The Stoner Bike has landed

[velotel]

I know, should put this in the gravel bike post but I hate gravel, terrible stuff, just can’t see naming a bike after something so nasty. Particularly at this moment since the road department all over the place is doing the annual oil and gravel on the roads. That damn small diameter gravel and sand that rests on the blacktop afterwards is treacherous as hell. Worse than wet leaves because at least the leaves are always pretty damn visible. Not the gravel. Stuff can disappear until you’re on it.

So like I said in a post some time ago, I think of them as stoner bikes for lack of a better name, because they roll so well over stones, the ones embedded in dirt. Besides, the name makes me laugh.

Never would have ordered the bike on my own. Just couldn’t see the cost at this point in my life. I mean at 71 years old why in the heck would I need a new bike when my current ride is so sweet. Outside of the fact that my body has shrunk a bit with this ageing stuff.

It’s all because of a Moots Routt that Jim and my son Mat at Vecchio’s put me on last time I was in Boulder. Bike fit me perfectly and I had a ball and a half riding it. Everywhere. Pavement, dirt roads (around Boulder they’re super smooth), double-tracks, single-tracks. The bike was awesome, simple as that.

So my son decided I needed a new bike. He called Kent, as in Kent Eriksen. Kent totally agreed. He’d been wanting me to get a gravel bike (hurts using that phrase) for a couple of years. He’s also retiring this year. Or supposed to be. With Brad taking over. So the two of them, Kent and my son worked out some crazy good deal for a present for the old man. Et voilà I now have a fat-tired road bike.

Spec’ing it wasn’t easy. Kent wanted me to go with Shimano and hydraulic disc brakes. No way I wanted disc brakes. I also wanted to stay with Campy. Campy doesn’t make it easy to do that. No brakes to accommodate fat tires, no low gearing for climbing (I know, they came out with Potenza, afterwards, not sure I would have gone with it anyway). I like caliper brakes but finding a fork for a fat-tired road bike spec’ed for caliper brakes isn’t easy. Decided I didn’t want a WoundUp. Everyone says they’re stiff as hell. Stiff for rough roads makes no sense. Contemplated a steel fork but for various reasons, one of which was that a steel fork on a fat-tubed ti frame just doesn’t work visually, decided against a steel fork.

Kent had an Enve fork for canti brakes in the shop. With that he could have the bike built in super quick time. Wasn’t at all sure I wanted to go with mini-V’s but most of what I read was positive so said, okay, do that and I’ll go with TRP mini-V’s. Most everything else was pretty much spec’ed out by Jim and Mat. Campy Chorus with a 12-29 cassette and 34-50 cranks. King headset, same saddle I’m using now, Fizik Arionne or something like that, I’ve forgotten exactly what it is. And Challenge Almanzo 33,5 tires. Also a pair of Hed Belgium rims that will replace the worn rims on my Campy Record hubs and that will then be used on the stoner bike. In the meantime the tires are on my DT Swiss wheels. Lord do I hate the noise from the freewheel! Can’t wait to get my Campy wheels back.

The frame is pretty different from my current Eriksen, which is from 07. Kent used 1-inch tubing for the chainstays, some fat-ass tube for the downtube, oversized headtube for the tapered Enve fork. Fatter for the top tub tube too. Geometry is slightly different too.

So, the bike arrived, put all it together (not me, a good friend who’s the mechanic for the french mountain bike team), went for a ride. The fit was perfect. Exactly what I wanted. Just your basic dream. Campy is Campy, sweet. The tires are fat and I can run them pretty soft. Haven’t found out how soft yet but I think I’m down around 40-45 psi now. So far I like them. Still hoping Vittoria does a fat version of the grapheme line though.

Then there are the brakes. They’re gorgeous, total style in the looks department. And insane power. I think they could stop an elephant. Trouble is I’m not an elephant. They’re lacking in the modulation department. Maybe it’s a question of getting used to them. Maybe setup, Maybe another pad would work better. Damned if I know. What I do know is that I have to pay attention braking. Especially on that friggin gravel I mentioned earlier. Locking up the rear brake is child’s play. Keeping the bike upright is a little trickier. But I’m learning how to use them. That said, have to admit I miss my Record brakes. They were, still are for that matter, pure sweetness.

In the handling department, the bike is, what word can I use, awesome comes to mind immediately but says nothing. The bike is beautifully planted. Pick a line in a turn and never mind the bumps and ripples and unseen surprises in the surface. Not fazed in the least way. I’d love to say that the acceleration when I stand up and hammer is insane because the bike is so solid but to say that would be laying claims to power I don’t have. But sure feels good. And smooth, did I mention that already. Between the fat, soft tires and the frame soaking up whatever comes up, we’re talking plush. The Fizik gel tape they sent over is sweet too. I only wear gloves when it’s cold and my orange Eriksen has Handlebra tape that I love but it’s unpadded, which never bothered me even with my bare hands but have to say this Fizik tape is pretty friggin nice to hold.

