I believe Bandannas are the second most under rated thing everybody should have with them at all times, second only to a really good pocket knife. I always have one or more at hand, in the pocket, bike bag, or in the mess kit.
The Paisley bandanna is the traditional kerchief used by our grandpas and their’s before them. A 21×21 inch square of 100% cotton being the most useful accessory you can keep with you every day. Like a pocket knife that is with you every day, you will eventually wonder what you were doing before you had these. Things I use mine for: Handkerchief, napkin, pot grabber, bandage, rag, shade for your neck, sweat band, bandage, stop that something from rattling in your bag…..on and on.
These are made in the Carolinas by one of the last remaining bandanna companies in the USA. 100% cotton, dyed, printed, cut and edges sewn here, keeping jobs here. The “Traditional” bandannas are mill fresh and start out crisp and stiff. A few trips in your pocket and through the laundry will get them soft. For that extra bit of instant gratification we also have “stone washed” bandannas that are silky soft right from the start.
Like many thing you can never have too many, always one in your pocket, one in you bike bag. Making the transition you will be amazed how much longer the roll of paper towels and box of tissues will last.
As with everything that ends up on the storefront, it is there because I use it, and am pretty sure other people do to. You can find the bandannas by clicking the pic above or here.
Note: if you have kids you may end up needing more than one a day, trust me on this.
We, that’s right, WE made it out this morning for the Wednesday coffee routine. My friend Mike is back in town and met up this morning with me on his Trek 650b conversion that I did for him a year ago. The weather was looking like rain, so we kept the ride close to home and headed up the coast just a bit.
I was using my Trail Designs Caldera Keg and he had a small home brewed wood stove. Both did exactly what you would hope for, boiled water quick and fun. His wood stove made from a salvaged paint can worked just fine, gear was no limitation.
I was able to put a bunch of cups through the silicone filter holder this week and am pretty happy with it. The trade-off for it folding flat is that it is heavy, and I am choosing portable for the moment.
It was really great getting to share the fun with another person real-time. Until now I have been heading out on my own in the mornings, then sharing the joy through the web. This was a welcome break in the routine of self employment. All in all a great way to set aside 30 minutes and make some memories. Then the mist started to shift to drizzle and it was off to work disguised as grownups for the day.
I have been riding flat, non retaining system, pedals for a long time. Most of my youth, and for recent years thanks to Grant at Rivendell, I have been pedaling free. There are a variety of options at the full range of price points. At the lower end you can get very basic touring or BMX pedals with decent traction for $20. The upper end is dominated by very thin machined aluminum mountain bike race pedals these go well up into the $hundreds with exotic materials in the pursuit of weight savings and thinness. I have been testing a range off offerings in pursuit of offering a pedal that strikes a balance of performance and value.
What are things I consider key?
Wide and long platform for maximum foot support. This puts much of the stiffness burden back on the pedal and reduces or completely removes the need for stiffness in the shoe.
Traction pins that are integral to the design, easily replaceable and in useful places. The pins keep you foot from slipping off of the pedal. There are lots of types, from cast in to screws that come in from the top or bottom.
Sealed Cartridge bearings. This is where the price can go up fast compared to basic pedals. While most pedals can be serviced and last a life time, good seals and bearings increase the time between servicing as well as the ease of the process.
Thinness. As downhill and dirt jumping have dominated this pedal market segment the pedals keep getting thinner. Older pedals are generally 25-30mm thick. The newest versions are 5-15mm thick. Thinner pedals get you closer to the ground. The change of center of gravity is probably insignificant, but you are 5-10mm closer to the ground and that helps to get more than the tip of your toe on the ground at a stop while your rear is still on the saddle. The truly ultra thin pedals generally make compromises in the bearing and spindle design to achieve the thinness.
Most pedals in this category are coming from overseas at this point in time. US made pedals are out there, but come at a high price and limited options. For now I have been looking at the imports.
The line that struck the best value when considering price and the above key elements was VP Components, and two pedals in particular the VP-001 and the Vice
Red VP001 and Blue VP Vice
Both are good pedals for about $65-70 street price. Both are a bit wider than some other common pedals, MKS Grip King (lambda) and RMX “sneeker” pedals, as well as have more aggressive pins. The following comparison pictures tell the story.
