Friday, May 22, 2009
Marin Hamilton 29er
I have always preferred 29 inch/700c wheels on bikes for the road, probably partly out of habit
and partly because I am 6'4", in any case I am really pleased with the current popularity/fad of
29 inch wheels. Bikes as a whole have gotten hugely expensive, granted the parts are top notch
and miles ahead of the old days, but still, even a decent starter bike costs a ton new. Part of the
problem is probably the complexity of modern bikes, with indexed shifting, a berjillion gear hub
and a level of precision that would have been unavailable to all but the top racing teams 15 years
ago. I don't know about you, but as a semi out of shape middle age dude, I don't use half of the
gears on my bike and probably use closer to 1/4 of them (keep in mind I am in a congested
urban environment that is not too hilly). I got my bike for about 1/3 of retail price because it
has a large frame, was a 2 year old model on clearance and the dealer was discontinuing that
manufacturer. What I am getting at is that I never would have ponied up full boat for this bike.
All of this brings me to the modern 29er, the Marin Hamilton is a single speeder, but it has a low
enough gearing that it could probably meet most of my modest needs and it's pretty cheap at
a tick over 400ドル. The only thing it's lacking IMHO is a multi speed hub, in this case the Shimano
8 speed sealed hub. Seriously, add that modest gearing and it will easily cover all my needs.
Well, almost. The handlebars need work. Straight handlebars suck as far as I am concerned,
there are just too few hand position/riding posture options to make them comfortable. I prefer
Nitto Albatross style bars, which are remarkably similar to old skool 3 speed bars, either that or
Japanese style mustache handlebars (which I have not tried but look promising). So, add the
Albatross and the gear hub and u are in business. For those of you generationally challenged,
here is a picture of modern Albatross bars.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Rohloff Speedhub 14 speed bicycle hub
Like many folks growing up in the 70's and 80's, the last time I rode a bike with a shifting hub it
was on an English 3 speed and it was not pleasant. They were probably poorly adjusted and
in need of some service, but they shifted terribly and I never gave them a second chance or
thought. Well, as it happens, some folks have been giving it a lot of thought and the current
state of the art as nearly as I can tell is this incredible German made 14 speed hub. Though I
in general try to avoid excess complexity, a derailleur setup is not prize in the simplicity dept
either. The Rohloff has been out for at least a decade and by all accounts is extremely reliable.
The hub is completely sealed and purportedly maintenance free, which a derailleur is definitely not.
Unfortunately, all of this comes at a price of around 1,300 $ US, which in the high end bike world
is not unheard of, but for a casual user it's a bit high. You can learn more about this hub and
practically everything bike at http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/ . Harris cyclery and the late
Sheldon Brown are legendary in the local bike community and their site is a terrific resource.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
House Keeping Camp Yosemite National Park
I have to say, I have camped in a lot of places, but House Keeping camp is my favorite of all.
It's not really camping, per-se, but if you are lucky enough, as we were, to get one of the sites
near the river, it is one of the most magical places imaginable. It is true enough that you are
close to your neighbors, but that drives a camaraderie that I have not experienced elsewhere.
And even though you are in close proximity, it feels private because of the way the sites are
situated. This beautiful shot is by a guy named Pete Burrow and it really captures the
essence of the place. The best thing about it is that the park provides much of the bedding and
such and you can follow our model and fly in and spend 1/2 hour at Target and take care of the
rest of your needs. Yosemite is a great place, and House Keeping Camp is a great way to
experience it.
1913 Scripps-Booth Bi-Autogo
This is without a doubt the one of the dumbest ideas in auto history, being right up there with
the Lyatt Helica. A 3,000 lb motorcycle with a V8 and training wheels, take that O.C Choppers !
And what is up with that "radiator"? Among the Scripps "firsts" (most of which ended up as
"lasts") was purportedly the first V8 in a Detroit car. What I can't get over is how much the
passenger compartment bodywork resembles a kids toy peddle car from the 60's.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Space Shuttle and Hubble caught during solar transit !
These remarkable images were captured by Thierry Legault (a very accomplished amateur photographer) and show the shuttle and HST crossing in front of the sun. The shuttle and HST were travelling 15K MPH and the event lasted less than a second. You can read more about the shot and the mission in this article by the Daily Mail.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
1980's Mini 4X4 Pickup Truck Fad - Paging Marty McFly
In the early 1980's, gas prices, the Truckin' fad and Monster Truck phenomenon gave birth to the jacked up mini truck craze. For a time it seemed like every cool kid had one of these, just like Marty McFly. Sure there were jacked up full size pickups, but the mini pickup was the new cool. FWIW: Marty's truck pictured above is a fairly mild version, many of these trucks were jacked WAY, WAY, WAY up and sported monster Dick Cepek tires. The K.C. Daylighter lights mounted on the roll bar were de rigeur, though Marty's would have been cooler if it sported the KC Smiley Face covers. Eventually (because too much is never enough) things got so out of hand that various agencies started putting limits on the height of the bumper to limit the damage one of these would do to cars. You have to remember the Ford Pinto was still fresh in the memory of most people and without airbags the small cars of the day were literally death traps. Maybe with the death of the SUV craze, mini trucks will experience a revival- Just in time for Marty's mid life crisis.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Isuzu Trooper II 4x4
When we finally sold our VW Vanagon, we bought a used 1990 Isuzu Trooper. Ours was a
Green 4-door with a 4 Cyl motor and stick shift, about as basic and simple as they come. While
the Trooper did have it's faults, reliability was not one of them, it was basically bomb proof.
In many ways the Trooper was a throwback to the early days of Japanese trucks, it's tiny
motor, flimsy bodywork and spartan interior were thoroughly outdated by the 1990's. But
like those early Japanese trucks, the Trooper was blessed with extremely rugged and
simple underpinnings. All in all it was a great truck and one of the last of the true S.U.V's
before the bloated luxo-barges and poser mobiles of the late 1990's and early 00's
(Hummer H2 are you listening)
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