Salsa Casseroll - Moving On **SOLD**

Over 4 years, nearly 20,000 miles, and countless adventures with this bike are coming to an end. I'm looking to sell the Casseroll after many good times on the earth's surface, and I'm planning on adjacent wheel-based adventures. 

I have chronicled many of the aforementioned adventures on this blog, and I hope that you have enjoyed reading about them. All posts related to the bike can be found here. 

Detailed description of the setup is below:

Just overhauled the bike with new cables/housing and deep cleaned all parts and the frame. This bike has been a daily commuter, century rider, credit card touring, and randonneuring setup. I started with the 2012 Casseroll frameset and built it up from there. Over $3500 as built.

54cm (54.5cm top tube) frameset bought in 2011 with Crank Brothers directset headset. I replaced the front rack with a Nitto chromed rack (I still have the original). The fork was reraked by Minnesota frame builder A-Train cycles to improve trail. No toe overlap like it used to have. Three stainless steel water bottle cages. Fenders are Velo Orange hammered aluminum with Brooks leather mudflap on the front fender. Brakes are IRD Cafam cantilever, which are very strong.

Wheels built with Schmidt Son28 generator / dynamo front hub, White Industries rear hub w/ titanium driver, Velo Orange Raid 32h rims with Sapim spokes. Tires are Panaracer Ruffy Tuffy 28c. This is an awesome setup with efficient power generation for the light system.Generator lights are Supernova. Front is E3 triple (800+ lumens). Rear is the E3 rear. They have a stand light feature that keeps the lights on for a couple minutes when you're stopped.

Rear rack is Tubus Carry titanium that holds smaller panniers. Front bag is Velo Orange square bag. Includes pedal power plus, which is wiring from the generator hub to charge most USB powered gadgets (GPS, phone, etc.) while pedaling.

Crank and derailleurs are Ultegra 6700 series. Crank is compact double 50/34 10 speed with 11-28 cassette. Shifters are down tube Dura Ace 10 speed friction front and indexed rear. Handlebar is Salsa 42cm wrapped in Velo Orange elk skin. Stem is generic aluminum 100mm with headset spacer mounted brass bell. Brake levers are Cane Creek. Seatpost is Velo Orange. Saddle will be replaced with a standard saddle, the Brooks will go with me. Includes Topeak frame pump. Bottle cages are wrapped in leather because I would use stainless steel bottles and they would rattle.


The link to the classified ad can be found here.

I'll be sad to see it go, but it will provide for many adventures for someone out there. I'm happy to box and ship if you're not along the Wasatch front here in Utah. Contact info is in the classified ad.

Salsa Casseroll Fork Rerake

Ever since I first started pedaling the Casseroll, I noticed some strange front-end handling characteristics. The bike is designed with a small front rack and, presumably, a small amount of cargo up front. Even with no load, the front end was floppy (that's the best way I can describe it). After investigating the issue, I learned that the front end has an unusually long trail, or horizontal distance between the point directly underneath the front axle and the virtual extension of the headtube to the ground.

 

Here are the measurements of the stock Casseroll:

Head tube angle 73 degrees
Fork rake 50mm
Original trail  54 mm

Toe overlap was another piece of evidence of, perhaps, not quite enough rake. Granted, I run with full-coverage fenders, but the overlap was significant. I reached out to a local frame builder, A-Train Cycles, to petition assistance. Alex was clear about expectations and agreed to take on my project. Huzzah!

After the re-rake of the fork, the measurements are approximately as follows:

Head tube angle 73 degrees
Fork rake 62mm
New trail  41.5 mm

With the fork removed and cleaned, it was ready for delivery.

My Velo Orange fender had pull-through, so I opted to slightly rotate the fender toward the rear and drill a new hole.

Ta-da!

 

Fork re-installed post re-rake.

Ghetto bike workstation. I do what I can.

With the fender rotated toward the rear, the mudflap is about 1/2" from the ground.

The best piece of evidence I have to illustrate that the re-rake project was effective is that I can ride the bike without hands. Previously, such an activity would cause the front end to dive to the side and was nearly impossible. I feel that the bike tracks much more true. Toe overlap is aaaaalmost gone, which is fantastic considering the fenders. Slow speed balance is also improved.

I was a little concerned that the axle-to-crown height would be shortened such to have a negative effect on brake placement and/or fender clearance. From what I can tell the result is minimal shortening of ATC height, so I don't anticipate any issues come winter and the ensuing installation of studded tires.

So far, so good on the re-rake project!

We Cannot Get Out, They Are Coming!

Months have passed since my last entry. I fear that I have been left solitary in the desolation of the battlefield, absent human contact for as long as I can remember. The enemy continues closing in, relentlessly searching for its next victim; its icy, bony fingers constricting the trachea of this world. No one is safe. Nothing is safe. If you want to save our world, you must hurry. We don't know how much longer we can withstand the nothing.

