Clement X'Plor USH tires - test ride

After my bad luck with Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tires a few weeks ago, I concluded that very light, wide, smooth road tires are probably not for me. I like to ride off the beaten path and getting there on pavement is only one part of the problem. The other part is to actually completing the trail puncture-free - something that Supremes struggled with. It wasn't that Schwalbe tires were particularly bad. They weren't. In fact, they were really nice for pavement riding - fast-rolling, lightweight and supple. But too often my trail riding ends up with some really rough paths, with rocks, roots and heavy gravel. For such conditions, Supremes were a poor choice. I needed something wider, thicker and more durable.

This is why I decided to try out Clement X'Plor USH tires. With 35mm width, more aggressive tread and a $38 price they seemed to be a better choice than Supremes - not only much cheaper but also more suited to the type of riding I was interested in. There is plenty of cyclocross tires in this width and price range but the reason I decided to buy USHs was that they have a smoother central ridge for faster rolling on pavement and side knobs for more grip off-road. I have never tried a tire like this before so I was hoping that this unique tread will give me the best of both worlds.

I measured the tires weight at 445g each - not the lightest, but considering that they are much thicker than Supremes, it is acceptable. Installation was simple because thankfully, these tires weren't so tight on the rim as Marathons. After a short, 35km (22mi) ride through some local dirt and paved roads I am very pleased with my new choice. USH tires seem to roll nicely on pavement, likely thanks to their central smooth ridge. They are not as fast as many lighter and narrower road tires, but I definitely did not feel like they were slowing me down on a smooth, paved road. They definitely have much less drag than my 700x35c Bontrager Jones tires. Also, USHs are noticeably quieter. They are not as stealthy as Supremes but are clearly much quieter than Joneses.
Off the road, they work quite well too. Thanks to their 35mm width and side knobs I have more support on loose surfaces and better control in corners.

Overall, I really like Clement USH tires so far. Let's hope now that their sidewalls are also more durable than Schwalbe Supremes.

The Phoenix Bike Project - part 1

It's been very quiet here for the last several days but that's only because my day job kept me very busy - not because there was nothing exciting going on to write about.

I mentioned several months ago that I happened to have a nearly complete Ultegra 6400 group - parts that I removed from my old road bike I left in Europe, after moving to the U.S. While the frame and rims of that bicycle were not usable anymore, the rest of the components were in an excellent condition - they were just begging for a new life in a new road bike.

The parts list is quite impressive, I think:

1. Ultegra FC-6400 crankset with 53/39T chainrings
2. Shimano bottom bracket, BB-UN72
3. Shimano FD-6400 front derailleur, braze on mount, 2 speed
4. Ultegra RD-6401 rear derailleur, 8 speed
5. Shimano 8 speed Hyper Glide cassette, 12-21T
6. Ultegra 6400 28-hole hubs
7. Shimano 105 threaded headset
8. Shimano BR-1055 short reach caliper brakes
9. Shimano SL-BS50 bar end shifters
10. Ultegra 6400 brake levers
11. Shimano 8-speed chain
12. ITM Goccia 100mm quill stem
13. TranzX 27.2mm seatpost
14. Selle Italia Flite Titanium saddle
15. Look clipless pedals
16. road drop bars

Technically, I don't need another road bike. In fact, because of the hilly area I live in now, a 53T chainring and a 12-21T cassette would make the bike nearly useless. My idea was to build something more usable such as a bicycle based on a vintage steel frame, which would make use of most of these components, but geared much, much lower to allow me riding these hills with ease. After some calculations I figured out that the solution is simple - lose the largest chainring and leave the 39T single ring in the front. Then, replace the cassette with a new 8-speed, 11-34T one. This combination would give me a very nice range from 93.3 to 30.2 gear inches.  Obviously, I would need a new rear derailleur as well, to handle that 34T sprocket.

Then, I thought that since this bike isn't going to be a speed demon anyway, I should probably plan for a slightly more relaxed riding position. I am thinking that Soma Sparrow bars should work pretty well with road brake levers and the single bar end shifter.

Soma Sparrow bars in the configuration that I plan for my new/old bike (Source: Google Images).

