brickhouseracing

I don’t like to gunk up my race reports with a bunch of shill for my sponsors & other stuff I like unless it was about something that was pivotal to the race itself. However, there were a few things that made my race day better that I think are worth an honorable mention.

Ibex Indie Jersey: It was in the upper 40s at the start of the race. I’d normally wear something with my jersey until I warmed up, but in my rush/lack of good packing, I figured I’d be going with “shivering” while I warmed up instead. Luckily, wool has some magic powers to be warm when you want it to be and breezy/breathable when you don’t. This was my first time wearing a wool jersey, and I actually didn’t feel nearly as cold as I expected to feel given that this one is made out of one of Ibex’s lightest weight fabrics. Once the temps crept up to the 80s later in the day and the sun was blazing on some of the exposed parts of the course, I was still really comfortable. I can’t wait to get my shorts in later this week (I’d ordered some with my jersey, but the size chart @ Ibex doesn’t jive with singlespeeder legs, so I had to return them & go up a size. The Ibex people were totally cool, though, and waived the $5 return shipping fee since I’d followed their chart and wasn’t satisfied with the subsequent fit).

Photo Credit: LS2379 from MTBR

I always make sure to be totally honest in my reviews, and there are a couple of things that weren’t “perfect”-  Since I’ve got a small frame, I can only carry one water bottle on it (I refuse to use the under-the-downtube mud collector spot). So, I carry a bottle in my middle back pocket. Wool is not as elastic as synthetic fabrics, so with the weight of the bottle, the back of the jersey stretched out a lot. I haven’t washed it yet to see if it will fully rebound, but it was kind of annoying to have a bottle bumping my butt while I was spinning. I’m not sure how that could be remedied other than changing the fabric, which would make it not so awesome and comfortable, so I’m not totally sure what the remedy could be.
Also, a full-length zipper would be awesome.

Stuffitts Shoe Savers: I forgot to mention that while pre-riding, I ran through a giant mud puddle. I blame it totally on Todd, because I was following him on the doubletrack when he suddenly swerved to miss said puddle, leaving me perfectly aligned to hit it. The result? My shoes were soaked in stagnant summer water/mud. Normally that’d mean that they would be damp and rank in the morning, but through the magic of cedar, Stuffits dried and de-funked them. I’ve loved these things for a while, and I use them constantly in both my road and mountain shoes.

Raxter Tarsus: Yes, this already has its own review, but this is the first road trip that I’ve taken it on, so I wanted to update that yes, I still really like it.

And, the award for the product I hate to love goes to my Pearl Izumi gloves. A while back, Pearl pissed me off a little with their “here’s our jersey and some nipples, go buy it!” advertising. Since then, I generally try to avoid their stuff. However, padded full finger gloves are somewhat hard to come by, so when I found a pair at a shop up in Midland, MI last month, I figured I’d give them a shot (the women’s Select Gel model). I have some recurring issues with numbness from my right ulnar nerve, but I gotta say, when I wear these gloves, it never bothers me. The padding in them is arranged differently than any other gloves I’ve used, and I honestly have to say, I plan on stocking up if I can find them on summer closeout somewhere.

Upcoming reviews-
I’ve got some new stuff from Rudy Project and Trail LED that I’ve yet to test. I’m really excited about the Trail LED Darkstar, because it looks impossibly tiny, but it’s insanely bright (1200 lumens). With the days getting shorter, I’m sure it will get some use soon enough!

I’ve recently been lucky enough to pick Raxter up as a sponsor. Ryan’s old Yakima that he’s shared with me was getting rusted, and it didn’t agree with 29ers very well (both in wheel size and handlebar interference). So, I was really stoked when a Raxter Tarsus showed up on my doorstep on Friday.

I immediately tore open the box, camera in hand:

(The packaging is Chunky Monkey Ninja Kitty approved.)

I was in a little bit of a hurry to run some errands, but I figured I’d put it together anyway since there weren’t too many parts. It was a quick and easy assembly, although you MUST NOT PUT FINGER IN THE HOLE!

