Some Personal Stuff...
Or, An Ode to the Ones I Love (and the wife, too!)

Foreword: This little story is circa 2000. I know technology has long passed me by. It was fun at the time!

Backward: My humor.

Check out my new bike!

Objects in photo are bigger than they appear
Options may be different than shown
Your mileage may vary

Editor's note: These are not the only two bikes in the stable. However, they are still my favorite! Um, I mean, my WIFE is still my favorite, these are close seconds! No, dear. I didn't mean to imply you belong in the stable. Com'on! Not the couch again!

Here it is, the new millennium, and I'm still riding these old bikes. Someday, soon, I may upgrade to a new frame. What, dear? When pigs fly where?

In 1997, the wife, bless her heart, let me do what I consider is the ultimate upgrade. Got a custom 1997 Y-50. Built it with (original wife-approved specs):

• Full XTR groupo. I like "groupo" 'cause it sounds cool.
• Bontrager ceramic rims w/asymmetric rear, much like my own.
• Bontrager handlebar.
• Bontrager 135mm, 9-degree stem.
• Bontrager barends.
• Chris King rasta head set, mon.
• WTB Ti-rail saddle.
• RockShox Judy SL fork w/80mm travel ki.t
• N.A.D.S. Seatpost. With any luck they weren't actually on the seatpost. Think about it.
• Stratos Strata Shock Pro

In short, a little over 23 lb. of awesome bike! The wife didn't talk to me for a very long time, but she got over it. I hope. "Gee, Honey! I need to stay in shape, don't I?" "...and what's wrong with your old bike, huh?" "Nothing! It's just that I can get a better workout with a lighter bike!" She didn't buy it.

I'm still working on it, though. Here it is, the year 2000 and all, and I should be on the latest super-technology high-end ti-carbon-aerospace-stealth-supersecret-antiballistic superbike. However, that's the same line I used to get the Y-50, so I'm still trying to think of some better way to describe how my next bike won't EVER go obsolete because it is so advanced, it is actually from the future. My wife says "Dream on!" I am.

= Crashed, damaged, wore out, or otherwise had really good cause to replace since last update. There was no question about it. Needed. Yup. Really needed. Couldn't live without them. (you reading this, honey?)

• The XTR Shifters finally broke - just the left (front) one. The rear one had a couple of "out of body" experiences with the shifter cable. One time it happened at the end of the Porcupine Trail in Moab. Had to single-speed it back to camp. So, had to replace them (can't get just one).
• XT Shifters (no levers) - the XTRs were sweet, but the XT's are much less expensive. These are just to hold me over until the new bike gets here. "What new bike???" Oh, yes, dear. I've been meaning to talk to you about that.
• Avid Single Digit 7 levers - "Honey, did you know that the shifters don't have brake levers any more? Gotta buy them separate now. Really. No, that must be a mistake in the catalog. Would I lie to you?" Got the levers anyway.
• 9-speed driveline. During the same conversation about the brake levers "...and they don't make 8-speed parts anymore". Got the 9-speed stuff too. Sure glad the dogs don't mind me sleeping with them! It'll pass. It almost always does.
• The original Stratos Strata Shock Pro bit the dust. Stratos came through gave me a new shock. The old shock locked out at full stroke. Made for an interesting ride, though. Hit a bump, come off the seat, and presto! Instant hardtail! Hit another bump and come down hard on the seat and whadya know? It's a full suspension bike again! The new shock's much better! NO WAIT! NOW THE NEW SHOCK DOES IT TOO! Nuts. Back to Stratos, fixed it for free, back on the bike. NUTS! HOLD THE PRESSES! "Huh? What presses? What are you yelling about down there?" Sorry,dear. Just wanted to say I traded the auto-lockout shock (yes, it happened yet again) for (see next).