Except the front derailleur, I would probably have to put away some of the other components from my list as well. Look pedals would be useless. I would go with some simple platform pedals instead. I am not sure about the saddle either. Flite is a very nice and lightweight racing saddle, but I would prefer something more comfortable on this bike.

However, all those things are just details. The biggest problem was the frame. After a lengthy search on Craigslist (where people usually sell whole bikes, not just frames) and Ebay, I finally purchased a vintage 56cm 1986 Univega Gran Rally frameset in ugly pink color. I probably overpaid quite a bit, but I didn't want to hunt for the perfect  frame forever and $50 more or less didn't matter so much at this point.

What does matter is that the frame is nearly perfect for my project. It fits the bottom bracket, cranks, headset, stem, brakes and hubs I have. The only component that doesn't fit is the seatpost. Gran Rally needs a 26.8mm seatpost, I think and the one I have is 27.2mm. Fortunately, seatposts are not expensive to replace.

The frame (and fork) is pretty nice (except the color!). After a quick check, it looks like it is going to fit 700x32c tires easily and that's the size of tires I would be planning for. The minor issue is lack of any fender or rack mounts but this is understandable - it is a road bike frame after all. I measured the frame weight at 2.23kg and the fork at 0.81kg. Clearly not the lightest and honestly I don't know why it's so heavy if it's supposed to be made of a triple-butted Cr-Mo tubing.

My "new" Univega Gran Rally. God, this color is ghastly!

I have been looking at this frame from all angles for some time and as much as I like nearly everything about it, its color is just plain ugly. I don't know what they were smoking there in Japan to paint their frames this ugly pink. Oh, wait. The frame is from late 80's - that explains it! Everything was crazy colorful back then:

My Univega must have been previously owned by one of these guys!

Anyway, I did some thinking on how to get rid of this color and replace it with something more XXI century, without emptying my wallet. After much debate, I decided to strip the paint (good I have access to a large bead blaster) and replace it with... nothing. That's right. Bare carbon steel with lugs. Call me brave or stupid, I think that may work. The steel tubing will surely develop a dark grey tarnish quickly and some rust as well, but that's the look I would like much better than the original 80's pink. The only protective layer I would use is some linseed oil applied with a rag and a brush. I will likely use this bike at good weather only, so it may never get wet (No fenders - remember?). And even if the frame was painted, I am not sure I would enjoy using it in winter months anyway. Knowing how much our roads in New England get salted every winter, I am only happy to ride my cheap Schwinn clunker at that time. Also, no plans on storing it outside. Fortunately, at both home and my work place I have a parking spot inside the building.

The plan is set and the full list of components for my "new" bike looks like this:

headset: Shimano 105 (removed from my old bike)
stem: ITM Goccia 100mm (removed from my old bike)
handlebars: Soma Sparrow 560mm
seatpost: Kalloy SP-267 UNO 26.8mm
saddle: Selle Italia Flite Titanium (removed from my old bike)
bottom bracket: Shimano BB-UN72 (removed from my old bike)
cranks: Shimano Ultegra FC-6400 175mm (removed from my old bike)
chainring: Shimano Ultegra 39T (removed from my old bike)
chain: KMC X8.93, 8 speed
pedals: Kore Rivera Thermo
rear derailleur: Shimano Alivio M430
cassette: Shimano HG-41, 11-34T, 8 speed
hubs: Shimano Ultegra 6400, 28H (removed from my old bike)
rims: Mavic Open SUP 700c, 28H
tires: Continental Contact 700x32c (I had already one of these lying around)
brakes: Shimano 105 BR-1055 (removed from my old bike)
brake levers: Shimano Ultegra 6400 (removed from my old bike)
shifter: Shimano SL-BS50 bar end, 8 speed (removed from my old bike)
chainguard: Velo Orange Alloy, 38T

The cost of the entire project adds up to just a bit over $600. Obviously, you may wonder at this point: "Does it even make sense?". My own old/new bike costs me more than some decent offerings found on Craigslist. If I simply wanted another bike, I could have just bought something second-hand. But on the other hand, building my own bike is a part of fun (a major portion of it) and this way I can customize everything exactly the way I want to. And in my opinion, this is worth a higher price.

