Licao veterans and Licao newbies meet

I was riding solo.  I woke up earlier and left home by 6:00 am.

But, at the Pangarap gate, I saw two familiar bikers - Ka Leo and Jojo.  They are among the veterans of Licao-licao.  We rode together and proceeded to the trails.

We stopped over at the La Mesa gate as Ka Leo fixed something in his bike.  When its done, we prepared to go on.  Then, a group of young bikers was coming.  Anton (Stoner124) introduced himself and his 3 friends.  They are the newbies of Licao-licao.  Thence, we rode as a group up to the Licao terminal.

15th Tour of the Fireflies

I got this from PMTB Forum.

The Tour of the Fireflies on its 15th year will be held on November 24, 2013 (Sunday).  The tour starts and finishes at Tiendesitas, Pasig City.

Replacing my broken brake

My Deore hydraulic brake lever assembly on my 69er broke.  It's time to upgrade, I thought.  And, I canvassed for a replacement.  An XT hydraulic brake set costs P7,200 while a Deore P4,000 only.
 
I'd like to upgrade to XT; but, the price difference made me think twice and even thrice.

Last Saturday, I was about to buy a Deore but, at the bike shop, I changed my mind.  Anyway, I have a budget for the XT; so, why not buy it.  But, the problem was I didn't carry enough money.  So, I tried to negotiate with the shop owner.  I'd pay P5,000 first and then give the balance on Monday.  He agreed but he'd increase the price from P7,200 to P8,000.  I haggled for no increase considering that I'm a patron of that shop and the balance would be paid in just two days.  He didn't agree.

Yesterday, while at the PMTB Forum, I saw a slightly used SLX hydraulic brake set for sale at P4,200.   I thought it's a good deal. After some considerations, I contacted the seller for a meet-up.

I got the brake set at P3,800 only; and, I saved P3,400.

My brake breaks

I have the front brake only on my bikes. Thus, I always ensure that they are always in good working conditions.

My hydraulic brake set came from a Deore Group set, which I bought about 2 years ago. The left lever assembly / front brake is installed in my 29er, while the right lever assembly / rear converted to front brake is in my 69er/26er.

Unfortunately, bad luck happened. Fortunately, it happened not at the wrong time and wrong place.

After my ride this morning and after cleaning the 69er, I again checked and tested my brake. When I pressed the lever, I heard something fell. I retrieved it and looked where it came from.

It's the part of the assembly that holds the lower pin of the lever that's broken:

 With the broken part:

Without the broken part:

Nonetheless, the brake is still functioning well; but, I won't use it anymore.

Whew! It's time to upgrade! I'm also considering of getting back my rear brakes as emergency brakes.

A Folding 69er - my 3rd bike?

When I converted my KHS Alite 150 26er into a 69er, I'm left with the following:

1.  WTB 29er rim
2.  Venzo 29er rim tape
3.  Alex 26er rim
4.  Generic 26er spokes
5.  Kenda Nevegal 26er tire
6.  Hubs - front (Deore) and rear (Formula).

Selling them may be an option.  But, I'm keeping them for another project - a folding 69er, rigid, and single speed.  I'm just waiting for a Montague frameset to arrive.

I just made some calculations.  Even with these parts available, the estimated expenses to build this project is about P60,000. Whew!

Anyway, it's still in the drawing board.

Frustrated ride at Subic

We went to Subic Freeport Zone last Saturday, where we celebrated wifey's birthday.  We stayed at the Forest View residences, which is near the Pamulaklakin Trails.

I had plans of bringing my bike and experience trail biking.  I also had other options where to ride.  At last, I thought my dream of riding at Subic trails would be fulfilled.

Unfortunately, my plan was frustrated; as, I wasn't able to carry my bike due to lack of space in the car.  I have a bike rack; but, I remove the front wheel and put it inside the car.

So, I'm planning to go back to Subic in the near future for biking purposes only.

