Ride Report: Fullerton Loop, with a Special Guest Appearance!
MtnBikeRiders.com set up a last minute ride at the Fullerton Loop. Priscilla, Moe, I as well as our friend Anthony decided to get a quick ride in for Father’s Day Weekend. I normally send out a weekly ride invite and one fella said that he’ll try to make it. Well what do you know, the dude actually got up early enough and made it…Vince Rodarte of KHS Bicycles. That’s right, my weight loss nemesis and friend, was able to join our ride today. It’s not all too often he gets to come along, so this was a definite treat for us.
Shown in order, Ryan, Lance, Moe, Priscilla, Anthony and some random stranger on the right side.
Vince rode his old skool KHS Single Speed. This machine was actually the motivation for my Sette Reken single speed build project (right behind the KHS). What made today a unique ride was the fact that 3 of us, Vince, Moe and I, were all riding single. Another thing that made this day a bit more sweet was the amount of KHS Bikes we had on the ride. Moe had his Solo One, Anthony was riding the AM2000 that we built, Vince was on his KHS, and well…me, I had a KHS fork, that should count!
Here’s the Three Single Speeding Amigos…
We’re always trying to have fun when we ride. As always, I try to document our adventures…enjoy the video!
Looks like you guys had a fun ride yesterday. Wish I could join you sometime, but the commute from Missouri is a killer.
Hey RL, how’s the 69er working for you? I’ll bet you’re lovin’ it.
Happy Fathers Day RL!
Hi Dana,
Thanks, Happy Father’s Day to you too!
The 69er…well I think I need a few more rides on it. Here’s why, I’m not used to the big wheel in the front. The slack geometry didn’t make the bike feel like a chopper…the bike felt great to me. It handled well the whole ride. One thing I’d like to do though is possibly try this 69er thing as a suspension fork. Darn rigid riding is rough!
Moe and Jeremy had previously mentioned that when they rode rigid, they would have to be more careful in picking their lines. Ain’t that the truth! I found myself more attentive about where I wanted to go. But I have to tell you, climbing on a rigid does have its benefits! This thing climbs like no other bike I’ve had. I didn’t have to worry about locking out…just mash up the hill.
What was neat too about yesterday was seeing Vince ride his single speed. Other than Moe, I’m the only fella in our circle of friends that rides a SS, so I’d check out some of the simple things Vince would do when riding and imitate it. Things like staying seated on the saddle as long as you can, then bursting out of it when you need that extra power. The fella also has a graceful pedaling stroke…yah I know it sounds totally ghey for me to be checking out another rider pedaling, but hey, that’s how I learn…visually, and it’s not like it was a bad view…wink wink…oh wait, that was ghey too.
Anyhow, 69er feels great, I’ll need more saddle time and I’ll report on it later this week.
Thanks
RL
Wow… I’ve never had another man make me blush before! Thanks RL! Look at me, I’m graceful! It was a nice treat to finally gwt another ride in with the Mtnbikeriders crew. Sorry to hear that “P” wasn’t feeling well. 🙁 I tried tempting RL with some gravy soaked breakfast, but he didn’t go for it. Until next time….
I see that the singlespeed KHS has disc brakes only in the front. I am also thinking of installing disc brakes on the front only as well since my frame does not have disc mounts.
Does that make sense or am I wasting my time and money?
My KHS Solo One also has a disc brake on the front and V-brake in the rear. I was forced to go Disc since the suspension fork that I got was a disc only fork. I can tell you that I’m glad that I did. Since a lot of the braking is done by the front brake, you can really tell the improvement. In my opinion, it is worth the upgrade.
I’m still laughing at the video…right around 1:00-1:14….
Tornado,
The disc upgrade to the front is a good choice. Like Moe stated before, 70% of your braking comes from your front brake. Having a disc up front makes for more efficient braking. Running a V in the rear is quite sufficient. My frame is a KHS Rigid One. It doesn’t have a disc tab, otherwise I think I might have run disc brakes front and rear.
My SS is 100% custom. It’s a mix of anything I could find in my vast supply of bike parts that were once part of a number of bikes I’ve owned and whatever I could scrounge from my old LBS I worked for. (See if you can make out the silver decal on my top tube!)
Thanks for the info on the discs. I am going to do it.
You should check out these
http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/15777-115_AVDB56-3-Parts-158-Brakes/Disc/Avid-BB5-Mechanical-Disc-Brake-'07.htm
Ha ha, you guys are sporting a “bike mullet” (disc in front, V-brakes in rear). Achey breaky heart, anyone?