Performance Access XCL Comp - # 2

Racer Boy Ian continues to grow as most 13 year olds are apt to do.  My plan to keep swapping his existing Pile-O-Parts from one frame to another is working as planned. Picked up this new Performance Access frame a few weeks ago and moved everything over with no problem. I've built enough bikes over the years now to do this blindfolded...

I did purchase and install a new Cane Creek ZS-3 headset (eBay deal), since I didn't want to remove the headset cups from the previous frame. All the existing cables were too short, but I scrounged enough cable sections from the workbench to run new ones - minus the shifter cables. Picked up a new set from the fine folks at Kirkland Bicycle, a local shop.

Here it sits ready to roll.  This frame measures 18.5" center to top (of seat tube) and 16" center to center.  Top tube is around 23" and overall fits 5' 6" Ian pretty well with a little growing room left over.  This model arrives with a multi color paint job, which conveniently matches his team kit.  I think it would look better with black tires and saddle, but the red Panaracers are almost new and that's a high end Fizik saddle - so they'll both stay.

His first Performance Access frame was a 14" which amazingly he rode and raced for two years.  The 16" Sette Reken frame I recently built up, only lasted a few months - since I let it sit boxed in the garage too long - combined with a growth spurt.  We'll see how long this new Performance frame lasts and/or fits.  I'm hoping at least a year, maybe two if lucky.

This '99 era Shimano XTR derailleur - along with the shifters, brakes, wheelset - have now lived on five different frames over the years. Amazing.  Build is the same as the first Access frame I set up in 2010, minus the platform pedals.  Click here for full build details.

Short 4" head tube and integrated headset allow pre-cut 2004 vintage Fox Talus fork to still be used.  The fork has proven to be super durable and continues to impress after many years of use.

Bike has been a few rides now, including this little romp over at Freund Canyon, which was a blast - even if it was 90+ degrees - can you say hot?  Bike feels no different to Ian, just fits better.  I'd say that's a good thing.




If you're looking to build up a nice hardtail XC race or budget bike - depending on the spec - you can't go wrong basing it on the Access frame. Decent welds, light weight, disk and V brake mounts, handles well, and build quality that will amaze you for $180 (on sale).  For keeping a fast growing and fast riding kid on race ready wheels, been fantastic for us.

I'm sure the 29er version would also be a safe bet to build up a nice bike for low dough.  You don't need to spend a ton of money to ride and/or race bikes.  Trust me on that.  The Sette frames also work well.  Check 'em out.

Project Access - Round Two

Racer Boy Ian has already outgrown the mountain bike recently built up for him, only lasted a few months.  That'll happen when you're the fast growing (almost) 13 year old.  He's now riding (or will be shortly) the same size frame as me.  Welcome to Crazy Town, I'll be your Tour Guide, please keep arms in tram at all times.

Scored this Performance Access XCL Comp frame direct from Performance for $180 on July 4th, and it arrived today.  Larger version (18.5") of the same frame I built up awhile back, that one being the 14" model.  Amazingly, Ian rode the smaller version for two years.  Adding a longer seatpost with setback, along with a longer stem, extended the life quite a bit.  Lots of cool memories thanks to that little frame.

The Sette frame we'll soon retire measures at 16 inches.  Nothing wrong with the Sette frame - build or ride quality - and a screaming deal at $90.  It's just now too small.  So there you have it, 14" to 18.5" in three years (or so).  My, how they grow.

These "bargain" frames are fantastic for the money and work well.  The build quality and graphics are much higher then you'd expect, and they ride great.  For keeping a young racer on decent bikes, I can't come up with a cheaper solution.  I just keep moving the old school XTR parts kit and Fox fork from frame to frame.

Parts transfer/build to follow shortly....

Project Access - The Final Chapter

It's about time to bid farewell to the little bike that could, officially ending Project Access.  My son, Racer Boy Ian, has outgrown the 14" frame and needs something a tad larger.  I built this bike up two years ago using the bargain Performance Access XCL Comp frame, various parts around the garage, and few new tidbits.  A very light, totally race ready bike for very low dough.  Being the single paycheck family of four with bike nut dad (that be me) also requiring stuff to ride, need to be creative to keep everyone rolling on decent wheels.

