It's August! Riding through the heat.

[north woods gal]

Sheila, my romance with the Jones bars was short lived. I found that the Jones bars have too much sweep for me to be comfortable. The Jones with its 45 degrees of sweep actually required me to bend my wrists from their natural position when reaching for the handlebars. That and I found that the actually H bar cross section was too short and narrow to use for alternate riding positions. Great idea, but just didn't wok for me. If you want one, be glad to let you have mine. Let me know.

On the other hand, I found the new Surly Moloku with its 34 degrees of sweep to be perfect, plus I can get some very useable positions for riding on the cross brace. It's now standard on all Surly flat bar touring bikes. Great design. I liked the Moloku so much I even added one to the old Pugsley. Unlike the Jones, the Moloku also works very well for my trail riding. I can ride my single track very well with it. The Jones was like trying to ride single track with a 50s cruiser bike. Hated it it for trail work.

The one disadvantage with the Moloku is the weight, if you're trying to count grams, because it is made of steel, not aluminum. Of course, if we Surly nuts were worried about counting grams, we wouldn't be riding Surly, anyway.

As for stems, I always have to go a touch shorter on standard traditional unisex bikes like a Surly. Right now, I'm using a Salsa Bend 2 with 23 degrees of sweep for a handlebar on my Krampus with a very short 45mm Race Face stem. Went that short, this summer, to keep me more upright while my neck healed, but need to go back to maybe a 60 or 65mm, now, to get me into optimum trail riding position. The medium Krampus came with a 70mm stem from the factory. Just a touch too long for my short torso. Unless I'm buying a WSD bike, my rule of thing on stem length is to subtract 10mm for stem length on more traditional bikes like the Surly. Most current high tech MTBs, like my Norco fatties, already come with very short stems, so not always an option for me.

[Crankin]

OK, I had quite an experience for my first ride on the Ariel. As I said, I had a lot of stuff to do, and when I got home, it was around 2:45. It rained torrentially in the morning, when I did a 1/2 spin, 1/2 conditioning class this morning, but by the time I got home, showered, did she work and ate lunch, it was sunny, oppressive, and humid, although only around 75. I looked at the radar and it said it would rain around 3:45; my plan was to just go out and ride in the neighborhood next to my street. There's rolling hills and flats and there's a trail that goes up to the health club I used to belong to, and then that street intersects with Main St., so it would be a 3 mile loop, or more, if I rode al of the neighborhood streets. I figured if it rained, I would never be more than 1.5 miles from home. So, I go to the furthest point in the neighborhood, about to get on the trail, to test the front shock, I felt a rain drop. With no warning, other than that, it started raining torrentially. No thunder or lightning, so I just turned around and headed back the way I came. I could not see a thing...
Thankfully, it was not cold. I laughed like a kid and it was kind of fun. The disc brakes work great. I had to kind of get used to trigger shifters again. It does feel heavy. No speed records will be set on this bike, but I did get up to 13 on the flats and 17 on a little downhill. The rack and trunk bar do add some heft.
I am not sure why this picture is rotated!

[north woods gal]

Crankin, I'll bet that's a first ride you'll always remember. Really is just the kind of use that bike was made for. Sounds like you have a great utility bike in your new Ariel. Enjoy.

As for me, my strength may be back, but my patience for riding those big fat tire bikes on pavement has waned since I started riding my super easy rolling single speed bikes. Those fast rolling bikes really do spoil you. Rode the old Pugs, this morning, on our morning ride and could just keep up with my hubby on his fat bike, instead of pushing way out ahead of him like I always do on the single speeds. Even with the low rolling resistance fat tires on the Pugs, it still rolled like the tires were glued to the pavement compared to my two single speeds with their super easy rolling 2.25" tires. Have to wonder why I am riding monster plus and fat tires on pavement, now. Probably time to be thinking of a more conventional road bike with standard gearing and normal tires, now, to supplement my road riding with the single speeds for summer riding. Just when I thought I had too many bikes, as it is, I'm thinking of another one, now. This is nuts. The two single speeds really changed my tastes in bikes. I was not expecting that.

