MTB World Speed Record

Biggest.  Balls.  Ever.

STOLEN: NAHBS Littleford Expedition Rig

Information taken from BikeRumor.com:
Please help Jon Littleford get his personal bike back. The beautiful rig he showed at this years’ NAHBS was stolen in front of Portland’s downtown courthouse on April 11, 2013.

From Jon:

“On the morning of Thursday, April 11 the Littleford Expedition rig, shown 2 months ago at NAHBS, was stolen from where it was locked, on camera, in front of the downtown courthouse. The bike was there for just over an hour. I spent two very hard months designing and building this prototype expedition bike for the show. It is one of a kind.

Please see here for more photos and keep an eye out for either the whole bike, or for some key components that may be parted out:

Schmidt SON SL dynamo hub (currently with Velocity Aeroheat rim)

Schmidt Edelux dynamo headlight (brushed finish. These come from the factory polished.)

Velo Orange Gran Cru high flange touring hub (also currently with Aeroheat hubs.)

Well worn (and beloved) honey-colored Brooks B-17 Select saddle.

Nitto Dirt drop stem

Sugino XD triple crank

Velo Orange Gran Cru seat post

I’d really appreciate any help and/or information that may help me get back my bike, helpful information can also go to the police (503) 255-3600 (Police case # 13-402154).”

Ti Bolts for a Thomson Seatpost

Today the titanium bolts for my Thomson Masterpiece seatpost arrived.  I bought them through Amazon and until after ordering didn't realize that they were going to be shipped from China.  The estimated shipping date was over a month out, but the bolts arrived as if they had been shipped from the East Coast.  After wrestling the envelope away from my 17 month old daughter, I was able to inspect the goods.  They're beautiful, like most things that are polished titanium.  The difference in weight is minimal, but they sure do look better than the zinc yellow finish of the stock bolts.  I weighed the bike before and after with my Feedback Sports Alpine Digital Gear Scale and the difference was about 20 grams.  One of the main reasons I like to change my bolts to titanium has more to do with corrosion than weight.  Living in Monterey, with the salt air, can be hard on components and I've had chrome bolts on high end brakes start to pit and rust.  Not cool.

The current weight of the bike is 7.170 kilograms or 15.81 pounds, with a Topeak Micro Rocket CB pump and Bar Fly with a Garmin Edge 200.

And now for the photos.  The red lines on the rails were so I could get the seat back in the proper location after replacing the bolts.  I removed and replaced one at at time, torquing to 5.1 Nm, as recommended by Thomson for the Masterpiece (6.8 Nm for the Elite).

Thomson Masterpiece

A bit over a week ago I ordered a Thomson Masterpiece seatpost for my road bike to replace the less-than-stellar post I was using.  I would have purchased the Elite post, but my REI dividend came in along with a 20% off coupon.  Time to splurge.  Normally, they don't sell the Masterpiece, but after visiting the bike counter and talking with the staff, they pulled out the big book and ordered one up.  Since it is from one of their regular catalogs it wasn't considered a special order, which would have not allowed me to use the 20% coupon.  Yup, read the fine print to find that restriction.

I picked up the post on Monday and installed it that evening.  It is a beautiful piece of American made machined aluminum and wonderfully light.  Being the bike nerd I am, I have ordered titanium bolts for the head to further reduce the weight.  Necessary?  Nope.  Fun?  Absolutely.  Hopefully those will arrive Friday and I'll install them asap.

The bike feels much more complete now that my seatpost matches the stem and cap.  I considered adding the seatpost collar at one point, but it isn't available in green.  In fact, I have a new custom seatpost collar on the way.  More on that when it arrives.

Yes, it was taken at a funky angle.

Crispy Peep

As most of my friends and family know, I love Peeps.  Not my peeps, as in my homies, but the tasty, squishy, sugary marshmallow treats.  My parents came to visit last weekend for Easter, and naturally my Mom brought me a Peep treat.  No proper Easter is complete without Peeps.  To my surprise, it was a new one I hadn't seen yet.  It was labeled as a "Crispy Rice Marshmallow Treat" and I assumed it would be similar to a Rice Krispies Treat.  It was similar, but not nearly as good as the Rice Krispies Treats I make with Fruity Pebbles.  The surprising bit was not the bright blue color, but the bright little purple, yellow, and pink sugar bunnies on top.  Nice touch, Peeps.  The crispy rice was not so crispy, and it lacked a bit of flavor.  However, I gladly gobbled it up and the sugar has helped to keep me going this morning.  I can't say that I would purchase one as a snack, but am glad to see that they are experimenting with new ways to expand the Peep line.  Best of all, no trans fat or cholesterol!  It must be a healthy snack, right?  Yum.