Reviewed: Orange Seal Endurance

 

    I have been riding tubeless for years now. I have always used Stans until this season. I will say that I have never had a problem with Stans but I always seem to make a mess. I did get to the point where I was only spilling a few drops on the floor while adding new or fresh setup. Whenever I would go into the shop to set it up I would inject Stans into my wheels but didn't have the equipment at home. Brian at EPBC tossed me a jug of Orange Seal Endurance and told me to try it out...

    I would have to say that my first impression was a good one. The bottle comes with a screw in applicator tube to inject the sealant into your wheel for leak free setup. because of this the whole tubeless setup start to finish took me just a few minutes. That in itself was an improvement over Stans. Also a bottle was less expensive. Put that on top of the ease of setup and we have a winner.

    First ride out I went to our MTB Clubs new trail that is still a little furry in spots. I intentionally rode through a few thick spots that we are planning to cut into trail. There were plenty of thorns and who knows what the trail surface looked like. I was pioneering! When I was finished my ride My pressure was close to starting but no flats. I did have a few thorns in my tires. Sealant did its job. I have been riding the Endurance blend for 3 months now and will not be going back to Stans as long as I can get Orange Seal.

(Pic was taken after I dismounted tires to see how the sealant reacted)

Bad Run of Luck...

        
        I have been trying to ride as much as I can recently. I have a lot going on right now and my work schedule has been crazy but I have still managed to get out on a few good rides. My road rides have gone off without a hitch besides one incident with my water bottles. On the other hand my mountain rides have been plagued recently with breakdowns, flats, failing components, and a forgetful rider. In a way I hope that I am the only one with this problem. One ride was just a flat on my front which was not setup tubeless, (long story)but that is fixed now.

RD was toast!

At least it was a nice day!

        Another ride I forgot my shoes, so rode my candy's in sneakers. That same ride a large stick got lodged on my cassette somehow and one pedal stroke brought it around and pulled my rear derailleur up, around, and into my spokes. Brought me to a quick stop. No spokes were broke in this incident. did twist the RD but the hanger survived as well. That  could have been  a expensive fix! Thanks to Eastern Panhandle Bicycles for having a RD in stock. Got me back on the trail in days!





      


       Next mtb ride I forgot my Osprey pack, no  water or tools I charged on, found a bottle in my car and filled it with mountain stream water. As if that wasn't enough my non-drive side crank arm came loose and worked its way off. With a walk back to my car I found a multitool and repaired the crank arm and finished the ride. Did I mention that this was not the first time that crank arm worked off, happened a few rides after purchasing the bike, I chalked that up to me not checking torque like I should have. Time for some Loctite!
  
        I hope the rest of this season turns around. I don't mind a few hiccups and breaks, proof of use, but this is getting out of hand. I'd like to get a few rides in without issue soon. Can anyone else relate?

Beef with the Industry

I have been riding bikes for many years now. I started with a beginner bike and worked my way up through bikes and now have a quality bikes for multiple disciplines. I also bought cycling clothes early on. It was mostly cheaper kits.(I tend to head straight for the closeout racks) I have decided that it is time to upgrade my clothing.

This may be more of a question/rant then a worthy post but are quality cycling clothes really worth the money?

I was reading through this months issue of Bicycle Magazine. They did a 4-5 page gallery of the new kit lineups from many different companies. There was maybe one kit that squeaked under the $300 mark. Am I alone in thinking that's a ridiculous amount of money for shorts and a jersey? Are people really spending that much regularly for cycling clothes?

I am always hunting for a deal. I also buy a lot of leftover stock from my LBS. My most expensive bibs were $70 and I cringed buying those. Maybe I just need to ride once in a top quality kit. I guess its just easier for me to see the value of a good bike and components. The same thinking roles over to clothing as well but I'm not there yet! For now I will probably replace my lower end bibs with the new equivalent.

I want some feedback from you, what are a few brands that you feel are worth their price tags? I hope to hear back from you!

Is Trail Work as Fun as Riding?

