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I’m currently rolling a low-end build (Rockhopper Comp 29er) as it was a cheap way to get back on the bike after my old MTB was used in one of those ‘guy who doesn’t know you borrows it long-term and without asking and oh yeah I’m borrowing your TV and shit rent to own without paying rent’scams. Had started to rebuild it as a sort-of-cross hack bike,but have now vetoed that build and am reverting back to OEM so I can sell her to fund a more lustworthy ride. As part of that process am giving her a lube/oil/filter/cable change so the next owner is good to go. As I know a lot of people don’t know how to swap out the cables on their shifters or are afraid they have to disassemble them to get at the cables I figured I’d throw a quick how to up. This process >>should<< be the same for everything X9 and below,but as the bike industry is keen on changing things every year Anyways,a good % of you are going to chuckle at this being a how-to,but it’s one of those things that sometimes you just think is going to be far worse than it is,involving cracking open the shifter body and weeding your way through springs and widgets and whatnots,but it’s not like that and if it enables someone to save some money and wrench on their own bike a bit more confidently I’m stoked. Step 1: Put your bike in your bike stand. If you don’t have a bike stand and are still using a wall,2x4s,or some other rigged method of keeping your bike upright for wrenching punch yourself in the nuts (or female equivalent for you ladies out there reading),stop reading and go buy a GOOD one right now –seriously don’t cheap out here,what’s an extra $50 amortized over the 10+ year life of a good repair stand? I went from an old hand me down POS Blackburn to a Spin Doctor Pro G3,pretty much night and day in stability,ability to have the bike at a decent working level (I’m 6’4 so that’s a nice back saving addition),etc. etc. Seriously,just do it and you’ll thank me.
Step 2: Shift into gear 1 (front) or your highest rear gear (8-10) depending on which cable you’re replacing. Remove or cut the cable from the derailleur side. Next,look just behind the backside of your triggers for either a small,uncovered hole or a small screw that is covering the hole. If there’s a small screw,remove it,otherwise proceed to step 3.
Step 3: Push on the cut end of the cable so that it comes out through the newly (or permanently) uncovered hole in shifter. If you’re having trouble getting it out give it a twist while pushing and it should come out. Step 4: It’s all downhill from here. Insert new cable through the hole the old one just came out of,feed through your housing and back to your derailleur,and tune as usual. Note that it may be a pain in the R’s to get the cable back through the barrel adjuster. Some people remove them for feeding through,I found I was able to feed the cable through by just playing with it for a second. BOOM! You’re done,pat yourself on the back and assume the victory pose  I’ve been geeking hard on Yetis lately. I’m not sure why. Well,that’s a lie,in the early-90s when I was rollin’Raleigh Chill/MT-500s/whatever new frame they sent when I broke another Technium lug (remember that? Magnesium lugs + aluminum tubing = megafail apparently) I,like most everyone else,was dreaming about fully Ringle’d out Yetis (or e-stay Alpinestars,or stadium rock neon Kleins with 3-way neon paint jobs). Even though I know that Yetis are no longer made in the USA (but are still priced like they are –DAMN YOU INFLATION),the Yeti bike to me is that girl in high school you always wanted to bang but never had the balls to try with and now that you’re in you’re mid-30s you want to step to her just to shut that nagging voice in the back of your head up. I’m assuming I’m not the only person with that voice,but if so let’s retract that last statement and just skip to the next paragraph. Anyways,Yeti demo tour. Saw over on empty beer that they announced some dates for their demo tour. I know everybody and their mom wants to try a SB-66 and SB-95 so posting here so you can plan your sick days accordingly. Bike available: 3.2.12-3.4.12 3.10.12-3.11.12 3.17.12-3.18.12 4.21.12 4.27.12-4.28.12 5.5.12 5.20.12 6.2.12 6.20.12 8.17.12-8.19.12 10.5.12-10.7.12 I rode the SB-66 last year in Targhee and it was fun. I don’t have enough experience on high end bikes to compare it to so I won’t bore you with my thoughts on it,but I’ll leave you with one tidbit –those XT brakes are like on/off switches,so be careful.
If you already like the Yeti (and who doesn’t?) and your local dealer doesn’t carry them,you can always hit up the good peeps at Huck’n'Roll. They’ve currently got the 575 Race as well as a few ASR5 builds (alloy and carbon) on screaming deals. Want one? Ping me with your mailing address. All I want in return is a picture of where you stick ‘em! Oh,and if you’ve pinged me and I haven’t responded yet drop a comment here,my email seems to be a bit wonkified.
(and you have no idea how many times I had to proofread it to avoid one of those ‘free deliverly’type gaffs) So I entered this contest that iMapMyRide (btw,cool app,just sucks battery life like Jenna Jameson in her prime) and some others were putting on,where you use their app,ride your bike,and have a chance at winning prizes. Apparently due to my ohsofuckingincredible fitness,gazzelle like reflexes and deft bike handling skills was able to go Cadel Evans on that ass and win some yellow spandex to cover my man chesticles. Sadly though I don’t think you’ll see me out and about in this jersey as it doesn’t have nearly enough logos on it for my liking. Note that I’m putting a team together and taking sponsorship requests for my certain to be epic return next year. I’m hoping to secure a sponsor for SPD compatible sandals,a recumbant bike,and maybe a goofy little cycling hat sponsor to round out the look.
Came across this today. Looks like a crazy and fairly effective take on bike lighting. Dunno that it would replace a good headlight,but anything that increases visibility at night is A-OK in my book –though I do wonder if cars are going to be MORE LIKELY to hit you while they are gawking! revolights. join the revolution. from revolights on Vimeo. Here’s a series I’m calling ‘Jackass Moves’that I hope stops at #1,but knowing me it won’t. Still not entirely sure what I was doing when it happened,was just aimlessly working on the bike when my finger got stuck between brake rotor and spoke…or something. Hard to tell in this iphone uberzoomed blurry photo but split the nail right in the middle. That smarts. Fortunately it’s a minor injury as this is far and away my most used finger in the quiver!
The fix:Cut a piece of coffee filter and used some of the lady friend’s nail polish/glue type stuff on top of it to create a ghettofab ‘fiberglass’job to reinforce the split in the nail. McGuyver type stuff. It’s follow Friday,this one is for my peeps,tweeps and just random internet lecherous creeps out there
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