Typically, I don’t ride much over the winter months, with the occasional exception being a rare 50° day in January or February, but this year I decided I was going to ride no matter how cold it got.  Through some trial and error, I found a system that keeps me warm enough to ride, without making me feel too bogged down under heavy clothes.  To plug a great product, I’d have to say the biggest help in staying warm has been a pair of Performance neoprene booties that fit over my cycling shoes.  I’d link to the product, only I hear they’ve been discontinued.  However, there are other geat models on the market, so I’d suggest you find something that fits your shoes and get back out there and ride–don’t forget the wool socks!

If you can get over the first five minutes of a cold ride, you’ll be good to go for at least a couple hours, and it sure beats sitting inside all day.

After I got mine last May, I quickly discovered that they were damn near impossible to find anymore.  I searched from time to time all summer, and came up blank every time, that is, until last week.  I was doing a Google search for Velo saddles (in general), and accidentally found an eBay seller with one left in stock for $16 (the brown models are specially made by Velo for Origin-8).  I jumped on it right away, and now I have one for each bike.  If I find another one, I’ll buy it and keep it as a spare.

In other words, it’s an awesome saddle, and I’m extremely happy with it, despite the somewhat heavy weight (they average around 300g).  The first one I bought has seen a lot of XC riding–and wrecking–and plenty of road and rail-trail riding, and is still holding up well.  The logo on top is slightly fading, but I won’t take points off for that, since it’s to be expected (click one the following image for a better view):

If you’re looking for a great saddle, but can live without the special stitching and color, then these are readily available on eBay if you search for "Velo fixed gear saddle" and they come in a ton of colors, with a plain vinyl cover, for around $20.  The next image is of a black one I got with my EighthInch Scrambler complete build.  It looks a whole lot different without the custom stitching, but it’s exactly the same seat.

If you’re looking for a brown one, get it when the opportunity presents itself, or you may be out of luck later.  Otherwise, the plain colored ones are a great alternative and will more easily match the colors you already have on your bike.  I’m sticking with the brown, though!

Related posts:
http://one9.us/blog/cycling/origin-8-racing-saddle-review
http://one9.us/blog/cycling/eighthinch-scrambler-v2-review-preview

The other one is the Sillgey Piccolo, which basically appears to be very similar, if not the same thing (I don’t know enough about either company to know if it’s actually the same bike).  Either way, it’s a pretty cool little bike, and would probably work great if you lived a few flights up and had to carry your bike with you.

Update:  I also found another one by Livery Design Gruppe (see below).

Airwalk Fixed Gear Mini Fixie

Sillgey Piccolo

Livery Design Gruppe

Links:

http://airwalkfixed.blogspot.com/
http://www.sillgey.com/
http://liverydesigngruppe.com/

If you know of any others, please share in the comments section!

The box came from UPS just as you see here:

10 Windows 7 canvas tote bags:

Windows 7 jigsaw puzzle, napkins, playing cards, streamers, etc…

But the best part is the free copy of a full version of Windows 7 Ultimate (Signature Edition), that includes both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, 2 full weeks before the OS hits store shelves:

Here’s a list of the full contents:

• All hosts will receive:
  • One limited Signature Edition Windows 7 Ultimate
  • One Deck of Playing Cards with Windows 7 Desktop Design
  • One Puzzle with Windows 7 Desktop Design
  • One Poster with Windows 7 Desktop Design
  • Ten Tote Bags with Windows 7 Desktop Design for hosts and guests
• Also included in USA party packs:
  • One package of streamers for decoration
  • One package of balloons for decoration
  • One table top centerpiece for decoration
  • One package of Windows 7 napkins

After putting way too much thought into the matter, I decided on a singlespeed road bike to get me through the colder months.  For one thing, having only one gear means I don’t have to screw around with shifters and derailers when they decide to act up.  It also means I’m forced to use muscle when I ride, as opposed to selecting a gear that’s easy to spin up a hill while I stay planted on my seat.  I have plenty of endurance, so I’ve chosen to focus on building muscle.

While browsing around eBay for parts (I planned to just piece a bike together with whatever worked) I stumbled across a posting by Cycling Closeouts, suppliers of the EighthInch Scrambler.  After a Google search, I discovered it’s actually a house brand of Wheel & Sprocket, a bike shop in Wisconsin.  Most of the parts are re-branded (or non-branded) OEM parts, but the frames are made specifically for them by an unknown (to me) Taiwanese frame supplier.  I spent about a week reading reviews online and scouring bike forums to see what other owners had to say about them, and the impression I got was mostly positive.  In fact, just about the only negative comments I found were from people who had never owned or ridden one.  That, plus the relatively low $600 starting point helped me make my decision…  well, at least my decision about which bike to buy; picking out colors and options turned out to be much more difficult.