• New Stratos Helix Pro with lockout. WOW! A coil-over, oil damped, air-assisted, remote lockout shock! Initial impressions are that this baby rocks! Infinite adjustment, including on-the-fly compression damping to the point of total lockout - and so far only when I command it (see Strata Pro story above). Stratos has a pretty good trade in policy, so I decided to can the repairs and try something new. I like the feel of coil-overs, and this one has the added benefit of having an adjustable air cushion to ramp up the spring rate at the end of the stroke. A lot of techno-babble for "Sweet"!

• N.A.D.S. Seatpost. Bent out of shape. So was the seatpost.
• New Thomson Elite 410mm seatpost. Sweet! Strong! Long!
• New WTB SST Saddle. Just like the old one, expect it's clean and doesn't have any rips and doesn't squeek. Well, it was that way for the first week, anyway.
• RaceFace Compact Chainrings - 20, 32, 44. No. You aren't seeing things. Just the Chainrings - 58mm/94mm spacing. On the XTR standard-sized 180mm crank. "How'd you do that?" you might ask. I might answer "with an Avitar Standaptor standard to compact converter". You might reply "Oh. I see. And how does it work?". And I might get upset at all of your stupid questions tell you to shutup. And you might say "Back off, grandpa! Who rides with a 20-tooth granny anyway - wuss!". And I'd say "Ouch! The truth hurts!".
• The standard XTR chainrings started to shift very rough. I guess that's what 3000+ miles does to the driveline. Also replaced the chain and cassette. Had a QBP Engagement Ring 22-tooth inner. It was cracked in three places (four fewer than my skull). Was the source of some major creaking sounds when I was on a long climb (not to be confused with the moaning sounds coming from me).
• Marzocchi Z2 BAM XC - This fork is a little heavier than I would like. But than again, so am I. It much stiffer than the RockShoxs of past (except the double/triple Judy XLC). It is very well damped and oh so plush! It rattles a little on the fast rough stuff, though.
• The RockShox Judy SL fork first blew its top, then blew its oil. On one occasion, I was cruising down a fire road and did a little air. On the landing the top cap on the right leg came off with such force that it drew blood when it hit my face! Took a while to find all of the internals - some of which were amazingly far into the woods. The second major failure was the cartridge. I didn't know it was under pressure until it blew - I mean really blew. Like knocking the top off of a fire hydrant. I contacted RockShox about this and they said I was too heavy and too aggressive for their forks. OK. That's why I bought the Marzocchi.
• Me. (almost) Did a major face-plant that set me back a bit, but the bike came out OK! The front wheel broke free on a jump landing at about 30 mph. Turns out that a quick-release spring on one side got wrapped around the axle and interfered with proper closing. This probably happened taking on and off the bike rack a hundred times. I thought I wiped out the fork, wheel, cranks, rear triangle, front brakes, and more.

  Had a hard time explaining this one to the wife! "Gee, honey. I always wanted a helicopter ride!" "Look! I've finally dropped that extra five pounds by removing this unneeded skin from my face!" "Hey! I finally got that nose job I always wanted!" She didn't think any one of these were funny. She has absolutely no sense of humor. What, dear? Funny how I'm sleeping where tonight?

  Bottom line of bike damage:

  - Front wheel slightly out of true. No big deal, came right back!
  - Crank was bent - until I removed the front wheel from behind it! Sprang right back without a hint of bending. Thank you, XTR!
  - Front brakes only needed readjusting. Again, thank you, XTR!
  - Had a couple of bent links in the chain. Needed replacement anyway.
  - The bottle cage was destroyed. Won't go broke fixing that!
  - Had one small paint scratch on the frame. This meant there was structural damage to the frame and I better not take any chances and should just replace the frame with a newer model with new geometry and a Fox shock and... "Hold it right there, buster!" Oh, yeah. I already told the wife that Trek said the frame was OK. Nuts.
  - Replaced two damaged spokes, but on the rear wheel. Couldn't figure that one out, unless they were already bad before the crash.
  - ICON Ernie Bars and Maggie Ends (weird names, huh?). Replaced the handlebars and barends, just in case. The barends took most of the beating (besides me) and were bent. I figured the handlebars must have taken some of the force in an unfriendly way, so better safe than sorry. To bad this argument didn't work on the frame.

