Bicycles!

[Eye-Q]

There are some dealers/repair shops which specialize in direct-to-consumer bikes, there is a bike service finder on the Canyon website as well. Velofix is the company in LA specifically named by Canyon, they even come to you instead of you having to bring the bike to a fixed location.

That said, I think it's not ideal to buy from a foreign direct-to-consumer brand, I wouldn't buy let's say an Orbea since they are based in Spain and there might be differences in handling disputes because they are from a different country. The thing is that the Grail has some special parts, for example said double decker bar and the accompanying cap on the steerer tube. If you manage to break one of those the delivery time can be longer than from a domestic company or for standard components which are mostly available off the shelf. Additionally, you can't customize anything at the time of ordering so if something doesn't fit, for example you want wider bars or a shorter/longer stem you're out of luck. With the Grail it's even more extreme since you can't just replace the bar with a different one.

I can only tell from the experience with the Grail: when I ordered it on April 10th 2020 the estimated delivery time was sometime around the end of July or the beginning of August IIRC, but I received it on May 29th so that was a pleasant surprise. When I cycled through Koblenz (their home base) last year I went to their factory outlet and tested some other bikes in anticipation of the bike leasing scheme at work which should have started in January, but up until now hasn't.

 

[altoid]

I've definitely seen people riding around on Canyons, so it's certainly doable even here! I imagine things will get better over time as the model is clearly appealing to many consumers.

What really ended the search for me was a really good deal I was offered on something just outside my price range that brings it down to within it. It's hard not to be swayed by such an opportunity when there's no clear favorite anyway. Update to come later today, hopefully…

 

[eizbaer]

Update to come later today, hopefully…

Tease!!!
Re canyon in the us: As always, it’s perfectly fine until there’s something wrong with it. See my/our experience / dumpster fire with the Babboe…
Even having a „local“ shop in that case doesn’t help one bit, because they’d probably „fix it“ over the course of a few weeks or so. But we need the thing every other day at least… so that’s just no use. Ffs.

 

[altoid]

Fine, I’ll spill now that it’s official: Trek Checkpoint SL5

 

[altoid]

Still need to take off the reflectors and mount the bike computer, but she’s looking good!

 

[altoid]

Moving my custom bar end plugs made me even happier.

 

[eizbaer]

Wohoo, finally managed a real nice fall with the cargo bike... luckily after I had dropped of my kid at the daycare.

ANOTHER ONE!
of course if you’re happy you’re past the problematic point from that last time and actually back on a proper public road (not some cycle path, who cares about those…) the stupid ice creeps up on you! Again nice long slide until I finally ended up spreadeagled across the road… in a roundabout!
Oh well, nothing hurts, nothing broken, so whatever. But I somehow suspect they cheaped out on the tires on the stupid karenmobile as well… they work well on dry tarmac, but on nothing else. Hmphhhff. Honestly, a slightly muddy gravel road (not trail or anything)? Babboe Dorifto!

 

[eizbaer]

BABBOE STRIKES AGAIN!

That is the saddle clamp. The bolts have sheared clean off. They’re a weird imperial size it seems, but the part isn’t branded or marked anywhere in any way… so only way to find out is by trial and error. Thanks for that, assholes.

 

[Eye-Q]

If you want and the diameter fits I have a 27.2 mm carbon fibre seatpost laying around...

 

[eizbaer]

Cheers, I actually have a spare one of those as well from some old bike. but it’s 34.9mm, so my wife’s regular bike had to temporarily donate… funnily enough, the Babboe seems about half a mm too large (or the wife’s liv/giant is too small?) so I had to bodge it a bit with a few layers of tape. Ahh yes. Hmpf. We‘ll see, maybe I can find some bolts quite quickly, that would probably be best… the regular hardware store was no use.

One thing it does say on the clamp is to tighten too 12 Nm, which is… weird? And quite a lot for what’s very close but not quite an M6 bolt (I suspect 1/4“ for 6.35mm). Max explain why the Chinesium bolts decided to snap.

 

[altoid]

I have many updates, but they’re mostly insignificant, so have fun with this.

———

I thought I’d mount my Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT (I have the monochrome v1), but the cabling makes that area a little crowded:

Not to be deterred by having to wait for parts for a different mount, I moved it to the other side, where there’s a bit more room:

Because it looks rather silly, I eventually decided to just mount it on the correct side and let the cables push against it. It’s fine—I was just being precious about my shiny new precious at first.

Look at the bike on the stand, where the Cannondale used to be:

So pretty.

Over the weekend I went for a super short ride with regular shoes, mostly to adjust the saddle a bit and start getting a feel for the bike while I wait for my new cycling footwear:

And then said footwear arrived:

Lake MX 238 Gravel in Beetle colorway.

I tried filling up the included roll-up tool bag (which goes into the integrated storage compartment inside the down tube) with the stuff I actually might need (Stan’s Dart Tool, pump/inflator, CO2 cartridge), but it didn’t all quite fit:

I’ve ordered a much smaller inflator and will forgo the pump on daily rides. It’ll come along on longer adventures, when I’m likely to want more options and have the inclination to bring a bag of some sort.

