I'm jumping in, God help me, so anyone on the fence about my sanity, you can decidedly get off now. Honking is what the guy in the wee pock marked near half-century Toyota pick-em-up unnecessarily did as he tried to motivate his squirrels to rev enough juice to pass me up hill. Fortunately his horn was as effective as his engine and it barely gave a whiff of a grandma toot as it inched its way past and I had my ear plugs in, else I'd be sprawled still in the drainage at the side of the road. I know "honking" from nothin save Bill's email. Interestingly, I have, however, been having a lot of fun playing with different gears and climbing and noticing effects on me and speed and traction and efficiency. Bullet points. Big honking bullet points.
- Rides under 20 miles are enhanced for me by shifting less, breathing more, and making fewer crank rotations. Why? Fun. Even more so the Quickbeam, but still the Hunqapillar. - Rides longer 50 miles are enhanced for me by seeking efficiency through gearing, though I'm dim and stupid enough to enjoy the challenge of the Quickbeam for them. - Rides through the smoke of the western states on fire are only possible by shifting down 2-3 gears and taking it real easy. Whistle while you work easy. Kinda fun in it's own way. I keep telling myself. Go too fast and too much smoke filters through me sinus billows and clogs them up and the bludgeoned brain does not like that. At all. - Single track climbs with plush tires and low gearing are a hoot. Tires grip, feet spin, I glide up the hill. - Single track climbs with plush, lugged tires and higher gearing are a hoot. Tires grip gravel and help me not quite lose momentum attempting to spill out in that gap between pedal strokes. Can't make it up stuff I make up with plush tires and low gearing. That's what LCG's for. - Single track climbs with plush Compass tires and higher gearing are a hoot, but I spin out on looser/steeper climbs much sooner and have more LCG. More meaning a hundred yards over 20 miles. Infinitesimally insignificant. - There is something amazing about climbing a mountain pass for 10+ miles on a single speed that requires the dance. Perhaps it's the lack of oxygen to the brain, but wow. It really is a pray of active contemplation of a flavor deliciously different from any other I've ever prayed. Yes, I'm faster, less efficient, more tired. Who cares? Me. Because ... wow. There is more to riding than efficiency, and riding single speed for several years now has helped me discover at least some of it. Paul, if you get a chance to test the New Moustache bars (AKA Albastache, but while I appreciated the name for understanding the bar's origins, Moustache is the moniker of men, which I aspire to perhaps one day be. So New Moustache it is, for me) you may well love them. Brilliant climbers, with the upright a bit more aggressive than the Albatross and the curves a lot more aggressive, but not too aggressive. I climb single track in the curves, and paved and dirt in either. Brakes right where I want them -- in the curves. Brilliant for jouncy, technical descents and delightfully smooth for fast rail riding curvy road descents. Feels great for LCG too! A brilliant mountain bar for a bike that travels all roads and trails. With abandon, Patrick On Friday, September 8, 2017 at 8:22:47 AM UTC-6, Bill Lindsay wrote: > > > > My Bubbe mountain climbs extremely well. I'm trying to tease out the > objective meaning of the word "fun" when you and Patrick Moore talk about > 'honking'. You both say that 'honking' is fun and/or that you enjoy > 'honking'. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
