Is it pretty? Sort of...the pictures show much more degradation to the finish that the eye reveals. But is it functional? 100%. Straight and strong. Compatible with all Shimano 7-8-9 speed mountain groups, max tooth 28T. Go ahead, beat it up!

If you see these Light Action units kicking around somewhere in a parts bin or on a well worn fitness bike, don't pass them by. These things make for nice short cage mountain derailleurs on a budget.

Most people wouldn't give a hoot about saving an ugly duckling like this Light Action. The thing looks like a Katrina victim! But I don't like to waste stuff, and I find twittering with little things like this therapeutic.

Post Clean-Up Zaskar

Spent a little time after the Saturday morning road ride polishing the Zaskar up a bit. It's important when cleaning these ball-burnished frames up to not hit them with so much polish or abrasives that you completely remove the burnished surface. Zaskars wouldn't be mirror smooth in finish, just shiny with a slight hint of the peened surface peeking through. In these pictures you can see that there are some places where cable rub and other trail use evidence still exists, post clean-up...but to remove all of that would leave a more scratchable and tarnishable surface behind. Remember, the point is to clean the existing finish, not create a new one.

Seat cluster with GT clamp.


Bottom Bracket junction. An old toothbrush works great to get the polish into those toothpaste welds...ironic.



Drive side dropout, with derailleur hanger removed to ease in the cleanup.



Head tube...cable rub marks are pretty apparent here. Still, the frame cleaned up nicely, and replacement decals are on the way.



Like Wall-e says..."Tah Dah!"

Orange Cycle, Orlando

I've been promising this for a while now, and now that the bacterial infection in my household is on the decline, I can get to it. This is the Orlando Bike Shop Tour.
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*applause*
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OK... Actually, this city-wide survey turned into a real Bike Shop Tour...just one shop. Here's why...

I learned a few months back that my job was shipping me off to Orlando for training, and I'd just hatched the idea to take a peek at the Gainesville shops, so it stands to reason that I'd combine the two. Went out on the old webby-poo and did a quick search for Orlando Bike Shops and came away with a general list of stores and addresses, the only one which was familiar to me being Orange Cycle. Two other 'shops' were reasonably close by, via address, so they made the list...'Bikes Beans and Bordeaux' and 'Glory Cycles'.

On to the tour...

Stop one...Glory Cycles...show below in its 'melancholy and infinite sadness'...

OOPS! Seems times are hard in the Orlando bike biz...shame. No flaming babies to award here.

Score - Goose Egg!

Glory Cycles

1005 Virginia Dr

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Next stop...Bikes, Beans and Bordeaux...

Uh...OOPS! This place is actually a restaurant! A nasty little curbside bump in an aging automobile oriented strip mall, no less! I expected Mellow Johnny's, and instead I found $9 hoagies, stale coffee and worn out bike parts spray painted silver and screwed randomly into the drywall. Somebody must have gotten a postcard from Boulder or Madison or Austin, or some such college town hipster-ville and had a business plan epiphany. But like most things even remotely associated with Orlando and Disney, something went horribly wrong in the translation and execution! I was so shocked that I hid behind an SUV and took covert pictures like a cold war spy. Bonus points to the tacky strip mall for having a bill-board in the parking lot advertising injury malpractice law firms...classy. So much for web instructions on bike shops in O-town.

Score - Goose Egg!

Bikes Beans and Bordeaux
3022 Corrine Dr
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Final stop...Orange Cycle.

I've been here before. This place was the VooDoo dealer back in the day, and when VooDoo first came out, after the split between Joe Murray and Kona, one of my college buddies and I made a special drive to Orlando to rub our junk on the top tube of an orange Bizango that they had on the floor. Then, it was a much smaller shop, but still the 'flag bearer' in central Florida bike-dom. Today, Orange Cycle is well on it's way toward big box style world domination, ala Disney itself. The street view of OC, seen here occupying nearly the entire block face...

Here's a shot inside, showing merchandising at the point of sale, and the register facilities...

OOPS! HERE's the inside shot, not that it makes any difference... Sorry about that...

Seems that like most things in Orlando, Orange Cycles has grown into a bloated caricature of itself...like fake Italianate Architecture or a 80,000 square foot sushi bar on International Drive, this place is over the top. I understand the concept...offer all things to all people, but cycling doesn't translate well to this approach. I find it hard to believe that anybody gets very good information or service here, and my experience reflected that, as I walked the lonely isles for 15 minutes, and even took pictures, and nobody said a word to me. I must look homeless.

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On to Da Score!

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Staff!

1 Flaming Baby - Was there anybody even there on the clock?

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Merchandising!

1 Flaming Baby - Wally Word for the bike-minded. Bring a tent, and a sack lunch maybe. At least some breadcrumbs so you can find your way back to the front door.

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Bikes!

4 Flamers - Specialized and Cannondale. and the good stuff to boot!...Not just Rockhoppers and Hot Rocks and crap like that.

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Stuff!

4 Flamers - Again, wall to wall stuff. None of it very cool, but essentially everything you'd need to simulate your favorite HGH pumping euro-trash pro cyclist.

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Fuzzy Feeling!

1 Sizzler - 15 minutes left me bloated with a lifetime of agony for the future of the cycling industry. Sure somebody there is getting rich off bikes, and the success is good I guess...at least on some level. Still, money isn't everything, and this shop owner needs to go to church.

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Tally!

Overall...2 Torched Tots. Everything you didn't know you needed in a bike shop...and more!

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Orange Cycles

2204 Edgewater Dr