My dedicated 69er

After experimenting on my 2 bikes (a 26er and a 29er), I finally decided to make my 26er a DEDICATED 69er.  The ride with a 69er is better than a 26er and 29er.  But, I'm keeping my 29er as it is.

I bought a new front wheel for her to avoid the hassle of borrowing the front wheel of my 29er.

The front wheel:

• Rim - WTB Speed Disc All mountain 36 holes
• Tire - Maxxis Cross Mark 2.1
• Rim tape - from old inner tube
• Spokes - Generic
• Hub - Deore

Some geometry:

• BB height - 310 mm
• Head tube angle - 70 deg.
• Seat tube angle - 72 deg.

Others:

• Frame - 2009 KHS Alite 150
• Fork - Rigid Mosso M3 ATC 440 mm
• Drivetrain - Single speed (Deore Crank 32t, IG51 chain, Surly Cog 17t, Surly Spacers)
• Pedals - Clipless SPD
• Brake - Single / front brake only - Deore hydro - right lever)

Experimenting on 69er

Currently, I have two bikes.  My first is a 26er and the second a 29er.  26er and 29er are breeds of bicycles.  26er has wheels measuring 26 inches in diameter while 29er 29 inches.

There's another breed of bike - a 69er.  Wow! Its wheels must be very big at 69 inches.  I thought it was.

69er wheels are not 69 inches in diameter.  It's a combination of two sizes of wheels - 26" at the rear and 29" at the front.

I was curious about the 69er.  So, I thought on experimenting using my parts from my two bikes.

There's only one thing to do to convert any of my bikes into 69er, i.e., to change one of the wheels.

First, I tried it with my 26er.  I removed the front wheel and replaced it with the front 29er wheel.  By the way, I'm using a rigid fork with 420 mm length from axle to crown.

69er in action:

I'm selling my Mosso rigid fork - SOLD

It's a steal at P999 only.

Specifications:

• ATC length = 410 mm (for 26er)
• Steerer tube length = 215 mm
• Color = black
• With some scratches

Reason for selling:  I replaced it with another Mosso rigid fork with longer ATC length.

Meet-up at SM Fairview or Pacific Star Building, Makati City.

You may contact me at 09173097741.

My ride plans - May 25 & 26

May 25, 2013 -
Nova - Tungko - Macabud - Nova

May 26, 2003
Nova - Timberland - Maarat & v.v.

My ride plans - May 18 & 19

Two (2) more days to go; and, it's weekend.  Where would I ride?

May 18, 2013 -
Nova - Tungko or Pangarap - Macabud - San Mateo - Nova

May 19, 2003 -
Nova - Timberland - Maarat & v.v.

Or, the other way around.

Ride safe everyone!

My new saddle

The saddle of my TweetyPot (Marin Alpine Trail 20er) is damaged already.  But, I just secured it with plastic fasteners. 

While window shopping at a bike shop, I saw this fancy saddle.  After some thoughts, it's time to replace my damaged saddle.  So, I bought it.

Ouch!  My butt got sore while breaking it in.  I will try it for some more time and see if my butt would get use to it.

It's election day!  Time to vote for your chosen 12 senatoriables and local officials.

The precincts open at 7:00 am and close at 7:00 pm.

I'm going out and ride first then vote later in the afternoon.

No more chain skipping

I really wanted to solve the chain skipping of TweetyPot soonest.

So, last Monday, I went to all bike shops in Quiapo and looked for a 32 teeth chain ring, preferably Surly or E-13.  Unfortunately, my efforts were futile.  So, I went home teary!

Tuesday, I started calling and texting other bike shops.   Even the Surly Philippine dealers have no stocks or are not selling chain rings.

There's one store with one stock only but the color doesn't match with any of my two bikes. However, I was told that some stocks are coming by the 11th of the month.  The brand is E-13 and the cost is P1,600 per ring.

