Gather 'round, y'all...

Jonesy said:

...and watch me eat this crow cold and raw.

After (in)famously spouting bile about Mavic and Shimano
as wheel components, irony has turned right around and
given be the bite on my ass that I so richly deserve.

I love USENET irony, and this one has me literally
laughing out loud.

So, I get an e-mail a few of days ago:

"I read that you are looking for some good rims to build
your wheels - how about this deal?" He links me to a place
that has Mavic X618s on better than half-retail price sale
($45 each).

I start squirming. That's a hell of a deal. Quality,
durable, relatively light. And if they break, I'm only out
about as much as I would have been for X223s. Awww, [censored].
The bargain hunter in me can't resist. So I sheepishly
place the order.

I forget about my about-face, and go on a group ride
Wednesday. In comparison to the rest of the Palouse, the
north side of Moscow Mountain is cool and breezy. Right in
the low 70's, according to my car's on-board thermometer.
It was 92 in the shade when I left the house. Good ride,
including a brand-spankin' new trail that had been ridden
previously by two other folks - the builders, who were
along on the ride. Loose and sketchy, when it buffs out,
it's gonna be sweet. Then they take us on a year-old trail
called "Between a Rock and a Hard Place." Yeouch! Holy
[censored]. This short, maybe all of 1/3 mile, is all technical,
all the time. Vicious climbs, steep descents, in one place
skirting a 20-foot-diameter granite boulder (that's just
the part sticking out of the ground) on one side, and a
very steep exposure on the other. As an aside, since the
area is mostly covered with flood basalts, granite in the
area is assumed to be part of the original continent, and
most likely over four billion years old. Pretty cool
stuff. Anyway, that was the "Rock." The "Hard Place" was
around the corner - another, smaller granite boulder with
a tree growing right up beside it, about 20 inches apart.
And yes, the trail goes right between them (nowhere else
to go, other than the other side of the boulder - which
would have been just as challenging a route.) My bars are
a little over 22 inches wide. I have no freaking idea how
to ride that, except maybe by wheelie through with bars at
a 45-degree angle. I can't do that on my driveway, let
alone a trail less than 6 inches wide. A sweet piece of
trail ("trail", not "tail", Sorni).

So, back to wheels...

After the ride, I mentioned how I was getting some rims in
to build some new wheels, and I have to start my looking
for hubs. One of the guys pipes up, "hey, I've got a set
of new XT disk hubs that I'm not going to use, you want to
buy them?" I feel the laughter bubbling up, but I need to
ask one simple question.

"How many holes?"

"32"

I immediately begin laughing, and of course, no one
understands what's so damn funny.

You do, because I got the set for $25.

Sometimes the dark side isn't so dark.

:-)

Shawn

"Jonesy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

...and watch me eat this crow cold and raw.

After (in)famously spouting bile about Mavic and Shimano
as wheel components, irony has turned right around and
given be the bite on my ass that I so richly deserve.

I love USENET irony, and this one has me literally
laughing out loud.

So, I get an e-mail a few of days ago:

"I read that you are looking for some good rims to build
your wheels - how about this deal?" He links me to a place
that has Mavic X618s on better than half-retail price sale
($45 each).

I start squirming. That's a hell of a deal. Quality,
durable, relatively light. And if they break, I'm only out
about as much as I would have been for X223s. Awww, [censored].
The bargain hunter in me can't resist. So I sheepishly
place the order.

I forget about my about-face, and go on a group ride
Wednesday. In comparison to the rest of the Palouse, the
north side of Moscow Mountain is cool and breezy. Right in
the low 70's, according to my car's on-board thermometer.
It was 92 in the shade when I left the house. Good ride,
including a brand-spankin' new trail that had been ridden
previously by two other folks - the builders, who were
along on the ride. Loose and sketchy, when it buffs out,
it's gonna be sweet. Then they take us on a year-old trail
called "Between a Rock and a Hard Place." Yeouch! Holy
[censored]. This short, maybe all of 1/3 mile, is all technical,
all the time. Vicious climbs, steep descents, in one place
skirting a 20-foot-diameter granite boulder (that's just
the part sticking out of the ground) on one side, and a
very steep exposure on the other. As an aside, since the
area is mostly covered with flood basalts, granite in the
area is assumed to be part of the original continent, and
most likely over four billion years old. Pretty cool
stuff. Anyway, that was the "Rock." The "Hard Place" was
around the corner - another, smaller granite boulder with
a tree growing right up beside it, about 20 inches apart.
And yes, the trail goes right between them (nowhere else
to go, other than the other side of the boulder - which
would have been just as challenging a route.) My bars are
a little over 22 inches wide. I have no freaking idea how
to ride that, except maybe by wheelie through with bars at
a 45-degree angle. I can't do that on my driveway, let
alone a trail less than 6 inches wide. A sweet piece of
trail ("trail", not "tail", Sorni).

So, back to wheels...

After the ride, I mentioned how I was getting some rims in
to build some new wheels, and I have to start my looking
for hubs. One of the guys pipes up, "hey, I've got a set
of new XT disk hubs that I'm not going to use, you want to
buy them?" I feel the laughter bubbling up, but I need to
ask one simple question.

"How many holes?"

"32"

I immediately begin laughing, and of course, no one
understands what's so damn funny.

You do, because I got the set for $25.
--
Jonesy "my goodness, that tasted terrible"

Black hubs and rims I hope. They'll look great with some
silver DT Swiss revolutions 14/17's ;-)

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest I've just wasted.

Jonesy said:

...and watch me eat this crow cold and raw.

After (in)famously spouting bile about Mavic and Shimano
as wheel components, irony has turned right around and
given be the bite on my ass that I so richly deserve.

Bwaaaahahaaaa! Well the only thing that could have made it
better is if you had upgraded to a wheelset with
Centerlock hubs.

Thanks to you, The Shimano Empire will live on and continue
to mercilessly suck the life out of bikers everywhere. =P

Thanks, though, for being man enough to fess up about it.

John M

...and may your gear remain in good condition and out of
obsolescence till your bike's dying day.

"John Morgan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news😄A2Dc.2$rf.1@fed1read06...

Quoted message said:

Jonesy said:

...and watch me eat this crow cold and raw.

After (in)famously spouting bile about Mavic and Shimano
as wheel components, irony has turned right around and
given be the bite on my ass that I so richly deserve.

Bwaaaahahaaaa! Well the only thing that could have made it
better is if

you

Quoted message said:

had upgraded to a wheelset with Centerlock hubs.

He didn't actually specify.... 😉

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"Jonesy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

...and watch me eat this crow cold and raw.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

I immediately begin laughing, and of course, no one
understands what's so damn funny.

You do, because I got the set for $25.

Bargain!

I've got about 2 1/2 K miles on my Mavic 521/Deore
flangeless disc hubs so far, a lot of those miles were very
rough ones to, no problems at all. Never even needed to
adjust the bearings - they've stayed steady all the way.
Replaced the rear rim due to wear from brake pads, but
that's it.

Nothing wrong with Mavic/Shimano wheel sets IMNSHO ',;~}~

Shaun aRe

I wrote, "And to get Freak-proof rims for half price - what
sane MTBer would do that?"

It should read, "And to get Freak-proof rims for half price
- what sane MTBer wouldn't do that?"

Preview, then post. Preview, then post. Preview...
--
Jonesy