High Wind Tent Test

It just so happens the Indy Gear Guide team had a conoe/kayak trip planned for Sugar Creek this past Sunday. I have now come to find winds in the area were sustained 25 mph and above with gusts to 46 mph. My shoulder feel like they are every bit of 25 mph.

I'll come back to this post and replace it with full content. Until that time here are the three tents we had on the site. This is my "geo dome" tent. It is a two-man three pole tent. With the rain fly on it sustained winds of 25-45 mph for 36 hours.

The four-man tent didn't fair well. It actually failed sometime on Sunday. So it lasted less than 24 hours under the duress of the wind. It should be noted the four-man tent probably has the most use of them all. It is not the oldest, but is the mot often used. With a pole replacement this tent would perform well, just in lower wind conditions. The winds continued on Monday escalating to sustained winds in the mid 40 mph range. We had to make a wind block to have a fire. Once the winds reached this sustained level and a second tent was on the verge of failure the Indy Gear Guide crew made a decision to pack the campsite up and go into town to eat.

We would have had to move our whole camp to another location where the wind was not as bad, but still was about 10 mph "out of the wind". With the prospect of a hail storm our spirits for camping out another night were waning. A concensus had us taking the tents down and packing up. We ended up in the Cozy Cafe in Wavelend, IN. The food was hot and good. Friendly good service. I'll come back to this post. I just wanted to get the tent pics up. Moral of the story? There is a reason why expeditions use the "geo dome" style tents. This tent didn't really budge where the other two failed miserably in these wind conditions.

Ergon GC-2 Grips with bar ends

This product might just be the greatest invention since the bicycle. The Ergon grip provides 40% more grip surface compared to standard bicycle grips.

This is a break through in comfort due to the support for the outer part of your wrist. That "nub" that everyone always falls and injures on your wrist has its own resting place on the Ergon grip (see picture.) That little bit of extra support relieves a lot of tension on the arms. In my case I think it will reduce or eliminate some slight numbness.

I only had a short ride on these new grips. They were just purchased hours ago and I had to cut the work day short and install them. I am working now to make up for it for those of you who would be mad that I stopped working to install them.

I see the concept similar to the concept of a split keyboard. Just as with a standard vs. split keyboard, "you don't type like that!" A standard bicycle grip vs. Ergon grip is not much different, "you don't grip like that!" Just as the split keyboard accomodates the angle of your arms approach to the keyboard, Ergon grips support your wrist the way you naturally grip a bicycle.

As far as selection goes. I found these grips at Bike Line, Nebo Ridge and Indy Cycle Specialist. I found Nebo Ridge had several, almost all models for the Gripshift. Bike Line had a limited selection with only one model having bar ends. Naturally, their price of $132.99 was way more than even I was willing to blow on grips. I would have gone $60-70 and I think the model I really wanted would have been in that area, the GX-3.

I was at a client on the Eastside with some extra time to burn while backing some data up, so I decided to run by Indy Cycle Specialist. I will say this. I was impressed by the parts/accessories section that I didn't even wander over to the bikes. This will be my new home for parts. I must give a shout out to bicycle enthusiast extraordinaire, and all around decent guy, Ron Lewis of Rusted Moon Outfitters for reminding me of the existence of Indy Cycle Specialist every time I visit Rusted Moon Outfitters. It just happens I end up in Rusted Moon about daily since they supply me with Pro-bars.



Considering the last time I was in Scott Irons' shop it was a small house with about a dozen bikes and accessories. I have to admit I ended up in that small house due to the selection of accessories that he stocked. Convenience, or lack there of and living on the Northside has doomed me to a limited selection so now I'm fighting back. If you stop in ICS make sure to tell them Indy Gear Guide sent you. Even make up a story about an Indy Gear Guide discount. If enough of us ask I'm sure Scott will extend a discount to IGG subscribers.






Anyway, back to ICS. ICS had the best selection of you name it; Grips, helmets, shorts, gloves, deraillurs, hydration than any bicycle shop I've been to. I will support this shop anytime I can, and recommend them to anyone I can. This means I'm going to be driving from Broad Ripple to East Washington Street to find a real neighborhood bike shop. Its all good I'll be eating some Jocamo's Pizza while I'm over there.

Manufacturer: Ergon A.G.

Model: GC-2

List Price: $29.99 - 119.99

Price as tested: $42.99 plus tax.

Where: Indy Cycle Specialist



Rating: 6.0 of 5.0



Anyone experiencing numbness, wrist or forearm pain while biking I suggest you try a pair of these grips. Prices range from $29.99 - 119.99 for carbon ends.