This bike has exceeded all expectations and worked fantastic for two years.  For a fast growing son having this rig work from age 10 - 12 was more then expected.  From the original build, only changes were the addition of clipless pedals (out of my garage stash), Ritchey seatpost ($15 online), longer stem and wider 'bars (garage stash), and one set of XTR brake pads (garage stash again).  That's it for many hours of two wheeled fun and frolicking.  Bargain of the century, if I may say so.

Ian has piloted this bike on countless rides shared with me.  Many awesome father/son memories and some adventure added to our lives. Plus, scored 2nd overall in the Budu mountain bike race series and 6th overall in the MFG cyclocross series - in addition to a few other assorted races.  All this from my garage built special, which makes it even more - uh - special.

Fire up some sappy music and enjoy the farewell slideshow...

My plan was to order another Performance Access XCL frame in a 16" size, then swap everything over.  Plan was foiled since Performance no longer carried this frame.  Bummer.  I should have grabbed one and stored in the garage until needed.  I even called Performance and attempted to track one down.  No luck.  Incredible deal for a $100 frame (on sale).

That was a few months ago, however, just discovered Performance once again stocks this frame.  Interesting.  In any case, if you're looking for a bargain build, don't hesitate to pick one  up to construct your own low dough XC race bike.

Since I couldn't score another frame from Performance at the time, picked up a different $100 frame that's been sitting in a box awaiting build up.  Now is the time.  Stay tuned.

Once retired, the Access frame will hang in the garage patiently waiting for my 8 year old daughter to grow into it.  Project Access will live once again.  Until then, I hope it enjoys the rest it deserves.  It's been a great ride. 

Sunday Ride

After a hectic weekend, quick ride at St Ed/Big Finn Hill, late Sunday afternoon. Nothing exciting to report, just a few pictures to post......

Ian checks out the sunset over Lake Washington. One trail at St Ed State Park heads down to a small beach type area. There are other trails that lead to the water, but only one that allows bikes. Nice wide downhill, but needs to be crawled down due to hiker, dog walkers, and other folks out as well. Pretty decent climb to get back out, the only real climb of the area.

Me, sitting on a log, looking pretty goofy - my speciality.

Ian eyes up the bikes, in case they make a run for it. Under the log, a mouse poked his head out a few times, but disappeared once the camera came out. A rare camera shy species of rodent, only found in the Pacific Northwest. Look it up. It's true, I swear....

Second dirt ride on Ian's new steed. Tweaked front derailleur shifts much better, but still not perfect - a few dropped chains while hitting the small ring. I've never had this much hassle setting up a derailleur before. Might be a LX crank/chainline issue. I'll tweak it some more before the next ride. Since I swapped the stem over, Ian mentioned the lower handlebars feel better.

Overall, he's digging the bike and cleaned a few technical sections, where he'd stumble on previous rides. He also mentioned this bike climbs better then his 24" wheel Specialized. New rig is also really light, I need to weigh it and find out the actual poundage.

Second real ride on the new Sette Razzo as well. I like it - a lot. Handles and feels great, the 29er wheels do seem to roll easier. So far, so good. I need to get more dirt miles on it - some faster solo rides as well. I still plan to pick up a seat post with a little setback, as well install my bar ends.

That's all for now.....

Rambling Man - Some Photographic Proof

Nice weather for the bike commute today. Sunny and 43 degrees on the way into work, then more sun and 60 degrees for the ride home. Not a bad 34 mile round trip. With no rain or wet roads, carbon Ibis drafted into duty - felt great. No actual photographic proof - you'll just have to take my word for it. You can trust me.


During the commute home, I spotted this VW Camper for sale. I always wanted one of these - perfect family camper, mountain bike race vehicle, and still small enough for regular transportation. I stopped to check it out. As expected, price was a little loopy for the pretty ancient rig - asking $14,900. We're talking a '89 van with 133,000+ miles. Not in bad shape, but the usual rusty looking exhaust and some oil drips, comes with the territory on these rigs.

From the vintage buses from the '70s to the Eurovan models of the '90s - all the camper versions are crazy priced. They do hold their value however. Still, a steep surcharge for basically a small ice box, stove and fold out beds. You still need to crap outside and "shower" with a wash cloth. Even so, I'd love to score one of these.

