If loving you is wrong, at least I now know one thing

Long post, buckle up.

The other day, I heard world renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on NPR's "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me."  On the segment called "Not My Job," he was asked three multiple choice questions about cosmetology.  He only got one correct.  Host Peter Sagal was much excite.

Sagal ~ "... I was so pleased by the idea of fooling you that - Neil DeGrasse Tyson - so, like, by doing this, I therefore, by the rule of succession, become the smartest person in the world."  

Tyson ~ "So I look - I look at it differently. I look at had I gotten all three right... I would've learned nothing. But having gotten two wrong, I learned two things today."

I try to answer a lot of my bike related questions myself.  Often times, my answers are incorrect, but in coming up with the wrong answer, I eliminate one of my multiple choices and theoretically, I learn something.  

Case in point; my quest to replace my messenger bag on my daily commute.  The Mystery Ranch Hip Monkey was/is a decent option.  The PDW Takeout Basket?   Not so much.

Yeth, it's for sale.  Reasonable offers considered.  Unreasonable offers will be read for the purposes of humor only.  The Thomson logo'ed WTB Silverado Slimline saddle is not included but also for sale.

I'm pretty sure I know why it was a fail.  One of the best things about a tarck bike on the street is its quick handling.  It's just silly responsive to bar input.  I run a super long stem with a swept bar that puts my hands just ahead of the steer tube, so when you stick a basket out front, it's pretty much hanging out over the axle.  So, I can't put my finger on the physics of why it sucked, I just know that it did.

So with that option eliminated, I can feel a whole lot better about my "fanny pack."  I've yet to approach the limits of what I can stuff in there, and although it took some time, I don't mind it hanging on my lower body parts anymore.

I plan on trying a few new things during this off "season" which may or may not help me make great bike race in '17.  

Like these ESI Fit Grips.

How I ended up with them is a long story, but let's just say, I pay too much attention to the internet.  Also, that's why they're red and not pink.. because... I didn't pick the color.  You may remember that I tried these once before... sorta.  They were the XC version, which was a combination of the Chunky and Super Chunky diameters.  The slimmer CR version is a mix of Chunky and Racer's Edge (what I currently use).  I did like the sorta flanged feel of the grip last time, but they were to large in diameter, and my hands weren't as accommodating as Emily Batty's.

I'll try those soon, but not now in an effort to not mix in another variable, because there's this:

I'm borrowing this rigid, non-crabon frok from Roca Roja for a bit.   It's a titanium Horquilla.

Why?

I've always wanted to try a titanium rigid fork, but I could never find one that wasn't:

A truss fork (too busy)

Less than $1,000

Only available with a frame purchase (or a drive to Ohio to visit Rody from Groovy Cycleworks)

A Sibex

Oh, those were the days.

The borrowed fork is not a tit for tat swap (geometry and weight-wise) with the ENVE I normally run, but right now I'm just trying to get a feel for... the feels.

Pretty sure Cosmo told me that the fork has BEEFY 31.6mm (external) blades and with that tapered steer tube and 15mm thru-axle, it surely can't feel like the steel unicrown QR forks that I wrote off years ago.

Not sure if fork is prototype or decals tho.

Ignore the janky hose routing and whatnot.

This is what Cosmo had handy and with the longer A-C and hydro guides in places I would have never accounted for when I trimmed the hydro line for the ENVE and Fox Step Cast, so this was the best I could come up with in two minutes.

If I end up liking it (and adapting to the new aesthetic), I can always order something with a little different axle to crown and cable stops where I want to suit my needs... unless I like the slacker head tube... which, who knows?

And finally (for now), hopefully this shows up today or tomorrow:

Because if not, I'll be drooping my Thomson drooper with my teeth this weekend.

Yeth, the 150mm Fox Transfer Factory drooper I got a couple months ago is gone.  I'm much happier with my Thomson, so that's about all I've got to say about that.

So, like Neil deGrasse Tyson, I now know two things that I didn't know before.  Soon, I may know three more things than he didn't.

Nothing from me from now until next Tuesday or so.