Mango Sport and my fickle desires

Sinner has introduced the Mango Sport a 60 lb Velomobile. I am blown away by the idea of a 60 lb velomobile. This is 15 or so lbs lighter than the Quest Velomobile. Just yesterday I was dreaming about the Musashi as a go-fast bike in my stable since my raptobike has commuter duties now. And now today, I really want a Mango Sport. I spent a few hours talking to other Velo owners (Zyzzyx) and debated the pros and cons of the Mango Sport, the Quest, the Glyde and the Go-one and the Versatile. In the end for me it comes down to the Mango and the Quest. With the Mango Sport edging out the Quest due to the weight. I want to talk to David Hembrow, he has been riding a Mango the past year and works for Sinner so I can get some indirect feel for it, but I am smitten.

I could stand to lose 40lbs from my engine right now. So if I shed the weight and have a mango, I should be as fast up the hills with the Mango as I am today with the Raptobike. I can handle that, especially since that means I can take any hill, any road etc. Suspension and three wheels stability means I can ride the gradually worsening Seattle roads with aplomb in nearly any weather. The Mango Sport will allow me to race, to do fast century rides and commute in the same vehicle. I can use the Raptobike for brevets, hot weather and fun.

So it is time to sell the pile of stuff in my garage so I can afford a Velomobile. I don't think I can resist the allure of this siren call.

Some thoughts on the Musashi

I have been staring at this bike since the video was released. I like it. The 451/622 wheel combination is obviously a performance choice. The SRAM Rival components is also performance centric. The gear range is on the high side, which is appropriate for a fast bike at 32" to 122". I believe that in the summer version of myself I would be able to ride a low gear of 32" up hills in the Puget Sound. Riding this bike would get me into performance shape for sure. I would most likely run this with the SRAM Rival 11-28 cassette, I am not sure which is the default for this bike, but the 11-28 would be great for me.

All of my current bikes are setup with fenders, dynamos, lights, and lots of luggage. I could set up this bike as a lean mean century machine. A couple of frame bags to fit behind the seat, a few water bottles, a pump, a cycle computer (the garmin will work) and done.

I like the idea, I think I need to sell the Corsa, sell the Vivo, clean up my garage and get one of these beautiful bikes.

Catrike Musashi Lowracer

Catrike has released teaser video of their new lowracer. At the moment we just have what can be observed in the video. SRAM Rival components, Carbon Fork, Front Wheel is 451, rear is 700c. Spacing on the fork is very tight so basically this will be running with Schwlabe Durano 28mm 451. The Rear tire will have the typical large selection common to 700c wheels.

I love the rear end geometry. The stiff seat, the solid back end both look like they will contribute to excellent power transfer and provide a great way to mount bags and accessories. In fact I suspect a tailbox would be great on the Musashi.

Congrats to Catrike, a wonderful design.
h/t - BROL blog broke this story, thanks Bryan

SIR Winter training ride #1 in 2010

I rode with SIR and CBC today. We did the first of the Winter Training Series, it was a great ride and I am happy with my performance given my current winter weight. It was a lot of fun and Russel came out from Seattle to ride it with me. I also ran into Bill Gobie, and made a few new friends.

I think I want to get a cue-sheet holder that I can drape around my neck. Digging in my pocket was annoying. The Garmin Edge on the other hand performed flawlessly and kept me on route even when I made mistakes. I am happy with the way it follows courses. All in all a great start to the season.

Rohloff US Service partner

Cycle Monkey
Performance Cycling Services
713 Solano Avenue
Albany, CA 94706
Tel: 510 868 1777
www.cyclemonkey.com
(US Service Partner)

I promised someone I would post this information here. Finding the current Rohloff partner has been a bit interesting these past 6 months.