A week in Maine

I was away for a week recently, spending some time with my family in Maine. No - no biking this time, but I did have a chance to visit the Sunrise Trail. It's a dirt/gravel path, about 137km (85mi) long, that stretches from Washington Junction near Ellsworth all the way to Ayers Junction in Pembroke. The trail is built in place of the former railway and except cyclists, it is often used by ATVs and horseback riders. It would be fun to ride the full length of this trail some day. That could be an easy ride since the trail on its full length looks pretty much like this:

Sunrise River Trail in Machias - light gravel and dust for 85 miles.

Another place I also visited this year was president's F.D. Roosevelt's summer home on Campobello Island in Canada. It looks like either the president or his children enjoyed riding bicycles as well.

Roosevelt's bicycles on Campobello Island.

A weekend ride to Auburndale

Last weekend I took a short ride to West Newton and Auburndale. I used to work in this area a few years ago so it was nice to visit familiar places. What I didn't know though, was that the Auburndale Park has a nice (although short) bike trail with some picturesque views of the Charles River.

A longer way home - Concord/Lincoln dirt trails

Yesterday, I decided that it was time to explore some more paths in my neighborhood. I left my office in Burlington and took a long way home - through some dirt trails in Concord and Lincoln. The first one was the Katahdin Woods - a forested area located between the I-95 and the Hanscom AFB. The entrance to the trail is located just left of the Hartwell Ave (travelling west) once you cross the little bridge over Kiln Brook. The path is hidden in the forest but it quickly leads into a large opening with power lines above. Unfortunately, here is where it ends. The map is misleading. It shows the trail following the power lines and eventually ending at Wood St. And I believe that this is how the trail looks in winter when abundant flora is asleep. In August however, the trail looks like this:

Can you see the trail here?

The path is simply so heavily overgrown that there is no way to ride a bike there. I tried and eventually gave up, founding a way through someone's back yard to Patterson Rd, abandoning the trail. Some grass plants and bushes were taller than my bike and I picked up so much of that green crap with cranks, spokes and derailleurs that in the end my bike looked like wearing a Ghillie suit.

The first trail didn't work so I took the familiar Battle Road Trail west, towards Concord, then Walden St and crossed Concord Turnpike. Here is where I found the entrance to the network of trails surrounding Walden Pond.

 Trail markers at Walden Pond.

The trail is well-marked as "Emerson-Thoreau Amble" and it is easy to follow around the pond. Paths are wide and very passable, even on slimmer 700x35c tires. They are fun to ride once we get to the western tip of the pond. Here is where we have to cross this obstacle:

The tracks are in use and there is no official crossing at all so you are passing these on your own risk. Watch for trains! Once I did that and turned around I noticed a sign on a tree.

Well, thank you. How about a warning on the other side of the tracks? Frankly, the sign is there probably only because someone could ride his/her bike directly under the coming train. It says "no bikes" and not "no trespassing", after all.

I continued south and merged with Old Concord Rd eventually. From there, I crossed Concord Rd and found the entrance to the next trail - the Codman Forest. The entrance is a bit hidden. The easiest way to find it is to look for the yellow, triangular road sign - "warning: pedestrians" with a small sign "church".

The beginning of Codman Forest Trail.

The trail is nice and easy to ride but once it crosses the little bridge over railway tracks it quickly becomes a network of narrower paths deep in the forest. Here is where I lost my sense of direction and by dead reckoning, I ended up at MackIntosh Lane instead of going further north. I continued on Lincoln Rd and Bedford Rd north to find the beginning of the next trail.

The Codman Forest Trail is even marked as a bike path - in places.

This one was really hidden. When you ride north on Bedford Rd and once you pass Silver Birch Ln on your right, keep looking for a small sign "Conservatory Land Lincoln", a mailbox next to someone's driveway and a very narrow and somewhat overgrown path just to the left of it. This is where the next trail begins.

The red signs says "no hunting". There is also a tiny orange sign with a crossed bike on it but I decided to ignore it.



The trail was a bit tricky to navigate between fallen trees but it quickly entered an open farm field (Ricci Field). I looked around and noticed several dark silhouettes next to the forest line - pigs. Dark brown pigs running in the wild. I guess someone is trying to make jamon iberico in Massachusetts.

Dark brown pigs in the wild. I was a bit too far to take a better picture.