Immediately, I noticed that the Tarsus is a good deal lighter than the Yakima (thus less wrestling to get it in and out of the hitch on the Element), and rather than using a cotter pin to secure itself up/down,  it uses a simple “pop in” button for both folding, and to attach into the hitch. (Though I opted to use a locking hitch pin that I picked up at Auto Zone. Last thing I need is for my shiny new rack to be sold for a crack rock on Lamar Avenue…)

Since then, I’ve used it a couple of times, and, I must say, I’m very impressed. While other manufacturers have been making their racks bigger, flashier, more expensive, and more complicated (kinda like THIS), Raxter has successfully created something that’s simple and adaptable to any bike you want to haul.

My favorite feature is “auto-nesting” (meaning, you can easily stagger your bikes to avoid handlebar/saddle interference). Now I can stop carrying a 4mm allen key around with me for times when I want to haul two mountain bikes. I also don’t have to wrestle with getting a swing arm over a knobby 29″ tire like I did with my old rack. To top it off, it’s got a slimmer profile than the Yakima, so I don’t have to pull as far into the garage or worry as much about what I’m going to hit when I’m backing up.

Yes, the Raxter falls in to the “Why TF has no one thought of this before?” category of simplicity and ease of use. The only potential “problem” I could see would be if you MUST haul your bike around with a disc wheel installed. In that case, you won’t be able to secure your rear wheel with the rack’s velcro straps. If that describes you, then you are probably a triathlete, and you probably wouldn’t like the Raxter anyway because it’s not big, flashy, expensive, and full of extra complicated moving parts to impress all of your other triathlete buddies.

(I kid, I kid… you know I love triathletes and their disdain for all things that include either sleeves or socks…)

Raxter Tarsus gets the Brickhouse Stamp of Approval!

I won’t try and keep it a secret- since I arrived home from Colorado, I’ve been sending my race resume and bio out to my favorite companies. Chances are, some of the people I’ve sent it to are reading this post right now. It feels like internet dating- I like you, I send you my info, then anxiously await a reply back, hoping to gain your approval.

I hope that you (people I’ve requested sponsorship from) realize that I’m more “e-harmony” than “adult friend finder.” I mean, I’m honestly looking for support from companies that I already really love and extole the virtues of to all of my friends and riding partners (both on the internet AND in real life). You got a request not just because I’m in need of some help for 2011, but also because I love your stuff, and I want to help spread the word so that you can keep on making awesome stuff for years to come.

Sponsoring me is a hell of a lot cooler than a first date, because, unlike the date, you know you love me already ;)

Looking at my blog stats lately, I’ve noticed that I’m getting a lot of new traffic. (W00T!)

With my current track record of wear & tear on MTB parts, someone suggested to me that I should volunteer my services as a parts tester.

SO…

If any of you reading right now want to see how your parts stack up to rocky trails and poor weather conditions in the applications that I’ve blogged about (endurance, xc, etc), shoot me an email- andrea @ brickhouseracing.com. I take care of my parts, but, well, I ride a lot- and not always in the most pristine places. I’d be happy to put anything through its paces.

Matt McCulley and I headed out Monday night for a quick road trip to Syllamo. Since the Shelby Farms ride was so crappy, I wanted to get the Jet9 out on some decent singletrack before I wrote up anything resembling a review.

Since Syllamo’s Revenge is gone until next year, I figured I’d try some clockwise riding (the whole race course is counter-clockwise, so I’ve been riding that way for months in order to practice). I must say, the Blue & Orange loops (at least the parts on the East side of Green Mountain Rd.) ride much better going clockwise.

The Jet is a different animal than the Air. The best way I can compare it is going back to when I used to train/show horses- you can have two equally awesome horses, but the way you ride the two can be significantly different. The Jet is all business. I’d become very accustomed to the manner in which the Air deflected off of rocks and off-camber roots. I just didn’t realize it until I started really going at some of the tech-y, rocky stuff at Syllamo.

