Atlantis commute...

[René Sterental]

I started work this week and with my new 2013 goals, have started commuting every other day to build up slowly. I commute from Palo Alto to San Jose (California) and ride my bike from my house to Downtown Palo Alto where I board the train to Downtown San Jose and then ride to work via the newly paved Guadalupe River Trail. Currently it's about 15 minutes to ride from my house (2.32 miles) and then 30 minutes on the GRT (5.2 miles) for a total of aproximately 45 minutes each way.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/orthie251/8368773624/

 

It's funny (actually sad) how out of shape one can get, but I feel pretty tired at the end of the day when I've done this commute. Not dead tired, but still feel it, particularly on my legs.

 

Last week while I was still on vacation and it wasn't raining, I started riding my Atlantis with its new low trail fork after taking a long time to rebuild it. The original Berthoud fenders I was using on this bike needed modifications (front) due to the new fork and misalignment of the hole that held it to the front rack. So, I decided to get a new set of fenders and found a pair of smooth 50mm Honjo fenders that I decided to try instead of the Berthouds. These fenders have no holes drilled at all, so it's going to be a long day of installation to make sure they go in perfectly and I don't mess up. I've had quite a bit of practice lately, so it's just a matter of taking it easy and not rushing it.

 

The Atlantis with the new configuration is handling very nicely. To be able to carry my laptop easily, I put back the Platrack and bag, but to carry the extra clothes I need now that it's cold in the morning but not so cold in the evening, I may add the medium Saddlesack to the rear with the R14 rack once the fenders are installed.

 

So far, with the front rack both unloaded and lightly loaded with clothes, there isn't a hint of shimmy on the trail sections where I pick up speed and would get it before. I put back the original CK headset that is supposed to be shimmy prone just to make sure that any differences experienced weren't due to the needle bearing headset. Still early to make any solid claims, just feeling happy with the bike's handling.

 

The one thing I've noticed is how well the bike now wants to turn. Tight turns at some speed that used to make me tense and where I had a hard time keeping the turn tight now seem to happen effortlessly and almost in response to the thought to turn. Again, no side by side comparisons and not enough time riding the bike, but feeling happy about it.

 

Another thing I've felt, is that the bike is now a pleasure to ride with my hands further inwards on the Bullmoose bars. I seem to recall reading somewhere in BQ that low trail bikes favored narrower bars whereas high trail bikes favored wider bars. I think I'll go back to trying a set of Rando bars just to see how they feel now. My issues with drop bars have to do with hand/neck pain due to the reach, but I may still give them a try to see if anything has changed.

 

Apologies for the long post... it's a slow day at work!

 

René

[Stephen S]

Pics are private Rene. We can't see them. 

[René Sterental]

Sorry! It should be public now...

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[Robert Harrison]

I love it. But I also have a question. Do those bottle cages do a good job with the Klean Kanteens? I have a set of the bottles I almost never use because of the rattling around. On long rides I do use them but cover them in a sock which I wet down for that 'swamp cooler' effect.

Aloha,

Bob

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Robert Harrison

Honolulu, HI

statrix.com

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[cyclotourist]

Unrequested reply: Yes, the King Iris cages work wonderfully for SS bottles. No rattling at all.

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Redlands, CA

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[Manuel Acosta]

Make sure you take time to ride the unbeaten path and go exploring. I've found some of my coolest rides from my commute home. It also breaks up the bordem sometimes. 

[Peter Morgano]

Oh you youngsters and your rambles. If I am home a few minutes late I have a young lady who thinks I went to the zoo or toy store without her, haha.

On Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 10:37 PM, Manuel Acosta <manueljo...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Make sure you take time to ride the unbeaten path and go exploring. I've found some of my coolest rides from my commute home. It also breaks up the bordem sometimes. 

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[Jay in Tel Aviv]

Rene,

Thank you for sharing your pictures.
That is an amazing collection of bikes and bags.
What a beautiful part of the world you live in!

Jay

[Peter Morgano]

I saw "Lovely Bicycle" do a wrap job with twine and shellc on Klean Kanteens. Looked the business. Not sure how it would hold up to constant sweating from cold bottles in the summer but I guess not a biggie to re-do once a season.

On Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 10:42 AM, Peter F <phfm...@gmail.com> wrote:

Quick tip...if your Klean Kanteens rattle in your bottle holders, wrap the bottles with cloth handlebar tape. Lots of colors to choose from; they look classy; and rattling is a thing of the past. If you're really feeling crafty, you can shellac them as well, but that's overkill for me. When the tape looks too worn or starts to peel off, I just rewrap with a new color.

Peter

NYC 

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[René Sterental]

Thank you for all the great comments!

 

I feel priviledged to live in the SF Bay Area and hope to get fit enough at some point soon to start doing some rides with Manny and others. While my limited experience on group rides has been great so far, it sucks when you are pushing your bike up a climb that everyone else can ride. There are also some mental and spousal blocks I need to deal with to increase the number of S24O adventures I do. I'm working on all of these.

 

Regarding bringing my beautiful bikes on Caltrain, I'm very lucky (so far) in that I'm able to take mostly Express (Baby Bullet) or Limited stops trains on my commute between Palo Alto and San Jose where 99% of the time, my bike will be by itself on a rack. On the few instances when a lot of cyclists board the train before I get off (usually Mtn. View in the evening when it happens), I just grab my bike and hold on to it since I'm getting off on the following station and that way, everyone can pile their bikes to the racks without damaging mine. When I get off in Palo Alto in the evening, a long line of cyclists is waiting to board. I'm just lucky!

 

This is also why I like the Platrack and rear R-14 or Nitto rear; they also provide a degree of protection if I cannot avoid having someone lean their bike next to mine. Usually, however, my experience has been that barring an overcrowded bike car when everyone is afraid of getting dumped and the car is at maximum capacity (80 bikes), most people are careful to try to avoid leaning their bikes incorrectly and prevent their pedals from scratching another bike. Not always, so I try and have managed to reduce these instances to a really tiny occurence. At some point some other bike is going to scratch mine, but then again, I've scratched my bikes by dropping a tool, or something like that in the past. I still prefer to ride my nice bikes all the time and haven't found a crappy one that fits well or I like enough.

 

The Iris King cages are just beautiful and perfect for the KK bottles. Additionally, you can squeeze them together if you want them to hold the bottle tighter, although they hold it tight enough. They're also made of steel. Best cages in my opinion!

 

Thanks again!

 

René

[Stephen S]

The pic was great.

I enjoyed the s24o we did in 2011 with everyone. I'd love to get our and do another one with you if you can get through some of those blocks. =)

Stephen

[René Sterental]

Stephen, it's a deal!

[Anne Paulson]

I enjoyed the one we did last spring on Mt Diablo. We should
definitely do a South Bay S24O. Rene, no need to wait for some future
level of fitness; let's do one soon. Grant Ranch Park on Mt. Hamilton
is pretty, and the climb up to it not too bad

On Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 7:45 PM, Stephen S <elph...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The pic was great.
>
> I enjoyed the s24o we did in 2011 with everyone. I'd love to get our and do
> another one with you if you can get through some of those blocks. =)
>

--
-- Anne Paulson

My hovercraft is full of eels

[Manuel Acosta]

Agreed. I would jump that one if it happened

[William]

I'm in for Mount Hamilton too. 

[Colin Bortner]

Rene,

I don't have much to add, but thank you for sharing the details of you
experience with the fork conversions on the Atlantis and Hunq. I know
how much work goes into properly documenting this kind of project, and
I think it's a wonderful contribution for all of us onlookers!

Best,

Colin,
Washington, DC

[René Sterental]

@Colin: Thank you. Sharing is a big part of the experience, and I've learned a lot from others as well, so I like to think I'm passing it forward. 

@Anne, Manny and William: Thank you. I'm eager to try that again. I'll check my calendar and propose dates. Do we want to wait for warmer weather or any weekend between the end of January and March when everyone is available is OK?

René  

[Anne Paulson]

Let's just do it, some time when everyone is around.

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[Manuel Acosta]

agreed hardest thing about planning any trip is just setting the date. 

[Anne Paulson]

First weekend in February. Any takers?

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[Reid]

Um, erm, would y'all consider waiting until the weather gets a bit warmer? I know, I'm just a wimp, but I do hate camping in the cold.

 

Reid

 

[Anne Paulson]

Betcha it's a lot warmer two weeks from now than now.

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[René Sterental]

I'm traveling this week, but I'll send out a few dates that work for me and we'll take it from there...