Kim took the kids to NYC, and I had the house all to myself.
Time to get a little singletrack in before I play handyman and finish a project or two around the house.
The temperature was fairly mild, but the wind was blowing like crazy, which seems to be the way of the wind these days, so the ride over to the res. was brisk, but manageable as I pushed into the NW gusts.
Once on the trails though, in the protection of the trees it was bliss. The snow was making it a super ass-grinder, but with the wind defused, I didn't mind.
It was hardest going where others had tread before; it seems hikers must trample and post hole every square inch of the trail, or they are just not happy. When I had virgin powder everything was smooth sailing. A little too smooth when you had to turn or climb, but overall it was 75% ride-able.
So there I was having a grand old time, taking pictures of my "first tracks":
Taking pictures of my bike:
What could be better? All the hard stuff was done, all I had left was some ridge, and the fence line down to the road. I'll get home, and get extra stuff done!
Then I heard a clink. Then my bike started freewheeling. Fixed gears are not supposed to do this?
Well I guess it wasn't actually freewheeling:
Yeah! I get to walk 3 miles out of the woods and home!I have no delusions of grandeur; I know I don't have any monster power output, but this isn't the first time this has happened to me:
Guess I'm just lucky that way.
That is one good thing about outboard bearing cranks; they swap out quick. Back to the good old XT's. The XT's are 170's, so they'll give me a little extra clearance. Maybe it's a blessing?
2 comments:
Do you think the stresses of fixed off road caused it to fail?
No. I had only ridden those cranks fixed for about a week (maybe 4 or 5 months total). I can't say I never hit anything with the chainring, but I am pretty good at cleaning stuff.
I think those cranks versatility is their flaw. Trying to be able to be too many things. I could replace the spider, but I think I'll just stick with something tried and true.
The Raceface cranks on the other hand were totally my fault; I was running them without the granny bolts, and there just isn't enough alloy around the holes to do so.
Post a Comment