  I told the wife "see what quality equipment does for you? A major crash and less than 100 bucks to fix it!". She said "Then you must not be of very high quality!" I think she said that because so far the medical bills are over $17,000! At least I think that's what she was referring to.

  Ah! That's what insurance is for. And besides, I heal, the bike doesn't!

• Fox Coil-over rear shock with rebound adjustment. Plush. Heavy. Bullet proof. Did I say "heavy"? I meant to say "way too heavy".
• Chains - see Y-22 commentary on cassettes and chains.

Other than that, over 2800 miles and nothing else has broken! Almost. The XTR V-Brakes were a pain in the butt. They were very loose and set up a resonance at about 25 mph. Also, under extreme downhill pressure, they tend to ride up and hit the rubber if I don't set them low enough. There's about 1/8 inch of upward play in each one, so given a slim wheel, this could mean trouble. I have asked the wife, but she just says "must be a loose screw". I think she was talking about the bike. I put in a "tune-up kit". Helps some.

Other than that, they stopped great. Single-digit (or "one finger" if you don't know what a digit is, and not the one you are thinking of) stopping power. Sometimes I use two fingers (or "digits"). That must make me ambidextrous, right? Or is it "left"? Or, well, nevermind.

Check out my really old bike!

Serving suggestion

These are "upgrade" specs on my 1995 TREK Y-22. Every single part listed was absolutely necessary to be replaced. Really. No, really. My wife says they better be, so really - it's necessary (wink wink)...

I changed the Y-22 to be a combination of a recreational rider and a downhill bike, so that I may ride freely wherever I want. Hey! "Ride", "free". "Free", "ride". Hum. Too bad Cannondale tried to trademark "Freeride"! Snowboarders have been doing it for years. Any skier knows about Warren Miller's Freerider films, and I'm pretty sure those aren't Cannondale skis! For those of you too young to remember that little snafu, forget it. What's a "snafu"? You really are young, aren't you.

Before you get all huffy (as in upset at the freeride thing, not becoming a junk bike you throw around at bike festivals), I'm all for aggressive cross-country riding. But I'm also for enjoying the great outdoors in less of an attack position all of the time. The free ride thing is really what mountain biking is all about (and has been since old Ignaz was around).

I also liked taking the bike to Sunrise Park Resort. This bike wasn't the premier downhill rig, but it did pretty well. The chairlift crew has made several comments about how much lighter this bike is than a full-blown downhill monster. It's much easier on their backs and the bike suits me just fine. And I hardly ever got passed by those 8 inch 50 pound wonders. Or is it I hardly ever passed them? It's my story, so I definitely hardly ever got passed. That's it.

With that in mind, here is a tour of the Y-22 parts, past and (sorta) present:

