Burns Projects that will never be finished

[trytochaseme]

I got the Allez sprint on longer cranks and swapped to 1x. So much better. Also dropped 1lb of weight.




I really like it, it is very fun and fast. Every single ride on it I have destroyed my PR's and gotten a handful of top 10s on strava.

But I decided I am going to sell it. I could really use the money elsewhere at this moment and I realized my Crux can fill this same slot with just a wheelset change.



Decided to try out the Crux with a road setup, deep wheels and 38mm Schwalbe Pro One tires. It feels great! Very fast but much more comfortable than the Allez because the Allez is basically a rigid race bike.

In reality it takes a couple min to swap wheels and I have 2 bikes in one and it doesn't feel like a pig on the road, it feels great in both setups. Someday down the road I will build up a Tarmac or Venge but for now this will keep me happy and putting in many miles.




I did also get my new Aero Fin seatpost in and you can see it in these pics. Not in the pics is new titanium axles.

It may sound stupid that I built up a bike 3 weeks ago and am already turning around to sell it, but I got a crazy deal on the frame and had almost all the parts to put it together. I wanted to get rid of those parts so I will make money in the end.

After I sell that I am going to pick up a cheap aero wheelset from Aliexpress to have as the second wheelset. I do need to get a new wheelset for gravel also and am tempted to get something kinda wild but I am still debating.

Other than that my future plans for the crux are to swap to the same 1 piece bar and stem I put on the crux, it is also a narrower 36cm then the 38cm I have on it right now. I am very tempted to also repaint the frame this winter, but we will see when winter comes around.

On a different note one thing I envy of newer cars is CarPlay. My GTI being a 2015 does not have it, it was an oem option a few years later but the retrofit requires quite bit of work and isn't the cheapest. After contemplating it for years now I finally just purchased a Chinese unit of aliexpress and it works very well.




My turbo waste gate actuator is starting to get a little sticky. So I think this winter I will just replace the turbo..... if I have to replace something I usually try to upgrade it at the same time


I am looking at hosting a race at a local trail. The format would be last man standing. Everyone would start a lap on the hour, if you do not complete the lap within the hour you are out. the last person going wins. This is a popular format in ultra running and the races last for days. I have not seen anyone do it for mountain biking but it seems like a riot. Trying to sort out what it would take to make it happen.

I made this ai slop poster just to get idea in my head out there.

 

[trytochaseme]

Last weekend Cleetus Mcfarland was at a local track for one of his events. A buddy if mine had a spare ticket. I don't watch his YouTube much, I did years ago when he first purchased his track. It was an absolute riot, he put on an amazing event and I will definitely be going back if they come again next year!


Here was a storm chaser as the pace car leading the cars out for the Michigan 100.





On the 2 wheel human powered side of things I picked up another project before I have sold off any of my current ones.

But this guy popped up on Facebook for $500, I threw out an offer of $350 and he said if I can come get it right away its mine.



I sold my enduro because It never got ridden and had too much money into it to sit around. This is perfect though, not as nice or as fast as my enduro but it's a heck of a lot cheaper and will be a fun project. It came in a heavy pig at 40lbs.


The good news is I am a hoarder and have plenty of parts laying around. So many parts infact that the only original part left is the seatpost. 9lbs of weight dropped!



I have a few small parts I need to get such as bearings and what not. Would like to maybe upgrade the brakes too but thats very very low on the list. My plan is to strip this frame down completely, blast it and then have it cerakoted.

 

[trytochaseme]

Just spent 2 weeks in South Africa. Here are a few pics from the trip.





From hikes, to riding quads next to rhinos, to endless wineries, it was an amazing trip.

Also first trip after downsizing all my camera stuff to just a Fuji X100T. I got it specifically for this trip and absolutely loved it. There was a couple times where I missed having a little more options so I think I am going to pick up an XT3 or XT4 to compliment it. The X100 is so nice for the size and capability but it would have been nice to have a little bigger camera with me for the safaris.


Now that I am back home the 2 wheel madness can continue.

The Crux got some fresh tires, the new Pathfinder 2.2"s. I've been a die hard Schwalbe tire guy for years now but am excited to try out something different. They are wrapped on some fresh carbon from Aliexpress. Sub $500 for a this wheelset, they are 50mm depth and an internal width of 32mm. 1 short ride on them and they seem great so far but to early to call it.




The dirt bikes have been sitting around and not used for awhile now. That hasn't been my intention, I have really been wanting to ride but I still for the life of me can not get the 150 going. The 250 just needed a few small things and I have been saying for months I would get them done but it kept getting pushed back. Finally spent a couple hours and got it all sorted.

The rear brake will not bleed, even replaced the master cylinder and still nothing. So I just took the complete assembly from the 150 and swapped it over.
My dad put new sprockets on it but for some reason he cut the chain to short so I just put the old chain back on. Will get a new chain ordered asap.

Technically this is my dad's bike but he has not ridden it in 3 years now. I have been riding it in the mean time. He is 71 now and keeps saying he might be done with riding. I keep telling him I will buy the bike when he decides hes done riding but he can always come ride it if he changes his mind. I have some stuff I would really like to change on the bike but have been holding off until it's actually my bike. I might just start swapping some stuff but we will see. He definitely would not care if I put a nice exhaust and some other parts on it but I do not like how he has the suspension tuned. I could swap my 150 suspension on it just for now and when he wants to ride I can swap it back but thats also a hassle.

Hoping to get a decent amount of riding in this fall as I have a few buddies who have recently gotten into it and a couple more looking for bikes. So could have a nice group to ride with as I don't always like riding moto by myself for the safety factor.