So a few weeks ago I got a long-anticipated shipment from Oregon: two boxes containing one Jones Spaceframe and an assortment of wheels. Party time, excellent!

Jeff Jones was kind enough to lend me a Spaceframe built as a singlespeed to race with at the Singlespeed Worlds. Quite a nice way to begin a test. But, as is often the case with smaller companies that don’t have lots of bikes just lying around, he needed the frame back to display at Interbike, so my testing joy was short-lived.

Testing joy has arrived again. The two boxes were stuffed with a Merlin-made Spaceframe and a Fat Truss fork (made to accept his custom front wheels built with 135mm front hubs), singlespeed and 6-speed shifter/drivetrain set-ups, and five wheels: one fast-n-light singlespeed set with Edge Composites carbon rims, one heavier-duty 6-speed set with Chris King rear hub and customized 17-34t Shimano XTR cogset (trimmed down to fit on the King singlespeed hub for a dishless build), and a big-ass Fat front wheel composed of a Paul 135mm front hub, 50mm-wide Speedway Cycles rim and Surly Endomorph 26″x4″ tire (the outer diameter of which closely matches XC 29″ tires). This is a lot of cool stuff to mess with. As Jeff said when I visited his shop last spring (Inside Line issue #136), the interchangeability of his frames, forks, wheels and customized drivetrain parts “is like playing with Legos.”

The bike came as a singlespeed, but as I’m feeling pretty lazy as of late, right away I transmogrified it into 6-speed Fat Front mode. Jeff likes to equip his bikes with Avid mechanical disc brakes, so I just had to switch from the Shimano XTR cable brake lever to an XTR Dual-Control for the rear. He had helpfully included an XTR derailleur already connected to the shift/brake lever with the signature stainless steel tubing he uses for cable housing. For the more bendy handlebar sections, Jeff prefers Nokon segmented housing with shrink-to-fit overwraps where it contacts the frame and fork. The phrase “well thought out” is an understatement with Jeff’s builds.

This is also an expensive set of bike Legos. With that in mind, I aim to get in as much riding experience as possible to justify the nearly five-figure price tag.

Did you say “five figures”? Yikes, that much?!? Yes, it’s going to take a lot of riding. But here are some reasons the price is not so ridiculous:

- The Spaceframe comes in only two sizes, 23″ and 24″ (effective top tube measurement, with a possible larger third size to come), but each can be ridden by a wide variety of people, due to the slack seat tube angle – as the seat is raised, the effective top tube is lengthened by more than that on a “normal” bike would be. Everyone else in the office, with the possible exception of Maurice, can ride this single bike. (We tried this when Jeff visited back in July.) The true test will be to see if Justin can ride this same Spaceframe for extended periods – although we’re not that different in height, we have very different leg and torso lengths and prefer totally different bike setups.

- Versatility. With the option of singlespeed, 6, 12 or 18 speed (if one adds a 2- or 3-speed crank) and a regular or Fat front wheel for varying amounts of pneumatic suspension, there’s a lot of options for different terrain and riding styles. Since my usual commuting transportation is currently in pieces in my bike room being overhauled (with more parts crying out for replacement every time I look at it), I put its Mavic Speedcity rear wheel in the Jones frame and the Edge/Paul wheel in front, and after a little monkeying with derailleur limit screws and barrel adjusters, have been riding it in to work. With the single 32t front chainring, it’s geared a little low, but not by much. I can keep a mountain rear wheel here at work for a quick transmogrify and afternoon ride. Cyclocross racing? Dual slalom? Dirt jumping? All possibilities not outside the realm of reality. I even plan to take the bike to Ray’s at some point.

- Titanium is forever. You’ve heard this before… but with a frame and fork that I would dare call revolutionary, yet not dependent on technology that may soon be outmoded or unserviceable, this is a bike that will not only last but be rideable and fun for a very long time.

The price of titanium (along with many other raw materials) has been rising precipitously lately. Jeff doesn’t want his cool stuff to remain out of reach for most riders, and has begun offering a steel frame also made by Merlin with his signature geometry. It’s still pretty pricey, but Jeff’s been thinking about ways to make his frames even less expensive. A few other bike makers have already arrived at some of the same Jones geometry fundamentals, such as the laid-back seat tube that bends around the rear wheel paired with short chainstays… lots more people may soon be able to enjoy the benefits of a Jones revolution, even if the vehicle doesn’t come from Mr. Jones himself.

