Grandson Countdown

We have another grandson due in March. Mike and Mel are expecting and decided to be more prepared and let the secret out. Today we found out it's a boy! They will be great parents and we can't wait to go back to Calgary.

Riding in the Rain

After slogging around through the rain on Friday I decided enough is enough. Although I hate spoiling Eyowen's good looks, I had to put on fenders. A rainsuit keeps about 99% of the water out but splashing tires make your feet wet.

Over at Petrie's installing fenders is one of the most hated tasks and I did mine at home with the bike flipped upside down on top of our freezer...ssshhhh don't tell Sal.

It took about 2 hours and turns out I had some clips in wrong (damn German instructions) but had it fixed in 10 minutes once Farzum pointed out the error. Two hours is about normal and I could have cut that by about 45 minutes if I had used a proper stand where I could flip the bike upside down. But then somebody else would have ended up doing most of the work and I wanted to do this job myself. With fenders and lights she's a real commuter now, sorry about that.

More German Tech for Lisbeth

When putting together the parts list for Lisbeth brakes never really seemed like an issue. Until I tried to bring her to a stop with the cantilever setup I chose. My hands don't have the strength to squeeze hard enough to do more than slow down with them. About as effective as dragging a foot Fred Flintstone style. My hands aren't that bad, the brakes were. Farzum suggested the Magura HS33 hydraulic rim brakes.

Last night I finally had a free evening and took her to work in the afternoon and straight to Petrie's after work. I stripped the old brakes and dismantled the cables from the rohloff. About 3 hours, 15 skate sharpenings, and 3 shopping goalies later the Magura units were ready for a test run.

I also found a shorter stem. I find Eyowen my most comfortable ride so I measured some of her geometry and matched it on Lisbeth. WOW. Like a different bike. And that was before I tested the brakes. One finger is enough to come to a quick stop. While most people and manufacturers are going with disc brakes I now believe these are the absolute best, employing the power of hydraulics and the size of the rim to take advantage of the physics. And no squeaky pads or warped rotors to sweat.

There were a couple of kids in the shop and they wanted their 20" bmx singlespeed bikes weighed. I thought Lisbeth was getting pretty heavy but she actually tipped the scale almost 2 lbs. lighter and she's got 14 speeds!

Magura HS33 Caliper 

Hi-tech German rear end

Just 1 finger required to stop 30lb. bike and xxxlb. rider

Amoeba short stem, scavanged

the new American Argyle helmet