New 29er! My Misfit DiSSent Build

Mmm, naked....aluminum that is.

After finding out that my Soul Cycles Dillinger frame is delayed until Nov/Dec., and with all these 29er parts sitting around my garage collecting dust, I decided to take matters into my own hands (wallet) and picked up a used Misfit DiSSent on ebay.  The frame came in on Friday afternoon and I built it up Friday evening after work.  Nice!  The first ride was great.  I set it up for a relaxed geometry with the steer-tube ~1/2 higher than usual.  The bike performed flawlessly around Umstead and Crabtree (where everyone is a hero).  So far I am very pleased and now look forward to riding this bike in the Scouts Honor 18 Hour Race.  This weekend was my first single-track ride since breaking my hand (healing nicely, thank you), and I now feel comfortable that I may be able to survive the race as I have two more weeks to heal up.  My strategy going into this 18 hour race with little training?  Rest lots!

~2 hours of sanding and polishing...voila'!

On a side note, I did a quick inspection of all the welds on the frame looking for cracks, I found none.  The day after my first ride (Sun.) I am cleaning off the frame and found what looked to be stress fractures on the top-tube.  I was stressed.  I contacted the ebay vendor and said I was returning the frame and then contacted Matt at "Dillon Bikes" to get the headset removed.  Later that day Andy inspected the bike and thought that they were likely not cracks and I should not worry about it.  So, if anything happens to me, Andy is assuming all responsibility.  Good to know I have that to fall back on should I fall forward on a broken Aluminum Frame.  Thanks Andy.

All pretty and ready to ride, totally worth it.

My next quick project?  Polishing up this frame to a shiny finish. Me likes shiny things!

EDIT 10/19: could not ride tonight, so I put in some elbow grease polishing up the frame with 800, 1000, and 1500 grit wet sandpaper and then Mothers Aluminum Polish.  Could be better, but my elbows ran out of grease.  Still, me likey!

Dillon Bikes Review

Over the last few months I had heard of a guy starting up a bike shop out of his garage here in Fuquay, "Dillon Bikes."  Even though I do most of my own work, I thought it was cool that there would be a shop so close to where I live (between my work and home) in case I needed anything.  I had run into the owner, Matt Dillon a few times over the last couple months, at a trail, a road ride and a movie, but never introduced myself yet I was hoping an opportunity would arise to go check out shop and eventually it did.
When I decided to pick up a new (used) frame on ebay, I called a couple places to see what they would charge for labor to swap my headset and crown race from my old frame/fork to the new.  $30 was the quote from a couple of shops and so in communication with Matt, he agreed to the same price, saying he would always match other shops quotes (cool).  Unfortunately, there was a delay in my frame being shipping (there goes that guys 5 star ebay rating) so I was glad that Matt was willing to make himself available in about a two hour window of time on Friday late afternoon when my frame finally arrived.  Turns out he was squeezing me in between getting home from work and taking his wife out to dinner.

Here is a shot of my garage/bike shop...

Fortunately, Dillon's looks nothing like this. :)

Dillon Bikes itself is run out of Matt's garage, and I must say that I was pretty impressed with his shop.  Everything was neat, clean and orderly which was confidence inspiring.  I also noticed he had a couple bikes parked in a rack with service tags on them so it was good to know I am not the only customer. :)
I found Matt to be very friendly, personable and professional.  He had no problem with the headset, and though he did not have the fancy tool for the crown race, he had the know-how to remove it and install it in a careful manner that was impressive.  In my limited experience: the Cycle Surgeon is great, as is Jason @ All-Star and Hormis (who always made me feel like a pro) @ Flythe.  Still, Dillon bikes fills a niche in the southern end of Wake/Northern Harnett where there are few to no options other than driving 30-40 miles round trip for your bike.  I definitely recommend him and will be using Dillon Bikes again.

Pulp Non-Fiction

Hand Update:
Tried riding without the brace 2-4 weeks before the brace is cleared to come off.  Mistake.  Hand hurt (in-spite of wearing two gloves) and I ended up riding as if I had the brace, with no pressure on the right side of my right hand.   So, maybe I should wear the brace next week.  Maybe not.  After all I am a guy and we are not always known for doing what is best for our bodies.  To steal a phrase from the late, great Al Davis, "Just Ride Baby!"...or something like that.

29er AND Tubeless!

First time w/tubeless. Beginners Luck?

I am AMAZING (someone had to say it)!  I just installed Maxxis Ikon tires on my Mavic C29SSMAX rims.  First time mounting tires tubeless (used Stans).  I watched a couple of YouTube videos, made a call to a buddy for moral support (thanks Andy), a little soap, set the bead, then pop-pop-pop, up they filled.  I let them sit overnight before putting in the Stans.  When I did add the Stans (through the valve) there was no leaking, seeping or weeping.  Damn I'm good! Or I did something horribly wrong, but hey, right now I am reveling in the moment!

Where Is My Frame???
I have been waiting on the new Soul Cycles Dillinger frame for a while (looks like it could be Nov/Dec).  Started getting impatient so I bid on, and won, a used Misfit DiSSent frame on ebay.  It was supposed to arrive in 3-7 days, that was 8 days ago.  It is now suppose to arrive on Thursday (10 days later).  There goes that guy's 5 star ebay rating.  Nope, not a star over 3 (maybe 4) for you sucka!  That'll learn ya' to delay my frame!

18hr Scouts Honor:
I have ridden so sparingly since Shenandoah, I think I am kidding myself with this 18 hr ride.  In the last month, I have ridden Umstead three times for a total of  85 miles...in a month!  The race is in three weeks, so I plan on starting my training this weekend, and next weekend.  Yep, that should be plenty.