The pigs seemed very friendly as once they noticed me, they all started running in my direction. Perhaps they thought I had food with me. I decided to quickly ride away since I didn't want to risk a close encounter with a hundreds-of-kilograms-heavy pig. Plus, it was time to ride back home. The moon showed up in the sky.

I followed the path to Mill St and then took the narrow trail just opposite Oakdale Ln. This took me across a baseball field to Minuteman High School. My plan was to find the beginning of the trail leading through Cranberry Hill and Hobbs Brook Reservation but this didn't work out as expected. The trail was gated and so overgrown that I couldn't locate the path at all. I decided to take Marrett St around and head towards Hayden Woods in Lexington, just north of Rt2. I found the beginning of the trail at the end of Munroe Rd but it was way too dark already to ride there in the deep forest.

Instead, I went north, took Grassland St and Brookside Ave to get on the trails along Beaver Brook. These turned out to be passable in general, although some sections were heavily overgrown and I had some problems navigating there in darkness. I had my lights on but the path was so narrow in places that lights didn't illuminate the path well, just grass around it. I finally made it through and found my way to Minuteman Bikeway.

To sum up:

Katahdin Woods Trails - avoid like hell, impassable, unless you have a pedal-powered machete in front of your bike,

Battle Road Trail - pleasure to ride on, wide and safe,

Walden Pond Trails - can be hilly and challenging in places but passable, wide, partially marked on trees,

Codman Forest Trails - passable, wide with some narrow sections, few markers, multiple narrower trails in deep forest,

Ricci Field Trail - passable, pretty easy to navigate,

Hayden Woods - unknown, need to explore in daylight,

Beaver Brook Trails - difficult to pass due to some overgrown sections. The part of the trail that runs along Bacon St is most accessible.

Map of all trails.

Costly mistakes - your worst (and best) bike-related purchases

We all make mistakes. When it comes to bicycles, this trial and error process is even more evident. It is unlikely that you will love the first bike you own. Adjusting to the bike, finding a comfortable position, realizing what type of riding you want to do - it all takes time. Sometimes you buy a bike thinking about it as the best bike in the world, only to realize later that it is much less perfect than you originally imagined. It lacks some features, it is uncomfortable, it is difficult to ride. Then, once you keep riding, gain experience, you learn what makes you happy and comfortable on your bike.

I have been in such situation relatively recently. When I bought my Lemond Poprad, I quickly realized that this was the best bike I ever owned. And it is still true. However, after I started to ride longer and longer distances, I learned that the bike was far from being perfect. I started looking for some ways to improve it. First, I replaced the saddle with Selle An-Atomica Titanico and so far I can tell that this was one of the BEST bike-related purchases ever. Pain in the rear end was finally gone. The front end was still a bit of a problem but after replacing the stem and handlebars with Salsa Cowbell, I am a happier man again.

Bontrager Race All-Weather Hardcase 700c 23mm tires - don't bother.

The bike came with off-road 700x35c tires and since I wanted something faster to easier roll on the pavement I bought 700x23c tires - Bontrager Race All-Weather Hardcase. And this clearly was one of the WORST purchases ever. The tires are quite terrible. Very rigid - resulting in harsh ride, stiff, not folding, heavy (390g ea. vs 300g for my "heavy" off-road" tires!) and if that's not enough - they sit so tight on the rim that I need multiple tire levers to remove them. I guess there is only one positive thing of these tires - they are thick, so it is difficult to get a flat. But this wouldn't change my verdict - I would never buy them again.

At some point I also found myself in the situation when traveling by bike with a tiny frame bag just didn't work too well. I needed something larger. I searched through multiple handlebar bags options but nearly all of them look too retro and plain ugly to be considered. Then I looked at the saddlebags but the situation here wasn't much better either. I ended up buying a rear rack - a lightweight Tubus Fly, and strapping a small stuff bag with some bungee cords. This worked quite well but I missed the ease of simply opening a bag to get the stuff inside. Removing the cords to get to the bag and reinstalling everything was just not the best solution. Tubus Fly - being a very nice rack, didn't really work for me so buying it was probably a BAD decision.

My bike with a nearly fully-stuffed Pika saddlebag.

