0 CommentsChili Build Up - Phase 1
This is long overdue. I hoped to finish it last week, but things just didn't go as planned. I figured I'd better finish it before I leave for Taiwan but that did not happen either. The good news though is that this extra time also gave me a few weeks to ride this bike and fully appreciate its features and details.
The day started off with a little car racing. Yep, took some hot laps around thetrack with my boy. I'm the yellow car, he's the green. Before any car racing fans email me and tell me the cars are out of date, I should know the drivers, the track isn't official and the stand & fans of people aren't right, consider I'm from MN and I grew up driving tractors. This is county fair style with cars and fans up close and right in the action. Yeah, lawn mower racing might be more appropriate, but last I checked, no toy maker was making slot cars that looked like riding lawnmowers.
I had already pressed in the Hope headset while at work so I jumped right into the build and hung some parts on it. I generally get things installed before making final adjustments and torquing things to spec. Not sure if you read my old post about the build up, but I decided my old reliable components for this build. How did I make this decision? Well, we got 2 feet of snow recently and the roads are covered in salt and crap and I just couldn't justify putting new road stuff on this bike.
After a second round of coffee, I was ready to do the cable install and make final adjustments. This took a lot longer than I expected as I was installing the Salsa Cross Levers on the bars. We sell ton's of these. I've used them but had forgotten just how important perfect housing length is when installing them. I know some folks can't stand these, but I'm hoping to ride some dirt on these and I just liked the extra braking option since I'm primarily a dirt flat bar guy.
Finally, after a few sessions of riding in circles in my basement and tweaking set up, it was ready for neighborhood laps. Here is the first picture showing my completed bike. After a quick shoulder and run up the stairs, the neighorhood testing began.
One note before I go any further. That's a prototype fork. We are selling Crosso frames without fork. Frame only folks. I know it looks good, but we won't offer a painted to match fork until we find the right fork. This isn't it.
After final tweaks, I still had time for about a 2 hour road ride. It was about 40 degrees and I just headed straight south on Highway 3. It's just some rolling road stuff and Highway 3 has a great shoulder. It was kind of cool out riding the road when there is so much snow. As I got further south, more and more snowmobiles passed me. I wish I had not forgotten my camera because I love pictures that show such stark contrasts.
Since that day 3 weeks ago, I've logged about 15 more outdoor road hours on this bike. Man I love it. It is so darn comfortable. Out on the road, the flat chainstays and seatstays really shine. Look at that narrow side profile. Lot's of folks ask if the stays really gives any vertical compliance? I don't think so, but I can tell you it does help deaden some of that road shock.
Jason
Like this article? Share it with your friends.
Tweet
Comments