I have developed methods to escape its frozen clutches and engage in stealthy combat, burying my skin beneath multiple layers of raiment. I believe that I am able to travel undetected for short periods of time. I must not remain exposed to this danger for long, as the all-searching eye will eventually detect my presence and reduce me to a hypothermic resemblance of the human form. My only hope is that my persistence will wear down my foe.

For five unbroken months, I have traveled along the East/West axis between my village and the commerce center. 11 miles I travel in each direction, at times with the wind as my ally, other times as my nemesis. Often, the clouds release their moisture in an attempt to reduce my ability to escape the Captain of Evil. I will not give in, however, I am afraid that I am losing the battle.

Bodies of water have developed a unique defense to the adversarial buffetings. Under constant attack, brave drops of the water tribes rush to the surface, sacrificing their ability to enjoy free motion. They attach with perfect rigidity to their fellow soldiers, creating an impermeable, thick skin of protection at the surface in order to protect their kinsfolk who lay quietly beneath. I am humbled by their selfless sacrifices.Their defenses seem to be holding.

But what is this? Who is this grand warrior, this luminescent orb shining from the heavens? Minions of the enemy's force flee before it. The blanched blanket of accumulated cloud droppings reduces form and flees into the underground rivers. The trees respond, attempting to bring forth blossoms, leaves, and life-giving sustenance. Humans, both young and old, exit their dwellings to witness the supposed victory. Smiles emerge upon their faces. But the enemy is strong. He whom I thought was our conqueror has, for unknown reasons, retreated. I fear he will not return. I fear I am slipping into madness. As I am huddled deep within the darkness of my protective abode, I can hear the sinister laugh of my enemy, relishing in his supposed victory. All hope seems to be lost.

It is as I feared. They have taken the bridge, and the second hall. We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. The shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out, they are coming.

In spite of the loneliness that is inherent in my form of battle, I must continue. 

I share with you images from the wintry battlefield in hopes that you may be able to tell the story:

Rapha Festive 500 Ride 11 - Almost done!

Today's ride was BRUTAL, to say the least. Temperatures were 10F (-12C), with winchill around 0F (-18C). The wind chill was real, with a 10mph headwind from the west, challenging me all the way to my turnaround point in Waconia. I have ridden these roads quite a bit in the fair weather in preparation for the Tour de Tonka century, so at least it was familiar territory. As I turned around and headed east, my core warmed back up, and some feeling returned to my toes.

This distance (60 miles ~ 95km) is about my limit in this weather. I had about 65 miles to go to finish the 310 miles (500km) for the challenge, so I was close enough to finish with a fatbike ride in the evening. I deviated from my strategy of repeating smaller-distance loops, which works to stop back in at the house to refuel, and find liquid water. I have found that if I carry a couple insulated bottles wrapped inside the zip-off sleeve of a Chrome jacket, the water will stay liquid at these temperatures. Obviously, bottles of any sort in the cages will freeze quite quickly. Access to liquid water (in addition to incredibly numb toes) seems to be my limiting factor and greatest cause of unpleasant feelings this time of year.

Insulated bottle inside a jacket sleeve

The trusty Salsa Casseroll all ready to go

And the submission to Strava:


About 10 miles (15km) left! I'll get out the Fatbike for this one. 

Velo Orange RAID Wheel Build Complete

The Casseroll has been up and running now for a few weeks due to a successful wheel build project. To review, I was having trouble with spoke pull-through on the stock Salsa Delgado Cross rims, so I needed to make a change. I ended up with the Velo Orange RAID 32h rim & Sapim 1.8/2.0 double-butted spokes & nipples. I paid extra-special attention to tension on this build, and enjoyed fantastic results. I rode the past few days in the 40º rain, so the rim isn't terribly visually appealing, but I snapped a few shots of the hub flanges of the wheel build. I am also including a snapshot of the Excel file I used for my tension strategy.

I like to use Livestrong hub shiners.

A shot of the High/Low flange.

Sorry. The bike is dirty. But so it goes. Here's the Excel file showing individual tension, and average/min/max analysis by wheel side.

The wheel tensioned very evenly on both sides. I am used to a higher tension of the left side in relation to the right side (more in the 70% range). What I'm finding is that the high/low flange design of the White Industries H3 hub affects this relationship, with shorter spokes drive-side vs. longer spokes non-drive side. However, the wheel rides smoothly and has held very true so far. Looking forward to many miles. 

