Wednesday, August 09, 2006

More thoughts about Landis

"I was tested eight times at the Tour; four times before that stage and three times after, including three blood tests. Only one came back positive. Nobody in their right mind would take testosterone just once; it doesn't work that way. Zero chance."
Landis said.

It doesn't make sense, that's a fact.

I still want to believe.


Now, on the other side fo the fence:
"Patrick Lefevere, the President of the International Association of Professional Cycling Teams, has threatened to sue disgraced Tour de France winner Floyd Landis. The Belgian manager of Quick Step has raised the idea of legal action to protect the image of cycling." Quoted from Eurosport.com

Lefevere, would already convict Landis.

That can't make Floyd a happy camper.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Codename NeWT - Second Look.

In a quick chat with bikefridaywalter, I should have no problem adjusting the stem.

When I got home (yes, I was smart enough not to bring her with me to work and lose another day to daydreaming about my new ride) I immediately started fiddling with the stem. POP, there she goes.. perfect. Quick adjustment to the saddle to bring it down to an approximate range, back to the stem to adjust it a few centimeters higher than the saddle.

Let's Ride!
CodeNamed NeWT
First ride report.
It was already late when I got the change to ride, and I'd yet to install the reflectors that shipped with, or swap over my lights from other steeds, so I stuck to the main drag.
Dang... responsive. Snappy steering. Smooth controls.
Sweet ride.
As this was the maiden voyage, I kept things simple. No wheelies or "how quickly can I take this turn" stuff. Though I was tempted to see how she sprinted. "Very well, thank you very much." was her response.
Pretty much speechless.. (and a bit out of breath), so here's the synopsis.

Price: Slightly higher than a comparable Chinese made bike that doesn't fit in my car.
Strengths: Fits in my car (a compact sedan) in about 20 seconds. Very nimble though stable. Killer acceleration. Eye catcher. Give you instant bike-geek status.
Weaknesses: Slightly heavier than comparable Chinese made bikes that can't fit in my car. Instant bike-geek status. Replacement tires/tubes are not available in my neck of the woods.
Bottomline: Killer bike from a great company that really cares about the product they make. Non biking friends (yeah, I still have some) can't see spending just under 2k something that you have to pedal. I think it's money well spent.

More reviews (and maybe a daytime picture) to follow.

Maarburg

Codename NeWT - First Look.

First impression on the bike currently Codenamed NeWT.

The shipping box was a bit smaller than I though it was going to be, and that's just naivete. I mean the bike is designed to be small. So why wouldn't it be in a small shipping box?

Wow.. Packed well.
5minues later.. Ok.. I get it, I get it, igetit.. Enough with the bubble wrap! On one hand, I've been dreamin of this bike for months. On the other hand, I've been unable to sleep for the last few days because I had a tracking number. On the third hand, I want to ride this beauty!

NeWT was built by hand, by someone (or someones I suppose) that really gave a shit about what there were doing. That in and of itself is something odd in this world of underpaid whinners that thing the world owes them... sorry different blog. Nice clean welds. Wheels are true and the reach on front brakes and rear breaks is equal. That's the kind of attention to detail I was seeing as I care fully pulled off bubble wrap from just about every surface.

I work in the tech industry, and was assembling the bike (assembling is a bit of an over statement) in the receiving/engineering bay. Easy access to the alpha geeks of my company.
The bike is sold without a saddle or pedals, primarily due to the vast range of individual tastes for these parts. I knew this and had purchased a new (flash) saddle and used pedals for the occasion. I left these parts at my desk (upstairs) and was too eager to check out the bike, not really to install parts that I had seen already. A small parade of Engineers and 7" forehead types came over to check out my new ride. I ended up explaining the special folding properties of the bike a few times. Nearly all of them made some mention of the missing saddle.
Dang, can't get anything past this group. *grin*

The stem seemed awfully tall.. I hadn't bothered to see if there was any instructions or anything of that sort.. just started putting everything where it needed to go. I must admit that I was a bit worried about the height of the stem, and worried that I'd answered one of bikefridaywalter's questions wrong or that he had checkmarked the wrong box. Leetle worried.. Not much. I'll bug bikefridaywalter tomorrow.

Folds fast fast and fits very nicely in the backseat of my Impreza (didn't get the chance to get the milk crates out of the trunk).

More to come,
Maarburg