So, let’s get this straight:  Wheel & Sprocket is the bike shop, Cycling Closeouts (.com) is the website, they go by Wheelandsprocket on eBay as a secondary way of selling online, and EighthInch is their brand name for their bike parts.  They also have a blog on Wordpress, a Facebook fan page, a YouTube channel, and post regularly on Twitter.  It’s almost as though they want people to be able to find them anywhere.  I can’t find them on MySpace, though, which, in my opinion, is a good sign.

Okay, now on to the bike…

Unlike a lot of companies that let you choose a red bike with black stripes, or a black one with silver stripes, and nothing else, EighthInch gives buyers a huge say in what their bike looks like.  Most parts are anodized (or painted) aluminum, so letting you pick a gold stem, blue rims and a polished crankset doesn’t cost them any more than if you picked other colors.  The upside to this is, you get to order the bike with any color combo you can dream up; the downside is, you eventually have to make up your mind.  You can also select between three different types of handlebars–track, bullhorn or riser–crank arm length, freewheel and fixed cog sizes, and whether or not you want brakes (a no-cost option).  I think one way they keep prices so low is by not paying marketers to research what options buyers may want, and letting us pick them out for ourselves.  Novel concept.

As you can see, I’m not very creative.  I went with all black, with white rims and tires, after seeing a Specialized Langster L.A.  I also ordered black cranks, but they called to inform me they were out of stock; I selected polished silver instead, and they look so good, I’m glad I didn’t get black afterall.  I also picked a white chain, knowing I would swap it with a black one (they don’t offer black for some reason), and bullhorn handlebars, because they give me similar hand positions to a flat MTB bar with bar-ends, like I’m used to.  Oh, and I picked a carbon fiber fork in place of the normal steel one (more on that later).

With all my parts picked out, I placed my order on the Cycling Closeouts site on a Saturday afternoon.  Exactly one week later, the FedEx guy was backing up to my door with my new bike!

The bike comes partially assembled, so you’ll have to mount the handlebar on the stem and put the front wheel and pedals on.  The saddle comes attached to the seatpost, which is wrapped in thick foam to protect it.  Assuming you have an open-ended 15mm box wrench, and 4mm and 5mm Allen wrenches, you should have it fully assembled and ready to ride in about 10-15 minutes.  Actually, the most difficult part is getting the bike out of the box and cutting all the cable ties that hold everything together for shipping.

The rear wheel is already tight, with the chain properly tensioned, so all you really have to do is get the saddle adjusted to your liking, put some pedals on (I use SPDs instead of the flat pedals that came with it), and double-check all the bolts.  Fortunately, they include their 15mm tool for tightening the wheels.  I noticed it was shipped with the freewheel side of the flip-flop read rear in the chain, so if you want to go straight to fixed gear, you’ll have to flip the wheel around and re-tension the chain.  If you ordered brakes, they’re already good to go, but some people may want to take off the rear–if not both–if they’re into that sort of thing.

So, there you have it:  a solid, pre-assembled bike right out of the box, delivered in a week or less for only $600, shipped free.  Of course, I can’t leave well enough alone.

The stock stem is 110mm long, which is way too long for me.  Oddly, it’s one of the few things that isn’t an option.  I ended up swapping it for a 90mm stem I already had in my box of spare parts.  I also didn’t care for the rubber grips; they’re about 7-8" long and only cover the ends of the bars.  Since I like all the hand positions I can get, and I don’t want to be holding bare bar part of the time, I took them off and replaced them with some Felt bar tape.  I also spent some time adjusting the reach of the Cane Creek 200TT brake levers and swapped the white chain for an 1/8" Sram PC-1 black one.  With it all done, I cursed the crappy weather we were having and went to bed.

First ride:

Sunday morning was chilly and windy, but the sun was out in full force.  Before my wife was even awake, I was out the door and taking my new Scrambler for it’s first ride around town.  In only a few blocks, I noticed a huge ride improvement over my aluminum hardtail mountain bike with 26×1" road tires.  That thing always beats me to death, both through the saddle and the bars, but the Scrambler’s steel frame and carbon fork did a great job damping all the road seams and potholes.  With super steep track geometry, the steering is very fast and direct (i.e. twitchy), but that’s the way I like it.  At high speeds, though, it’s rock solid.  Seeing as how the Velo saddle is the same saddle I have on my mountain bike (although, on the other bike, it’s re-branded by Origin-8 and has nicer stitching), I found it comfortable and familiar.