The Jet is very, very precise. You point it towards something and pedal, it’s going to generally track in a straight line up and over; it’s a combination of several things- the 20mm Maxle, the tapered steertube/stiffness of the frame, and, of course, the rear suspension. The result was me screwing up through the rocks a few times at first. I’d be expecting the bike to zig or zag when it would just keep rolling like the rocks didn’t exist.
For whatever reason, the bike also feels “light” in front. Going up rocky, steep climbs, there were several instances where I’d accidentally unweight my front wheel enough that I’d lose the ability to steer and end up in the bushes on the side of the trail. Once I dropped the stem down under the 10mm spacer I’d had between it & the headtube, this was not as bad, and I was able to use the “lightness” more to my advantage to get over the same sort of rocks that had been stalling me out.  I started really liking the rocky climbs- the rear suspension on that bike is really, really nice, and the pedal bob is minimal.
It is going to take a few more rides on the more difficult trails to really get used to the handling, but I don’t consider that a bad thing at all, just something I will eventually grow accustomed to. I’m looking forward to getting it back out sometime soon!

Unfortunately, our ride was cut short by thunderstorms. We ended up riding in the downpour/lightning up Green Mountain Rd from the White River Bluff trailhead to the car at the Bald Scrappy trailhead. We’d both gotten our share of mud and slippery, wet rocks back at Syllamo’s Revenge, so we headed back to the cabin to dry out before heading back to Memphis.

I put Alligator I-link housing on my Air9 last year, and I’ve been really happy with it. Ryan’s Titus needed new derailleur housing/cables, and I got a deal on some Nokon (which is normally much more expensive than I-Links), so I figured I’d give it a shot. Here’s the rundown:

Looks. If you’re interested in looks, then Nokon wins. That is, if you have enough of the segments to house your entire bike. On a mountain or CX bike, you’re going to need extras. I ended up using a standard piece of housing for the aft front derailleur section. Nothing like cursing your way through an entire install (more on that later) only to find you can’t finish it up right unless you purchase more parts. Here are some photo comparisons:

Installation: Alligator wins, hands-down. It’s pretty self-explanatory. You run the cable through the liner, then run the whole thing through the sections of links that you size to match the length of your old housing. The links snap together and slide on/off of the cable/liner very easily, so it’s a quick insallation.

Nokon, on the other hand, is a total pain. The sections do not snap together, so you have to thread them on to the liner in order to test-fit the housing length. They don’t thread on easily (their fit on the liner is really tight). It’s difficult to keep the liner flush with the hole where the cable exits the shifter, and the kit isn’t actually made to run the liner continuously (though I did it, anyway). Like I said before, if you’re installing it on to anything other than a road bike, you’re likely going to need extra Nokon links. The cables are fat and uncoated as well.

Performance: I’ve been using the I-links for several months now- ocassionally in some horrible conditions. They’ve never let me down. The Nokons seem to be ok for now, and I can’t see any reason why they wouldn’t do just as well. Time will tell on that one.The I-link system is reported to be lighter, also. I have not weighed them myself, but that’s the general consensus on various internet forums.

So, there you have it. My verdict is, unless you are wanting the “prettiest” housing system out there, go with Alligator. It’s cheaper, lighter, and 11ty billion times easier to install.

I haven’t posted a “saddle update” in a while… if you’ve been reading since the beginning, you know that I’ve had quite the time trying to find a saddle that doesn’t somehow cause pain or injury to my undercarriage. I finally settled on the Selle Italia SLR Lady- wide enough (155mm), a large cutout, and a tolerable amount of padding.

Well, the first Selle Italia SLR Lady finally wore out. I ordered a new one, but soon after, a friend of mine from the Road Bike Review Lounge sent a saddle to me- a while back, I’d tried the Selle Italia Diva, but found that the padding was excessive. Instead of giving it away, I sent it to him and he removed the cover & padding, then replaced it with a thin layer of foam and new leather-ish cover. I rode it for nearly 160 miles over the weekend and absolutely loved it. Photos:

160mm wide and <200g!!