After I arrived home, before even changing out of sweaty bike clothes - started wrenching on Ian's bike to cure the screwed up shifting we experienced last weekend. I sorted the rear out a few days ago - easy cable adjustment. Discovered the front shifting issues revolved around the left crank arm not being fully seated, allowing the crank to drift a few millimeters. I also moved the spacers around on the BB - one on each side as intended. I had moved both to one side to get a better chain line. With all that fixed, shifts okay now. I buzzed it around quite a bit myself to be sure. I also swapped the stem upside down to lower the handlebars. With the Stack-O-Spacers, the bars were a few inches above the seat (I don't want to cut the fork, this way it could fit a larger frame down the road). I think this contributed the weird cornering feeling Ian mentioned (plus the fact it was the first ride on 26" wheels).

After the adjustments, Ian gave the shifting and lower position a thumbs up after a quick test ride. No actual photographic proof - you'll just have to take my word for it. You can trust me. We'll hit the woods again this weekend for a real test.

Here's actual photographic proof of what's been taking up lots of time - baseball. Ian at bat from a recent game. This little league scene gets a little crazy. This week, practice or a game for 5 days straight. That's 10+ hours of baseball in a week - for 10 year olds. Then fit in homework and family time - kind of nuts - my take anyway. This is Ian's first year for little league and he's enjoying it, but is getting a little tired of the practices as well. We plan to skip a few for his interest sake and our family sanity.

Maybe if I was a baseball fan, I'd be digging it all. Even if I was a fan, I think one practice and one game a week is enough for 10 year old kids. When they hit 7 or 8th grade, or even high school - and really dig baseball - then play 5 days a week. No?

Oh well. Time to pull the plug on this rambling post and hit the sack.....

New Bikes Hit Dirt !!

Coming off a crazy 60+ hour work week, complete with 15 hour Friday to top it off - including a 1:00 AM bike commute home - no time to tweak the new Sette Razzo 29er to my specs until Saturday afternoon rolled around.

Why the long hours? Side project at work editing a corporate video soon to be shown at a large meeting. Pro editor I'm not, but have done a fair amount of editing at home, so was drafted into action. Adding that project to my normal workload was nuts, but the editing was fun and we'll see what kind of reaction it gets. Lots of goofy humor involved - not the usual corporate deal.

Late Saturday afternoon I finally had time to swap some parts on the Sette - seatpost, saddle, stem and handlebars. Some neighborhood buzzing around confirmed a better fit. Bike felt good and I was looking forward to hitting some trails on Sunday. Ian was looking forward to riding his new rig on dirt as well.

After killing most of Sunday looking at cars to replace my dead one (didn't buy anything), Ian and I hit the local woods late in the afternoon - just a quick singletrack cruise to feel out the new bikes. Having woods rideable from the house - man, we're lucky.

Ian races the pilotless Sette. Dude, 29ers rolls so well, they can win on their own. All the marketing shtick is true....

In the end, Ian pulls away on his new steed. Go Ian go.

Repeat official sign shot, this time with new bikes. The 29er wheels still look weird to me - they're just plain big. It rides well though - really well. Compare 'em against the 26" wheels on Ian's bike. Freaky, huh?

I am SWOBO man - hear me roar.

Swapped the Sette branded 'bar and 100mm stem for the 120mm Race Face stem and LP carbon bar that I was running on my Cannondale. Fits better and a bit lighter to boot. I plan to pick up a new flat bar, slightly wider, then install with the stem right side up. The Sette has a short 3.5" headtube which helps lower the front end, since 29er frames are a bit tall in the front. This lets you get the bars a little lower - what I like. I'll probably reinstall my bar ends as well - call me Dork Boy - I miss 'em, even if currently unfashionable.

Sette branded seatpost and saddle swapped out for my old Thomson post and old school Flite saddle, both off my Cannondale. I'll replace the seatpost with one sporting some setback soon. The Razzo frame has a steep 74 degree seat tube and I want the seat back about 1/2 inch to get my knee a bit behind the pedal spindle (my usual set up). Saddle is currently slammed back as far as possible.

Sette ready to roll with bottle cages and spare tube under the red saddle - not sure if I dig the red on this bike. I may search for a black Flite saddle. Maybe not. Cast your vote now.

Ian's Access with a mixture of new and used parts finally gets dirty. A few tweaks still needed in the shifting department and handlebar width - a tad too narrow.

The Sette Razzo felt great on the trails. Steers well, feels snappy, and the 29 wheel size does seem to roll faster. Just a short ride, but I dig it so far. The SRAM drivetrain shifts great and the RockShox Reba SL fork is like buttah - nice. It's a great bike and a killer deal - can't beat that combo. I'm looking forward to spending more time on it.