Mounting the Wahoo RPM Cadence Sensor turned out to be tricky, as it’s a bit too thick for the super tight clearance between the inside of either crank and relevant chain stay:

The space inside the crank is too wide for the rubber housing I’m using, so I need to find the 3M tape it came with and try wedging just the sensor itself in there.

This is a byproduct of design focused on supporting a whole lot more tire width than anything I’ve ridden before.

Today I went for a “real” ride:



The seat post keeps sinking into the seat tube, which I’m not entirely sure about. It may not have the correct grease that carbon needs to stick properly, or I may not have torqued it correctly, or I may just be a bit too hefty at the moment—I weigh some 40 lb more than Trek states is the maximum, and that seems like it could be just enough to avoid catastrophic frame explosions but enable silly failure modes. If I can’t do anything about it, I’ll just continue losing weight and trying occasionally, and I should be OK in a few weeks, hopefully, haha.

And while that’s a bit of a bummer, the bike still looks incredible to me, especially at my regular photo op spot:

Oh yeah, and I got proper cycling glasses, Melon Optics Alleycat:

This is an underrated move, as they sit much higher and wrap around eye sockets more than regular glasses, which means sunlight can’t peek through from the top and wind doesn’t dry out my eyes. I’ll wear contacts for now, and possibly get the prescription insert some day.

I’ve been told that as a(n eventual) gravel rider I must finally surrender to my tattoo aspirations and get some ink, especially on these bare legs, so I inadvertently started with everyone’s favorite cyclist tattoo:

To close this out, I’m very excited to put some serious miles on the bike. It soaks up road imperfections like a college freshman downs vodka shots, what with the tire setup (40 mm @ 50 PSI vs my Cannondale’s 32 mm @ ~100 PSI) and frame (CF + passive suspension + relaxed ergos). The GRX drivetrain with road ratios is perfect for my needs. And new toys are always exciting. Hopefully I can figure out the seat post issue this weekend and start building a good habit.

 

[altoid]

Wow, me again? It’s almost as if most of you have winter, or lives, or something. It’s actually been quite miserable here for the most part, so I’ve done more “wrenching” and shopping than riding, but I did manage some of the latter as well!

Before we get to the pictures, which are obviously the funnest part, some quick thoughts now that I’ve done a slightly more serious effort, largely summarized by this: the gravel setup is pretty kickass. Seriously, roads around here are pretty shit in some places, and this bitch don’t give a fuck. I’ve always habitually avoided rough patches as I ride, mostly out of fear of flats but also to avoid pulverizing my taint, but on this ride I found myself caring a lot less. No, I didn’t haphazardly ride through potholes that would unsettle a Raptor, but the various gaps and crests on the road just didn’t matter that much, and it was quite enjoyable. As someone who’s always run as much tire as possible—I maxed out the Cannondale at 32 mm as soon as I got new rubber—this pleases me greatly. I imagine I’m sacrificing some performance to do so, but I couldn’t care less for the kind of recreational riding I currently do.

That said, part of why I’ve wanted a gravel bike since shortly after I bought the Cannondale (basically as soon as I learned about them) was to be able to get the best of both worlds. With two ezpz through-axles, swapping wheels is far less of a chore, and having a dedicated road set to complement a dedicated off-road set isn’t a ridiculous idea at all. Some decent 700c wheels suitable for 32 mm Gatorskins and a 650b pair for something knobbly that’s close to the 2.1" max could be the best of both worlds. The slighly knobbly 40 mm stock set feels like a reasonable compromise for now, though.

As excited as I am to be riding again, I’ve got two goals I want to work toward:

1. The Long Beach to San Diego century I’ve done (twice) is a lot of fun, and actually pretty easy—some 3,300 ft (1,000 m) of climbing over the distance—so I’d like to do it again. On neither of my two tries was I able to actually ride up the fucking Torrey Pines, and it would be nice to do that too. I’m thinking this is a post-summer adventure, to avoid riding in too much heat and have some time to train.

2. I signed up for AIDS/LifeCycle in 2020 and then the world ended. I didn’t hate it, as I basically didn’t train at all up until the shutdown a mere three months before the event, but it would be cool to do. I’d like to give it a serious try in 2024. It’s kind of a big ride, so it warrants some preparation given my (lack of) fitness.

———

First and foremost: some carbon gripper sorted out the sliding seat post—it didn’t budge after more than an hour of riding. This is the stuff:

Alongside it I got this GT85-like, but haven’t used it yet:

I also accomplished something I never quite managed on the Cannondale: I mounted my California bear stem cap! Behold:

It looks great paired up with my bar end plugs:

I relocated the cadence sensor and it’s holding up fine so far:

And then I went for a ride:

I left the bike dirty like the monster that I am:

I promise I’ll be better about cleaning it in the future. And I ordered a bunch of crap to make that easier.

