{"id":15160,"date":"2019-08-03T01:14:43","date_gmt":"2019-08-03T01:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/?p=15160"},"modified":"2019-08-03T01:26:31","modified_gmt":"2019-08-03T01:26:31","slug":"digging-in-the-dirt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zo-zo.com\/?p=15160","title":{"rendered":"the n+1 rule."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

there is more than one way to have fun on a bike. i’m really an enduro kind of guy; i just feel there must be a bit of suffering so one can truly enjoy smashing the downhill. which is why i am cool with owning just one bike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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nat on the other hand has a lot of riding ahead of her and the more experiences she gathers under different circumstances will make her riding better, safer and ultimately more fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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then there is the universal rule on how many bikes one should own. it’s commonly agreed that this number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes one currently owns. believe me, it makes total sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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given all of that it’s hardly surprising that when a friend said his dirt jumper was up for sale we … um: jumped on it. i know it’s a dad joke, i can’t help it. the bike is a – let’s call it: ‘seasoned’ giant stp which hasn’t seen much dirt and even less jumping and is therefore in almost pristine condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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it’s also what you could call ‘chubby’. at a weight of 14.2 kg it is actually heavier than nat’s enduro bike, which comes with a handy amount of 160 mm of super supple suspension and a wide range 12 speed setup. the dirt jumper is more what you would have to call ‘basic’. really basic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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luckily shedding weight isn’t as painful and slow a process in bikes as it is in humans. nat and i managed to pull a whole kilogram of dead weight off the bike in less than a day. who needs a front derailleur? kids these days don’t even know what that is. front brakes are unnecessary on dirt jumpers: there goes another few hundred grams. let’s replace the saddle that looks like it’s made out of cast iron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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we also found that each wheel weighs more than 2.5 kg, which is probably 50% heavier than the wheelset on my nomad. there is little we can do about this in the short term, but i will definitely be looking for an opportunity to learn the noble craft of wheel building and in the process ditch those ‘boat anchor’ shimano hubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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nat immediately put her new bike to good use and managed to clear jump #1 at the red hill dirt jumps. pretty impressive for only her second time up there. jump #2 won’t take her long to master either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n