11 May 2009 - 0:48Bikes are ‘Effing Cool

This post is dedicated to a couple of bikes, from a manufacturer that is just ‘effing cool.

Vassago’s tagline isn’t just a jaunty way to express their rebellios spirit, it’s the damn truth.

I’m going to start with Mandy’s new whip. A bike she earned by virtue of being the mom to my little hellion this Mother’s day. Here is the Fisticuff, built with a deliciously “old school” mix of parts. Once again, I have given myself a serious case of the bike envy.

What we have is a singlespeed, moustache bared, canti braked, fat tired cross bike. The wheels are White Industries laced Mavic Open Pros, 2x front, 3x rear. The cranks are White Eno also. The tires (tubed no less) are 38c WTB Interwolfs, which is an awesome multi surface tire. King headset, Ritchey Pro stem and seatpost, Nitto moustache bars, Cane Creek brake levers and TRP carbon brakes. I just had to get my carbon fix in somehow…

Momma was happy. Too bad the weather sucked so much for a first ride…

Daddy also got his this weekend… his first taste of Ti that is.

While some may still be scratching their heads on this one, it’s absolutely true that I have yet to own a Ti bike. Until just now. I managed to work out a deal that got me one of the first generation 20″ Optimus Ti frames, to which I have been impatiently waiting for various bits and pieces to arrive from various distributors so I can finish the thing.

The last few days of the week have not been so good. Thursday morning, the dog decided to say “hi” to a porcupine with his face, which led to a nice vet bill. Hopefully, this doesn’t happen again. Poor guy had to be knocked out to get about 10 quills removed, then he spent the rest of the day staggering around the shop.

Friday I tweaked my knee while riding, making it almost impossible to put any power down on my left leg. This made mowing the lawn a joy too BTW… I’ll to have to take it easy on the bike for a little bit. I’m going to have my knee looked at this week, when I find out that I’m probably ready for the glue factory…

So this Optimus Ti is taunting me. I did get to ride it immediately after i built it on Saturday. The mission: to get breakfast sandwiches, that had fried eggs and bacon in them. What a glorious first errand! It was in this short saddle time that I found that the bike fit like a comfortable pair of old shoes. I instantly knew where the sweet spots were, there was no funniness to the ride that normally comes with a new and especially new to me build. Maybe it’s a Ti thing, or maybe this bike knows what I like. Maggs inadvertantly named it, stating that I traded Ridiculite for Ridic. I especially love the flying buttress gusset,  it might even be my favorite part of the bike.

Anyway, we have the VSSSC coming up this Sunday at Catamount. Contenders for the title of Vermont State Singlespeed Supreme Champion will need to complete 4 laps. In years past, the SS category has been 3 laps, but we feel that if you are going to be the Supreme Champion, you’ll need to do 4. With any luck, I’ll be able to race Ridic. If not, look for me handing out complimentary “derailleur adjustments” somewhere on the race course.