Kids bike seats

Tested 2 front sears (ibert - not shown and WeeRide) and 1 rear (Hamax Sleepy). 

Results - all were a bit harder to fit (our 4 bikes) than expected. My partner is short (4'2) s/xs frame, I am average height (5'10) medium frame. We both have a hardtail and a full-sus. I have 2 GTs and my partner has 2 specialised bikes (the hardtail is a womens XS and the full-sus a small unisex (actually a better fit). 

Results (from worst to best):

a) none work on my partners bikes, the frames are simply too small and/or her arms are too small for our the front mounting options.

b) The WeeRide was fiddly, but once installed the spreader bar could be left on. 

• I didn't like the idea of leaving the spreader bar on, 
• switching bikes would be painful
• I didn't like the feeling of stability of the bar once fitted so I didn't test on the road
• The child's position (given bike geometry) was further towards me (as the rider) so the position was slightly more awkward. 

That said, in theory it could be near perfect for a full-sys, perhaps it was the second hand one I tried that was a bit worn in.

c) the iBert is my preference for full-sys, that said it had issues but in my mind they are worth it for occasional use:

• I found I needed to remove my handlebars and stem to fit
• I also need to shuffle my levers so they didn't dig into our childs legs .. 
• I wouldn't leave the bar on - unless you want to maim yourself 

Not idea for easy use but once set-up while on a particular holiday .. great.

d) The Hamax didn't work on my full-sus because of frame geometry to make matters worse on my hardtail I needed to remove my front derailleur (cabling issues). Fortunately this is something I planned to do - see earlier entry for 1 x 10 (38 tooth chain-ring). The Hamax mount point is easy to leave on and the rear seat is the best IMHO for road riding. Having my full platform clip ins on the hardtail is also a perfect match.

Reuslts: Hamax sleepy for road riding, iBert for trails.

Dakine Heli Pro II

Is getting close to the end of it's natural life

After maybe 8 years of abuse snowboarding, mountain biking and general travelling the globe I noticed the outer compartment has a tear and just now the front top pocket zip has given up the ghost.

5 stars Dakine .. take a bow.

Going down to a single front chainring

The more I think about this the better it sounds. My angle is really from a maintenance perspective - simplicity is good. Chain-rings and derailleurs all cost money. OK so front derailleurs don't die often or even need that much maintenance but fundamentally changing gear causes additional wear on the chain and chain-rings. I've come to decide that the reason I find myself changing is that the bike by default is not geared for me given the type of riding I do (switching from middle to large chain-ring mainly on my hard-tail).

So I'm thinking:

a) 38 front chain-ring with a bash guard - I'll use the bash-guard on another bike.

b) Switched the 11-32 with the 11-34 from my full-sys bike

This will mean I can test out single-speed ratios of ~18-38 but also close to my lowest 'usual' off-road ration of 1:1 (currently 32:32).

Things I may consider:
1) a 12-36 cassette from 29er set-ups. I have read posts suggesting the additional torque from 36 on rear hub might be too much for lightweight hubs.
2) E13 XCX chainguide

Crank bros Mallet 1's .. returned

OK so I snapped the spindle on my right pedal .. purchased in May '10 and lasted until Mar '11 - so not quite 12 months. Sadly for Burkes I purchased from them but they've been helping sorted it so cheers for that.

We have sent the pedals up to our auckland supplier and we should know by the end of the week whether it will be covered under warranty, once we have heard from them we will give you a call.

Regards,

Burkes Cycles.

New stuff that I recommend

Here's a bunch of stuff I've bought clothing wise that I've been really impressed with. I've been riding with the same bike shorts for almost 6 years and well lets just say enough is enough.

What have I been missing out on? Well shorts have come some distance really impressed especially with removable liners the Fox shorts are great. I'll be looking to get an additional liner meaning I can mix and match (esp useful over winter when things get wet and muddy).

- Fox Ranger Shorts
- TLD Moto Shorts
- 661 Evo d3o XC knee guards

36 160 RLC FIT Black 20QR

To complete my all mountain set-up .. though in reality 2K is too much for a 2nd hand bike set-up so it'll be trademe to find some old ones or get them set-up on my next new rig (at least a couple of years away I'm guess .. the '09 Force is riding well).

KS i900r installed

Very simple setup, cable ties + 6 and 3mm hex keys. Done.

Shuttled Saturday so no actual uphill testing but very smooth to adjust and almost unnoticed riding. Only slight set-up issue is the extra cable when seat is bottomed out, the extra loop was noticeable when riding down, potential could catch shorts so may look to adjust that. Also can now get rid of the quick release seat clamp.

Cheers Burkescycles.co.nz for getting the KS i900r for me

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KS i900r Adjustable Seatpost

After the guys at Burkes quoted ".. KS have run in production problems, after their first shipment. As such they are on worldwide hold, with no light at the end of the tunnel." I finally have a KS i900r on order .. here's hoping .. will update with pic once installed.