Such Excite

Just when things seemed so slow, so mundane, so February...

Tuesday, I had three reasons for much excite.

Firstly, my bells are in a box and coming towards me now.

Never has there been such a powerful draw between two things occupying space since Connor MacLeod met the Kurgan.  We were meant to be together, and soon I will be complete just as will they.  Ask not for whom the bell tolls, as it tolls for anyone in my way, be it crosswalk, bike path, trail, or NAHBS showroom floor.


Other excite?

The final solution to all my KS LEV drooper woes.

Yes, I have the rarely seen in the wild (because it's not quite yet in production) 27.2 Thomson Elite drooper.  Why did I get it?  Because I can be really persuasive (begging).

Brief historical stuff.

The Meat Carver was purchased because the only thing I liked about the Specialized FSR something something full squish shifty bit bike was the drooper and the big fjork.  I wanted a fun bike of mine own, but all my bikes were 27.2... and I did not see a viable option out at the time.  Some may point out that there were two, maybe three companies making 27.2 droopers then.  They just weren't an option (for me).

So I bought the Meat Carver and installed a 31.6 Thomson drooper.  Much happiness followed.

Except, as we are all aware, the Meat Carver had its shortcomings.  When I made plans to get a Vertigo, there was no point in keeping a fourth single speed as there was now a 27.2 option from KS LEV that appeared to be viable, Thomson drooper on the horizon.

The Stickel was built with a 27.2 post for a reason.  Two years ago when it was built, the plan for was either a rigid or a 100mm fjork.  I suggested shimming down from a larger diameter to a 27.2 with a Cane Creek shim, but Steve didn't like shims.  He internally sleeves down the larger seat tube and that was that.  Besides, I would never put a bigger fjork on the bike nor want all the associated drooper cable mess on a frame of mine.

So then I fell in love with fun bikes, especially in Pisgah.  I bought the KS LEV on Nov 13, it went MIA from Dec20-Jan20, and then again from Jan 26-Feb 24.  It works fine now, but it is also no longer needed.

I installed the Thomson Elite drooper the day that I got it.  An all new feature since the last time I had one is the built in barrel adjuster at the lever.

Yes, I used a brake noddle for routing.  No, Thomson doesn't think it's a good idea. Dave P. at Thomson ran down all the reasons against, and despite logic and reason, I did it anyways.  It looks cleaner and insures more maintenance issues down the road.  I'll think of it as a hobby.

The other routing fun times?

The cable gets pushed down with the saddle when the drooper is actuated (there should be a term for this "pushed down" thing). I had to route it multiple ways to find the best option. One way had it extending back and into the rear tire due to my short chain stays and segmented seat stays. It took a few tries before I came up with this:

Pretty clean, but the cable now rubs the "wing" of the segmented stay (easily solved with clear tape) and the edge of the scalloped section (not so easily solved at all).

But it works... and it feels... oh, like a Thomson.  So smooth, so... I dunno.  It just feels good.  Almost necessary. 

All that and this said, I now only have one issue.  When Thomson releases the Bluetooth drooper, I will haz one.  30.9 to be more specific, in order to fit the Vertigo.

But the Vertigo will be my racin' type bicycle.  I won't always want a drooper on it.  It would be sweet to have a Pisgah machine that is 30.9 Bluetooth drooper compatible....

Which means I'll either have to see what Stickel is up to and if I can get the same frame with a 30.9 OR get another Vertigo... the same as the one I don't have yet but will soon which seems really stupid or really smart depending on how you look at it or away from it.

The third thing of much excite will have to wait until tomorrow.