[924] Surprise! It's a VW Beetle Post

During my walk this morning my mind wandered back to my ultimate dream car, the classic Volkswagen Beetle. I may have cooled off a bit on owning one because of what happened to the Brazilian Jesse Kozechen and his dog, Shurastey but that incident also enforced some things I was strongly considering if ever I get the chance to own and modify a classic Beetle, namely:

1. Preferably a flat windshield VW Super Beetle. Better suspension, more stable and safer ride. Raise the rear height to match the front for better ground clearance.
2. Totally new and modern wiring harness. Upgrade to a 12 volt system with an alternator instead of 6 volts and a generator if needed. Make sure to put rubber covers on the battery connectors to avoid accidental fires.
3. Minimum front disk brake upgrade, better if the rears are also converted to disks. It doesn't have to be those Wilwood big brake kits, just standard disk brake upgrades so that hopefully replacement disks and pads are cheaper and easier to come by.
4. Upgrade all lights. New LED headlamps with built-in daytime running lights, LED bulbs for taillights and signal lights. Additional front fog lamps, rear third brake light. Change the interior to better cabin lights, ideally LED as well.
5. 3-point seat belts for the front and rear seats. Middle rear seat can get the roof mounted shoulder belt. Just additional safety measures.
6. I changed my mind about the engine. 1600cc twin carb setup so that we get better fuel economy.
7. As always, roof rack and rear decklid rack.

Out.

[923] 2x vs 1x Groupsets

Yes, another post about bicycle drivetrains. I've been thinking about 1x vs 2x drivetrains yet again, specifically when I was riding my bike earlier this morning.

Before I continue forgive me for using non-cyclist terms, I still get confused with them. So when I say fastest gears that means the smallest cog on the cassette, and easiest gear the biggest cog on the cassette. Anyway...

I'm not going to talk about the weight difference between 1x and 2x since I'm not a weight weenie and I don't really plan on racing anytime soon. I'm more focused on what will give me a more comfortable ride if I eventually do get brave enough to ride around the city OR I bring my bike to the province.

My thinking is that you can have the similar gear ratios for the fastest and the easiest gears. Fastest being the gear you use on downhill and flat roads, and easiest the gears you use in climbs.

The biggest difference I can see between 1x and 2x would be the smoothness in gears. Having a 2x setup allows you to have a cassette with smaller teeth difference, while a 1x setup will have compromises with the difference in number of teeth per gear.

Let's compare my current Sunshine MTB cassette with a Shimano CS-HG700-11 road cassette.

• 11-13-15-18-21-24-28-32-36-42-50T (Sunshine MTB cassette)
• 11-13-15-17-19-21-23-25-27-30-34T (Shimano Road cassette)

Looking at the differences in the number of teeth per cog you can see that the Shimano cassette has a smoother increase, with the biggest gap being three and four teeth, and only at the biggest cog. Meanwhile the Sunshine cassette has four, six, and eight teeth gaps for the biggest cogs.

This basically means that you will struggle finding a sweet spot changing gears for the easier gears with the 1x. Chances are one gear will be too hard and one will be too easy. With a 2x it isn't that bad.

Cassettes don't tell the whole story. Now let's add in the chainrings and calculate the smallest and biggest gear ratios. My bike is currently using a Deckas 42T narrow wide oval chainring, and let's put that up against a Shimano GRX FC-RX600-11 46/30T chainring.

• 42/11 = 3.82, 42/50 = 0.84
• 46/11 = 4.18, 30/34 = 0.88

So as you can see the 1x might be a bit "slower" in high speeds but it could in theory be "easier" in climbs. Meanwhile the 2x will "struggle" in climbs but be faster in flats. I'm saying these in quotation marks because I haven't factored in fitness levels and other intangibles.

Which brings me back to why I wrote this in the first place. I'm still not sure what kind of groupset I want. I'm happy with what I have right now, and I'm hoping I will be able to ride long enough to enjoy my bike. My biggest question now is, let's say I can upgrade my bike in the future... do I want to try a 2x setup? Is it worth it? Or should I just get a smaller range cassette for the rear so I gear differences won't be as harsh?

I wish I could afford to find out.

Out.

[922] Gravel Bike Set Up

In a previous post I wrote about my dream gravel bike setup. It's only been a little over a month and yet I realize I was just probably having a "grass is greener" type envy of other bike set ups. So after a lot of introspection and chats with some bike friends of mine, I've decided to come up with my most current dream gravel bike set up.

Before I continue I would also like to say I again thought about what purpose I have for my bike, and I realized that it's primarily for exercise. I'm not really that keen to ride it fast, first of all because of my age and second of all because I'm not going to risk my life in the event I do ride farther on public roads here in Metro Manila.

Why am I explaining this? Basically because it means I've got the "perfect bike" already here. I just need to change some parts if and when they do need changing. So these are the things I would change.