Velo Orange Raid Wheel Build; Sapim

My wheel building project is well underway, and I'm about ready to finish up the tension on the rear wheel of the Casseroll. To review, the Salsa Delgado Cross rim had incredible spoke pull through (completely through the rim), and is being replaced by the Velo Orange Raid rim. They have similar width (22mm), but the VO rim has double eyelets. Double awesome.

My rear hub is a White Industries H3 (32h) with the titanium freehub. The high-polish of the VO rim will mate up nicely with this hub.

For spokes, my good friends Travis and Brad surprised me with Sapim double-butted spokes. They are incredibly lovely, and the quality shows right away. I snapped a few pics of the difference between the Wheelsmith spokes I'm used to and the Sapims.


Here is a shot of the Wheelsmith spoke head. You can see a seam in the molding of this spoke. This causes the spoke to not seat completely against the hub flange. Multiply this by 32, and the quality of the wheel build is diminished.

 Contrast this quality to the Sapim spoke below. Hopefully the difference is apparent. Also, notice the distinct 2.0/1.8 butting. The Wheelsmith is a 2.0, but the butted versions aren't as cool-looking as the Sapim.

Here's a shot of the other side of the Wheelsmith spoke head with the trademark "W." 

 Sapim's name stamped longitudinally just before the 2.0/1.8 butting.

Sapim spokes are better quality, and the Sapim nipple profile provides an improved contact area against the rim eyelet. I'll have wheel build progress up shortly (including Excel file of the tension).

Velo Orange Wheel Build Project - VO Raid Rim

I have a new wheelbuilding project in the works. Since my Salsa Delgado Cross rim had serious spoke pull-through, I started looking around for a worthy replacement. A few rando-style rims are out there (here, here,  here, & here), but I eventually went with Velo Orange's RAID rim (700c, 32h, of course). Pros and cons exist with this rim, as with any other rim, but here is my short list:

Pro: It's high-polish finish fits the aesthetic of the Casseroll.

Pro: Simple styling, just one VO sticker. 

BIG Pro: Double eyelets. 

Pro/con? Zero offset spoke holes.

Clean joint

Con: High-polish brake surface. It's nice and tall, but a machined brake track would really set this rim apart.

Now, if only I had spokes . . .

2011 Salsa Casseroll -- Build Project Complete

So, I bought the 2011 Casseroll Frame. Had to do it. Yes, had to. I had thoughts of chronicling the build, but it was uneventful (lucky me), as I was transferring parts from one Casseroll to another. Here are a couple pics of the frame before building it up:

Frameset and rack.

Dropouts

These dropouts rock. The Surly Tuggnut keeps my wheel from sliding forward.

A little more clearance than the 2009 chainstays.

Ride & Smile

Chainstay personality

Adventure by bike on downtube

Ride & Smile :)

These were a surprise. More heavy duty rack mounts (just below the brake mounts)

With the Crank Brothers Cobalt headset (directset).

Velo Orange brake stop

New head tube setup

Here is the shot of the bike build in its complete stage. Well, almost complete. I haven't wired up the lights since Supernova upgraded the E3 triple from 533 to 800 lumens, so I have an upgrade on the way! Other than that, it's on the road like this:

All built up. 3 bottles, front rack, Velo Orange hbar bag, etc.

 I love the ease of adjustability with the VO Grand Cru seatpost. My last seatpost had one bolt, so adjusting the saddle angle was a chore. Now, with two bolts for tilt adjustment, I can dial it right in. It is also designed  to work with more fore/aft adjustment on Brooks saddles than the typical seatpost. Lovely.

The rack is designed with a gap at the fork crown. Had to use some spacers.

Velo Orange brakes mounted up quite nicely.

 So I have a beef with light mounts. I enjoy mounting my light on the left, or road, side of the bike. I don't really enjoy lighting up the curb so much. Why don't more people make light mounts for people like me? This Casseroll rack has a nice mount on the curb side, so I had to get creative with an extra fender daruma and other hardware to mount the light on the road side of the bike:

Daruma. Velo Orange light bracket. 

Bell and mount

Rear brake setup

Brake stop installed.

Klean Kanteen Bottles. Velo Orange fenders and bottle cages.

 The fork is taller, accommodating a wider tire/fender setup than with the original Casseroll. As the fork crown is higher, the down tube slopes up a little steeper, as can be noted by the smaller vertical space in between the top of the downtube and the bottom of the toptube. The headtube height was held close to the same height, so the overall height difference at the top of the headtube is about +12mm. I removed a spacer from my original setup and it is really close. I may remove another spacer as I fine tune the fit.

So far, the frame is noticeably smoother. I'm not sure what any differences may be, but after riding the 2009 Casseroll for almost two years, I could tell right away that this rides smoother. Did I mention it's smooth? Looking forward to many, many miles of Adventure. Join me, if you like.