I love riding my bike. I have always enjoyed parking at the trailhead, mounting up on the bike and riding off on the sweet singletrack. I never really thought about all the hard work that was involved with getting those sweet lines into the woods. I passed a crew working on the trails I was riding and stopped to tell them how good of a job they were doing. I chatted with the small crew for a few minutes then rode off. After that ride I started to feel a little guilty for not helping more. So I decided to jump in with both feet!

Fitbit Surge Review

I typically talk about cycling related things on this blog, but today I want to write about a new product I bought. Being as I am still active with the military in a state guard capacity the need to run is always lurking. I have a great love/hate relationship with all fitness activities besides cycling. I use a Garmin Edge for my cycling but didn't enjoy carrying the unit on a run. Of course I have to track my activities. I feed off information! The reasons stated above as well as a great curiosity with my sleeping habits lead me to research a fitness tracker.

I had been looking at getting a fitness tracker for quite a long time before pulling the trigger on the Fitbit Surge.(Purchased by me) When looking at other brands Fitbit stood out to me for many reasons. The design was very simple and felt sturdy. I am a mechanic by trade and I have never been able to wear a watch without messing it up. I will cover this a little later. I researched the app and liked what I saw. I had set out to buy the ChargeHR but went with the Surge in the end. I really wanted the GPS.

The first day wearing the watch I almost took it back. I am not a watch or anything on my wrist kind of guy. I wore a RoadID for a while but even that had to go. Now I just put it on before a road ride. I stuck in there and kept wearing it. I believe it has been 3 weeks and it has become as necessary as underwear. The only time I take it off is to shower and that's when I charge the watch. That leads me right into battery life. I have had no problems with the battery life yet, I do charge a little most days and either run, bike, hike, or some sort of activity everyday. Got the battery halfway down one time on a road ride using GPS. I hadn't charged it the day prior and my ride was after a long day chasing my kids. The Surge was busy that day! I really like all the information that is at my fingertips during a run or hike or bike ride. Its also nice that it syncs right away with Bluetooth on my phone and PC. I was worried about the HR being off but I have tested alongside my Garmin with the strap and they are usually within 1 beat of each other.

Mucky Nutz Face Fender Review

I was down at Eastern Panhandle Bicycles the other day just looking around shooting the breeze with Brian the owner about a big group ride we were organizing and I saw the Mucky Nutz fender on his bike on the stand. Of course I ask him about it, next thing you know I bought one! Rushed home right then to install on the bike.

The Mucky Nutz Face Fender is such a simple yet effective design. Very easy to install on the fork. Package included nice velcro straps to secure the fender most likely every fork out there. After just a few minutes including time for pictures and off/on of the front wheel the fender was secure and ready to roll. Luckily for me it wouldn't be long before I tested it. To make things better there was a light rain that evening followed by unusually warmer temperatures in my area giving me a tacky riding surface. It was a day to have a fender!

200+ Mile Review Trek Top Fuel 8

I wanted to start this post with a picture from one of the many adventures I have taken with this bike. This picture was taken at Raystown Lake, which fortunately for me is about a 1.5 hour drive away. Its great to be able to ride epic trails like that so close to home! I wrote my initial review back in September. I know to most of you only having a little over 200 miles on a bike in 6 months is pathetic but for me being a father of 2 young boys and having a job with alternating shifts as well as my military obligations I am happy with that!

I can say that everyone of those miles have been great! Even the grinding out of the climbs we have here in the mountains of WV and surrounding areas. Speaking of climbing, I had always rode a hardtail in the past. I had some reservations spending up for a full squishy...NOT ANYMORE! This bike climbs better then my hardtails. Maybe some of that is because my legs don't take the blunt of the descents anymore but I'll get to those later. I am running a 1X set-up on this bike. Yes I am in the stone age it seems only running 10spd with a normal sized cassette but may upgrade soon! My fitness has improved so I am able to pedal more consistently on the climbs. With the geometry of this bike and the stiffness I do not get the "hops" while climbing. Its tuned well for me by the awesome guys down at EPBC so I don't need to worry about locking/unlocking at all. I can just go ride this bike!