The new ride came in and was it ever worth the wait. Now I'm not just saying this because I love my Salsa bikes. This Salsa Casseroll Single Speed is a dream to ride. When I picked it up, I was a little thrown back by the size of the tires on this thing. They are ginormously wide--Continental Contact 37 !! Wickid huge pal. But those things can take some serious pressure and I've got them jacked up to 115psi and they roll like nobody's business. And they roll over everything--cracks, bumps, small rodents (no not yet, but close) potholes, you name it these things plow over it with ease and comfort. I mean it's a commuter bike right? Small racing slicks would be a jarring, jittery experience around town and on the bike paths. I think these tires may be one of the best components on the bike. Let's talk abou tsome of the others. 

The frame is beautifully painted in a Guildens brown mustard with some nice sparkly flecks that glimmer in the sun--beauty. It is responsive when standing and smooth and stiff when seated. Stiff and responsive--yeah sounds strangely sexual, but hey it's a nice ride. The welds are beautiful and the matching fork dampers whatever else the tires don't absorb. The straight blades look like a tuning fork and are painted in the same lovely mustard color. Another really nice detail is a custom chain guard--it's sleek and has some nice die cuts that make it look super aerodynamic. Definitely not like the chain guard on that blue Shwinn we all had as kids. The rest of the bike is rounded out with a few nice Salsa parts--Moto Ace Short and Shallow bars and Delgato Cross rims laced up with Surly Flip Flop hubs . The saddle is pretty sweet too--a WTB Silverado Race with custom Salsa embroidery--I mean come on, too cool. The Tektro brakes do an adequate job in stopping. These brakes seem to be the standard in meduim quality, cost-cutting performance. What I do like about the calipers is that they are extra long and tall to accomodate the large tires. This means riders can easily use studs in the winter or a slightly smaller slick with a fender. Bonus points for that. 

I've decided to keep the freewheel on and use it until it starts to deteriorate, which should be in a month or so. It's one of those cheapo Shimano jobs. They are meant for really dry conditions--like desert conditions. I was going through about one a month with my MTB. Granted that was pretty wet an mucky most of the time, but so is commuting. About 5 years ago I made the switch to the White Industries and never worried about again. These things are bomb proof and if for some reason the leave them submerged in water for like 3 years and you need to rebuild them, you can. I have never had to. I use them on my MTB and my commuters. But for the ultimate in no worries/maintenace, just go fixed, which I plan to do this winter? Not sure what I'm going to do with my Redline as it's still in running order (and a fixed). I may just keep that for my foul weather bike. That is if I get another job...

What? Yeah this commuter was laid off last week. What does this mean for a guy who prides himself  a daily commuter? I don't know. It's sad really. Not only will I miss my job, but I'm going to miss the ride everyday. Yes I will still go for rides to the store and downtown for cookie and coffee runs, but it won't be the same. The urgency is just not there. I have started to line up some freelance work (I'm an art director and designer by trade) but look forward to the day I have a full-time reason to bike to work again. I did have a very proud moment this week as my daughter's teacher asked what a certain article of clothing was (she was holding up a tie) and said that some dads wear these to work. My lovely 3 year old said, "my daddy wears bike shorts to work." Thanks Pheebs.

Ride safe.

Zm

Nothing marks the passage of Spring like the annual Bike to Work Week . In a strange twist of fate, it happens to fall on my birthday week this year. So in lieu of all the hundreds of gifts and well-wishes, please just get out on your bikes, ride to work and leave those cars garaged. I have been trying to recruit a few more people to ride this week, but so far the regular excuses keep coming up. One of them actually said it was too cold. Oh dear lord. 

In early Spring, I like to recall those horrible sleeting and snowy days with 30mph winds we endure in the winter to rememeber why it is I ride to work-- the warm sun, fresh ocean air, birds chirping and not a care in the world. Then you get to work, do whatever it is you do and repeat. Not sure it can get any better than that. These sunny days of early Spring are why I ride all winter long. 

I would love to see some more folks out on the roads of Portland this week. I'm a little late getting out there today. I think I'm gonna take the long way in today, work can wait. 

Well I did it again. I just couldn't resist. I may have a problem saying no to bikes. But an offer came up that I couldn't refuse. Just look at the new Salsa Casserole and tell me that I did the wrong thing. Ok then. Here's my reasoning: The Redline 925 has been a great bike and will continue t be one. However, I will need to get another set of wheels after this season. They've taken a beating in the wet, salt and sand of the winter. So I would probably drop a good chunck of change on that. It also needs some new tires, drivetrain and potentially bottom bracket. All of these upgrades would put me in the $400-500 range. Now wouldn't it make sense to use the discount that I get from one of our best team sponsors (Salsa) to get a complete bike instead? Well that's the reasoning I used to sort of convince my wife. I'm still not sure it worked, but I was able to order the bike anyway.

Now I have a fleet of Salsas. I can't say enough good things about these frames. They're responsive, light, durable and downright pretty. Every year they whip up some awesome new paint/graphic combination that bikers lust for every year. I currently have two full scanduim frames and one scanduim/carbon.  This new Casserole will round out the frame materials because it is steel! I think steel is the way to go on a commuter. It sucks up the little bumps, cracks and chatter that crappy city roads dish out. An aluminum bike would just be a little too stiff. I like to have a little bit of flex to the frame for a commuter. Plus, most other frame material, like carbon, ti, or even scandium, would be too cost prohibitive. And I would worry that it would get stolen or crapped on by seagulls.One thing though with the steel is that it it tends to be a bit more corrosive than the other materials. So it was suggested I put on a frame protector spray to prolong the life of it. Might be a good idea. 

 So the Casserole is set up with some stock parts--so I just can't go wrong. I'm thinking of selling the Redline to offset some of the cost of the new bike, but I'm also thinking it would make a great foul-weather ride. That way I could just keep the studs on it for winter and use it exclusively in winter. Hey, people have a set of snow tires for their cars--probably paid more for them then I paid for that bike, so what the hell.

Speaking of cars,  I did some calculations last month of how many times I drove to work last year. 11 times. That was a record for me--on the low end. This year I don't see that happening, I've already had to drive 6 times because of weather, sickness or picking up kids. And as the kids get older, I wcan only imagine my drive days will increase--it's a sad reality, but one I hope to curtail for as long as I can through the use of a trailer! Yes! Now both my kids are big enough to ride in the trailer, so that will help out on those days I have to drop them off or pick them up (in the warmer weather of course). I haven;t strung this idea on my wife yet, but I'm sure it will go over really well--the kids will like it. 

An update on my lighting system. I got it back in the mail a few weeks ago after sending it back to Nite Rider. They said it was water damage to the battery that caused it to die. Didn't they test these things in rain? I certainly did not submerge the thing by any means. Yeah it was probably some hard rain, but these lights should be made to withstand that at the very least. But they got it back to me fairly quickly, so I can't complain too much. And the new battery still holds a great charge for almost a week (using it for just the ride home--30-35 min), even in the cold weather. Speaking of which, I'm officially done with winter. I just finished shoveling our latest dump of 8-10 inches which puts the snowbank at the end of my driveway at about 7 ft. Enough is enough. Get out there when you can, ride safely.

Zm