Pixie training!

If you don't know, pixies are basically 16in wheeled kids bikes being ridden by adults.  Most do not remain stock, most remain single speed coaster brake only bikes though.  Lots of laughs and can be surprisingly fast.

Troll-in in the snow

I put the semi fat Surly Troll to the test today and was very impreesed to see it hold its own with "real" fatbikes on everything from deep snowdrifts, sand, ice, and slush.

Deeep snow drifts

Just finished plowing through another drift

Al was determined to get through this one....

Semi Fat Troll next to a Pugsly

Mostly slushy ice

left to right: 9 zero 7, pugsly, mukluk, troll

Another shot next to a Pugsly

Surly Troll semi-fat bike

Could not be more accurate

Continental Slash 26x2.3 tire on the rear

Continental Diesel 2.5 (measures out to 2.7 with 65mm rims) on the front with plenty of room to spare.

Still a fair amount of clearance on the rear.

After a few rides on various flavors of fat bikes and really loving high volume low pressure tires more and more I decided to put "fatties fit fine" to the real test.  My Surly Troll is rated to handle 2.7in tires and very easily lives up to that and fits 65mm wide fat bike rims great.  Since money is tight I ordered a set of Weinmann DHL65 rims that I laced to some used XT hubs we had laying around the shop.  Despite being cheap rims they laced up pretty well and actually fit in the frame without any modifications being made, I even got to keep my V-brake studs.  You do have to put the wheel in at an angle to get it around the studs but it is more than doable, even trailside like I found out earlier today.

Ute Pass

The final push to the top is a real kick in the nuts, 2.5 hours of constant climbing to get here,

Sonny killing it.

Heading back down Ute Pass into Manitou wondering if the camera would pick up the string of snot slung across my face....

Today was my first time actually going UP Ute Pass, other than a couple turns it really was not too bad although I would not want to do it if traffic was heavy..  We pedaled from the Springs to the dirt road that leads to Rampart Reservoir and back.  Despite the pace/wind I actually felt pretty good.  We rode about 44 miles, climbed almost 3400ft and averaged 13.2 mph.  Good times were certainly had and I can only imagine fitness was gained.

Pikes Peak by Bike

Nate killed it on the SS tall bike

The Troll gave me a workout today and handled it much better than I did.

You can see the hurt on my face but damn it was worth it.

Finally got to ride up Pikes Peak, we started at Crystal Reservoir which gives you about 13.5 miles and a little over 4k ft of climbing.  Everything above timberline hurt pretty bad but was very much so worth it.  I started to cramp around 13k ft, Nate on the tall bike was hearing the birds talking to him telling him things like "good job", "keep going" and then Mike crushed us the whole way up.  Coming back was without a doubt the coolest road descent I have ever done and this was one of the most rewarding times I have had on a bike ride.  Great times indeed.

Long route into the shop

Slightly different route when going the long way into the shop, its a touch over an hour to the top and a fun flowy paved decent all the way into the shop, gotta love this town!

Santa Fe Trail

Showed Jessica the Santa Fe Trail yesterday and got in just shy of 20 miles.  She is riding quite a bit stronger now and hopefully that will make a weekend bike tour go smoother along with help her when she starts to get into mountain biking.  We should be doing and easy mountain bike ride later today actually.

Fatbike in the dirt

Had my first experience riding a fat bike in the dirt, this was a night and day difference from Eleven Mile Reservoir where there was 3-4 inches of snow and below freezing.  Today was near 70 and very dusty.  I actually got a chance to see how wide tires handle single track in spring and I was very impressed with the results.  Cornering traction seemed limitless, deep sand was no problem and even without suspension I never found myself wishing for a squishy fork up front.  Traction was so good that when me and Nate switched bikes I blew out the first few corners because I was used to 4 inch wide tires.  Once again I really want one.

Stoked

"CHRIS MURRAY won the Monarch tickets this week. Post photos of your run, riding, hiking and climbing adventures on PikesPeakSports.us and you'll be entered to win. Next drawing is March 7!"


Thank you Pikes Peak Sports!!  One hell of a welcome to Colorado!  Hoping to use 2 of the lift tickets next week and finally see what it is like to snowboard in real mountains.

Long way to work

Left early and pedaled up Goldcamp, High drive, and then down Jacks and down the Chutes.  Just over 2 hours and just under 2k feet of climbing make for a damn fine commute.  I keep feeling more and more natural on singletrack riding the Xtracycle and hour + climbs feel better and better.  I really can not wait till spring comes to really see where my fitness is at.

Some ice but mostly hardpack snow and rock star dirt, not bad for 8k feet in feb!