Since you don’t sit for very long on a singlespeed, a stiff frame is essential for standing and sprinting up hills.  The frame–a claimed 4.9lbs–may damp vibration well, but it’s anything but flexy.  Under power, it feels absolutely solid and moves forward with no perceivable loss in power.  The EighthInch Tessa wheels are over-built for doing tricks (jumping ramps, riding down stairs, etc.), so there’s no lateral flex there, either.  Basically, you just stand up, give it all your power, and feel the bike fluidly glide up hills with no drama.  No matter how slow or strained your cadence becomes, the bike never feels anything but milky smooth.  I’ve never had this sort of feedback from a bike with derailers.

After a couple hours of tackling (and overcoming) hills I never thought I could with one gear, I came home still very impressed with the bike.  It was so good that I went out again in the afternoon and did just as long a ride.  Not once was I disappointed in any ride characteristics, and the thing glides down the street so damn quietly that you can’t even hear it.  Apparently, this is what riding a singlespeed road bike is all about, and it only took me 11 years of riding before I figured it out.

Upgrades:

Weight-weenieism is a disease that I don’t care to look for a cure for.  I can’t own a bike that I don’t try to make lighter, so I already have plans for future upgrades.  Since I weigh less than 145lbs most days and don’t do tricks, the wheels are a bit too over-built for me.  The Formula hubs are great, but I plan to find some much lighter rims and lace them up with DT Swiss Revolution spokes (like I have on my MTB).  The tires are also heavy at 415g each, and don’t get very good reviews, so as they wear out, I’ll get something that weighs about half as much.  Those two upgrades alone should net me about a 2.8lb loss in rotational weight (where it counts most).

The OEM aluminum seatpost is a pain in the ass to adjust–as all 1-bolt posts are–so I’ll look for a post with a 2-bolt head.  I may also swap the 16T freewheel for a 15T once the wheels and tires weigh a lot less.

Carbon fork upgrade:

As I mentioned, the bike (or frameset, if you choose to buy it that way) comes with a steel fork.  However, you can upgrade to a carbon fork for only $30.  The fork is a Bontrager model with aluminum dropouts and steerer.  I haven’t weighed it yet, but I read somewhere that it’s around 600g, more than a pound lighter than the steel one.  Keep in mind, though, that the fork upgrade is only available on CyclingCloseouts.com, and not the eBay store.  For only $30, I’d say go for it!

Customer service:

I had to call Wheel & Sprocket a few times throughout the process as I tried to make up my mind about what options I wanted.  Each time, the phone was answered by an actual live human being who worked in the shop.  I never had to press 1 for this thing, or 2 for something else, nor did I get a random operator who had to read from a script.  It felt just like when I call my local bike shop to ask questions, and I’ve known those guys for years.  Emails were mostly answered within a day (except for one that I got a response to a day after the bike arrived; oh well), and these guys make it very easy to find/contact them through all sorts of social media outlets, including online bike forums.  It’s definitely a better experience than dealing with corporate giants like Trek or Specialized (or those pains in the ass at Rock Shox).

Summary:

Awesome bike, great as a trick bike for doing bar spins and busting down stairs, light enough to use as a commuter, strong enough to last most normal riders for years, if not a lifetime if taken care of (it’s steel, however, so keep some flat black (or white) paint handy for filling in chips, and don’t leave it outside to rust in bad weather; speaking of which, the frame arrived with a 4×4mm chip in the paint of the downtube, but it was an easy fix).  At only $600, it’s cheaper than pretty much all comparable big-name bikes that don’t offer all the customization choices that you get with the Scrambler.

I’ll put some serious miles on it for the next few months and report back next spring sometime to let you know how it’s doing.

Pros:

Good price
Customer service
Built like a tank
Highly customizable
Great ride; silky smooth and soooo quiet
Includes a 15mm wheel tool/bottle opener

Cons:

Built like a tank; i.e. a bit heavy for the weight conscious
Tires are so-so
You may need to swap the stem
OEM paint chip

Links:

http://wheelandsprocket.com/
http://myworld.ebay.com/wheelandsprocket/
http://www.cyclingcloseouts.com/
http://www.eighthinch.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Appleton-WI/EighthInchcom/118140455001
http://eighthinch.wordpress.com/
http://twitter.com/EighthInch

I mentioned in my initial post that it gave the impression of riding on plush carpet, all the while giving you direct feedback of the surface you’re on.  With the proper front tire (I typically used a 2.35" Kenda Kinetics Stick-E) set at less than 30psi, I often forgot that I was even riding a rigid fork.  The carbon legs do a great job of damping vibration, and have just enough flex to absorb some of the initial shock of hitting roots and immovable rocks.

