VeloDirt

Here’s the video Roman Dial put together on their amazing trip from this past summer.  You can also click here for his full writeup.   It’s all definitely worth the watch/read.

Nick, Alan & I spent a cold-ass weekend on the eastside getting after it with the fatbikes.  We’d originally set the weekend aside for something bigger – an overnighter on the coast or something south – but the weather and time constraints left us with few options.  We made the best of things by heading east to familiar territory.  We camped at the Deschutes Rec Area – the best winter/spring camping spot around (note: no running water available in winter) – and day tripped into the White River Wildlife Area and Dalles Mountain.

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60 Miles
3,300 ft elevation gain, both major climbs on dirt
~30% dirt
Start/End: The Dalles, OR

9:00 a.m., Saturday March 10, 2012

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Pros:

• Works as front and rear rack

Cons:

• Ridiculously expensive at $80 + another $25 for the seatpost clamp for rear installation
• Max allowable weight = 8lbs
• Very little usable space with rear installation
• Numerous alternatives that are considerably cheaper and/or better

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Ok, folks we’ve nailed down the schedule for 2012.  We’re going to mix things up a bit this year so the schedule is going to look a little different.  And like most things that come out of my mouth, you can ignore what I said about not running the Rapture this year – we’re definitely doing it again.

For those with internet-age attention spans, here’s the short version:

• Dalles Mountain 60 (DM60):  March 10
• The Rapture:  May 5
• The Oregon Stampede:  June 2
• The Anti-Crosst:  Fall-ish, maybe, who knows right now…

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Pros:

• Super lightweight @2.4oz
• Packs down super small
• Decently priced @$30

Cons:

• Doesn’t carry weight comfortably
• Shoulder straps don’t lay flat = uncomfortable
• Friction buckles don’t hold

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I know you’ve all been waiting with bated breath for me to put this video together…  Well, wait no longer…

All I’ll say about this video is that I hate making them.  The amount of work required to make even a poor quality video like this is overwhelming.  And if you really want to do it right, it’d take way more work in the field filming it properly than I’m willing to put in.  So I’m officially hanging up my director’s hat and going back to still photography.

We here at Velodirt are lucky to have many friends who own and run their own businesses.  Because they’re awesome and we want to see them succeed,  we’re pimping their wares in anticipation of the holiday season.  No one asked us to do this – we’re doing it because we love these folks and really believe in what their doing.

• 21st Ave Bicycles – Bike shop
• Black Diamond Physical Therapy – Best sports-based PT you’ll ever find, anywhere
• Blaq Design – Custom messenger bags and backpacks
• Cream of the Gods – Handmade chamois cream
• Demimonde Jewelry – One of a kind jewelry
• Elle’s Yoga – Yoga
• Laura Cooke Ceramics – Pottery for everyday use
• Little Package Cycling Caps – Cycling Caps
• No Where Is More Important Than Here – Magazine for “adventurers to tell their tales”
• NW Alpine – Alpine climbing gear
• Resolution Skis – Custom, handmade skis
• The Someday House- Woven rugs and t-shirt scarves from reclaimed materials
• Spatter Bikes – Custom bike painting
• Tsunehiro Cycles – Custom steel bikes

Or I suppose you could buy a bunch of Chinese crap from Walmart instead… your call…

Pros:

• Mostly fits the 2010 Mukluk
• Cheaper than a custom bag
• Durable, quality product
• Small side pocket on opposite side

Cons

• Dislike the vertical interior split
• Wasted space at headtube
• Lowest downtube strap is slightly off-centered with the downtube bottle cage mounts
• Minor sewing issue (detailed below)

The primary purpose of this review of the Salsa/Revelate Mukluk Framebag is to give 1st-gen Mukluk owners the skinny on how the new frame bag fits the older-style Mukluk.  I’ve got a few minor issues with the bag itself, as noted above/below, but the short version is it fits fine.  As you can see there is some wasted space at the headtube due to a change at the downtube/headtube interface on the new Mukluk.  However, given the other options available to you (almost none), it fits well enough.  And it’ll save you a few bucks over a custom bag.

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Update: Trail Designs contacted me and very politely informed me that I had the “Gram Cracker” esbit stove upside down (doh!)! I apparently forgot how to properly use it at some point… Fixing this will greatly improve boil times, and I will re-test and update the test results section.

Pros

• Very stable and wind resistant screen/stand
• 3 fuel options
• Screen and accessories pack neatly into pot(s)
• Overall very light
• The ‘inferno’ kit burns wood efficiently and packs neatly in the screen roll/pot
• Using an Esbit/wood combo, you can get a fire going relatively quickly and can stretch the tablet for several boils – useful if you are making stuff for more than one person. Plus you can cut a small amount of weight by bringing fewer esbits
• “10-12″ alcohol stove and “gram cracker” stove are inexpensive and available separately
• Not a huge difference in esbit vs. alc boil times
• I am DONE looking for alc, esbit, or wood burning stoves

Cons

• There are inherent drawbacks to all three of the fuel types, but you can’t really blame the design for that. For some trips, there are simply better choices due to the temps, length, etc. (Zen stoves is an excellent, informative resource for all thing alcohol stove and then some)
• With a smaller pot (like mine which is 600ml), you can’t fit the alcohol fuel bottle and alcohol stove all into the pot like you could with a larger pot.
• Denatured Alcohol only for the “10-12″ alcohol stove according to the site (so no yellow Heet at truck stops – but i might test this anyway)
• Relatively spendy for the whole shebang if you buy the pot with it.
• Esbit smells like butt and leaves behind post-disintegration martian goo Read the report