Getting into xx

No, not the 10-speed, carbon overdose mountain bike components. I need my granny gear and I think 9 speed drivetrains are too finicky to begin with. This is the xx, a band I heard on an indie music listening station at Zia Records, and they've put out one incredible album. Four British teenagers - who knew?

In other news, I'm officially down one bike. The muttbike I assembled last summer now sits in the corner of the workshop, sans fork. Now, I understand that a Tora Race is not exactly the highest end unit, but this one died an untimely death. As I noted back in March, the damper was leaking. I had intended to drop the fork and have it repaired under warranty, or at least that was the plan up until I fractured one of the cantilever bosses while removing the rim brakes. It went from a repairable low-end fork to an expensive paperweight right there. And no, I wasn't going to upgrade to disk brakes just to bypass that broken boss. It's too bad, really, because like I've said before, the bike handled pretty well and was a blast to ride.

Fortunately, despite considerable pushback and a misguided effort to make me feel guilty about their return policy, the national bicycle retailer from which I bought the fork allowed me to exercise their 100% satisfaction guarantee. I really need to be better about supporting independent LBSs. Maybe I should also not buy the cheapest stuff all the time. Or better yet, I ought to stop obsessing over components and just ride the damned bikes.

Anyway, it's not like the hardtail was going to get a whole lot of use with the 29er trailbike parked right next to it. In fact, the hardtail was the bike I built up from spare parts to hold me over until I could decide on a new bike. I'll either turn it into a rigid-forked alt bar test bed or just migrate the better components to BeanSS' and my other bikes. I also have a neat old Cannondale Beast of the East frame sitting there, unbuilt.

Happily distracting me from all of this bicycle musical chairs is the need to prep our new (well, new to us at least) bike hauler. We bought what's basically a 10-year newer version of our reliable little Nissan pickup, but with a few extra options. My current task is to get it set up with a cap and a rack so I can finally go on a road trip instead of just talking about it. I'm looking forward to Flagstaff's altitude handing me my ass. I'm also looking forward to repairing the oil leak, squealing brakes, and misaligned front end of our older truck, plus whatever else might be wrong with it.

So, let's hope that my next blog includes a recap of a ride located somewhere outside of Tucson and the Santa Cruz Valley.