Diablo Scott's Bike Blog: April 2014

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Easter Candy

Strapped a camera mount to the headtube of my new commuter bike and did a few laps around the neighborhood. Mount Diablo is still in the distance, but the call is getting louder.

Easter from Diablo Scott on Vimeo.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Product Review: 2014 Trek District S

This review is for the 2014 Trek District S single speed bike: not the belt drive version, not the steel versions, not the 9-speed version. The District S replaces the discontinued Trek Soho single speed.

I'm digging that all black stealth look.

Update: The Trek District S is not offered for the 2015 model year. Trek does have a steel SS/FG called the Earl but I really don't like how it looks or the reviews it gets. If I had to go shopping today for a similar bike to my Trek District S, I think I'd go for the Surly Cross Check SS.

Update - change that to the Soma Stanyan 18. That's a cool looking fixie frame.

I was looking for a fixed gear bike for my daily commuter, and wanted one with horizontal forward facing dropouts, rack and fender mounts, room for cushy tires, and wide handlebars for lights. There really aren't many bikes that meet all of those criteria; there are of course lots of fixies with track ends which are hard to use with fenders. The Surly Cross Check single speed was another one I considered, but at $1000 it didn't look much nicer than the Trek at $600.

Handlebar has a nice bend, and the stem is really nice.
The grips lock on so they won't twist.

Internal rear brake cable -
the housing goes all the way through, no stops.

Ordinary square taper BB, easy to service.

I think this graphic is supposed to look edgy.

Headbadge is glued on;
I won't be mad if it falls off.

My serial number... in case I ever need it.
Nice of Trek to offer an on-line registry too -
I wonder if the cops ever check there when they recover a stolen bike.
wtu333c6534H

Wishbone monostay adds vertical rigidity... and looks cool.

Saddle is reasonable - no reason to swap it out.

Some bigger tires and fenders will be coming eventually.

The rack mounts came with these plugs in them;
in case you don't have a rack I guess - anyway, they come right out.

Flip flop set to fixed.

Real track nuts.
Rack and fender mounts.
Forward horizontal dropouts
Exactly what I wanted.

The chain is 1/8" for fixie cred.
I'll give the chain protector a chance; it's aluminium, not plastic.
But if it starts to rattle it's offa there.

Bontrager 700c 28mm tires measure an actual 26mm.

Schrader valves...
looking forward to my first two flats so I can put in some presta tubes.

Room for lots more tire in here though.

Here too.

The pedals are the only parts I can't live with...
I got wide feet and ride in tennis shoes so I'm getting
some platforms with toe clips.

This bike has an aluminum frame – I would generally prefer a nice steel tubeset on a FG commuter for the dent resistance, but aluminum makes this frame nice and light so that’s a plus.

Some notes on geometry: The District S geometry is about half way between a touring bike and a cyclocross bike – two styles that are frequently used as commuters. The longer wheelbase is especially nice for heel room if you use panniers, and it also helps smooth out bumps in the road.

Another thing about the geometry - this bike has the highest bottom bracket height (11.5") (or smallest drop) of any style of bike other than the 29er MTB. The good part about this is that I have NEVER scraped a pedal on a turn (happened all the time on my Masi Commuter that had touring geometry)... the downside is that it makes riding no-hands rather difficult... also when walking the bike you can't push it by the saddle without the wheel flopping... I guess that's kind of related. No problem, the steering's not twitchy at all.

Trek's Website Photo with Schrader valves airbrushed out.

Colors Matte Black

Frame Alpha Gold Aluminum

Fork High-tensile steel w/low-rider mounts

Sizes 52, 54, 56, 58, 60cm

Wheels Alloy track front hub; alloy track flip-flop rear hub w/32-hole alloy rims

Tires Bontrager AW1 Hard-Case Lite, 700x28c

Crank Bontrager Nebula SS, 44T w/chainguard

Cassette Shimano 17T freewheel

Pedals VP track-style alloy

Saddle Bontrager SSR

Seatpost Bontrager Nebula, 27.2mm

Handlebar Trek Urban, alloy

Stem District, alloy, 15 degree, flip/flop

Headset Slimstak, semi-cartridge bearings, sealed

Brakeset Tektro extra-long reach, dual-pivot brakes w/Tektro alloy levers

Grips Custom District, lock-on

Extras Chainguard

The ride: Predictable and conservative, but fun; probably exactly what you'd want in a commuter. The handling is more like a mountain bike with slicks than it is like a road bike; maybe most of that is just the handlebars, but if you like high speed cornering or spinning 130rpm from the nose of the saddle you'd be disappointed. But it's also not a hybrid or comfort bike; it's zippy and nimble. This bike would also be great for critical mass or light grocery shopping or any kind of urban riding including trails.

The Trek District S gets an 8.5 of 10 on the Diablo Scott scale of urban SSFG commuter bikes. Minor deductions for narrow pedals, narrow tires, and Shrader tubes - I would have given bonus points for prettier joints but the welding is entirely appropriate for this price point.

Update: I like this bike more every time I ride it. But I swapped out the pedals for some wider ones without teeth, the grips for some ergonomic ones, and the saddle just because I had one available that was a little nicer from my road bike.

I've got wheel lights and back flashers and headlights though.

Very nice pedals... I wouldn't mind even a little bigger, but these'll do.

My hands were getting kind of sore, these things
are like little La-Z-Boys... REALLY comfortable.

Put a new saddle on my road bike so the old one goes on my fixie...
a little scuffed up but a great saddle.

Getting the lights just right was kind of tricky on this bar.

Stock tires

Upgrade tires - the difference is quite noticeable in person...
not so much in these photos.

Current status:

Stock bike plus track cog and lockring, bottle cage, and Cateye computer, from the dealer
Added rear rack and commuter trunk bag from Ibera
Took off reflectors. Added two front lights from Planet Bike and rear rack light from Cateye
Swapped out pedals for MKS GR-10... didn't much like the stock pedals
Added shiny happy bell from Sports Basement
Swapped out grips for Ergon GC1... stock grips were OK but my hands were getting sore and these grips are GREAT
Swapped out saddle for San Marco Regal... stock saddle was OK but Regal is my favorite and this one was a hand me down from a recent update to my Klein
Swapped out Bontrager 28mm tires for Vittoria 37mm tires... because potholes; but I put a lot of miles on those Bontragers first
Wheel reflectors are off and I have SpokeLit's ready when Daylight Saving Time ends
Also got a spare set of wheels in case I break spokes again - one pair for summer and one pair for winter, or backup. Weinmann DP-18 from Big Dave's.