I only weigh about 150lbs with all my riding gear on, so I can’t give feedback on how well the fork will handle over time if you’re a larger rider–say, 210lbs, which they state as the weight limit for the fork–but I can say that I gave it a decent beating and it never once showed signs of fatigue.  At less than 2lbs, and with carbon legs, it doesn’t sound like it could stand up to hard riding over time, but it definitely impressed me.

I spend most of the Spring riding the road, with narrow semi-slick tires pumped up to 60psi.  The fork does a great job of damping road vibration, but there’s no hiding it if you hit a pothole.  Slimmer carbon legs of a road fork may soak up potholes quite a bit better, but these legs are built for strength, so their damping abilities only go so far.  Still, if you only have one bike, I say make it a rigid MTB with one of these great carbon forks, and you’ll be very happy in the long run.

Upon close inspection I can only find one small surface mark in the clearcoat, but it’s nothing to be concerned about.  The black finish on the crown and drop-outs is completely perfect, even after a couple wrecks on rocks, and plenty of hits from small shale gravel over hundreds of miles of rail-trail.

The only downside I can find–and I think this may hold true for any rigid fork–is that your body will definitely be a lot more worn out after a ride than with a suspension fork.  Riding down rock gardens, while possible, will take a toll on your hands, and hitting large roots square on will begin to hurt your wrists over time.  Obviously, riding a rigid fork will force you to learn to ride much smarter, and that will surely help take the edge off overall, but there’s just no way you can avoid every trail obstacle.  This fork, as great as it is, can only absorb so much, so it’ll be up to you to do the rest.

In fact, I recently swapped to a suspension fork after a month of trying to improve my speeds around a local singletrack race course.  Part of the reason had to do with the punishment I was getting riding this thing at race speeds, and also the fact that a suspension fork’s ability to compress allows it to continue moving forward, as opposed to bouncing upward.  Lightness vs. comfort… it was a tough call, but in the end, comfort won.

I’ll still hold onto this fork for general riding, as well as for road use during the wet months, so it’s by no means seen its final ride.

Positives:

Great price
Relatively light, especially when compared to steel rigid forks
Strong carbon legs
Durable finish
Multiple lengths, brake options, and even comes in a 29er size

Negatives:

Carbon won’t last forever, and when it goes, it’s catastrophic
Clearcoat susceptible to scratches, but still quite durable
Harsher ride than a suspension fork

Conclusion:  awesome fork, worth every penny of it’s paltry $200 entry fee.

Manufacturer link:  http://www.carboncycles.cc

Since we’re talking about state government here, they obviously didn’t have one, and mostly likely won’t anytime soon.  So, I took it upon myself to make one…

I scanned one of the trail map brochures that you can find at any parking lot, screwed around in Photoshop with it for a while, and ended up with a very large, accurate map (save for the exclusion of the new Springbrook — Sinkhole Trail connector) for anyone who may be looking for one.  Why the parks department couldn’t provide it, I have no idea, but I guess that doesn’t really matter now.

Click the photo below for a 2500 x 2050px version (also on my Flickr Photostream):

Hopefully this will be of help to others.  Enjoy.

EDIT:  Here’s an additional map, showing the course used for the Show-Me State Games Mountain Bike race (click for larger view):

I originally intended to put this seat on my Mamba project bike, which is used as a spare for friends to ride.  Of course, I couldn’t force others to ride it without first trying it out on my own bike, so I put it on for what was supposed to be a single ride.

(first photo of the seat on my bike)

Seeing as how Origin-8 markets this as a racing saddle, I wasn’t surprised when it had very little padding.  In fact, compared to the SDG Bel-Air RL I’d been riding for the previous year and a half, the nose felt painfully hard (and pointy), and there was very little padding where I sit.  I’ve ridden racing saddles before, so I knew I’d eventually get used to it–at least to a point, assuming the seat fit my body properly–but I figured the initial ride would be pretty painful.  As it turns out, it wasn’t too bad.