• Drivetrain 1/2. Basically 1x with an 11-42 cassette. When I checked the gear ratios of the 2x setup I was thinking of versus my current 1x the fastest and easiest ratios were almost similar to each other. It would be useless to change to an 11-46 because based on cassettes I've checked in Shopee only the biggest gear would be different. An 11-42 cassette would make the last three or four gears smaller overall. I'd probably spend for a better brand of cassette as well.
• Drivetrain 2/2. I've honestly been thinking about getting a smaller chainring for my bike, for the same reasons I wrote above. Nothing too drastic, maybe a few teeth less, maybe 36 at the smallest. This will make my bike slower overall but it will also make it easier to pedal through all gears available. To be honest another plan of mine was to keep the 11-50 cassette and get a bigger chainring, around 46 to 48. However that would require more effort. Fortunately I am just doing this as a thought exercise. I'm too frugal to spend on more components when I don't need them anyway. (Side note, yes I got a new saddle because the original one I had was too short and was causing me lots of pain in the hands because I was probably compensating for not being able to stretch out properly or whatever reason. Comfort and avoiding body pain is a valid reason, trying out easier or harder chainrings is not.)
• Brakes. I'm sticking with my cable actuated hydraulic brake calipers. I've been more than happy with the stopping power and the fact that it's hopefully a no maintenance component. Of course I would love to get the better quality disk brake calipers.
• Wheels 1/3. I would love to get tubeless ready rims with better and more quiet hubs. For tires I still want either gravel tires or cyclocross tires just because they have knobbles and will hopefully offer better grip in both wet and non-tarmac surfaces. I'd also want narrower tires, maybe 32 to 35 millimeters in thickness instead of the 38s I currently have. The reason for this is because I do want to permanently attach old school fenders on my bike.
• Wheels 2/3. Assuming I push through with tubeless ready rims, I wouldn't mind using inner tubes provided I get Tubolito's Tubo-CX/Gravel-All inner tubes. Supposedly very puncture resistant inner tubes. Might be cheaper in the long run, similar to what I probably would save if I just used the damn inner tubes I bought instead of buying and buying tubeless sealant, but that's another story.
• Wheels 3/3. This deserves its own bullet point because like I said above, I would want quieter hubs. Not only that but I want to have a dynamo hub for the front wheel. This would hopefully be enough to power both a front and rear light setup. Or if lights aren't needed then have a USB port somewhere so I can charge a power bank while riding my bike.

Aside from those I'm pretty happy with the setup I have. I still want to change my saddle but it's too damn comfy at the moment. And as for a flared drop bar, why change something when the current one works pretty well.

So there you have it, a revised gravel bike set up I had in mind. Stay tuned for a future blog in the event I change my mind yet again.

Out.

[921] City Cars

I've been doing a lot of research about what kind of city car would be practical. It would have to be a second-hand car, since that's all I can afford. It has to be small and fuel efficient because of the rising fuel costs. And it has to drive decent enough I can bring it on long drives along the highway. It has to be a relatively newer model so I'm capping my baseline to 2017 models and newer. I'll also try to link some autodeal reviews since I put so much weight on their opinion, specially when it comes to fuel efficiency. So without further ado I present to you my top four choices of hatchbacks.

Before going any further, why hatchbacks? I really like them. They seem practical and the fact that when you see the rear window that's basically the rear of the car already. No need to estimate if you'll bump something or not. Plus the taller rear cargo area means you can pile on more things, as long as you pile them on properly and securely.

1. Kia Picanto 1.2L AT. Split folding rear seats, decent displacement engine, and some of the best fuel efficiency based on what I've read. The Kia Picanto can go 7 km/L on slow city driving and about 25 km/L on highways. Assuming we're fully loaded I'll be happy to get 6 km/L city and maybe 18 km/L highway.
2. Toyota Wigo 1.0L AT. It doesn't have split folding rear seats and it does have a smaller displacement engine, but the Wigo does have great fuel economy. The biggest reason why this is only second is because the engine displacement isn't as big as the Picanto. The Toyota reliability is a big factor, as well as my cousin telling me that their Wigo is a great city car.
3. Mitsubishi Mirage 1.2L AT. The reason this falls to third is because it's a Mitsubishi, and I'm not really a big fan of the brand. Except for the Evo and the Pajero. I've seen plenty of these driving around the city and it does look nice. Fuel efficiency is also pretty decent.
4. Suzuki Celerio 1.0L CVT (?). I really wasn't considering this car despite the fact that I like how it looks, until I read the review from autodeal. Assuming only one person was in the car with minimal cargo, the Celerio allegedly get 11.1 km/L in traffic, 16.1 km/L at 60kmh, and 24 km/L in the highway. Pretty great numbers. The only reason this is my last choice is because I'm not sure how reliable and cheap maintenance is for the Suzuki Celerio. However it looks like it also has rear split folding seats so that's another plus.

So those are my choices. My budget is pretty low and I'm being plenty realistic about what I can and cannot afford. Hence my choices.

Out.

[920] Time

We spent last weekend at my folks' house in the province. Time seems to move differently there.

It's probably because we were out of the city. Sure it's not as rural as you'd expect. The pace of things there just seems more mellow and relaxed versus staying here in Metro Manila.

It is louder there. There's a multitude of vehicles driving about, mostly with really, really loud exhaust systems. Motorcycles, cars, trucks, you name it and more often than not they'll be equipped with some aftermarket "fart cans" that make them very, very hard to ignore.

And yet it is also that noise that helps keep the place mellow. I can't quite explain it. It's just that time seems to move slow and fast at the same time in the province. It felt like I had spent so much time working or hanging out, and yet at the same time it also felt like the four days and three nights we spent there were just that fast.

It was great to go there to decompress, and I'm looking forward to going back so I can decompress again. Hopefully I'll be able to bring my bike along next time so I can ride and explore the province.

Out.