Brake Cable Fiasco

I recently replaced the brake cables on my Cannondale Super V 800. I generally way over-buy products so they don't break and last longer. This is respecting that the cost of labor to install the products usually far outweighs the product cost itself. Therefore instead of buying junk and having it installed three times, making the bike shop a bunch of money on labor, I'm more apt to buy good stuff and have it installed one time, maintain it well, and have it last me quite a while.

I set out to find brake cables in Indianapolis. Of course I had completed my online research to get a baseline for price. Considering the cost of shipping I'm more than happy to pay full retail at a local retailer, IF I have a selection. If you are a local retailer and you have say....one or maybe the huge selection of "TWO" types of cables to choose from, well then I would expect you to sell them to me an nearly your cost. If you want me to pay for retail, then get a f*cking selection. Oh yeah, and be sure you didn't take the "last" cable cutter to use in your own shop. By the way, if you only stock one of anything, I'm not going to shop at your place.

Being a broker for the bike warehouse IS NOT BEING A RETAILER! Indianapolis bike shops are basically all the same. No parts stock, we'll order it in overnight from the same warehouse that everyone else orders from and we want to make full retail on it. Sorry guys, if I can't BUY IT NOW, it doesn't have full retail value.

Take a FRESH steak at the butcher shop. I could buy one online and get it tomorrow at a discount. BUT I WANT IT TODAY!

Enough for my parts rant.

I originally purchases the XTR Brake and Shifter Cables at Bicycle Garage Indy. (Note: I don't shop at Bike Line unless it is a necessity. They just seem way too unhappy about getting my money in there. Not to mention on the morning of April 4th when I sat in my car to wait for the shop to open in Carmel for about a half hour, they weren't open at 9:05 a.m. when I tried the door.) Get a clue Bike Line...don't squander the goodwill your dad brought to the table.

So back to my purchase. I bought the XTR cables. I wanted coated cables so I could give them more money, but they only had coated shifter cables. Luckily, I checked online for any issues about these cables and found the pre-cut cable sleeves for the shifter cables to be too short for my bike. This was noted many times only, thanks!

At this point I realized I had purchased a classic American product, something that would require another purchase to actually use it or for it to perform its utility. So I returned the XTR cables. Instead I stopped into Carmel Cyclery. Another strip mall bike shop, but at least the guy talked to me about my parts delimma. Basically he said most shops don't stock anything because they can get it in overnight. Well that is great for the shop, but many of us bike enthusiasts are also tinkerers and we like to fix or at least try to fix our own bikes. So we need parts! We can already get our parts overnight, JUST LIKE YOU MR. BIKE MECHANIC! So what we're looking for is a BIKE PARTS WAREHOUSE. No Bikes, JUST BIKE PARTS.

Someone is going to make a good business decision and at least open one of these on the northside. It will then supply the bike stores with their parts same-day.

Oh yeah. I'm installing the brake pads today and I'll review them in the next couple days.

I don't think I even reveiwed the pads. I guess this needs to be re-titled.

Manufacturer: Kool-Stop International, Inc.

Model: KS-MTTB, Mountain Pads - Threaded

Price: ?

Paid: $11.99/pair

Rating: 5 of 5

Pro Bars

If you haven't tried Pro Bars yet you are missing out. I could live on these things. I did happen to notice at $3.29/3 ounce portion, Pro Bars are $17.546/lb.

This is $0.55 more per pound than U.S.D.A. Choice (+) ~ U.S.D.A. Prime Grade Filet Mignon, when purchased in whole tenderloin, at my brother-in-law Joe's Butcher Shop & Fish Market.

Pro Bars is "The Whole Food Meal Replacement", 100% Vegan, and Organic. They even taste good. This is by far my favorite new trail/nutrition bar type item.

Pro Bar has five new varieties. My favorite is the Maple Pecan. It tastes like you just sat down to a maple pancake breakfast with pecans sprinkled on top.

Pro Bar won many awards in 2008!

Fox Racing Shox - Vanilla Float RC - Rebuild Kit

My venerable Fox Racing Shox Vanilla Float RC finally began to show signs of leaking air. No real blowout, but it wasn't holding air but for about 2-4 hours. Now for reality. I don't ride off-road much at all, although I own a full suspension bike. This shock has performed admirably on a Cannondale Super V 800 ridden leisurely with some simple off-road miles. Either way, the shock performed for about 7 years without a hiccup. Somewhere in the 6,000-8,000 mile range. Actually the whole bike has been pretty impressive, I'll review it in another post.