• Titec Hellbent Seatpost. Like the layed back style. Makes a difference on the ski hill.
• Hayes Disk Brakes (Front) They work really well - as good as my XTRs! (There's a commentary hidden in that last statement). Hayes screwed up an sent me a "banjo" fitting with no hydraulic fluid hole. Before I figured that out it was something like: "WHAT THE *$#@ IS WRONG WITH THIS #*@&$ THING! WHY CAN'T I BLEED THIS %$*@ BRAKE!?" My wife said "Excuse me?" I said "Gosh darn. I must have a defective part." She said "That's what I thought you said". You get the picture. I had a heck of a time keeping pressure in the system. No apparent leaks. Hayes says "just re-bleed the brakes. They'll be fine." Yup. Real fine. 40 MPH down the ski hill on rear brakes only. Cool. P.S. re-bleeding the brakes does work - it just takes patience, skill, and a good demonstration from the Hayes rep.
• Tektro Brake Booster (Rear) Replaced the STX-RC brake with a used LX V-Brake. The seat stays bowed a little (a lot, actually). The brake booster makes the back behave very much like the disk brakes up front! Except they work without needing to be bled! Very cool! Now if I can figure out how to go a a ride without being bled...
• XT Shifter Pods. Needed to separate the brake levers (Hayes Hydraulic front, LX rear). Maybe it's because I've had the old ones for so long, but these babies shift S-W-E-E-T!
• DT HUGI front and rear hubs. Needed them for the disk brake. Really. Front AND rear. "Wait a minute! I thought you were only putting a disk brake on the front!" Hey! I gotta have a matching set so the bike rides right! Right? Funny how she doesn't buy that load of, well, hub talk.
• Bontrager Maveric Asymetric rims. Work good. What else can you say about a rim?
• New XT Rear Derailleur after ripping (literally) the old one out on the trail. One side of a link in the chain broke and caught the derailleur on a power stroke. It took out the derailleur (ripped clean out of the dropout!) and bent several spokes ('cause that's the path it choose to take). I did the single-speed thing five miles back to civilization. Too bad Trek waited until the '97 models to start putting in replaceable dropouts.
• Several New XT Cassettes. Currently using a 11-30 unit. Old ones wore out. I've finally learned: if you follow the manufactures recommended chain-wear procedures, you need to replace the cassette with the chain! Unless, of course, you like to accelerate the wear and tear on your brand spankin'-new chain. The other option is to replace your chain OFTEN! As in before it shows wear. You can buy a lot of chains for the price of a good cassette.
• XT RapidFire+ shifters. I'm not a big GripShift fan. Gotta ask yourself, "why are so many OEMs going back to Rapid Fire shifters?" If you answer yourself, you are indeed weird.
• Chris King Headset (the stock Tioga went very quick). I have some road rash scars on the headset. The Chris King people said "no problemo! Just send it in and we'll make it like new!" Pretty cool. Until I realized I can't ride by bike if they have my headset! So, I guess I'll live with the road rash.
• TNT HDS Rear Hub. Went through three hubs. Originally replaced it after going through the LX original and ATAC replacement hub. I have replaced the bearings in the TNT three times (one drive-side and two complete sets). The guys at TNT thought my stock LX skewer was putting too much pressure on the bearings and suggested I try a titanium skewer. Sounds like a good excuse for another chi-chi!
  TNT thought I was putting on too much weight. It hasn't slowed me down much, but I'm noticing more broken parts. Correlation? Naw!
  I've since given this hub to my son. He tacoed his wheel and needed a replacement. He's MUCH lighter than I am and is still having problems with the hub.
• ATAC Front Hub (LX exploded). Had to replace the bearings once, but I am amazed at how long that hub lasted.
• Mavic 217 SUP Wheels. I won't say what happened to my first set! You know, one of those JRA stories! Actually the Trek Matrix rims worked well. I just had a tendency to roll the tire off of the rim in a crash. After the 3rd time, my Trek dealer said "Hum". Then he said "I dunno". Then he said "Here, try these". Worked great until they started to show signs of wear. Like right through the sidewalls!
• 98 RockShox Judy XL w/102 mm travel. Replaces the old RockShox Judy XC w/75mm (3-inch) travel. Absolutely, positively, had to get this fork. Partly my fault - see Maintenance tip below.
  
  The Judy cartridge on the XL lasted two years! Wow! Then it blew in the usual grandiose RockShox fashion - oil all over my bike, my shoes, my rim (thank God for the Hayes brakes!), the trail, the truck, and places I probably haven't found yet. It's quite an effective means of controlling dust!
  On the old one (the XC), I tried the new alloy damper cartridge, courtesy of RockShox. This was the 3rd Judy cartridge and guess what? This one leaked too!! Creates all kinds of ugly spooge on the end of the fork! Like the guy from RockShox said, I'm too heavy and too agressive for their forks. Geez, guys! Do you only make forks for 120 lb beginners???
  Maintenance tip: clean the fork internals often! I neglected the right leg (left one got plenty of attention with all of those blown cartridges). Kinda got a little corroded in there. Had to disassemble completely, wire brush and sand the parts smooth, polished them up the best I could, and used liberal amounts of Teflon grease. Damn! Worked great! However, I still used it as an excuse for a new fork! Actually, it worked well for a short time, then I had to put it to sleep. It was painless.
  Replace the XC RockShox cartridge with a Risse Gem cartridge - Sweet ride! Rebound and compression damping! No messy oil spew! No kidding!
  Also replaced the XC bumpers with Speed Springs (Medium) - Just one word: GREAT! Best improvement to the Judy you can make (except for the damper cartridge). By the way, in case you were wondering, the 3rd RockShox cartridge did the Exxon Valdez thing long before the Speed Springs were in place.
  A buddy was riding the guts (GEM + Speed Springs) and loved 'em! But alas, he sold the bike and now someone else is drooling over them.