Ian's first ride on his new steed went okay - some adjustment needed. Ian mentioned it felt bigger then his 24" wheel bike and a bit harder to corner. Towards the end of the ride, he was readjusting his cornering style and getting it. He mentioned the bike felt smoother then his old bike, no doubt the Fox fork playing a part in that.

Shifting woes marred Ian's ride some. Partly the bike's fault - bike shifted fine in the workstand and during test rides - but not in the woods. Rear shifting went off, later corrected by me in the garage. Front shifting was off as well, still need to sort that out. Also a learning curve for Ian moving from his old Gripshift setup to the XTR paddle shifters. With practice he'll get it and I'll sort the front derailleur out during the week. Once fully sorted and a little more riding time, this bike should work well for him.

We took a few short videos on the ride, but Google Blogger ain't happy uploading 'em for some reason. I gave up after a few attempts. I wonder if the Amish have these problems?

We'll hit the trails again next weekend and continue to "test" our new bikes. This is one test I don't mind studying for.

Project Access - Ready to Roll

After a late night wrenching session on Friday that concluded at 2:00 AM - Project Access became a living, breathing, ridable bike. And if I may say so myself, it turned out pretty damn sweet. Looks cool, really light - guessing under 23 pounds, should be a killer bike for a 10 year old - no?

Build went together fairly easy, only hassle was the headset. After installing, impossible to adjust without being too loose or binding up. I pulled the fork back out to discover the bottom bearing had imploded into several pieces. Either a defective bearing from Cane Creek (doubt it) or I installed upside down (most likely) and blew it apart. Pretty strange. In any case, I had the exact bearing replacement laying on my workbench - a left over from my HeadShokectomy experience last summer. Total dumb luck and easy fix. Only other complaint would be the chainline not being as perfect as I'd like - still, it rides and shifts fine. I'm just being the fanatic.

Let's buckle up for a build review and tour, shall we?

I started with a new $99 Performance Access XCL Comp frame from uh, Performance. Access is their house brand frame and I was pretty pleased, actually kind of amazed, how decent the frame is for the dough. Under four pounds, disk and v-brake mounts, paint and graphics - all good. Original frame arrived damaged from shipping, the replacement arrived quickly and the build started......

New 170mm Shimano LX crankset off eBay, complete with BB for $76, nice deal. Pedals pulled from Ian's now retired Specialized Hotrock. He's still riding platform pedals, we'll give clipless a shot later. Shimano XTR front derailleur pulled from my Cannondale donor bike.

Fox Talus fork, circa 2004, features adjustable travel (now set at 80mm) - still a killer nice fork. XTR hub laced to Mavic ceramic rim, XTR v-brake to slow things down, Panaracer Fire XC Pro tire for traction. All parts pulled from my Cannondale. Pretty sweet front end, no?

Sette stem pulled from Ian's Specialized, Sette handlebar sitting in garage unused - until now. I cut the bars down a bit, think they maybe a tad too narrow now - may swap 'em later. Grips were laying in the garage, no memory where they came from. XTR shifters and brake levers, pulled from the Cannondale. New Cane Creek headset, eBay sale for $30. Hey, look at that - frame even sports an actual headbadge - no sticker.

Super light Fizik saddle and Ibis seatpost, originally from my Ibis Silk Carbon road bike. I swapped 'em out for other items at the time, so these are new - been laying in the garage since 2006. Perfect for this build.

View of BB area. I dig the unfinished "Stack-O-Dimes" welds and matte black finish - very stealth.

Curved stays and Panaracer Fire XC Pro rear tire.

Shimano XTR v-brake slows down the rear.

XTR rear hub and Mavic ceramic rim, XTR rear derailleur - pulled from Cannondale. New SRAM cassette from local Craigslist sale - $20. New Shimano chain from eBay - $20.

There it sits - not bad, huh? I was going to swap the stem over to lower the bars, but Ian digs it this way. I don't want to cut the steerer tube any shorter. As Ian grows, the extra spacers allow possible use with a larger frame down the road. Smart, eh?

So all in all, a pretty cheap build for a pretty trick little bike. Most of this due to pulling almost everything from my Cannondale frame - XTR goodies, cables, wheels and fork. The XTR parts and Mavic wheelset are from 1999 and first lived on my Ellsworth Truth for many years, then later transfered to my Cannondale - now in use on Ian's bike. Hats off to Shimano for manufacturing quality stuff. That's 11 years of use and now going on bike number three - very impressive.