The cranks are 172, 5 instead of the 175 I’ve ridden since way back when. Jim said I’d like them. Well, can’t say as I noticed any difference whatsoever. If I hadn’t know they were shorter, I wouldn’t have know.

Almost forgot. I was thinking I hadn’t told Mat what I wanted for cages but then realized that I still have a pair of steel King cages here. A pair of ti King cages replaced them on the orange Eriksen. And lo and behold, went to Sylvain’s to pick up the bike and there were two ti King cages on it! Sweet. But then Mat told me that Jim had sent them to Moots because they do something to make the ti the exact same color as the tubing. I noticed the color was different but didn’t know why then Mat told me in a mail. Sweet. Gotta love people like Jim who think of all these small details. Won’t make me any faster but nice touch. And a good idea by Moots.

Speaking of them, yea, I’ve got an Eriksen. Kent’s an old and good friend of mine from back in the early 80’s and I’ve always appreciated him and his bikes, which were Moots for a long time. That said, have to say that the only reason I’ve got this bike and am loving it is because of that Moots Routt I rode in Boulder. That was a great ride. They do some cool things, Moots. Aesthetically I much prefer the Eriksen, like the seat stays. And the welding Brad does is absolutely unmatched. Period. No one does better and I’m not even sure anyone does as well. The guy is brilliant. None of which makes the bike a better ride than the Moots Routt I was on, which was a production bike, not a custom. That was a great ride that I much appreciated and definitely could have been super happy riding one. But given the choice, which I have, an Eriksen is what I have. A brilliant fusion between two extremely talented guys, Kent and Brad.

That’s it, my current take on the new ride. And believe me I’ve got lots of outings in some cool places planned for it.

Some pics, as usual

[Louis]

Very nice. And it matches the flowers in the garden!

[MattTuck]

Gorgeous, and hilarious.

What is the seat tube angle?

[Dave B]

I was expecting something different from the title!


Looks fantastic and fun write up.

[eBAUMANN]

bike looks awesome, congrats!

Originally Posted by velotel

Then there are the brakes. They’re gorgeous, total style in the looks department. And insane power. I think they could stop an elephant. Trouble is I’m not an elephant. They’re lacking in the modulation department. Maybe it’s a question of getting used to them. Maybe setup, Maybe another pad would work better. Damned if I know. What I do know is that I have to pay attention braking. Especially on that friggin gravel I mentioned earlier. Locking up the rear brake is child’s play. Keeping the bike upright is a little trickier. But I’m learning how to use them. That said, have to admit I miss my Record brakes. They were, still are for that matter, pure sweetness.

You kinda have to re-tune the way you brake, much much lighter on the lever, the curve is much steeper with mini-v's but its nice to have the power they offer when you are coming to a stop sign at the bottom of a steep hill, for example.

I dont have a lot of time on TRP's but I do on Paul Mini Moto's and a lot of it also comes down to the spring tension you set when they are installed. You can set barely any tension at all (super light feel in the lever) or you can add more tension to make it a bit harder to pull too much cable too quickly, which I have found to be helpful if you are used to really squeezing on the lever.

Bottom line - give em some time and try out some different settings, a lot of people ditch mini-v's too fast IMO. personally, i would never go back to canti's over mini-v's, no way jose.

[weightshift]

That was a fun read, love hearing the genesis of how bikes come to be, the decisions one makes, etc.

I've loved Eriksens for a while. Kent's work has always been timeless.

[Climb01742]

Lovely bike and build, with just the right red accents. You deserve the new bike for all the pleasure you give us, as we read your reports and ogle your photos.

[bobswire]

Congrats on the new rig at 71, it's a beauty as well as practical. I continue to question wether to get a custom being 71 also when the bikes I have now are more than good enough to fulfill my needs BUT I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth (Hmm, I wonder if my son is reading this..... Like you though I love riding,exploring,working on and dream about bikes 24/7.

[soulspinner]

[Mzilliox]

haha, twinsies!!!

[drewellison]

I could never ride that bike. The saddle's crooked.

[p nut]

Awesome! Can't wait for the ride reports.

[572cv]

Looks like a great ride. You deserve to experience the new KE take on what that means, and we are looking forward to reading about where that ride takes you! Very cool.

On a side note, I shifted to Paul Minimoto's on my old cross bike and have found the modulation and strength of "stop" to be just terrific. This style of brake seems to me to be very sensitive to having the right cable length. Once dialed though, it is hard to beat.

I'm going to have to seriously think about calling up and saying "I just want what you did for Hank..."

[rePhil]

Kent possibly retiring is huge news. A great opportunity for Brad.



So my son decided I needed a new bike. He called Kent, as in Kent Eriksen. Kent totally agreed. He’d been wanting me to get a gravel bike (hurts using that phrase) for a couple of years. He’s also retiring this year. Or supposed to be. With Brad taking over.

[sparky33]

Excellent all-rounder there.

Great story, as always.