• IBIS Ahead Mountain Stem Short (90mm) version.
• Club Roost Comp II DH High-Rise Bars. Being upright and back has really changed my outlook on life. And the trails.
• Shimano DX Pedals. Big platform. Easy entry. Pretty cool.
• Was riding Kore G.A.S.S. Pedals. They are lighter and simpler (about 320 grams). I liked 'em. Actually, I liked 'em a lot! Took a little getting used to. I had been using SPD M737 pedals (remember the good 'ol days?). Too bad the cleats aren't compatible. The only problem with the Kore is that they don't like to be pounded on the rocks. I did a power stroke on a technical section and made metal-to-rock contact. The pedal disintegrated - the casting broke.
• SDG Ventura Comp Ti Saddle. The standard Vetta TT didn't survive the crashes. Neither did the SP replacement. Oh. Now I remember! That's "rubber side down!"
• Standard Shimano 22, 32, 42 XT Chainrings.  Had a 20-tooth Granny. Helped on those long climbs! I ride with some bozos who only have single 32-tooth chainrings (something about "training"). I had a 20. They have a 32. They outclimbed me. I'm a wimp. Yup. They are trained. Also, was using a 30-tooth middle ring "just because". Was using a well-worn 32-tooth chainring. You can tell when your chain won't let go and gets caught up in the chainrings. Then you say "this sucks". You know where this one is going. The big ring was a 44-tooth QBP Engagement Ring. Was feeling the need for speed! It was a little hard to shift from the 30 to the 44-tooth job, but what the hey, as long as it worked consistently. Actually, having said all of this, I'm glad to be back to standard Shimano fare. It works soooooo much better!
• TNT 180 mm HDS Cranks. A little hard on the knees at first, but now I love 'em. Being nearly 6'5", I get two questions asked of me often:
  1) How come you don't ride with longer cranks? (from the ATB crowd), and
  2) How come you don't play basketball? (from everyone else).
  Number 1 is handled by the 180mm cranks. Number 2 is "Get off my back already! I just don't!".
• Chains - been through a lot. Sachs seem to last a little longer than Shimano. Want to buy some slightly longer chains?
• New model TNT XLS Bottom Bracket. The stock LX unit finally went. I think this was the longest-lasting moving part on the bike, besides the suspension pivots (lifetime bushing, so I'm told. See Urgent Attention items below). The TNT BB was much lighter, too. It creeked a bit under heavy pressure, though. I've tried all of the suggested fixes and still got an occasional groan when I hammered up a steep obstacle. I guess I would groan too if I had a 200 lb. lard-butt mashing on my crank! Nothing seems to get rid of the noise. TNT ended up giving me (for a small price) a new-model TNT Bottom Bracket after I quick-swapped a new UN-51 BB and the noise went away. They suggested the TNT BB might have been moving around in the threads! Hummmm. Now they are taking up space at a land fill.
• Shimano UN-72 Bottom Bracket. At last! Reliability again!
• Cable housings - does anybody make a good cable housing? I seem to go through a lot. My experiences with Gore RideOn hasn't been all that good either. That reminds me, my shifter housing is toast again.
• Slick Whips cables. Along with new housing and Mister Crud, cleaned up the shifting a lot! Wore out. Put regular cables on. Can't tell the difference.
• Mister Crud Cog Hog rear derailleur thingy. This thing really works! Smoothed out the shifting a bunch! And I don't even use Grip Shift!
• Many different tires. Currently using WTB Tyranoraptor treads. None seem to last long in the rocky, thorny Southwest, but the WTB's seem to be holding up well. Also had good luck with Bontragers. My current rate of replacement is about once every other month or so, sometime because of wear, mostly because of ripped-out sidewalls.
• Tubes - don't ask! I'm just glad there's Slime! I "commute" to work 12 miles through the desert. My current record is seven (yes, 7) flats in one trip (one way)! Even the Slime didn't help that day! Now I'm using Slim Liners. Work OK but a bit heavy.
• New Pivots. Yup. When a riding partner said "is your bike always this happy?" I said "Huh?" He said "your bike's rear-end is waging like the tail of a happy dog!". I knew right then and there that I might have to maybe check out something sorta when I get around to it, someday. Well, I replaced them and confirmed, sure enough, the pivots on Trek bikes do wear out.
• The rest of the bike is still original equipment (but I'm working on it).

