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Thursday, October 15
EWR 1 - GoatSurfer 0
by
Billy Goat
on Thu 15 Oct 2009 09:19 BST
These new platform pedal things are still something of a novelty to me, I'm still stuck in 1990 using PD-M735 (XT flatties) and toe clips
 I've heard the phrase 'getting tattooed by your pedals' and scoffed at it........well the V8's on my EWR did more than tattoo me last week, the damn things gnashed my shins up real good  . I know there's not much skin on your shins but those deep grooves in the pic below go almost down to the bone, thankfully with no pain though.The cause: Riding slowly uphill on a forest trail, in the wet, in the wrong gear and trying to manual off a tree root......in the pitch black   Saturday, October 10
EWR Project - Phase Seven - Barbara ann ba ba
by
Billy Goat
on Sat 10 Oct 2009 21:02 BST
Saw Time
 So, the Race Face bars were TOO wide so out came Mr Sandvik and I've lost 20mm of each end, sanded down the ends and reset the controls. Grips got refitted and some Helicopter Tape applied on the cabled side of the head tube and also on the Syncros Revolution cranks. Minor tweak on saddle height too so it matches my Pace. Freshly cut (and out of focus ) You should have seen them BEFORE they were cut!!!  So, you've read about using GT-85 and WD-40, Hairspray, water, glue......what about the 'Zip Tie Trick'? Well, it works a treat. Get two long and strong Zip Ties, feed them down inside the grip, one either side, so the 'teeth' side faces the grip....push to get it started, make sure any logos or patterns are lined up how you want them, then 'ski' them up using the ties by pulling the ends (for best results ziptie the ties together so you have a 'handle'). Once they are all the way up, pull harder and the Zip Ties will slide out. Zip Tricks  Friday, October 9
EWR Project - Phase Six...Dial Time
by
Billy Goat
on Fri 09 Oct 2009 10:16 BST
Another week, another configuration and I'm back in that pine forest again for some more shakedown time, it's a shame the place is a 100 mile round trip from my house else I'd be blasting round there all weekend....sadly I only get to go once a week and after work as it's near my office
 Last week was the first ever ride on my EWR and it highlighted some 'handling weirdness' that needed ironing out....and fast, so last weekend I pulled the front end apart, switched from a 0° rise 135mm stem to a 10° rise stem, lost the 1" rise Club Roost bars in favour of some Race Face Air Alloy in 1.5" rise flavour, moved one poker chip above the stem (leaving 20mm of spacing below), dropped the saddle height by 20mm, nudged the rails back and bled the back brake so it's now ultra vicious As much as hunting down elusive bike parts is a whole lotta fun, there's nothing more satisfying than dialling a bike in so the ride is El Perfecto. Plenty of bikes look good in pictures but ride like a wheelbarrow full of runny shit... So, it got blasted round the woods in the pitch black and wet and gnarly tree roots hidden by freshly fallen leaves focussed the brain That aside, my OWB rides 100% better than it did last week but I think these bars are a bit too Cowhorn for my liking. Since 1988 I've ridden flat bars and bar ends so this whole riser bar thing is a little freaky to me full stop and these Race Face bars are about a mile wide ......I suspect that if they stay on the bike they will be saying hello to my little friend....the Sandvik Hacksaw for some 'amputational correctness'  Cowhorns in the pines  Good job the trail was wide here...  Cowhorns in the pines Part II  Saturday, October 3
EWR Project - Phase Five...Testing in Eastern Woods
by
Billy Goat
on Sat 03 Oct 2009 20:53 BST
So the time has come to test ride my baby.......where better to test a bike like this than some woods in the East of England
 I rushed out real quick before we got riding to snap some pix cos the light was failing fast (and so it turned out were my camera batteries), so excuses again for the lame picture quality but here is my EWR, where it belongs, back out in the woods again  It's still in testing mode so the stem spacers and stem are not permanent fixtures and the jury is still out on the handlebars....the bars are certainly 'down in the weeds' on this bike. Those blokes at EWR really know how to make a bike though, it rides beautifully and just goes where you point it. At slow speeds it is really 'Trialsy' and very responsive and at speed it just rolls and rolls and is just screaming at you to manual it off some tree roots and humps....this bike makes you grow horns This bike is going to get well used and to endure the British winter conditions I have fitted Gore RideOn GoreTex durallier cables, these are PTFE coated cables that run in a continuous, sealed sleeve which runs inside the outer cable and is sealed with rubber 'boots' at the mech ends. They are expensive but if you want to keep the mud and shit out and have silky smooth shifting then these are the babies to fit. Overall I am REALLY pleased with how it rides although I need to nail that bar/stem configuration and my back brake is non-existant, despite me bleeding it twice . The bottle cage is on there solely for my Lumicycle Halogen lights, this time of year we ride in total darkness. My buddies have 'outgunned' me with lights recently so I'm feeling a little inadequate.....one has the HID (Halide) Lumicycle lights and the other has Hope Visions AND some helmet mounted Ay Ups  . I guess I could even things up and buy a Lumicycle LED system  Back in the Woods again....where EWR's belong...  Up close and personal....my Woods in the woods  Then it got dark....we had nearly two hours of flat out night riding   |
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