Do you own a 26-inch wheeled mountain bike that you ride more on the road than on the trails?  Have you ever wanted to make that slow mountain bike faster on the street?  Have you tried skinny tires, but people on their road bikes are still whizzing past you? By losing the small, sluggish 26 inch-wheels and installing a pair of light, nimble 700c wheels, you will be able to turn your mountain bike into a road-worthy machine.

It’s an easy job when you have a frame with disc brakes.  All you need to do is pull out the old wheels, slide in those thin, fast 700’s, and your ready to roll. But what if your bike doesn’t have disc brake tabs, are you out of luck? No, that’s where Mavic’s caliper adjusters come to the rescue.

When you try to install 700c wheels in a 26 inch-wheeled mountain bike frame, the brake pads don’t line up with the rim, they hit just below it. The brake pads need to be a little higher in order for them to line up with the braking surface.  This is where Mavic’s caliper adjusters will come in handy.

The caliper adjusters remind me of the old school brake boosters that were popular back in the nineties, but with a set of brake bosses welded to the adjusters to allow you to mount your brakes higher on the frame. This will bridge the gap and perfectly line up your brake pads with your new 700c wheels.

Installation is simple, just remove the brakes and bolt the caliper adjusters to the brake bosses on the frame using the supplied stainless hardware.  Then bolt your brakes to the caliper adjusters.  The next step is to install the new wheels.

Pay close attention here to avoid purchasing a wheelset that will not fit your bike.  Essentially, don’t simply purchase a standard 700c road wheelset.  Here is why. When it comes to buying a set of wheels, you need to be sure to get a pair of wheels that match the spacing of your frame.  Mountain bikes have 100mm front-wheel spacing and 135mm rear-wheel spacing.  Road bikes have 100mm front-wheel spacing and 130mm rear-wheel spacing.  As you can see, the front wheel has the same spacing, but the road bike’s back wheel is 5mm narrower.  So be sure to get a 135mm-spaced 700c back wheel.

Hybrid bikes as well as some touring and cross bikes use 135 mm spacing, so it won’t be hard to find a new 700c wheel.  You may also pick up Mavic’s Speedcity wheelset, made specifically for this purpose. Once again, Mavic has another easy solution.

The last part to sort out is the tire size.  If you plan on sporting your super tight Lycra to dominate the roads, you can put on the smallest tire your rim will allow.  If you still crave a little dirt and prefer a little cyclocross action, you can fit a 32mm tire onto your sweet new rims.  However, when you take the tire size up to 35 mm, you tend to pick up a few noisemakers (i.e. leaves, sticks, and stones) in the gap between the adjusters and your tire.  Once you’ve slapped on your new tires and your cassette, go ahead and put your new wheels onto your old mountain bike frame.  All thats left is a quick brake adjustment and you’re ready to roll.

I used to race my old, rigid mountain bike at cyclocross races, and after I switched to the larger wheels, I could really feel a big difference.  I was glad I made the switch to 700’s.  The caliper adjusters were a great way to transform my ride into a completely different machine.   Whether it’s a great commuter or cyclocross bike you’re looking for, there are many options for that old 26 inch-wheeled mountain bike.

It’s fall outside and right now we’re sewing up the last bits on the next Dirt Rag going off to press. Issue 139 will be the last of this year.  It’s hard to believe that this is about it for 2008.

Looking back, the past summer has been chalk full of adventures, both personal and professional. In June, Justin Steiner and I made a foray into Canada to check out the 24 Hours of Summer Solstice in Bolton, Ontario. It was my first time camping since I was a kid! In July, the entire Dirt Rag office headed out to Kenda Bikefest in Hancock, Massachusetts, our first crack at presenting a major bike festival. It was my second time camping and my first experience huddled in a flimsy tent in a lightening/rain storm. I was certain we would all be struck by lightning or swept away in the flash floods. Luckily the sun returned in the morning and dried out the venue quickly, making for a fantastic three-day festival. I didn’t make it out on the trails nearly as much as I wanted to this season, but enough to see advancement in my skills on a mountain bike. Dare I say, taking a few more risks this year? And as the summer was winding down we all packed up again and headed for Vegas and Interbike where my colleagues introduced me to my first bit of serious city riding-bike messenger style- through construction and traffic in downtown Vegas…at night! This fall, I’ve also had chance to reconnect with family and friends. And for the first time in my life I think I know what I want to do when I grow up! I’m also closing out my second year as Dirt Rag’s Art Director. Each time I think I’m getting the hang of the job they up the ante on me!

