2006 CAAD8

The latest adoptee in my stable of Frankenbikes is a truly fantastic project. In its current incarnation probably one of the nicest bikes bikes I've ever owned. Built for racing, it's not a great city bike and it's too light for touring but it's a dream to ride. 

The 2006 CAAD8 frame is stiff and responsive with aggressive race geometry and enough damping from the Ritchey carbon fork to keep the ride responsive but not jarring. The gruppo is a bit of a taboo myth buster with a Campagnolo Chorus drive train utilizing a Shimano ten speed cassette on Dura Ace 1380 wheels. "They" will say it can't be done but I assure you with the ten speeds it can. The Belgian compact crank up front is also amenable to eleven speed mixing with Shimano but I'm sticking with my ten. For the record I tried a Shimano wheel with a Dura Ace Cassette in an otherwise Campy Chorus drive train and it works as well as the American Classic wheel with Campy Cassette I have, better in terms of the ride.

It mostly took some fussy adjusting and measuring to figure out if it could be done and then a lot of head scratching and wrenching in Italian. I visited all of my usual bike guys and a few more to get help yanking the very stuck Campy Record seatpost out and learn a few critical details about drive trains. For the most part it needed cable adjustments that it would have needed regardless of the cassette. The bike had been sitting a long time and I suspect was formerly fitted with ZIPP wheels and a Campy cassette. It was dusty, dried out and neglected but came right back with a small amount of TLC. The end result is well worth the effort. 

Another Globe in the mix!

There's this constant quest for "the" bike, the perfect bike for all applications that more than likely doesn't exist. The more probable solution is accepting the limits of our machines and becoming better riders. Working as a bike messenger in San Francisco provides an opportunity to test bikes and riders on some of the most challenging terrain in the world.

Even on our "insane" hills my Globe Roll 1 has been a favorite. I don't ride it fixed and I do have brakes but even geared high in track bike range, once I got used to it, riding single speed is efficient and fast. Granted, I had a lot more adapting to do than the bike did and on my tired days I grab one of my geared bikes but I've even been able to manage a couple of 100 mile trips with my one lonely gear.

I was predictably excited recently when I added an early model Globe Daily 1 to the mix. Visually different from the Globe Roll series it offers similar ride quality and geometry in a full fender dressed up package complete with front rack, mustache style bars and stem mounted bell. So far it has tackled courier shifts and the back roads of Santa Cruz county earning the moniker "Daily" as it has become a true workhorse and go to utility bike pedaling to and from school, on weekend trips and hops across the Golden Gate for Coast Guard duty. With ample eyelets and lugs on it's sturdy aluminum frame, the Daily stands ready for all manor of racks and accessories begging the question, how feasible is touring on a single speed bike? While 100 mile days would be a chore, the daily would certainly go anywhere a vintage three speed could go. Back in the "good ol days" that was just about everywhere.

There are a handful of things needing upgrading. The brakes work but aren't stellar, the pedals look OK but leave a lot of room for improvement and the rear fender needs regular attention to keep it from rattling loose but those things stack up as minor in the big picture. Overall it's a damn classy bike and like it's Roll counterparts, outperforms nearly every other bike I've encountered in it's style and price range.

Update: About a week and 100 miles after writing this one of the pedals came apart. I replaced the stock pedals with a set of Specialized platform pedals with power straps. They work well but don't quite look right and will be getting another upgrade soon. I have a set of All-City pedals that would look a lot better and maintain the Daily as the one bike in my stable with non-SPDs

Ending my social media blackout

Rodeo Beach

For quite a lot of months now I have been relatively social media averse. Between run of the mill social drama, time constraints and ongoing recovery from "the big accident" last year, I just needed a break, especially from things like Facebook. I've been returning to more of what I have come to think of as my normal activities and activity levels, especially in the last couple months or so. Learning to manage some of the aftermath of the crash, get on with, rebuild and just plain old build life anew.

I remain a dedicated bicycle commuter though my knee still gives me grief and it's certainly weaker than it ought to be. I'm not doing much yoga or sailing right now but hoping to return to those as well. I am cycling more each day and trying to get out and climb redoubling my efforts and commitment to pursue the things I'm passionate about. Bound to those efforts I am now riding for Blackburn Design as a Blackburn Ranger. It's been fantastic thus far and I can only imagine it will get better as the project progresses. Without a doubt this is becoming a true growth experience on many levels from personal and physical to professional and creative, things I hadn't fully anticipated.

Here is an early look at a video introducing the project.

Blackburn Out There from Blackburn Design on Vimeo.

Giro Code Shoes

I recently got a pair of Code mountain shoes from Giro. After some initial rides of 80 or 100 miles, I have to say I love these shoes. The break in period was fast and painless and they're remarkably light and rigid giving them great efficiency on the bike with the mountain style sole adding utility for getting around on foot. The highlight yellow and black color scheme is a welcome option, even though there is no ghosting in, wearing cycling kicks you hope might pass for regular street shoes. I do say welcome though, as there is a lot to be said for two bright, high contrast, objects moving in the view field of motorists. The EC90 carbon is no doubt what keeps them light weight, again an appreciable quality in shoes I wear both on and off the bike. As an urban rider and commuter my needs are different than on trails, road rides or doing cycle cross. In some ways the urban environment and the basic transitions in a given day are more demanding than all but the most dynamic days dedicated solely to riding.

Still playing with the fit but they are pretty great right out of the box, took the cleats without a hitch and work well on both Shimano and Bontrager pedals. I'd like to say something deeply insightful about these shoes but essentially, I just like them a heck of a lot and thus far they're an excellent product on every level from quality, function and fit to appearance. I admittedly didn't start with entry level shoes in my adoption of SPD style pedals, not sure what difference that might have made but even from the standpoint of a daily commuter this constitutes a tangible lifestyle improvement. When I think in terms of what I wold be spending on fuel alone if I were commuting by car the value of things like cycling shoes comes squarely into focus as a bargain by comparison and in terms of safety there is simply no rational case for not adopting a best practices approach. 

74 Schwinn Touring and Randonneur setup

When I unearthed my Le Tour it needed a lot of scrubbing and polishing but had essentially just been sitting neglected in a garage for 35 years. It's just a hint taller than I'd like but I've still got stand-over height and it's weight and long wheel base make for a comfortable ride with adequate gearing to climb hills in San Francisco. It's been an unexpectedly great bike. Not pictured are the additions of some very nice Tour De California 40mm bar tape(great review on Bike Rumor!) and some older Bontrager RE-1 SPD pedals.

So far the new setup has been great around the city and a few ten mile hops out and around the Presidio and Chrissy Field. It's also become my go-to option whenever I need to carry extra gear like cameras or climbing stuff and have a little extra time. The Le Tour is stable and good for a little extra loading but not as agile and snappy as my Globe Roll 1 or Bianchi Sport SS.

Rack, panniers and lights are from Blackburn.