Take the Porsche bike survey!

I just added an informal survey to this blog.

What's your favorite Porsche bike? The very first Porsche bike - the Bike Spyder 9.85? How about the very popular Bike S? The new RS mountain bike? The racer Bike R? The very cool bright yellow Bike FS Evolution? Or the ultra rare Carrera GT bike?

Go to the main page of this blog and select your favorite!

More Porsche Bike X parts

It is very cold outside. So, I'm back in the garage on the stationary bike and playing with bike parts.

The Ergon SMC4-M seat arrived today. It's specifically built for ergonomic fit and it is lightweight. It is German made. And looks really cool. I'll be installing after my garage ride tonight.

I also found a solution for the SKS Cagebox rubbing against the front tire. I ordered an SKS Anywhere. The Anywhere are straps and bolts that will let me mount the Cagebox a little higher on the bike frame and avoid the front tire. Problem solved. I hope. It should arrive next week.

Another Reno 26-mile Porsche Bike X ride

With another Sierra storm approaching, I drove to Verdi to ride through Reno again before I'm stuck in the garage on the stationary bike again for a few days. It was a little warmer and a little windier in Reno than when I rode there Wednesday.

I started in the same place as Wednesday, Crystal Park along the Truckee River, and rode east toward Reno. Instead of heading into downtown Reno though, I turned south and rode up McCarran Blvd toward Caughlin Parkway. A 2.5 mile uphill was a little challenging but not too bad.

The other side was a fun and fast downhill to the 13-mile mark. Then I turned around and went back uphill and another fun descent.

I picked this route specifically as a training ride for the Death Ride. I need to start hill training, and this is the biggest in Reno, which isn't saying much. But it's prefect since it's early in my training plan. The total ascent today was 2,500 ft. Not too shabby.

The new Ergon GP5 handlebar grips and long bar ends were AWESOME on the uphills. They performed exactly as I had hoped they would. The new SKS Cagebox didn't though. I placed it under the bike and it rubbed on the front tire. Rubbed a groove in the Cagebox lid. So, I'll need to figure out a better place for that!

Ergon handlebar grips on the Porsche Bike X

I installed the new Ergon GP5 handle bar grips and bar ends on the 2004 Porsche Bike X today.

The Ergon GP5 are German designed grips specifically engineered to help reduce wrist and hand pain while on long bike rides. Since it may take me up to 10 hours to ride the 129-mile Death Ride, I believe this will help prevent the wrist numbness I experienced during the 100-mile ride this last October.

These bar ends are awesome for uphill riding, which the Death Ride is full of. Plus they make the bike just look cool. Almost like a raging bull!

Porsche Bike X Reno ride

With the Porsche Bike X rebuild halfway completed, I was itching to go for a ride. But with Truckee covered with snow, I had to either drive to Sacramento or Reno. Not having an entire day, I choose Reno. And I choose well. Typically, Reno is very windy. But for some reason today there was no wind. It was also a perfectly sunny 47°.

I drove the short distance to Verdi, Nevada parked my 2006 Cayenne S at a county park near the Truckee River. From there I rode 13 miles to downtown Reno before turning around and coming back. I was hoping to fit in 25 miles, so 26 miles was just right.

The bike rode most excellently and I didn't feel like I lost too much conditioning after taking a couple easy months. It wasn't a particularly fast ride because I kept running into stop signs, stop lights, cars and homeless people. It seems Reno is pretty congested these days. I much prefer to ride the bike trail in Sacramento and avoid all the traffic and people like in Reno. But Sacramento is almost a 4 hour round trip from Truckee. So that takes an entire day.

Regardless, today's ride was a huge success. I can't wait to get the second half of this bike finished and take it for another ride.

Left to do on the Porsche Bike X will be changing the front fork to a carbon fiber rigid fork, replace the saddle and add the new handlebar grips with bar ends. I should have all this finished sometime next week I hope.