Xtracycle Review

I figured after a couple thousand miles, and hundreds of pounds hauled with a couple different configurations it is about time to write a review of one of the most practical products the bicycle commuter/car free world has seen.  It worked so well a couple major manufactures decided to try and copy it and Surly even liked it so much they built a frame specifically around its platform.  Sounds like the industry is a fan of the Xtracycle

Lets start with the basics, how is mine built:  Currently the Xtracycle is bolted to a Surly Troll frame, this combo is quite a bit stiffer than the old steel Marin frame I started with (in all fairness that frame had been hit by a car at one point in its life)  I am running Sram X-7 drivetrain and hubs, the rims are now Mavic 521's.  They are heavy but pretty strong and I like that they have eyelets.  My original wheels were some 28h red ano Sun Ringle Cr-18's I won at a race years ago and could never throw them away.  They lasted long enough for the braking surface to wear to the point the rim cracked around the braking area and stayed surprisingly true since with those wheels I carried close to 200 lbs a couple times.  Tektro disc brakes which work ok but will be replaced by BB-7's when these fail or need the pads replaced, it really is hard to touch the performance and durability of a BB-7, as a plus it uses the same pads as my MTB.

How does it handle loads? Quite simply, GREAT!  I have carried close to 200lbs and other than it getting very difficult going uphill the bike actually handled really really well.  With 60-80 lbs I hardly notice any effect on handling.  One note though, since the Xtracycle puts a lot more weight on the front, if you are carrying a heavy load use the rear brake as much as possible to avoid over-stressing the fork.  You have plenty of traction with the back wheel when there is a big load so it really is no big deal.

Does it make my bike less fun to ride when not loaded?  Depends on your idea of fun, it adds some weight and a little bit of lateral flex so your bike will be a little bit slower than it was before Xtra, but if you do not base the quality of your rides on average speeds alone it makes it a much more fun bike in many ways.  The Xtracycle handles singletrack great and I have ridden many miles of it on my Xtracycle, it actually adds novelty value and makes what once was a mind numbing trail exciting again.  In no time you will have learned to actually pop off of lips and get some air with your Xtra (just remember, you have to push forward on the bars much harder than with a normal bunny hop, it is doable even with platforms with a little practice though)

Overall I absolutely love my Xtracycle and hope to do a big family tour on it in a few years.  Anybody looking to add versatility to their bike should really consider this option.  It is great to impulsively run to the store and not have to over analyze what will fit into panniers or making sure you have the trailer.

My only complaint is I wish there was a way to lock the velcro pocket inside the freeloaders but a little creativity might take care of that problem.

Now what everyone on the interwebz looks for, pictures!  Here is a history of my Xtracycle over the past few years in pictures.

Xtracycle mounted to Troll frame in winter commuter mode, normally I run Big Apple slicks in the summer which give a supper smooth ride that can slay paved corners with more stability that I ever imagined possible on a bike.

Drivetrain is nothing special, Sram X-7 mostly and cheap truvative cranks.   One thing I really like is these Shimano double sided pedals, I clip in when I plan to do some exploring but for daily commuting I wear regular shoes.  Also note, the car absolutely loves to sleep on the snap deck as you can kind of make out in this pic.

The snap-deck with mandatory sticker-age, my favorite is the one Xtracycle included that reads "This ass hauls things"

Believe it or not, it was my grandma's idea to ride on the back and not mine.

Laundry run, really shows what kind of volume this thing can handle , especially with the wideloaders.

If it is slushy out, remember to cover your bike since this thing is wider than most cars...lesson learned.

Getting ready to descend some killer singletrack

Exploration

Got to do some more climbing and explore some trails that I have not been on yet, some were marked, some I am not 100% were actual trails, fun was had none the less.  I pedaled up Goldcamp, turned off after the switch backs into a fire road going up and over the ridge, down some trail through a field, was on the Intemann Trail, section 16 trail, and the intermittent waterfall trail along with some easy trails through Red Rocks Canyon.  Fun day for sure, can not wait to learn the area better because I could see how there would be some amazing loops minutes from my door once I figure it out.

2 a days

Good times today.  This am pedaled up Goldcamp to High drive and then went down jacks.  I was surprised at how well the Schwalbe Big Apples handled loose sandy soil descending jacks, especially since some spots still had a little snow and were fairly steep.  After that ride, went home grabbed the wife and the toddler and went out for another 15ish miles on the greenways with mandatory stop at America the Beautiful park.  Jessica was talking about wanting to ride a century and do an xterra triathalon this year...this makes me smile.