Whoever built that wheelset also deserves a raise (wasn't me) - still dead true after 11 years. Amazing. The Mavic ceramic rims also held up fantastic. Expensive at the time, but well worth it. Without the ceramic coating, rims would have been toasted years ago from mud damage. Ceramic rims and v-brakes were the hot set up before disk brakes hit the scene. Even today, they still work pretty well.

Another aspect to the low price build was the online deals for the few parts needed. Yeah, hitting the local bike shop for this would have been cooler, but the savings were needed to allow this project to exist at all. That's my excuse anyway.

Due to Easter festivities and other distractions this weekend, no woods time for us. Ian demo'd the bike on our street for a bit and said it felt great. Sizing wise, looks good. I bet we get two years of use out of this set up.

I'm pleased and Ian is happy. Can't wait to see it dirty. As usual, blog updates to follow.

Greetings from Busy Town

I've been stupid busy this week at home and work - no time for blogging at all - writing to my own or checking out other people's blogs for updates. At work I'm involved with a side project editing a corporate video, which has been a blast - not stuffy at all, lots of goofy humor involved. I've edited lots of home movies for fun, so getting paid to edit - in a sense - good change of pace.

On a sobering note, one of my son's 10 year old pals - schoolmate and teammate on his basketball and baseball teams - is in the hospital. Super athletic little kid woke up with a headache one day last week, then later at school carted off to the hospital unconscious with some sort of brain aneurism issue. He's been in a coma for days and from what I hear is facing brain surgery. I don't have all the details, but wow - as a parent, that would the worst thing ever to go through. I've talked to his dad a few times at sport practices - nice guy. I hope everything works out and the kid pulls though.

On a much less important note, my car search continues. Two schools of thought - something big enough to serve as the bike hauler/camper mobile. Maybe a VW camper, wagon or mini van. I'd really dig a VW camper, 'cept the resale values on those - from ancient to modern - is pretty nuts. When you think of it, a pretty big surcharge for a pop up top, mini stove and ice box. The other thought would be something small and fun to drive - my usual style.

After spending way too many hours cruising the Internet for car deals, something in the $3000 - $6000 range, I've bumped the budget up to $9000 or so. Plenty of cars in the lower range, but obviously with plenty of miles on 'em - like 125,000+, which easily turns the $5000 used car into the $6500 car after the head gasket or CV joints explode. Being the recovering gear head guy, I understand that's the risk you take. I really don't have the time or motivation to deal with that.

That also throws out another option I've been considering, the old school Volkswagen Bug. I was into the VW scene many years ago - owned a '68 Bug and '73 Thing. You can score a pretty clean Bug for $4000 - $5000 and that kind of stuff is always sellable down the road. The wife ain't too hip with a 40 year Bug being the second car however. Oh well. What's wrong with no heat or defrosters, suspect safety issues, and the number 3 cylinder exhaust valve meeting Mr. Piston at 60 mph? Women, they just don't know how to have fun.

I'd usually go with something like a VW GTI, Subaru WRX, Mini Cooper S - small and performance oriented - as was my Sentra SE-R before it blew up. For the most part, that's out of the budget. Thought now is to go bargain but with a factory warranty. I'm thinking Toyota Yaris, the cheapest model from Toyota, now available used for under $9000, many with low miles and full factory warranty. Almost 40 miles per gallon and small and goofy enough to be fun.

I drove a Yaris today and it was much better then I anticipated. It's more fun to go fast in slow car, then slow in fast car - my current motto. The used one I checked out had 57,000 miles on it, but a little banged up for a 2007 model, so I passed. I'm hoping to look at this one tomorrow, with only 22,000 miles on the clock......

Add bike rack, stir gently, enjoy for many trouble free miles. I hope so anyway. If I don't pick up this one, will find something similar.

To continue my car theme, my old Mackie Designs pal Dave stopped by to check out my dead SE-R. Dave is big into vintage Datsuns, owning two '60s pick up trucks - one of which he drove over (complete with optional hand crank start motor) - and five '60s Roadsters. He thinks one of the rod bearings is toast (I agree) and is running my car past his fellow Datsun/Nissan freaks for possible sale. He later sent me an eBay listing for new long block. $1200 and many hours later, car could run again. I'm not going there, but maybe one of his pals will and I'll unload the SE-R.