Porsche water bottles for a Porsche bike

I wasn't a big fan of the white water bottles that I put on the Porsche Bike X. After scouring eBay and the Internet I could not find any water bottles I really liked. Then I realized I had a couple authentic Porsche aluminum water bottles in my never ending supply of Porsche paraphernalia.

I'm not sure aluminum water bottles will work quite as well as plastic, so I will take them for a spin tomorrow in Sacramento and see if they're easy to get out of the water bottle cage or not. But they sure look good on the bike!

Ergon all the way...

I just ordered a couple of the last parts for the Porsche Bike X rebuild.

I ordered two Ergon parts. Ergon is a German bike accessory company that manufactures ergonomically comfortable bike parts. So, it's not just a clever name...

I ordered the GP5 handlebar grips with full bar ends to replace the Storck standard rubber grips. When I rode 100 miles in October my wrists were getting numb. I read these grips help reduce numbness. I also just love bar ends when ascending mountains. Considering the Death Ride is 129 miles, I figure I could use all the help I can get.

I also ordered the Ergon SMC4-M Comp Gel Saddle. The 2004 Porsche Bike X comes with a very nice Italian bike seat. But since the rest of the bike rebuild includes all German parts for a German manufactured bike, including an Italian saddle just didn't sit well with me, pun intended.

These two parts will likely arrive before the carbon fork, but I'll guess the bike rebuild will be finished by mid January 2017. Then I start the 2,000 or so miles of riding preparing for the Death Ride.

Quantec Crossgabel shipped from Germany

I just received notification that the new Quantec 700c Carbon Canti Cross Fork was shipped this morning from Germany. The "crossgabel" as bike parts online sales company Bike24.com calls it in German is shipped via German DHL.

This was the perfect fork for my Porsche Bike X transformation from a Hybrid bike (half mountain bike/half road bike - set up for touring or trekking) to a mountain-killing road bike. The fork is rigid, lightweight and able to absorb the rough Sierra roads the Death Ride encounters.

The fun part about ordering this fork was trying to translate from German to English to make sure all the specifications match the 2004 Porsche Bike X! I can't wait to install it. Not an easy installation, but I look forward to it.

Weather is frightful...

Truckee weather has been cold and wet. I hear we're having the wettest winter to date ... ever! Most of it is rain, but this weekend we're supposed to get more than a foot of snow! So, I'm having a hard time getting outside and riding. I've been stuck in the garage on the stationary bike too long.

Just like last year, when there is a break in the weather, I will head to Sacramento to ride the American River bike trail. My next shot at it looks like next Wednesday. Sun, 55 degrees and low wind will make for a perfect day to attempt 50 miles on the newly rebuilt Porsche Bike X. I still have more work to do on the bike, but a little testing of the work performed to date would be helpful to make sure all is working according to plan.

Porsche Bike X rebuild: Day two

This Porsche Bike X project is moving along quite well I must say.

Today I installed the Continental Gatorskin 700x28 road tires and put the wheels back on the bike. With the wheels on I could then adjust the new brake pads. I took the bike for a brief spin in the drive way and then adjusted the saddle height.

So, to date, I've changed the tires, brake pads, seat post, water bottle cages and repainted the pedals.

Next is to replace the front shock fork with a rigid carbon fiber fork, new handlebar grips with extensions, new saddle and then put the Porsche crest back on. Time to order the next round of parts.

Porsche Bike X rebuild: Day one

Tonight I changed out a few items while drinking some Spätburgunder in my garage. I can't think of a better way to spend a Monday evening.

While taking the Porsche Bike X apart this weekend, I noticed the brake pads were a little worn. So I replaced the front and back pads, black and chrome of course, to match the bike.

I also installed two new SKS Slidecage bottle cages on the top and bottom lower tube. These are German-made lightweight adjustable bottle cages.

Next, I added the Syntace P6 aluminum seat post to the bike frame. I removed the original 2004 shock seat post in favor of a rigid post. This will improve performance as well as looks great.

Tomorrow, I'll be working on the rims and tires. Not an easy task I might add. More tomorrow...