I’ve been doing most of my using on the street nowadays, however this previous Saturday the warmth and humidity relented considerably, and so I figured it was an excellent time to lastly get again off of it once more:
I used to be lengthy overdue for a reunion with the Jones, and it felt good to lastly get some filth underneath my tires.
Whereas using a Jones with out the eponymous bar is type of like going to a pizzeria and ordering the Sicilian slice as an alternative of the common, I’ve been having fun with the novelty of the Tosco bar:
I like unique bar too, after all…
…however as I discussed final week I’ve a factor for sweep:
Clearly the Tosco requires an extended stem, however it’s actually not all that completely different from the Jones bar in that it offers you a rearward portion for upright cruising and for sliding again within the saddle on steep descents, in addition to a ahead place (the place I’ve obtained that second set of grips) for extra detail-oriented maneuvering, and naturally for getting “aero.”
For pure offroad using the Jones bar is significantly better, and as Jeff himself famous throughout an e-mail trade across the time that interview with him, it’s attainable this bar may slip or worse underneath onerous use–you recognize, like this:
However I journey like this:
So I’m not too involved.
However, I will likely be restoring the bike to its unique state within the close to future so I can as soon as once more take full benefit of its Jonesness.
Within the meantime, having been absolutely brainwashed by Rivendell, the opposite quirky factor I’ve been doing on the Jones is utilizing a Silver2 friction shifter, which isn’t imagined to work with a SRAM Eagle drivetrain however really does–with one caveat. As I discussed once I first put in it, you’ve gotta push it kinda far to get into the bottom gear. Nonetheless, that’s much less of an issue on the Tosco bar than it’s on the Jones bar as a result of completely different form, and the lever continues to be simple to achieve right here…
…at which level it’s within the penultimate gear:
After that I’ve obtained to stretch juuust a bit to get the chain onto that final cog…
…however it occurs earlier than I’ve to contort myself an excessive amount of:
Little question there are friction shifters that will work higher with this explicit drivetrain, however there’s a particular pleasure in utilizing one thing that’s not imagined to work however does, even when it doesn’t work completely. The truth is, I used to be feeling so smug about my renegade drivetrain that shortly after taking the above image I executed a tough multi-cog shift to my very lowest gear simply to show that I may do it–after which this occurred:
I’ve by no means over-shifted a sequence into the spokes with a 50-tooth cassette, however now that I’ve I can guarantee you it’s not enjoyable:
It actually obtained caught in there good, too:
Finally I used to be in a position to free it, after which I regarded like I’d been fingerprinted:
The harrumphers on the market could also be inclined to impugn the large cassettes of at present for making thrown chain restoration exponentially tougher, whereas the techies may say I brung upon on myself with my foolish friction shifter. The truth is, I’ve solely myself responsible, as a result of clearly the restrict screw was off, and I’m shocked it didn’t occur sooner. Luckily nothing was broken, and the remainder of the journey was trouble-free:
Talking of Jones, my LWB is the primary model of the entire bike (that will be “V1”), and I see now that it’s as much as V3. Most corporations that promote full bikes don’t go into a lot element concerning the components, particularly on the lower-priced fashions. Possibly they’ll draw consideration to one thing just like the shifters as a result of that’s what individuals are skilled to take a look at after they store (“This bike comes with XT as an alternative of SLX so it have to be higher!”) however you don’t know something about that unbranded hub or all that different stuff the standard shopper tends to miss till it wants consideration otherwise you wish to change the cassette. Jeff Jones then again tells you every little thing–and I imply every little thing–about what he placed on the bike and why:
“How thick are the plates on the chain?” is a query you most likely weren’t asking, however he’s obtained you coated anyway:
I’ve by no means labored for an enormous bike firm, however I’m guessing most of them haven’t personally examined a derailleur to destruction on a monster e-bike earlier than deciding to place it on an entire bicycle:
The latest Jones completes additionally include a alternative of hydraulic or mechanical disc brakes, and as a fan of the latter who’s needed to endure all types of “Mechanicals are inadequate to cease me and my awesomeness!” from Web MTBros I appreciated his completely pragmatic breakdown of the particular variations between the 2 system:
He additionally goes into all of the element you could possibly presumably need on the variations between the entire bike and customized construct frames:
Most bike corporations fill their web sites with syntactical cellulite about how a motorbike is “quick on movement and loves getting down on techy trails.” Yeah, however does it have a kickstand plate?
Talking of the stuff on the newest Jones completes, it appears like 9-speed is the brand new 12-speed:
It’s amusing to see corporations utilizing advertising and marketing buzzwords and flashy web sites to say what the harrumphers have been harrumphing all this time–not that it’s a foul factor. I’m glad some corporations appear to be sticking to mechanical:
They name it a “manifesto,” I name it frequent sense:
The cable is useless, lengthy stay the cable.