A steel bike at 23 pounds and lively and responsive XC geometry really is a joy to ride. The Log Lady, after all is a racing single speed MTB. Pretty thing, too, my Log lady. Have since changed out to smoother rolling XC race tires for even easier pedaling and more roll. That's a very important factor when calculating gearing on a single speed. You have to calculate and consider more than just gear inches when deciding what gear combos to use. How easily the tires roll is a big factor. Yet another factor when deciding on gearing is that single speeds are more efficient than derailleur bikes because the chain on a single speed always runs in a perfectly straight line and runs tighter, too. Lots more to this single speed stuff than I thought.

[Crankin]

I really know nothing about the color; this bike was hidden away in the kid's section of Belmont Wheelworks. It's a 2017, so it's been hidden for awhile! It is really an olive green, almost neutral looking.
I am getting ready to ride to work. It's 62 out and feels cold! So, I put on my new Terry Soleil hoody that I snagged for half price. I probably will need a vest, too. I plan to take a longer ride home, since I am done at 3:45, but the Soleil is so light weight, I think it will be ok, despite being in the 70s.
I have all of my clothes packed in the Topeak trunk bag. I haven't put my lunch or flat iron (it's a mini size) in yet, but I opened the expander. Before, I would always have to walk across the street to an office park that has a cafeteria to buy lunch when I rode, so this is nice. DH wanted me to get the larger size, but I thought it looked kind of too much and rather geeky. This is the medium size. I will report back later.

[north woods gal]

Sheila, not sure how much help I can be on the stem and handlebar thing. It's just such a personal preference thing. I usually ride a bit and try different lengths of stems and figure out what I want through trial and error, but that assumes you have a lot of time to putter around and a bag full of different stems to try, which I do. On the Jones bar, for instance, I didn't change stem length at all and it put my hands comfortably on the controls where I wanted them.

Also depends on your riding style, of course, and whether you like being stretched out a bit or whether you'd rather be in a more upright position. After my accident, I changed to shorter stems on a lot of bikes for a more upright position for the sake of my neck comfort. I like it that way and will probably stay there, now, since my riding has gotten more conservative. Getting in a low and aggressive crouch was almost a necessity when I was climbing boulders, hopping logs and doing jumps, but I'm now riding, dirt, only, both wheels on the ground at all times, as part of my resolution to ride safer. I now prefer MTBs with more traditional XC geometry and steeper angles than the now very popular trend for trail bikes with slacker geometry.

Okay, sorry for getting geeky on everyone. Interesting, though, how my accident has changed my tastes and preferences and needs as to what I bicycle, now. Definitely see myself headed back into a more traditional direction. Would like to save the fat bikes, for instance, for winter riding, only. That leaves me with a couple of single speeds for the bulk of my summer riding. Would like to have more options for my summer riding than that. We'll see.

[Crankin]

Yeah, except he's in the Army, now. I can't remember if you knew that; when he wanted to go back as an officer, when he was about to start his junior yr of school, he was "too old," (30), without going through paperwork hell to get an exemption from the rule. He just wasn't up for it. Since he already was in Army Reserves, he joined ROTC at school. But, I still think of him as a Marine.
Riding with the packed trunk bag was a challenge, in that climbing was hard! Not really any big hills, but I felt it on the way. On the way home, I took a 5.9 mile route home that includes a good climb; not steep, but long and annoying. It's somewhat a question of getting used to the gearing. It's a compact, but has really low gears, even lower than my really low gears on my 2 road bikes. So I either feel like I am spinning out of control and slow or it's too hard. By the end of the ride home, I was getting it more down pat. Still, very fun. I took the trunk bag off for my 1.3 mile ride to the gym at 5:15 am tomorrow. It will be my first test of riding with the flat side of the campus pedals. Thankfully, there's no stop signs where I'll have to stop and put my foot down, as this feels incredibly wrong to me when I am not clipped in.

[north woods gal]

Love that bag! Going to save the link. Thanks.

Gorgeous late summer day, here. Temps in the 70s with a brisk, though nice and dry, south wind. Did 17 miles of pavement on the single speed Log lady and loved it. This one is geared low for trail work, but it makes for a nice, easy pace bike out on the pavement. Did do a couple of my leg burner hills to make it a good workout, but most of the ride was on the flats.

