Kristof Goossens

I’ve been using the Giro Indicator and Giro Ionos for a few weeks now. At first I found the Ionos to be pricy, but ok. i didn’t think it was worth the €250 (Ionos) vs 50 (Indicator) though. (I got it at nearly half price at chainreactioncycles, so that was ok. ) I’ve been using the Ionos for two weeks non-stop and a few days ago I switched back to the Indicator because it was raining (the Ionos is NOT the best choice in rain as all the water neatly flows trough the vents down over your eyes) The Indicator does this much better with the front flap and closer fit. However, while biking I also found out that the Indicator was starting to feel sweaty and heavy after only a few miles, even though I really liked it before. It’s just that in day to day use, you get so used to the waight and coolness of the Ionos that other helmets don’t feel as nice anymore. I now definitely think it is worth the money.

It had to happen sooner or later, it was time for another bike upgrade :) This time I added a topeak bottle holder called the modula cage. It’s not a carbon one (even though they look way cooler) but a metal cage with adjustable size to accommodate different bottles or cans. The problem is that my bottle holder is upside down and close to the front wheel so I need something which can support the weight of the bottle when upside down. most carbon bottle holders seem to be designed with only a small stop at the bottom to keep the bottle in. The topeak modula has a a wide bottom and strong aluminium arms. In the coming weeks I’ll test out how well it can keep upside down bottles in. This is how it looks on my bike now:

Well, a new mountain bike deserves only the best products, and if it’s environmentally friendly, it’s even better, so I got the pedros total bike care kit 2.0 with bio-degradable products. The brush and chain lubricant differ from those in the pictures used on most online webstores, so here is what is really inside the box.

• Toothbrush cleaning brush
• oranj peelz degreaser
• green fizz bike wash (works excellent)
• bike lust (for that special like-new shine)
• go! chain lubricant.

And to be on the safe side, I got some extra chain cleaner and lubricants for different weather conditions. If my bike lets me down, it won’t be due to lack of maintenance.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I recently got a new bike for my daily commute and to go off-roading. It’s only two months old and what did I discover while cleaning it last week? Rust on the inside of the race face bolts. You’d think that with the price these things cost, it’d be better protected from the elements.

This did give me a good opportunity for an upgrade though. I have replaced the steel race face bolts with these red aluminum KCNC bolts. They are not exactly cheap for being just a bolt at about four euro’s each, but they look definitely way cooler and are weatherproof.

And I also found while taking these shots what live view on my canon D1000 is good for. when zoomed in, it’s an excellent way to get the focus for the inside of the screw just right, cause it was nearly impossible to do it trough the viewfinder from so close.

After many years of service, my trusty bike needed replacement parts. The suspension didn’t work, my front discs had lost teeth, rust was beginning to form and the brakes were less than ideal under wet circumstances. The bike itself had only cost €250 and when checking out the replacement parts, I quickly found out why. Apart from the shimano 101 shifter/brake levers, every part was of unknown Chinese origin and not compatible with replacement parts. (only the brake pads are). Since a mountain-biking, windsurfing, xboxing buddy of mane had considerable experience in bike parts, I got his advise to see what would be a good replacement for my trusty bike.

Turns out Kona makes some pretty good bikes for a very competitive price, and barracuda (www.mtbikers.com) often does promotions where they sell the model from last year or two years ago at nearly half price. He has a full suspension Kona coilair and Kona Dawgma which were very smooth riding and felt very nice. Coilair is heavy though and suited to all-mountain and Freeride, Dawgma a less-extreme version more for backcountry. Since my bike will be doing a lot of on-road commuter traffic as well, the Kona Four turned out to be my ideal match. It is full suspension, very light and with good braking and fast shifting capabilities. Lucky for me, around my birthday, Barracuda was doing a 40% off on the 2008 Kona Four Supreme, which is the luxury model with the best components. Kona’s come in regular, deluxe and supreme version with the supreme costing twice as much as the regular version but with the best specs and parts. It took considerable savings, but the new bike is really worth it (at least it is at half price, since 2800 euro would have been way over budget : ).

I’ve ridden it on and off-road for 60 kilometers last weekend and it’s a huge difference with my old setup. faster, more agile, smooth over bumps, propedal to prevent pedal power loss on street/pavement. My average speed is now 22kmh and I can finally keep up with my wife when out biking (not something I could manage with my old, heavy bike) As far as ergonomics is concerned, two hours biking in a row and I felt nothing the next day where my old bike would invariably result in a sore behind and hands. Technical specs: 16″ frame, fox float RP23 rear, fox F-series remote lockout RL-100 front, race face evolve mechanics, shimano XT shifting, hayes stroker carbon brakes, FSA XC-300 wheels and Kona Scandium frame. First thing to do was to make it street legal, so I’ve upgraded/added a few parts:

• planet-x clingon2 pedals (with added reflective tape) for off-road
• pedalite micro-generator cycling pedals for night riding in winter
• Topeak Defender M1 mudguard
• Orange Reflectors
• Blackburn Mars 3 rear light
• Roadsign wireless solar cycle computer
• Garmin Nuvi GPS + bike holder
• Bspoke 1/2 watt front led (for being seen)
• Ergon GC2 ergonomic grips

Still on my wish list, some really good front led lights. (probably a hope vision or exposure maxx)