2009 will start a new chapter of the Dirt Rag story with the advent of the first Bicycle Times issue in March. We hope you will enjoy and contribute to this new title as you have with Dirt Rag. All and all, it looks to be a very busy next year for the staff, but we are excited about extending our horizons to include the daily disciplines of the average bicycle rider. Right now I’m going to take a deep breath and enjoy the next two weeks before we start gearing up for the next production schedule!

I’m including a small gallery of photos from places I’ve ridden and things I’ve seen on the trails this year. Hope you enjoy them.

Unknown rider at the first water crossing at Kenda Bikefest.  -photo Dan Zimmerman

Doe and fawn check out Dirt Rag Headquarters backyard.  -photo Amanda Zimmerman

Getting around on Maui,  photo by Dan Zimmerman

Andrew supervises as Justin, Karen and Eric assemble the Dirt Rag Interbike Booth. -photo by Amanda Zimmerman

Baby Raccoon on the Pittsburgh Jail Trail. -photo Bill Muldoon

Manhattan. Any given day of the week. -photo Amanda Zimmerman

Karen finds a friend. -photo Justin Steiner

Promontory Point on Herr’s Island. Pittsburgh.-photo by Bill Muldoon

Fall Ride. Alline (1 of 7) and me (5 of 7). -photo by Bill Muldoon

The Rails to Trails Act of 1983 may rank as the best thing to happen to American cycling in the last 25 years. Technically section 8(d) of the National Trails Systems Act, this landmark legislation greases the skids for the conversion of abandoned and unused railroad corridors into recreational trails. According to the Rails-to-Trails Conservency, America’s rail-trail count currently stands at 1,534 open trails for a total of 15,346 miles. It’s refreshing to know that even Congress can occasionally knock one out of the park.

A few weekends ago, I treated myself to a 69-mile slice of America’s juicy rail-to-trail pie, as a participant in an organized charity event know as That Dam Ride—which cruised along the scenic Yough River Trail from Boston, PA to Confluence, PA.

In “Little Boston” you drop off your camping gear, and eager Boy Scouts and their leaders load it and truck it 69 miles down the trail to Confluence, where it’s waiting for you upon your arrival. Rest stops stocked with food and drink keep you smiling and rolling along. A home cooked pasta dinner at Confluence recharges your batteries. You wake up the next day refreshed and ready to pedal 69 miles back to Little Boston, where you pick up your gear, and call it a weekend. That’s the short version.

The long version begins in 1991, when my imagination was captured by the notion of a proposed rail-trail connecting Pittsburgh, PA and Washington, DC. A tiny newspaper article told of a local group, calling themselves the Mon-Yough Trail Council, that was forming to work on converting a stretch of abandoned railroad in Allegheny county, as part of the larger Pitt-to-DC trail vision. I showed up at one of their first public meetings. One thing led to another and I ended up on the organization’s Board of Directors, and became their first newsletter editor/publisher.

Those were heady days, starting an organization from scratch, ripping out old rails and ties, removing decades of accumulated trash dumped along the trail, raising funds, and finally laying down a crushed-limestone surface for generations of trail users to enjoy. I’m proud to have played a small role in the creation of this fantastic national asset.

Alas, I’ve since relocated, and it’s no longer geographically practical to participate in the Trail Council, nor pop over to the Yough River Trail for a spur-of-the moment ride. I do keep up my annual membership, and trail-based events such as That Dam Ride give me a great reason to make a pilgrimage to ride my favorite rail-trail.

Every time I hit the rail-trail I’m refreshed. I see the future of cycling in the person of kids out for a ride with their parents. I see hordes of bicyclists who’ll never shred on singletrack, who’ll never enter a bike race, who wouldn’t know titanium from plutonium—but bicyclist just the same. I see bicyclists who sit on town councils, bicyclist who own local business, bicyclists who contact congress and tell them that they want more bicycling infrastructure. I see butchers and bakers and candlestick makers. I see hordes of examples of why the Rails to Trails Act of 1983 may rank as the best thing to happen to American cycling in the last 25 years. I see hordes of people on bikes.

Now, back to That Dam Ride. I suspect that you’d rather look at some pictures than read about me pedaling 138 miles; therefore, I offer the following photo-journal from my trip. Just click on a thumbnail to view a larger image. Enjoy.

The beginning of the ride winds through suburbia, but on the trail it’s easy to forget the hustle and bustle.

There’s even a ghost town a few miles from the Boston trailhead. The Elizabeth Township Historical Society maintains this Methodist Cemetery (est. 1824) as the only artifact remaining from the town of “Old Dravo” that once stood at this site. Adjacent to the cemetery, the Apache Springs campsite offers weary travelers spooky overnight accomodations in this ghost town.

