Overall Impression
Is there anything I have not been able to do while on Thorondor?
- Long rides = yep.
- Fast rides = you bet!
- Dirt/gravel rides = sho 'nuff.
- Commuting = like a boss!
- Multi-day supported tour = with aplomb.
The All City Space Horse has served me admirably. One could easily find other bikes that would be better at any single task listed above. But, especially when you factor in cost, the Space Horse does them all surprisingly well. Here are a few examples:
- July - I did a self-supported, overnight, one-way Century ride. Once to my destination, I was cold and tired but not beat up or uncomfortable like I would have felt with my previous bike.
- August - I did an early morning, solo run of the MSU GRan Fondo 25 mile route. My time would have earned me second place on the day of the actual ride.
- Labor Day weekend - I did the DALMAC 4-day West route. Thorondor and I were routinely the first ones to the top of the climbs among my group of friends. After four days and 325 miles I had no physical issues other than a small saddle sore which developed after the first day from riding in the rain. There was certainly some fatigue but that was easily the most miles I have ever put on in such a short time period.
- August - there was a 30+ mile, dirt road exploratory ride. My average speed on the dirt was nearly the same as when I was on paved roads.
Changes?
Not to the frame and fork. Everything there is hunky-doory. The major winter project is going to be a drivetrain re-do. First, I knew that replacing my chainrings was a necessity. My intention is to go from a 48/34 to a 44/34. Thorondor spent most of last year in the big ring but usually in the top half of my 11-32 cassette. My estimation is that with a 44 tooth front ring I will be able to use much more of the cassette with minimal front shifts. It is not difficult to imagine 25-50 mile rides without moving out of the big ring.
If you are going to replace the chainrings, you should really change the chain and cassette. Instead of an 11-32 cassette, my thought is to go with an 11-34 cassette so there is a true 1:1 for the long, steep climbs.
While I am at it (the 5 most expensive words in cycling), the Shimano Altus rear derailleur has not been the best. When I switched from the Dura Ace to the Altus, the first thing I noted was my chain 'skipping' around whenever I was in the middle of the cassette. I even had my LBS give it a once over to make sure everything was kosher. It seems like the Altus is finicky through the middle of the cassette and doesn't like to hold its position causing the chain to repeatedly move up and down from one cog to another. Even with diligence and practice, this became quite annoying.
Goodbye Altus, hello Shimano Deore! Based on everything I have read, a Deore rear derailleur should perform well without breaking the bank. Per one website's description, "No one ever squawks at Deore". It can take up to a 36 tooth large cog which is more than enough for me. Technically it is a mountain bike derailleur but if it works, it works.
2016
You can never know exactly what is going to happen, but my big ride for 2016 will almost certainly be the Michigan Mountain Mayhem in mid-June. If I am going to ride it, I will do at least the century ride. Deep down, the 200k looks so tempting and juicy! Per their website, the 200k has 10,000 feet of climbing.
I have ridden portions of the MMM route as part of DALMAC and, to be perfectly honest, I cannot wait! Beautiful riding along with the challenge of doing more climbing in one day than I ever have before? Excuse me while I wipe the drool from the corner of my mouth.
What I love is that until you start talking off road riding and singletrack, Thorondor can do it. Not only can it do it, but it can do it pretty well. And without breaking the bank.
Unlikely Prospects
Another idea I have been toying with is converting Thorondor to a fixie/singlespeed. The Space Horse has special dropouts that allow it to be run fixed or singlespeed. My normal commuter bike is set up as a fixed gear after several years as a singlespeed. Riding fixed is super cool and it feels like it is making me a stronger cyclist. This would be relatively simple. Basically, it would involve taking off the derailleurs, getting a rear wheel with a flip/flop hub and slapping on a set of track cranks, along with the appropriate bottom bracket. If I wanted to be dorktastic, I could leave the bar-end shifters on while running it fixed!
An even more unlikely prospect would be changing over to a Rohloff SpeedHub. This is a world-class, internally-geared hub that costs three times as much as the Space Horse frame and fork. It has the advantage of 14 evenly spaced gears in an essentially maintenance-free set up with an amazing track record for reliability. If you are going to get one of these, it will probably be attached to a custom-made bike with a upper four to five digit price tag.
I should probably start saving.
