Customer Satisfied-a-cation

PMBAR registration opened yesterday at noon.  Some time around 4:30, it sold out.  Impressive.  There is a wait list, but it costs a penny to get on it... I know, greedy promoters.

Oh, it's an active.com thing.  Sorry, so easy to blame promoters for all that is wrong in the world.

Some of you wanted updates on the KS Lev drooper... so how's it going?  Quick timeline review:

Purchased November 13th, slop outta the box.

Contacted KS Lev on November 22, told not to worry about it.  Then it developed a clunk.

I contacted them again... and again... and got an RMA number to send it back.  In a box it went, and at my expense, it was shipped out on December 21st.

And then nothing.

I sent an email this past Monday to see what was going on... nothing.  I called Tuesday evening, left a message, and this showed up in my inbox within the next few hours (with no other information):

I'll let you know what happens next.  New post?  Fixed post?  Same clunky wiggly post with same dirt?  We'll see.

On a positive note, I want to express my happiness with at least one thing.  Back in April 2013, I swapped my grips to ESI Racer's Edge.  Remember?

I was having some early signs of Dupuytren's contracture, and as much as I want to be a tenth as cool as Bill Nighy, I still want to be able to hold on to the handlebar in fifteen years.

I had three small lumps that ran along the tendon of my left hand ring finger, right at the fold in my palm.  They had been there for some time, starting as one bump, then two, then three.  I was concerned, but not enough to see a doctor (they don't do much for Dupuytren's contracture and what they do doesn't always turn out so well).  Always one to self-diagnosis and treat...

I looked for my own answers.

I've swapped all three (now two, soon to be three again) bikes to Racer's Edge grips, and I'm happy to report that the lumps have all but disappeared.  Not only that, but my wrists are feeling magnificent and I notice much, much, much less fatigue on long, rough descents.

The grips are most excellent, but I feel I still must give them my...

SEAL OF SEMI-APPROVAL

They lack in one area and one alone.  Sure the white grips get dirty, but a few seconds with some ProGold Bike Wash and a scrub brush, and they look quite nice again.  No, my issue is not that I have to maintain the so-pro look of white grips...

It's a durability thing.

I'm not sure how many pairs of Racer's Edge grips I've bought in the last ten months*.  I didn't keep track.  Quite a few got thrown away.  These two were considered "salvageable," back-ups for travel/stage races.   The damage has been caused by hitting things (trees, rocks, trail) mostly, sometimes by careless handling.  I tore one getting a bike down from the rack on the wall.  One got pretty badly gouged while being transported at the BC Bike Race.  In all my years of running Titec Pork Rinds, Ritchey WCS, and Bontrager Race Lite foamies, I never ripped/tore/nicked this many grips.

These issues are all due to user error, so I can't really blame the grips.  I just wish they held up to misuse a little better as I'm not a very conscientious person.  At least they're not terribly expensive, so when I do rip one, I just replace that damaged grip and save the other new one for later.

So kudos to you, makers of ESI grips.  You have a very satisfied, at least as much as I'm ever "very satisfied, customer.


*According to my first comment, "someone" with access to the Bike Source computer device says "6 pairs of white and 1 pair of black."  I currently have two pairs of white and one pair of black in use, once pair in reserve.  That means I went through three pairs of white: one very decent grip in my travel bag and the two in the photo that were salvageable, three tossed in the garbage.