Forty miles into my journey, I rolled into the town of Connellsville, which, despite it’s rather sleepy demeanor, was a rip roaring “coal and coke” boom town in the early 1900s. While I ripped into the roaring lunch that the ride organizers had waiting there, I admired the wide variety of rigs that that were along for the ride.

While the overall grade of the trail from Boston to Confluence is relatively flat 0.5%, the 17 miles from Connellsville to Ohiopyle State Park is steep enough to give the legs a bit of a challenge. The reward is a spectacular bridge crossing, high above the ruggedly beautiful Ohioplye gorge—a spot where the whitewater attracts boaters from far and wide.

During the final 11 miles to Confluence, a town located at the confluence of the Casselman (left in photo below) and Youghioghenny (right in photo below) rivers, I was motivated by thoughts of camp sweet camp.

After collecting our gear from the Boy Scouts, we riders set up camp adjacent to the base of the Youghioghenny Dam. The sound of the water rushing from the bottom of the dam provided perfect white noise, not that I needed any help falling asleep after a long day in the saddle.

But before I filled my sleeping bag with my tired bones, I filled my belly with a home-cooked pasta dinner, courtesy of the fine ladies at Confluence’s Trinity Lutheran Church. All included with my registration fee. Umm, umm good.

After a good night’s sleep and a quick breakfast, it was time to reverse course and pedal back home. On the way I took a slight detour in Ohiopyle to snap a few photos of the Ohiopyle Falls, and stumbled upon some guys with RC offroad vehicles who had set up a trials course on the rocks on the riverbank. They seemed to be having a great time, and didn’t mind me photographing their action.

Before I wrap up this report, I’ll spill the beans on a semi-secret swimming hole, known to the locals as Smithton Beach—a great spot to cool off during summer months. Beach access is via a dirt doubletrack that’s directly across the trail from the Smithton trailhead parking lot. There is no signage, and the entrance winds down the riverbank, such that you can’t see the beach from the trail, keeping this cool spot somewhat of a secret.

Well, its time for me to pump out a Brain Fart, and unfortunately there are only few things on which I’m currently able to focus. So, I’m going to bore you with those. Right now I’m getting ready for Interbike, and rejoicing in the fact that I’m slowly coming back up to speed from having a nasty bout with something resembling the Flu.

As much as a I promise myself not to, I always end up taking my health for granted. Only when I’m injured, or sick, do I realize just how lucky I am to be a young, healthy individual. I had plenty of time to think about all of this over a full five days spent wallowing in my own achy misery on the couch with 102 deg. plus temps, feeling like this:

Having the Flu sucks, take your vitamin C kids.

Being sick the week before Interbike is certainly far from ideal, seeing just how draining and exhausting the whole experience can be. Interbike is  pretty hectic for all involved, particularly with the devilish influences of Las Vegas. Though it will certainly be fun to visit with everyone, check out new products, and ride some bikes in the desert. Keep an eye on the Dirt Rag website for daily Show coverage.

And finally, in an attempt to bring down the lame-factor of this Brain Fart, I’ll throw in some random and entirely unrelated photos.  Click if you want to see ‘em bigger. Enjoy.

Sunset:

See the ground hog below?

Doves, doing dove things:

And, a knarly old fencerow and lonely tree:

My commute to work today made me think about a recent Old Coot article we published a few issues ago. The idea of the article was that you don’t need to ride new and different trails all the time. Sometimes it’s fun and challenging to ride trails closer to home that you’ve ridden several times in the past.

My ride today took a slightly different twist on this, but the idea is similar. It started off much like any other day that I ride to work, except that I wasn’t riding my normal commuter bike, a Surly Cross-Check. I was on a full suspension Foes Racing 2:1 XCT-4. Most people would think that riding on mostly roads for a 13 mile one-way commute on a full suspension mountain bike with some pretty aggressive knobby tires is just plain stupid. It was actually one of the most fun days I’ve had commuting to work.

I ride from downtown Pittsburgh out into the suburbs to Dirt Rag HQ, and on the way pass by lots of stairways, curbs, walls and other obstacles that I usually try to avoid on my regular commuter bike. Today was different. I hopped ramped curbs, flew down stairways and basically launched off of just about anything I could find. It was so much fun I almost didn’t make it to the office.

To be sure, it wasn’t my fastest commute and I wouldn’t want to ride a full suspension bike every day. But riding a different bike made a great new adventure out of a ride I’ve made literally hundreds of times. I’m looking forward to doing it again.

Look for more on the Foes 2:1 XCT-4 test in an upcoming issue of Dirt Rag.