First I located a video on the foxracingshox.com website that demonstrated the shock rebuild process. A Dental Pick is recommended for seal removal, and I must concur. Before beginning, I rode to the local CVS Drug Store and located a Dental Pick kit for $6.99. This tool was well worth it.

I collected my tools: Leatherman Micra snips, MINIBUCK TOOL Model 350 pliers, Allen wrench, Dental Pick, clean rags, Slick Honey Grease, and my old shock as a prop. Removed the Vanilla Float RC and temporarily installed a Vanilla Float in its place. I released the pressure in the Vanilla Float RC. This made the air sleeve easy to unscrew and remove.

There is a main seal at the front of the shock, but remove the middle seal and split spacers first. This will make it easier to slide the main seal over the middle seal area when you remove and re-install the new seal. Lubricate the main seal with Slick Honey Grease and slide it down the shaft, over the middle seal area, and into place at the head of the shock. Lightly lubricate the split spacers with Slick Honey Grease and the middle seal. Install the first split spacer, the middle seal, and second split spacer.

The seal and spacers inside the air sleeve will require the Dental Pick to assist in removal. Be careful not to scar the inside of the sleeve. I used my MINIBUCK TOOL pliers remove the dust/grease cap then pull the outside spacer away from the air sleeve so I could snip it with my Leatherman Micra. I removed the spacer with the pliers. I poked out the seal with the Dental Pick, then pulled the inside spacer with the pliers again. Remove the outside dust/grease cap, then the outer spacer, seal and inner spacer.

To re-install the spacers and seal in the air sleeve, fold them so the "curve" is small enough to fit into the air sleeve. Slide this edge of the spacer into the air sleeve's slot. Gently press around the edge of the spacer until it slips into the slot. Repeat the process with the seal and again with the outside spacer. A generous but not heavy lubing with Slick Honey Grease will make this process easier. Once you have the spacers and seal installed, install the outside dust/grease cap onto the air sleeve.

Reassemble by sliding the air sleeve on and hand tightening until the stickers are aligned in their normal position. Install the shock onto the bicycle frame. Fill the shock with air until it is sufficiently filled.

Manufacturer: Fox Racing Shox

Model: Kit: Rebuild, FLOAT Air Sleeve 803-00-050-A

List: $6.00

Paid: $0.00 (Included with Vanilla Float RC factory purchase.)

Canon Powershot SD770

The Canon Powershot SD770 is an obscure model that is nearly identical to the SD1000/SD1100 models. The SD770 benefits from 10.1 Mega pixel optics vs. the SD1000's 7.1 MP and the SD1100's 8.3 MP. All three units have nearly identical features. For the novice/casual user this is plenty of camera and takes excellent pictures.

The SD7700 retails for $249.00, but the Indy Gear Guide test unit was obtained from Amazon for $156.00 plus shipping and applicable taxes.

The unit is relatively rugged and has proven itself in a four foot "teetered" fall while attached to a tripod. The whole tripod was knocked over with the SD770 taking the brunt of the fall. The aluminum front facing shows a slight dimple, but the casing was easily snapped back into place. All other things being considered, the camera is working properly after the fall with no noticeable signs of damage.

Manufacturer: Canon

Model: Powershot SD770

List: $249.00

Paid: $156.00 plus shipping Amazon

Rating: 5 of 5 (Excellent quality, great pictures, simple to use.)

Reactor Max by Smith Optics

The Reactor Max is but another great product from Smith Optics. Smith has always produced quality interchangable lens products and the Smith Optics Reactor Max follows in this tradition. The temples are long and lean, with rubber earpieces for comfort. The nose pads attached with a metal accessory and that part should be replaceable. As with all Smith Optic products Indy Gear Guides have tested, the quality is top-notch and comes with a Lifetime Warranty.


The Reactor Max is a very comfortable fit with a bicycle helmet on. The wide temples clear the bicycle helmet straps with ease. The Smith Optics Gunmetal Gray Reactor Max tested came with Polarized Gray, Rose and Clear lenses. The lens design allows for sweat to drip off the face rather than collecting in the bottom of the frame.

A "soft" zippered hard case has an internal pouch with pockets for extra lenses. The case could use a caribiner loop. The pouch takes a little manuevering to get two pair of lenses to stay in. It does work, trust me, but takes a bit of work to figure out which way the lenses need to be put away.

Manufacturer: Smith Optics

Model: Reactor Max

List Price: $169.00

Paid: $34.95 plus $4.00 shipping from Smith Optics "The Hookup"

Rating: 4.5 of 5

Pros: Frame design & materials, comfort, lens design, warranty, Smith quality.

Cons: Case design - no exterior loop, lens pouch design - weak for storage of lenses.