Can't get up much past 11 mph on the flats with the Log lady gearing, but one nice thing about going so slow is that I can relax and see wildflowers in the ditch, the birds around me, breath the pine scented north woods air and, in general, just enjoy my surroundings more than if I was riding a geared bike and worrying about trying to maintain an average speed. The other thing about a single speed that I enjoy is that they are so quiet. There's no chain noise or derailleur noise. All you hear is the gentle sound of tire on the pavement and on a fresh black top road, hardly even that. Did have to scare off a couple of deer with my bell, but it worked as intended, with the deer bouncing back into the woods rather than out on the road in front of me.

Back home, traded the Log Lady for the new Pugs and hit the trails with Star. Really do like this new version of the Pugs with it's wider tires as a trail bike. Did 5 full miles of laps, then put the bike away and spent an hour cleaning my trails.

Storms moving in, tomorrow, so glad I got in such a nice day, today,

[Crankin]

Sheila, DH has 2 bags like the link you posted; he bought them many years ago and used them for his Trek 5500 and the Kuota for when we did long rides or for commuting. He tried it on my bike, but my bike is just too small for it. They are gorgeous bags, though, which is why he has kept them. I don't know what brand they are, but they look exactly the same.
I axed the idea of using my pannier, too. I absolutely hated it, though I used it for a long time on both my Jamis Coda and my Guru. However, both my new Topeak trunk bag and my Arkel bag don't change the handling of the bike at all, the way a pannier does. It just feels incredibly heavy. The thing is, I can take the Topeak bag off in a second, for rides when I don't need to carry stuff. Like tomorrow, we are taking our granddaughter in the Burley, on the bike trail. I can put my stuff in the trailer trunk.
I didn't ride to the gym, although it is absolutely gorgeous out, was 56 at 5:30 am. My legs were toast when I got up, from that little 9 miles I did yesterday on my commute. It's fine now, and I suspect riding the Ariel with the packed bag is going to make me feel like my Silque is just flying. I will find out on Sunday.

[north woods gal]

Thought about the bag on the ECR, too.

Unfortunately, the fate of my ECR is uncertain, right now. As I've mentioned, the single speeds and the aftermath of my accident have changed my biking style and uses and the ECR just kind of falls between the cracks, right now. The ECR is a great bike for its intended use, a la loading it up and bicycling in remote or rough road areas, but I have fat bikes that will do the same and more. As far as riding pavement, it's way, way behind the single speeds as far as enjoyment and ease of use. Right, now, the ECR is sitting at one of our bike shops while the owner contemplates allowing me to use it for a trade. It's in mint shape, so really don't want to ride it while waiting to see if I can sell or trade it.

Kind of open as to what I want as a replacement to the ECR, but I do know that a replacement will see mostly pavement and some gravel. I would like steel, but I want something 25 pounds or less to pedal, same as my steel single speeds. That weight limit might be tough to pull off on a fully geared steel bike, but I'm looking. For sure, don't want another tank for pedaling on pavement, though. Seems pointless. Definitely want a bike that rolls, easily, like the single speeds. Has to be at 37mm tires for width, no skinnier. Prefer flat bar, but will consider drop bar, again. Would like to get something for this fall, yet, but I'll probably have to wait till next spring.

[north woods gal]

I did not get along with the SRAM double tap road shifting on the Fargo. Really struggled with downshifting because the reach was too far to be comfortable for me and, of course, on SRAM, if you don't push the shifter all the way in, you end up upshifting instead of downshifting. Not good on a long hill. Also, the Fargo came with Apex, which is low end SRAM and it basically fell apart on me in one year. I understand why so many gravel bikes come with SRAM, though. It's easier to mix and match road and MTB components than with Shimanon and it is cheaper, but I've never, ever had any issues with Shimano road groups and would gladly pay extra to get Shimano. Bottom line: If Salsa ever decides to go Shimano on the Fargo, I'll grab one, though it's still a bit heavier than I want. The Vaya Tiagra, though, is definitely under consideration. The current Tiagr is actually pretty good.

As for today's ride, we had a break in our much needed rain, mid-morning, so we biked around the neighborhood for awhile, then I called Star and we did 5 miles of laps on the trails. All riding was done with the old Pugsley. Wet pavement and wet trails don't bother a fat bike.