Back to my initial impressions for a moment:  When I first took the seat out of the box, I was pretty astounded by its appearance.  It’s wrapped in fake leather–which often looks as fake as it is–but it’s hard to tell by looking at it.  The stitching is absolutely beautiful, and gives it the look of a much more expensive item.  In fact, when I showed it to my wife, her eyes popped and she asked me how much it cost (I have a reputation for spending stupid amounts of money on bike parts, so I can’t blame her for thinking I dropped $100 on this, which she did).  I told her $20, plus $8 to ship (eBay).  Since it was still at that time intended for a cheap project bike, I spent as little on it as I could, but it sure doesn’t look like I did.

     
(photos taken right out of the box)

One downside to spending so little on a saddle is, you end up with chromoly rails, as opposed to lighter titanium rails.   In this case, it puts the weight at just under 300g, which is about a quarter-pound too heavy to be a legitimate racing saddle, in my opinion.  It’s still lighter than my SDG Bel-Air RL, but not by much (318g vs 299g).  The only way I see them as getting away with calling this a racing saddle is the low profile and lack of padding.  In fact, I see them mostly on fixed-gear bikes, not on anything intended for a race course.  So far, mine is the only one I’ve seen on a mountain bike… but I like being different.

Overall Thoughts

Like I said earlier, this seat was intended for my Mamba project bike.  Take one look at that bike, though, and you’ll see my old SDG saddle on it.  As it turns out, I liked the Origin-8 so much that it’s now become my full-time saddle.  Over the last couple months, it’s seen a lot of road riding (due to the trails being mostly wet and, therefore, closed), an equal amount of gravel rail-trail time, and a small amount of single-track.  Since pretty much any seat feels fine for single-track riding–since you’re standing about half the time–the real test was a combination of road and rail-trail.

On the road, it proves to be pretty comfortable, even to the point that it disappears as I ride.  I’ve had saddles in the past–a Specialized Alias for one–that felt like I was seated on nails throughout much of the ride.  When it gets to be that painful, the saddle becomes your primary focus, when what you should be doing is enjoying the ride.  The Origin-8 stays very comfortable up to the 20-25mi point on the road, and only mildly irritating over 30 miles (though, I’ve found that’s the case with most).  Even as much as 40 miles at a stretch is really pretty tolerable, and doesn’t leave me sore the next day.  I haven’t yet had an extended ride of 50 miles or further at a time on it, but I don’t think it’d be any more uncomfortable than any other saddle I’ve owned over the years.

I’m lucky in that my city has a few miles of local rail-trail covered in crushed shale gravel.  It’s pretty much entirely flat–which means you never have reason to stand and pedal–with small ruts from time to time, and the occasional bump where it joins to a bridge.  No amount of road or single-track riding will let you test out a saddle like the rail-trail will.  As I said, you never have reason to stand, which means you never even think about doing so.  Add the small bumps, dips, and constant vibration due to the gravel, and you can end up in all sorts of pain if your bike seat sucks.

The Specialized Alias was good up to about 15 miles of rail-trail, after which I pretty much wanted to kill myself rather than ride any further.  The SDG Bel-Air RL got me through a 63mi round-trip ride from Columbia to Jefferson City, MO and back last year, without too much discomfort.  So far, the Origin-8 has proven to be nearly as comfortable as the SDG, although I haven’t had a chance to do the CoMo-Jeff City ride yet this year.  I still think the SDG may end up being the better choice for such a ride, but probably not by much.

Conclusion…

So, would I recommend this saddle to others?  Yes, and no.  If you’re fit, male, and have ridden–and enjoyed–race saddles in the past, then I’d highly recommend it.  The faux-leather finish seems to be pretty durable (although the ‘8′ logo is fading after just 2 months, but paint tends to do that), the rails are beefy steel, and it’s light enough for all but the most avid weight weenie.  It also looks extremely good on just about any bike you could put it on (I think it’s spoiled me enough that I won’t be able to ride black seats ever again).  If you’re new to biking, female, or prefer a more padded seat, then definitely skip this.  The nose is hard as a rock, and it really does feel like you’re seated on a contoured brick most of the time.  Some like that, some don’t.  However, for less than $30, it wouldn’t be bad to at least give it a try and see if it works for you.

If you’re looking for one, try eBay first.  They usually sell for less than $30 with shipping included, from most sellers.  You can also find it at random online ratailers for slightly more, if you do a Google search.

Positives:

Cheap
Reasonably light for a daily saddle
Durable
Beautifully finished
Comfortable for some
Rare, if you like that sort of thing

Negatives:

Not light enough for true racing
Might not be on the market for long (so if you like it, buy an extra)
Low-profile rails can make mounting it on a seatpost difficult
Uncomfortable for some