What did work was Pika (I plan a separate review - stay tuned) - a large, elongated saddlebag by Revelate Designs, designed to be used unsupported - attached to saddle rails and a seatpost. Pika is large enough to fit all the stuff I would need on a longer, self-supported ride, yet still compact and lightweight to be unnoticeable when riding.

The next item that left me very mixed feelings were Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tires. After I manage to ruin two of these within the first few days of riding, I decided that they just won't work for my style of riding. And not just that - I just can't afford replacing a $62 tire that often. Just like in case of the Tubus rack, these tires are great and work flawlessly on paved road, but they are not good for me. I need something more durable for road-to-trail riding and while Marathons roll beautifully on asphalt, their sidewalls are much too fragile on rough trails.

On a positive side, I love my Planet Bike Blaze 2-Watt light. I needed some kind of front light for those situations when I return home from a ride at dusk. Investing in a generator light just didn't make sense. I don't ride in darkness often enough to justify the cost. The Blaze 2-Watt costs only $60 (you can even get it cheaper) - much less than any generator system but offers a very good performance. In high beam mode, I can ride at about 30km/h (18mph) on a pitch black paved road comfortably. Two AA Eneloop batteries last easily 3.5hrs in high beam mode, before requiring a recharge. Surely, there are more powerful and even longer lasting lights on market. But for this price, the Blaze 2-Watt is simply an amazing deal.

Yes, we all make mistakes. And that's OK, as long as we learn from them.

Wayland-Weston Rail Trail

I have been exploring areas north and west of my home in Arlington recently, but today, I decided to go a bit more south and visit an abandoned railway tracks connecting Wayland through Weston towards Waltham.

It is not an official bike path so I wasn't expecting it to be mobbed with Sunday bikers, dog walkers and stroller moms. In fact, the abandoned railway tracks were, indeed... very abandoned. But let me start from the beginning.

I left my workplace in Burlington and rode southwest towards Hanscom AFB. There is no direct route through the base, unless you happen to have a security clearance. Since I wasn't planning on being shot by riding straight through the security checkpoint, I had to take Wood St around the base. This put me conveniently at the Battle Road Trail towards Concord. Interestingly, this was the first time I rode this trail in this direction (west). It surely looks quite different from this perspective. First of all, something I didn't think about before, if you ride it west, it's mostly downhill. The slope is subtle but you do go much faster and as a result - it is more fun to ride.

After reaching Concord I turned south to take Concord St/Rt126 to Wayland. Once I passed a red brick library building on my left, the forest opened leaving space for high voltage power lines. These lines run along the entire Rail Trail and this is where I left the beaten path and entered the unknown.

You can easily tell that no trail ran on these tracks in a long time.

Since the entire Rail Trail runs along (and sometimes over) abandoned rail tracks, it is leveled and flat. But it doesn't mean it's easy to ride. First of all, it's very narrow, second, it's quite overgrown and there are sections where you can easily lose the path. But the biggest problem is that it's so bumpy. My 32mm wide tires were clearly a wrong choice there. In fact, my whole bike was not a good choice for this trail. You may find it quite pleasantly rideable on a lightweight mountain bike with a suspension fork, but a 700c wheels and skinny tires are not your best friend there. Let's just say that after completing the trail I felt well-shaken. Not stirred.

Abandoned railway station at Church St in Weston.

The section between the Church St in Weston and Rt117 in Waltham was the easiest and smoothest to ride. It is also the most interesting one. Instead of just staring at ruined tracks and power lines, there are some swampy areas on both sides of the trail and an abandoned railway bridge at the end.

After completing the trail, I started moving north again. I decided to take another trail through the Prospect Hill Park in Waltham. Well, this happened to be a mistake. The trail is nice and rideable, but I think I just have to stop using the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tires for this kind of riding. For getting to the trail on paved roads, these tires are fantastic. But once on the trail, they just don't work. With my luck, I killed the second Marathon tire within the last few weeks. This time, the front one. Prospect Hill trails are very rocky in places and one of those rocks cut the sidewall of the tire opened. I managed to fix it by replacing the tube and patching the sidewall with a small sheet of sandpaper I had in my patch kit. It worked! I decided that I was adventurous enough on this ride and with limping front tire I head back home. No more forest trails today. Changing tires with swarms of mosquitoes around me is not my favorite thing.