Fleet Update VII

Whenever I need to get my thoughts in order about my bike stable, I realize it's time for a fleet update. As I sometimes try to do, these are ranked from top to bottom in whatever the current pecking order is:

1. Riv Clem H: I tried the Clem as a mountain bike, and it wasn't great. After experiencing more modern mountain bikes, the front end of the Clem feels nervous. And after my Niner failed at the head tube, looking down at the skinny fork of the Clem doesn't fill me with confidence. It's probably fine. But since I've set aside any aspirations to ride it on trails, I can outfit the Clem for city duty: slicks, racks, baskets, and kickstand. In this build, it works well to ride around with the kids or run errands or go camping.

The Jones bars are a great spec for this build:

Far more comfortable than the stock Bosco bars, they're good for going as fast--or as slow--as I want to go. That's a rare range for a handlebar.



One small issue with the Clem is maybe the cranks. I swapped my original 175mm cranks with some shorter 165mm Origin 8 crankarms. This gave me better crank clearance on my single track ride, but it just hasn't felt as lively since this change. Probably the 175s will be going back on soon.

The other small issue is the kickstand doesn't really work with a front load. I have to turn the handlebar so the basket rests against the top tube to keep the bike from falling over on the stand. This bugs me for some reason.

I think I'd like the Clem better if it had discs, as well (if you pipe up, "but the rims are really bigger discs!" I may whack you with a hydraulic disc hose if we ever meet)

2. Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross: I haven't been riding my BMC much lately. It's back to it's usual drop bar/fixed gear configuration, but I can't help but compare my experience on the drop bars (shifting every few minutes to find comfort) to the Jones bars (comfort in many positions). Does it make sense to have two bikes with Jones bars?

3. 2014 Trek Fuel EX: my bike to keep up with the young fast guys. It works well enough for a full suspension bike. I thought 120mm travel might be too much, but it doesn't feel too boingy at all. Just smooth. Still, I find whenever I get to the point of buying a full suspension bike, I almost immediately feel a subsequent Amish need to get back to the basics and cut my fleet down.

This cycle is continuing with the Trek. Do I need all of this technology? I have the urge to trade it in for an even more modern (longer, slacker) B+ hardtail. Or maybe the Jones SWB, which is helpfully out of stock right now. That and something like the Clem or BMC (with Jones bars, plump slicks, or maybe something with discs) would be all I really need. Can I do two bikes? And why so fascinated with discs? And what's with the rhetorical questions in this post?

4. Karate Monkey: the KM is dropping down my list after I got ticked off (again!) at the stupid track ends. Set up as a single speed with the chainstays almost as short as they can go, I can't remove the rear wheel without breaking the chain. Stupid stupid stupid. I'll be curious what the resale value of a braceless KM frame is.

I put new wheels on the KM that have an annoyingly loud freehub. Maybe they have better POE, but this noise just generally makes me POd.

5. Fuji America 650b: I like the tires, and the centerpull brakes look great, but the rest of this bike is just "meh" for me. I've raised and rotated the bars all over, but I can't get comfortable on it. I thought about converting it to an AT-2 type bar, but what will this do better than my BMC? And the BMC stops in the wet. I need to get this one sold.

My thought for the day is with just two bikes--an upright bar road bike and a simple mountain bike--I could do 100% of my riding with 20% of the hassle (Henry helpfully pointed out that if I sold all of my bikes, I could buy a motorcycle. But I have to stay in shape somehow)

Or possibly I'm just in a crabby mood today.