I urgently needed a new rear wheel for my winter bike, and ended up buying an Alex Rims SX-44, the 29″ variant. This is clearly a budget disc brake wheel priced fairly low, but from the description it seemed like a no-nonsense wheel with decent components. My goal was to set this wheel up tubeless with Schwalbe Marathon studded winter tire (HS 396). Below are some facts and thoughts about this wheel.
I have had a Spurcycle bell on one of my bikes for almost three years now, and I can’t say enough just how much I like it. It is very loud, built to last forever, and is very compact. I find it that every time I use it I get the attention of the car drivers, even when their car windows are closed. The only negative thing I can say about the Spurcycle bell is that it is very expensive. To the point that I have been planning to get a second one for my other bike, but can’t bring myself to shell out the money. Last week one of my local bike shops was running a sale on Crane bells, and I picked up a Crane E-Ne bell for half the price of a Spurcycle. This post compares the two and includes a video comparison of the two bells ringing side by side.
I needed to replace my cross country skis, and decided to try the new technology with the mohair grip zone (skintec). Atomic skintec skis have really come down in price in the last couple of years, and there are now budget skintec models availabe, both under the Atomic and Salomon brands. I decided to get the Atomic Pro Skintec, but my local store did not have them in stock, and I ordered them online.
I felt pretty safe ordering these skis online because my weight (82kg) falls right in the middle of the weight range for the 202cm length (70-95 kg).
My 2014 Specialized AWOL came with an FSA Omega MegaExo 19 triple crank and an FSA BB-4000 bottom bracket. I bought the bike in October and in March I started thinking about doing some post-winter maintenance. One of the things that I wanted to do was remove and examine the bottom bracket. Since I was not familiar with outboard bearing bottom brackets, I did some research about the BB-4000 bottom bracket, and here is what I found out.
It’s been about six months ago that I bought a 2014 Specialized AWOL. I have the standard edition in size Large. I’ve ridden it almost every day since I bought it, all through the Winter, but no long distance rides yet, at most 25km. I have been mostly using it for commuting so far.
Overall, I am quite pleased with the bike, but the impressions are not all peachy.
I’ve been comparing different bar tape with the idea to find something that’s not much more expensive than $20 and provides good enough grip and cushioning. I first tried the SRAM Supercork tape and liked it. I then messed up my handle bar and had to re-tape, so I got a pack of Bontrager Double Gel Cork Tape because I liked how it felt on a Trek touring bike (was it the 520) that the local bike shop had on display.
My 6 year old’s bike was stolen from our front porch, so I set out to find a reasonable replacement. I was looking for a 20 inch wheel bike with no shocks, some gearing, and, after reading online articles comparing the bikes (here is one), I was certain that I wanted a bike that weighed less than 10kg. The odd thing is that there aren’t that many bikes that fit the three parameters.
