The Gear

I have spent the last couple weeks getting my cross rig, an eBay bargain-purchased Kona “Jake the Snake”, into shape. True to my other bikes, I built this from the ground up myself with some spare parts and some bits and pieces picked up along the way as needed. I like riding, of course, but I also like the “hunt” of finding great deals on great stuff, and building bikes up in my shop.

I actually bought this bike to ride with Miles as an all-around bike – something I’d feel less-bad about if, or when, he “bumped” me (side note – Miles sideswiped me last fall on a ride around Sandymount Park trashing the rear wheel on a set of Mavic Ksyrium SLR carbon-spoked wheels – which just haven’t been the same since).

So anywy, as a result of this “hunting” hobby – I do have some pretty nice “spare parts” – this bike features a SRAM Red/Force drivetrain and HED Ardennes SL wheels. I became acquainted with the joy of cantilever brake setup, positioning, tire pressure, brake squeal… but finally got the rig pretty comfortable and reasonable in weight – time to start training….