That's enough car nonsense for one night. Let's move to something more fun - like bikes.....

During one of my Garage Sale posts, I mentioned getting a free bike from a neighbor, then shipping it off to my old pal John in Virgina, for a utility bike project. Sure enough, project completed with actual photographic proof. John sent me the pic today. It came out great, perfect donor bike for the Xtracycle kit.....

What every garage needs.

My eBay Garage Sale continued last week with a few items re-listed - with much success. I'm gonna dig up even more bike history in the garage and list 'em as well. What sold this week.....

Funky old Campy crankset - now sold. These were originally on my old Raleigh back in the '80s. Been laying in box ever since and went for $67 on eBay.

Pair of vintage Ringle water bottle cages fetched $51 - amazing. Plus $38 to ship to England. Dude must have really wanted 'em.

The old Scott cantilevers even went - for a whopping $10. Still better then collecting dust in my garage.

Bigger news is the completion of Project Access - bike I've been building up for son Ian. I was up until 2:00 AM last night putting the finishing touches on it. It came out great - super light and looks good. Ian took for a little spin on the street today, we'll hit the woods soon.

My mail order Sette Razzo 29er has landed as well. Pulled from the box, assembled and quick street ride to test. It's pretty cool. I'm looking forward to getting it dirty.

I'll devote full blog posts for both bikes soon, maybe even tomorrow if time allows. We have some family Easter festivities planned including dinner guests - busy day.

Enjoy your Easter. Give the kids a extra hug. Ride your bike.

Baseball = Mountain Biking. Huh?

Attention please: Ignore my whiny comments about mainstream stick and ball sports kids and parents not digging bikes. During Ian's little league baseball game on Saturday, I wound up talking bikes with two parents - nice dads of kids on Ian's team.

One of the dads mentioned really digging riding years ago and even entered a few mountain bike races. He's been off the bike for awhile though. They live right in our neighborhood and when I mentioned hitting the local trails for a tour, he said why not tomorrow? Otherwise we'll just talk about it and never actually do it. Perfect! Father and son both planned to ride.

Another dad offered to join in as well, with son and daughter along for the fun. Wow, this should be cool. I goofed around with Ian, since he seems to be embarrassed that I talk bikes at baseball games. Now he thought it was pretty cool some of his team mates planned to ride with us. See, dad's not so weird after all.

Ride was planned for 9:30 AM on Sunday - today. Woke up to 47 degree temp and rain - not bad, but wet. One dad called at 8:30 AM to cancel, due to the weather. No problem, riding in the rain is not for everyone. Ian and I suited up and rode over to the local woods to check if the other family showed up. Sure enough, they did. Dad riding a clean older Klein, 10 year old son Jack on a new GT. They rode over to the park as well. Sweet!

Ian and I played tour guide and showed 'em the local trails. They've only seen a few of the trails and didn't realize the other areas linked together with singletrack. The rain stopped and the boys enjoyed the muddy trails - only really muddy in a few areas. The dad, John, mentioned they've been meaning to ride and explore the area, but this was the first time they checked it all out. I'm glad I gave them a little incentive to get the wheels rolling.

I think they had a blast, John said it's the most fun he's had in awhile. Jack seemed to really have a great time and did fantastic as a beginner. I showed him how to roll over some small log drops, lean back on downhills, and a few other pointers. He seemed to dig it all. Dad and son had a few falls, but no big deal and they laughed it off. Ian also seemed to enjoy riding with someone his own age for once.

In the end, they did a great ride - about 10 miles of singletrack - much more then I expected young Jack to pull off. We had a fun morning and I'm sure we'll ride with them again. I'd also bet we see the family that canceled out there eventually as well. Good stuff.

Jack on left. Check out that smile - think he had fun? Ian on right, nice job as tour guide.

Official stand by sign photo - required by state law. Say good bye to the Cannondale and Specialized - last rides for both.

Official sign photo number 2 - with me standing as stupid as possible. Thank you.

This ride spells the end of the line for my Cannondale and Ian's Specialized. Ian has outgrown his bike and makes it look like BMX bike now. The 24" wheel Specialized has been awesome over the last two years, will now be mothballed for future use by daughter Amy. My Cannondale as of tonight as been stripped to the frame, as per Project Access. Cannondale parts now being transferred over to Ian's new frame.....

Almost finished. This will be one sweet bike for a 10 year old. Ian is psyched - me too. Should be ready to hit the woods by the weekend. Oh yes.