Then, I found one shop selling but expensive at P2,700 a piece.  At that price, it must be good.  The brand is Niner.  No wonder!  I had second thought.  Shall I wait for the 11th?  But, when I woke up the following day, I checked my wallet and decided to get the Niner ring.

Right after it's installed, I tried it at D' Wall.   No more skipping!  Yippee!

Chain still skips

This morning, I pedaled from home to Licao-licao via Tungko thence to San Mateo.  And, I used my 29er.

The ride was less enjoyable as the chain skipped on almost all climbs, especially after the drive train got dirty.  So, in every instance, I got off and walked.

I passed by two bike shops and had my drive train checked up.  The shop mechanics thought that it was the chain ring.  Some teeth are worn already.  Since the cog and the chain are new and the alignment is good, it's the logical culprit.

Now, I have to look for a replacement chain ring.

My ride plan - May 5

Happy weekend, everyone!

But, my weekend won't be happier because I have one day only to ride my bike.  Tomorrow, I'll be attending our company's sports festival at Palms Country Club in Filinvest, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

And, on Sunday, my planned route is Novaliches - Tungko - Macabud - San Mateo - Novaliches.

Bakas at last!

There were so many rides to Bakas River that I haven't been able to join.

Bakas River is located in Bgy. Matictic in Norzagaray, Bulacan.  It's just about 23 kilometers from our place, which is more than an hour away by bike.

Today, I was able to get there, when I joined the ride of Chain of Friendly Bikers (C oF B).   Bakas River was its final destination to beat the summer heat.  The group of nine bikers left the meet-up place at Chow King, Lagro at around 6:00 am.  Three other bikers joined the group at Igay Road.  Thence, the route was: Barangay Bisaya, Jack Hammer, Bricktown, Igay Road on the way to Bakas River.  However, only six bikers proceeded to the river.

At Ricafort

At Igay Road

Labor Day ride

WHERE?

My options:

• Nova - Sierra Madre Loop (counter-clockwise) - Nova

• Nova - Antipolo (Sumulong Highway - Olalia Road - Marcos Highway - Cabading) - Mt. Maarat - San Mateo - Nova 

• Nova - Licao licao exploration - Nova

• Nova - Bulacan tour - Nova

Another SS attack to Pangarap - Macabud - San Mateo

As planned, my route today was Novaliches - Pangarap - Macabud - San Mateo.

As always, I rode solo with AlitePot (my KHS Alite 150).  At the Neopolitan Business Park, I noticed my water bottle wasn't in the cage. I left it again!  Darn!  Thus, before entering the trail head, I bought a bottle of mineral water.  It would sustain up to the next pit stop.

After negotiating the downhill from the La Mesa gate, I was surprised to see the newly constructed steel gate.  It wasn't there two weeks ago.  Are they going to block this route permanently even from bikers?  I hope not!  Luckily, there's still a space beside the gate post where pedestrians, bikes and motorcycles can still pass through.

The rain yesterday made some portions muddy and some with pool of waters.  Otherwise, the land's drying out.

Though I felt much stronger, it wasn't enough to conquer most of the steeper uphills of the trails that I wasn't able to climb the last time..

At Iko's store, another solo biker, Vinzon, arrived.  This was the second time that we met.  Thence, we biked together up to Odiongan junction and parted ways.  He to Licao-licao terminal and I towards San Mateo, Rizal.

SS Attack to Timberland and Mt. Sinai

I had a hard time climbing Timberland Heights this morning. And, I felt I wasn't in the mood. I stopped and rested five times; and, it took me an hour to reach the gate.  While resting, I was thinking whether to push through with my ride to Maarat basic trail then up to Giant and Mount Sinai to see the Merrell Run Event.

Then, someone greeted me.  It's Jermaine. When I learned that he and his friends would go to where I was supposed to go, I decided to tag along.

Jing, Dexter, Jermaine, & Marlon

Spicy Pancit & Spam at Giant Store

 At Mount Sinai

Broken RD converted into SS