I’ve been continuing my no-solvent, lube-only maintenance schedule on all of my chains.  In the last chain wear post the Dura-Ace 7901 chain on the old Trek was showing 1/10 wear. It’s now just about three months and 1000km later and the chain is still showing 1/10 wear. I was expecting some measurable wear after a few very wet rides, but that hasn’t been the case. So, this Dura-Ace chain is just shy of 15 months and 3500km and still shows almost no wear. Not bad.

On the other hand, the cyclocross bike and it’s Ultegra HG-93 9-speed chain arean’t doing so well. At the last check, the chain was at 6/10 wear. Now, after three months and only 300km it’s at 10/10. Likewise, the HG-93 chain on the 1×9 hardtail was at maximum wear and replaced four weeks ago after 1390km and 17 months of use. The chain was replaced with a Dura-Ace 7701 that’s been used for about 100km.  The cyclocross bike will get the same 7701 chain.

• Road/Dura-Ace 7901 (10-speed): 15 months, 3500km, almost no wear
• CX/Ultegra HG-93 (9-speed): 19 months, 1735km, to be replaced
• MTB/Ultegra HG-93 (9-speed): 17 months, 1390km, replaced
• MTB/SRAM PC-1 (SS): 6 months, 235km, didn’t bother checking

It’s been a few weeks since I swapped the bars on both my Eriksen and the Kona for some On-One Fleegle Pros, and I think I’m ready to report my findings.

First, what’s a Fleegle?  The Fleegle Pro (and Fleegle non-Pro) are flat bars with a very comfy 15° back sweep.  The Fleegle Pro is about 660mm wide and the non-Pro is roughly 720mm.  Prior to the Fleegle Pro, the Eriksen was sporting a custom 615mm Ti flat bar from Kent (Eriksen), and the Kona had a 635mm Easton low-rise EA50.

My primary reason for swapping over to the Fleegles was for 1) a wider bar, and 2) something with a bit more sweep.  The Fleegle is both of these.  However, the Fleegle isn’t a riser (if anything, it may have a slight drop), so I had to make some changes to the Kona.

The Kona had a Thomson 90mm/5° rise stem, but to get the Fleegle up to the right height I swapped it for a Thomson 90mm/15° rise.  I swapped the Thomson 110mm/5° rise stem on the Eriken for the Thomson 90mm/5° rise stem off of the Kona to accomodate for the extra bar width.  The 110mm Thomson joins another 120mm Thomson in my stockpile of 25.4 stems.  All of these stems are the endangered Thomson Elite 25.4, which are apparently worth their weight in gold.

Anyway, riding both bikes/bars has been nice.  The change on the Kona wasn’t dramatic, but the extra width is nice, and the extra sweep is very comfy.  The Eriksen handles much more like the Kona (29er) than it used to, and that’s a good thing.  The shorter stem and wider bars really work well.  On the down side, setting the stem straight ahead with these bars is tricky.  The bars are very curvy/bent, so setting them straight takes some patience.

In addition to the Fleegle Pros, I also got a 720mm Fleegle.  It’s a bit wide, but I may try it on the Kona at some point.  Overall, 6.3 out of 6.5 stars (-0.2 stars for not being available as a riser).

So far this season, I’ve raced the Eriksen in both of the 2012 AMTBC enduros.  The first was a four-hour at Mt. Torrens, where I raced solo.  The second was a six-hour at Craigburn Farm, where I raced on a two-man team.

The Mt. Torrens track is always fun with great downhills, but it’s also difficult with long, technical climbs.  My race went well with no mechanical issues.  However, riding across the very fast and rocky top section, I was contemplating the advantages of the 4″ FS 29er following me.  Bouncing off rocks for four hours can be fun, but big wheels and some travel would make it less painful.  In the end, I finished in the middle of the pack at 27th of 45.  More importantly, here’s what happened according to Strava.

On to Craigburn Farm. This is currently one of my favorite trails, and the track layout for the enduro was excellent.  The race covered almost all of the trails in the park, and the conditions were perfect thanks to rain the night before the race.  I’m happy with my six laps (our team did a total of eleven), and I set several personal records (PR) on many segments in Strava.   Better yet, there was a coffee van at the race, so I got to sit and relax with a latte between laps– I’m not sure if that helped my lap tims.  Anyway, of the 20 teams racing we finished 7th: one lap up on 8th, and within a few minutes of 5th and 6th.  Again, here is an account of the race from Strava’s perspective.

Aside from briefly coveting a FS 29er at the Mt. Torrens enduro, I’ve been vary happy with the Eriksen.  The new SID Team fork has been great, and the WTB Bronson 2.3 front tyre has been a good compromise between grip, weight and volume, with grip and volume being it’s strengths.  The 1×9 drivetrain with a 32t ring and 11-34 cassette has worked out well, although the 34t cog has been of limited use– a 33t or 34t ring might make a better pair to the 11-34 cassette.  While I’d like to take the rigid 29er out for another enduro, it’s hard to pass on the relatively cushy ride that the Eriksen’s Ti frame and 100mm fork provide.

Official race results for both races are posted on the new and improved AMTBC site.