 

[DaBoom]

Wow, me again? It’s almost as if most of you have winter, or lives, or something. It’s actually been quite miserable here for the most part, so I’ve done more “wrenching” and shopping than riding, but I did manage some of the latter as well!

Like that makes anything different (for some random idiots). All I do is occasional commuting though, so I don't see it that worthy of documenting.

But it can be scenic at times.

 

[Eye-Q]

But ... but ... but ... you can't commute when it has been snowing ... or raining ... or when the forecast is unfavourable! That's against the law (or something)!!11!eleven

I just had a couple of unfortunate days: on Saturday 18th I gave my gravel bike to the repair shop so they'd change the bottom bracket and the bearings in the rear wheel. They estimated about two weeks since (surprise) they're drowning in work and it's first come - first serve. Since then I used the cargo bike which I mainly use anyway, but now I used it for leisure rides as well. This Monday (27th) I wanted to the Sharnebeck twin ship lift, but on the way a spoke snapped. Good thing I still have my trekking bike which I bought almost six years ago when I started cycling again. This way I was able to strip down the wheel (took off the tire and the brake disc) and yesterday brought it to the same repair shop I had my gravel bike. Fortunately these kinds of work they do immediately, it helped that I stripped down the wheel so they just had to cut the spoke to the correct length, put a thread on it, install it and true the wheel. Today I received the good news that the gravel bike was ready as well so I picked it up again. Now I own three fully working bicycles again...

 

[altoid]

That looks gorgeous! That said, the chain looks pretty slack to me…

Sharnebeck twin ship lift

That looks super cool, but this caught my attention:

• Construction cost: 152 million Deutsche Mark
• Source of power: Per trough, 4 electric motors of 160 kW (210 hp) each, giving a total of 640 kW (860 hp)

Seems like a better deal to just buy an electric hypercar at that point.

 

[eizbaer]

Seems like a better deal to just buy an electric hypercar at that point.

JUST JUMP IT!

 

[Eye-Q]

Seems like a better deal to just buy an electric hypercar at that point.

Well, when you consider 640 kW is enough to move around 11800 metric tons, moving just two metric tons (including a max of two humans) with 640 kW is pretty inefficient. That said, it needs just 640 kW to move since the troughs and counterweights weigh almost the same so you mostly have to overcome the friction.
Regarding the costs: try getting an electric hypercar from 1974, you won't be able to buy one, even with that kind of money.
Tomorrow I'll cycle there with the newly repaired Grail so I'll post some pictures in the awesome boats thread.

 

[altoid]

In addition to all of the above, I also ordered and received the following:

• SeaSucker Talon + window lock combo
• Bontrager TLR Tire Sealant
• Stan’s NoTubes valve core remover
• Stan’s NoTubes presta valve cores
• Whisky tubeless valves
• Timber bell
• Muc-Off High Performance Waterless Wash
• Muc-Off Disc Brake Covers
• Muc-Off Drivetrain Cleaner
• Muc-Off C3 Dry Ceramic Lube
• multi-purpose sprayer
• buttload of microfiber towels

I believe this makes me rather well prepared to actually use and clean my bike with some regularity.

In all seriousness, I’m hoping waterless wash + MO94 proves to be enough for a quick clean after weekday morning rides before work, with more detailed cleaning to come after longer weekend rides. It’s certainly more ambitious than anything I’ve ever accomplished before, so we’ll see.

Now for the weekend to arrive…

 

[eizbaer]

In addition to all of the above, I also ordered and received the following:

I also recently (after my shop of choice had a livestream about tubeless setup) got everything i'd still need to try out tubeless on my bike. as canyon did put TL wheels, TL tires ... and then said screw it and stuffed a tube in there.
stans sealant, stans sealant syringe to reduce mess, and actual tubeless valves. which was a bit of an issue. as my bike has 62mm wheels, it'd be sensible to have at least 75mm valves... which are simply rare or not available. I ended up with a nice red set of muc-off 80mm valves, which may actually match the bike nicely, but which would never have been my first choice. they really were my only choice at that point. oh well, we'll see how it goes, when i can actually be bothered to take care of thing.
I also still have a new bottom bracket, chain and cassette for my indoor / trainer biken lying around somewhere. chain and cassette are probably still fine (despite the fact that they have ~8000 km on them), as they're always sparkly clean. yes i did check, the chain wear tool says everything is fine, but at 10kkm I'll probably still change for the hell of it... however, the bottom bracket is pretty f***ed, since it collects sweat like crazy despite the fact that i tried to seal it up with a bunch of grease from the outside. I just hope the cranks haven't formed any permanent attachment to the thing because of corrosion, but at least it's shimano, so the axle is steel and I don't end up with the unholy union of steel and aluminium

 

[altoid]

canyon did put TL wheels, TL tires ... and then said screw it and stuffed a tube in there.

As I understand it, this is common, as shipping tubeless setups has its own challenges. I believe my Trek was the same story, but the shop actually changed the setup to tubeless before selling it to me. I could be wrong, though—I’m new here after all.