Sunday, Ryan and I were in Outdoors Inc. when I noticed that Fizik has a new women’s saddle- the Vesta. It’s like the Vitesse (a decently wide, curvy saddle), but with a pressure-relief channel down the middle. I asked if there was a demo model, but they didn’t have one. However, Joel, the bike shop manager said he’d like a review of it, so he let me take it to give it a whirl. Sweet! I’m gonna head out for ~50 miles tomorrow since the weather is going to be pretty nice.

I’m wondering if Fizik saw this post that I made a little more than a year ago…

After the severe back pain I experienced at the Lock 4 six-hour race a few months ago, I decided to try a Wingnut pack (specifically, the Splitback model). They’re designed to sit lower on your back, distributing the weight of the pack across your hips rather than up on your shoulders.

First off, you are going to pay more for one of these packs than you will for a traditional “camelback” style pack. They also don’t include a bladder.

However, after just a few uses, the cost has been more than justified with me. I’ve been on multiple 4+ hour rides since I purchased it, and I haven’t experienced any back pain (I’d originally thought that bike fit/saddle/general fitness might have had something to do with my pain, but apparently not). The construction is excellent- it’s lighter than most packs, but handling it, you get the sense that it will last forever. My favorite part is the side pockets- they’re roomy and really easy to get to while you’re riding (I even manage to get to fish stuff out while wearing heavy winter gloves).

The capacity of the Splitback is excellent- it can easily hold a 100oz bladder and whatever else you want to pack in- when I’m out for a long time on the trail alone, I usually carry food, a small camera, phone, folding saw, extra gloves, multi-tool, emergency blanket, lighter, pocketknife, waterproof shell (if rain is in the forecast) and still have room to stash a layer or two if I remove one while I’m out riding. Unlike some other packs that can hold this much (530 cubic inches), the Splitback only weighs 13oz. Salomon makes a comparable one (weight/cost wise) that’s slightly larger but doesn’t feature the “lowrider” system of the Splitback.

I know I sound like a total shill here, but with the humongous improvement I’ve had in my ability to ride for hours without pain, I can honestly say that this is one of the best (if not the best) pack available.

Get one!

After washing bikes this morning, I thought up a fun plan for the day’s training. Jens was at Bikes Plus in Germantown getting a brake lever replaced (it wasn’t my fault! Warranty issue…), so I decided that I’d do a training brick (two or more activities back to back) and run to the shop then ride back home. I couldn’t fit my cycling shoes in my camelback, so I just wore my Saloman trail shoes, packed some flat pedals, and strapped my helmet to the back.

I didn’t set out until around 11:00, so yes, it was very hot and humid. It’s OK… there’s only one way to get better at racing in the heat, right? Along the way, I remembered that my dad had been bugging me to “help him” (read- do it myself under his direction) move a load of sand off of a trailer in his yard.

Side note: No one knows why Gerald felt compelled to buy 1 ton of red sand, but you can bet he got a good deal on it.

Anyway- the shop ended up being 11.5 miles away. I drank about two liters of water and ate a powerbar getting there. I chatted for a few minutes, refilled the camelback, and rode 3.5 miles to my parents’ house to move some sand. Surprisingly, it only took about half an hour. Afterward, my mom made a PB&J for me and I washed it down with a few ginger snaps and a dark chocolate truffle. I added some ice to my water and was out the door again to finish my day with a 15 mile ride home. The “nice” thing about riding back to my house from Germantown is that the last 4 miles takes you from the Wolf River up about 150 feet of elevation gain to my house. It’s not really that bad unless you preceed it with 3 hours of other activity, then it’s a bit of a hump.

Gotta clean up & go to the store now. Any suggestions for dinner?

I picked one of these up while I was at Valley of the Sun over the weekend, and I am incredibly impressed with it. It’s really light (which is nice with my neck issues), and I LOVE the straps and inner fittings. The chin strap has nice padding, and the closure is adjustable, so it’s really simple to loosen or tighten on the fly while you ride (my straps always loosen up as they get damp & sweaty).  The back has a twist-to-adjust thing on it, too.
Inside, it’s got a full sweat band in the front that keeps much more sweat off of your face than the usual interspersed pads on other helmets. The bug guard is nice to have, too, though there aren’t too many bugs out this time of year.

Here are a few photos:

Get one.