It’s a bit moist spherical these parts for the time being, so this morning I chosen a be-fendered bike for my journey:
Nevertheless sooner than heading out I figured I’d cope with my bar tape state of affairs:
Whereas I usually like the feel of cork tape, I felt the Homer could use one factor further befitting its distinguished character and lugged sensibility. Moreover, this particular cork tape is recycled–I consider I’ve re-used it 3 occasions at this stage–and it’s pretty ragged consequently. (Due to this there’s so much electrical tape on it.) So I figured I’d Riv it up just a bit with some Newbaum’s:
No matter being a Rivendell proprietor since March of 2020, I’d on no account actually wrapped a bar with Newbaum’s myself, which is type of like being an old-timey gentleman who’s on no account waxed his private moustache:
Nonetheless, I’m an outdated hand at wrapping drop bars, and I moreover consider to wrap the Newbaum’s over the tape that was already on there. Not solely would this save time, nonetheless I’d moreover get to have the benefit of top-of-the-line of every worlds: the feel and appear of the cotton materials, and the extra girth and cushioning of the cork. All in, I figured this couldn’t in all probability take larger than 10 or quarter-hour, significantly since I wasn’t planning to shellac it or wrap it in twine or cope with it with rendered beaver fat or irrespective of else the precise materials tape aficionados do to it. So I opened the package deal deal and began working:
Unwrapping the tape, the very very first thing that shocked me was that the Newbaum’s has an adhesive backing, and a reasonably sticky one at that. Little query everyone else on the planet already is conscious of this, as would I if I’d taken two seconds to look at it, nonetheless for some motive I merely assumed it was plain outdated materials and that ought to you wanted adhesive you wanted to cope with it with rendered beaver fat or one factor. The second issue I spotted was that, in distinction to cork tape, must you’re not cautious the Newbaum’s merely folds over on itself and can get caught to its private pretty tacky adhesive backing, which must you’re an idiot who’s in an enormous hurry to exit for a journey means you’re rapidly a state of affairs like this:
At every flip it appeared like I managed to get the tape tousled each in itself or else spherical some part of the bicycle:
So I’d untangle it, only for it to quickly get tangled as soon as extra in a roundabout method I didn’t assume was doable:
It was similar to the zipper scene in “There’s One factor About Mary:”
Sorry.
Clearly as a substitute of working correct off the big roll I must have came upon how so much tape I’d need and decrease it first, then wrapped the bars further fastidiously, peeling off the backing slowly as I went. But it surely absolutely was too late now, and in my haste I’d not solely wound up with an unbelievable huge knot however as well as started missing spots alongside one of the best ways:
Furthermore, this debacle was now lowering into my journey time, and so using a scissor I pretty really decrease my losses and hoped I nonetheless had adequate tape left to accurately wrap the bars one different day.
Pathetic. Utterly pathetic.
With that now behind me, I headed out into a light-weight drizzle:
“, the outdated cork tape’s really not so harmful,” I tried to steer myself:
Speaking of bars, some riders argue that inbuilt shifting is probably going one of many largest technological advances of the trendy interval, and it’s really good for race bikes, nonetheless I’d say that strictly relating to consolation a bar-end shifter is just just about nearly as good:
And with a low-normal/RapidRise/irrespective of derailleur a fragile nudge with the palm is all it takes to downshift:
Though a bar-end shifter does require you to set your drop bars at a sensible high meaning that you may comfortably use all the various hand positions along with the drops, whereas 95% of freeway bike riders keep their arms on their brake hoods 95% of the time and the drops are solely there for aesthetic causes.
In any case it felt good to be once more on a “common” bike:
And as so much as I have the benefit of driving the Y-Foil after I give it some thought whereas on the Homer it appears to be like like some crazy lampshade I positioned on my head after I purchased drunk at a celebration:
Oh, and extra to a present submit, I’ve confirmed that the Y-Foil was really designed to be “suspension ready:”
[PDF]
It really is the anti-Rivendell, correct all the way in which all the way down to the reality that the absence of a seat tube means your water bottle will get splattered with freeway grit, whereas the Homer implies that you should utilize fenders and keep every your pendulous saddle bag and your rear suspension system (by which I suggest the leather-based saddle) good and clear:
It’s really a motorbike for all seasons.