I've just taken delivery of these little nuggets of bling. A pair of high spec X0 shifters in the 2x10 configuration to match the rest of the running gear of course.
These will go nicely with the silver brakes I bought a few blogs ago. I currently run SRAM X7 shifters so these will be a step up for me to hopefully even smoother gear changing.
I got these at 40% off which was pretty good. The special was because they only had silver left (the other option was black). This is odd, I think the silver looks damn fine.
Progressive costs:
Actual: $1806.03
Estimated: $1563.30
If RRP: $3305.98
Don't panic,
Justin.
Yo!
Another tardy blog. My humblest of humble apologies. But hey, I guess you will get over it in 2.3 seconds...
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Over it? Ok cool. So I have been a busy boy, but alas, not on the Heckler. I took a road trip to Melbourne. The intension was to drive down last Friday week, spend Saturday and Sunday checking out the tracks of Melbourne, work Mon to Fri, then ride the tracks of Melbourne again the following weekend, then drive home Monday. Events stuck relatively on track until the Thursday, when the horrid Melbourne weather thwarted by glorious plan. Rain, and lots of it. But I reacted in spectacular fashion and salvaged the weekend.
As this is a mountain biking blog, I will try not to deviate too much from the theme. But let me if you will gloat for a moment. In the space of a week, I secured <FREE> tickets to the Swans vs Hawks at "the G" and then the Rebels vs Stormers at AAMI park. My virginity to both stadiums smashed disrespectfully. Rebels vs Stormers was a particular highlight with VIP member tickets getting us entry to the after game drinks. Another week, another shoulder rub with a celebrity <cough> Sterling Mortlock <cough>.
So the tracks. I did:
- 51kms of the "Yarra Trails" - http://app.strava.com/activities/53529505
- 30kms at the "You Yangs" - http://app.strava.com/activities/54060635
- 57kms (over 2 days" at "Nail Can Hill" in Albury - http://app.strava.com/activities/55037677
Albury was my little "salvage" mission. My brain has a habit of retaining useless information. For a change, a bit of useless information became a nugget of information. I remembered hearing Albury has a good track. So I found my way to the Albury-Wodonga MTB website, located it, downloaded a track map, and spent Saturday and Sunday riding it. WOW. Awesome trails. The good folk of the AWMTB club need to be commended. Fantastically marked tracks & downloadable trail map: http://alburywodongamtb.org.au/
I must also thank Kort for showing me the Yarra Trails and You Yangs, and to both Kort and Josie for having me to stay a few nights!
All 3 tracks I loved for different reasons. Yarra Trails for convenience (5 min ride on the road from Kort's place to get there!), the You Yangs for the trail management and cardio challenge, and Nail Can Hill for the raw, rocky ruggedness I love so much.
Justin.
I have a name for my bike! Yes, it has already come at this early stage of the build process. Who'd have thought hu?
"THE ZOOLANDER"
Why?
Simple...
Blue Steel...
Blue Steel...
'Nuff said.
Justin.
Seat, Grips, Handlebar...check.
Exciting hu...?
The seat - Now just like you don't make friends with salad, you don't make friends with the type of seat you have on your bike. Basically, this part is all about your ass. If your ass likes it, that's all that matters. Actuallly maybe it is the inside of your legs, because it seems I do more holding onto the seat with those than resting my perfectly shaped ass on it. Depending on where we are riding, it is not uncommon to have bruises on the inside of my legs.
Anywhoo, the seat comes in at a fairly respectable 210 grams with a fibreglass shell, manganese rails to attach to the seatpost, and comfy padding. Normally $100, I got this one for $60.
The handlebars - Now this one was a pretty cool buy. Worth $80. Mine for $50. Raceface Deus bars. The first bit of Raceface gear to add to the armory. Raceface is up there with SRAM as a preferred brand. They make good shit. My current bike is well loaded with Raceface, and a lot of my riding apparel such as shirt and shorts is Raceface. Mr Nuffy of bike components shined once again with these babies. I didn't know much about the rise, upward and backward bend. Of most importance (to me and the style of riding I do) is the rise, which is the hump in the middle of the bars. The flatter the rise the more "cross country/race" setup the bike is. I am neither. I would put myself in the AC "All Condition"/trail rider category. So the rise is 25mm, they have 5 degrees of backward bend and 4 degrees of upward bend...absolutely f&8cking riveting, right? Lastly the width of the bars is important too and another defining feature of the trail vs XC riding. Ordinarily one would buy over-sized bars, and cut them down to preference. Ironically these are exactly the same width as the bars on my current Giant which I am happy with, so no cutting.
The grips - Lizard Skin Peaty. I refer you attention to the gold lock-ons. Bling. That's to match the gold Raceface decal on the handlebars. The first gold components, but not the last.... I went for the blue to match the frame but it is a far darker blue so I am a bit dubious about how they will look.
Progressive costs:
Actual: $1655.41
Estimated: $1393.30
If RRP: $3050.98
Until next time...
Justin.