With my Cannondale now a bare frame, what will I ride? After much debate, obsessive research and counting pennies, I pulled the trigger on the Sette Razzo 29er. Should be here in a few days. For the dough, a nice parts spec and a cheap way to enter the big wheel world of 29ers. I've read all positive reviews online and even if you tossed the frame and replaced it with a Niner EMD - still a great deal. Should provide some interesting blog posts down the road anyway. So more to follow.

On its way via UPS - please hurry, oh brown truck.

I'm still without a car, as mentioned previously. Did a little looking around this weekend, but not much. I'll need to get something eventually. Hitting the spring stride with 100+ commuting miles last week and the mountain bike ride today. Who needs cars?

Spring Cleaning and Riding

Spring is in the air and a young man's fancy turns to, uh - riding. Yeah, that's the ticket. Took a day off work last Friday and squeezed in a 2 hour mountain bike - nice. Commuted to work today, usual 34 mile round trip - all good. Time to break out of the winter slump and get some real miles in. Oh yes.

Budding trees and runny noses also means spring cleaning, and my eBay garage sale continues - all proceeds to build up Ian's new bike, code named Project Access - which also may require dad (that be me) scoring a new bike to hand some parts down. An even trade of dough, old stuff for new stuff, is always cool for the family budget and allows guilt free upgrades - no?

This week's selling action......

Like new vintage wheelset. Performance hubs (appear to Sansin), Araya RM20 rims, 36 spoke, 130mm spacing, freewheel compatible - complete with Shimano 6 speed freewheel. Six speeds - count 'em. Sold !!

1999 Ellsworth Truth frame, Fox shock and Chris King headset. Bit of a bidding war on this one. Sold !!

Vintage Scott SE cantilever. SE stood for "Self Energizing" - as in some widget buried in that black Cylinder-O-Mystery drove the pads deeper into the rim - kind of sucked in by the wheel rotating. Anyway, a few watchers on eBay, a few questions - no sale. Listed once again, will see what happens.

Shoe covers for toe strap pedals. Total old school in new condition. Sold !!

Vintage "Deer Head" logo Shimano Deore derailleur. Sold !!

Vintage Ringle bottle cages from the '90s - remember these? 27 watchers on the item, a few questions about shipping - then no sale. Weird. Listed once again.

Funky vintage Campy crank. A few watchers, questions about shipping - then nada sale. I relisted for another week.

Very cool old school Suntour XC Pro pedals. My Craiglist sale from the other week fell through. Listed 'em on eBay. Sold !!

This week's eBay update now officially over. I'll pull a few other vintage goodies from the garage on list 'em on eBay in the next few days. It's been fun digging this stuff out and watching the online action.

I made a little progress on Project Access over the weekend. Cane Creek headset cups pressed into headtube, Shimano LX crankset and BB now in place. Ibis seatpost now installed, providing a safe clamping area. New chain and SRAM cassette await something to be attached to.....

Still a few parts missing, but not for long.

I've reached critical mass and want to get this project done. Final decision time, been dragging my feet - finish purchasing parts for Project Access - or pick up a bike for me and move my old XTR, Fox fork and Mavic ceramic rims to Ian's frame. Will decide by the end of week.

Being Family Guy is crimping my usual XTR level of fun - and I can live with that, since there are more important things screaming for dough. I've been looking at mid-priced level 29er hardtails, including a Scott Scale 29er today at REI. Not a bad deal for $1500, though the graphics are bit garish for my taste. XT rear derailleur, Rockshox Reba SL fork, mixed in with some lower level parts. It also felt a bit heavy.....

I've also been watching this on eBay. Used, cool Trek 69er built up with XT - nice bike. I've demo'd this when available from Trek - since discontinued. 26" rear wheel and 29" front wheel....

I've also spec'd out a Niner off the Colorado Cyclist site. Not a bad deal, though still well over $2000. I'd dig one of these, but don't think I can swing that at the moment....

I keep coming back to this, the Sette Razzo 29er. A killer deal for $1200. You could swap the frame out and still be ahead - though all good online reviews. Cheap enough to swap some of the stock parts out and still have a killer deal. Hundreds of dollars cheaper then similar spec'd bikes. Frame specs are slightly off for me though. I'd need a medium frame and run a long stem......

Enough bike pondering and wondering for today. I need to hit the sack - thanks for reading....