Red VP001 and Blue VP Vice
The difference in thinness is remarkable. The MKS pedals are 26mm while the VP are 16mm. The means your saddle height will come down 5mm and your toe will me 5mm closer to the ground at a stop without bringing the pedal any closer to the ground or threatening a strike.
Red VP001 and Blue VP Vice
There are also some subtle but important differences between the VP-001 and the Vice. For me the Vise is the clear winner. The VP-001 has a more traditional spindle that allows the pedal to be installed with a 6mm allen wrench or traditional 15mm pedal wrench. The Vise on the other hand requires a 8mm key. Why the difference? The vice allows the whole platform to sit closer to the crank arm, and thus your foot closer reducing the overall Q-factor. Q is the distance between crank arms, narrower Q generally feels more normal, and is used in traditional road biking designs.
Red VP001 and Blue VP Vice
The platforms are both quite large compared to traditional pedals. Compared to each other the Vice has more supporting area at the outer corners as well as through the center of the platform.
Red VP001 and Blue VP ViceRed VP001 and Blue VP Vice
The axle on the Vice is longer and the outboard bearing is placed a full 2cm further out board from the crank arm. This will reduce the loading on the bearing reducing wear and time between service.
Red VP001 and Blue VP Vice
The last and a notable difference is the type and placement of the pins. The VP-001 uses grub or set screws that are inserted from the top. The hole for the wrench to remove and replace these can clog with crud and or be damaged from impact increasing the difficulty of replacement. The Vice uses a combination of M4 bolts that come in from the underside of the platform and the above mentioned grub screws. You can get rid of the grub screws and still have plenty of traction for touring and road riding. The M4 bolts allow a better platform for replacement or tinkering with different lengths etc. The stock M4 bolts are custom ground into pins, replacements are available, but an average M4 bolt from the store will work fine.
The things that I see as improvements in the Vice over the 001 do come at a price. The Vice is 28-30g heavier per pedal and the price is $5 more. For the truly weight conscious there are Ti replacement spindles that will shave 35g per pedal. Fine tuning the pins could sheave even more. While both pedals are well overbuilt for street riding and touring, the added value of the Vice makes it the standout in my mind.
Bottom Line….I have been loving my pair of vices, plan on riding the heck out of them for a long time and will be adding the Vice pedals to the storefront this afternoon.
Ride free in the shoes that you like to walk in, it makes it more fun to ride to the places you are going during the day. The change in riding speed really is insignificant from the majority of us, and did I mention that you are likely to have more FUN?
It has been a busy run here, and this week had some more incoming tools I want to test out.
The easy one is the new silicone folding coffee cone. I have been looking for something a bit more portable that does not weigh a ton, and can squeeze into my cook kit. we will see how it goes.
The other tool is a bit more interesting. The Fix it Sticks are an interesting twist that I hope to have replace my long carried Alien tool.
They ran a successful Kick starter campaign to get these things out into the world. They have even more tool options, but I stuck with the basic 4/5/6 since that is what I needed. Hopes are high for these. The tool bits are press fit with an epoxy as backup. the body of the tool is aluminum and lighter than you night expect. For the range of torques needed on the bike they should be more than robust enough, time will tell. They take up about as much room as a set of tire levers and pack up neatly and rattle free in a upcycled tube
Thinking about how light they felt, and how heavy my decades old Alien tool felt I decided to pull out the scale (a task reserved only for shipping around here most of the time)
Comparing the pile of tools to the alien it looks like I will shave about 38 grams. While that is just a little bit, there were a ton of redundancies between the Alien and the rest of the tools in that pile I often carried any way. Whey these neat little sticks will really do is convince me to jettison the 305g multi tool and eventually the backup allen keys, shaving almost 3/4 of a pound in the long run.
While that may sound like no big deal in a world of weight be damned bike touring, it means that I can effectively add my camp stove and cooking kit to the bar bag at all times with no weight penalty. That is the point of counting the grams! it is possible to carry the things you want and need without massive panniers and or a super stout bike. With careful selection of your gear you can quite possibly have you comforts and not need a sherpa (or a car) to haul it around. I am not cutting the handles off of my tooth brush, yet, but I am starting to think more about the stuff I haul, and what it weighs.
Enter the Rambler, light weight touring, and some fun.