You might ask yourself "That's a lot of parts!  Doesn't this jerk maintain his bike"? Religiously. Cleaned and lubed after every ride (no high-pressure water, except on the pedals). Check the bearings and bolt tightness often. True the wheels (if needed) at least once a month. Burn incense at foot of bike every Friday evening. Tried to sacrifice my first-born son, but that's because he took 3rd in a race and got a trophy. I didn't.

Oh, yeah. Did I mention I'm nearly 6'5", weigh 200+ lb. (working on the "+" part), and like to hammer? Think that might have something to do with the number and frequency of replacement parts? I also used to ride at least 40 trail miles a week (a little bit down from the 50+ per week a year before that, more than the 20+ miles a week I ride now). Normal "wear and tear"?

My wife thinks I spend way too much time with the bikes, both on and off. I did point out to her I don't take either of the bikes to bed with me! Of course, there's not enough room already with her, the two dogs, and me.

She also thinks I spend way too much on the "old bike" - both literally and financially. I remind her that having a backup bike is as necessary as having a pair of shoes! What good is a single shoe? She doesn't get the analogy. My quick wit isn't as sharp as it used to be since I fell on my head again. My brain pan has taken a beating and I tend to forget what I'm talking about and what's for supper?

Other bikes in the house include:

• Trek Y-11 - Chris's (my son) cross country bike. 737 clipless pedals, a Cane Creek AD8 rear shock, and a custom rear-triangle polish job (was painted) are about the only mods so far. Lots of repair stuff, like bent derailleur hanger, taco'ed wheel, mashed rear derailleur (related to bent hanger, no doubt), countless other tweaks. That boy is hard on bikes! (Just like the old man. Brings a tear to my eye!)
• Trek 830, Ladies - Connie's (the better half) bike. Mods include paniers, a Mag 21 shock (overkill, but it was free), suspension seat post, and a host of other "necessities". Sold it to help pay for her next bike.
• Trek Y-Glide - I found how to keep buying stuff for my bikes - buy the wife a new bike! Simple! Got her the Y-Glide to cruise around the trails. That ought to keep her off of my back for a while. Uh. Honey? Did you hear that? Am I reading out loud again? I'm sorry, I meant to say: "we will live in blissful harmony on the trails of life". Or some crap like that. Oh, nuts, I did it again.
• Schwinn Super Stock 3 BMX Cruiser - Chris's (again) BMX race bike. Mods include Tektro V-Brakes and Bear Trap pedals. Sold it to help pay for his car habit. Damn. They grow up fast, don't they?

"What dear? Time to come to bed already? I'm not done writing about my bikes! What time is it, anyway? It's that late!??"

The preceding is the basis of my standard excuse of why I always get my butt stomped on a group ride.

P.S. The wife and I really do get along good. Any reference to a domineering, overbearing person is strictly for entertainment purposes. Hers, not mine. Dang! She's reading this! Let go of my arrrm.!l dodgiocp d o gotta go.l....

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