'65 Chevy to the Levy

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Looks like I picked a good week to put the snow tires on.

Review: Alps Mountaineering Tasmanian 3

When it's 22 degrees outside, this is bullshit. 

Right now, an Alps Mountaineering Tasmanian 3 tent is drying in my basement.  I just got back from a 3 day (night) trip in the backcountry.  Here's my review. 

Price (with footprint) delivered to my door:  $261.89
Why price with footprint and delivery?  Because that's the real world price. 

Retailer: REI
You can also find this tent at Amazon and other online retailers.  

Intended Use:
Bicycle camping
Car and Motorcycle camping
Hunting
Backpacking

Pros: 
Roomy, lots of space even for my 6'2" frame
Heavy duty materials
Quality construction
Lots of pockets
Large vestibule

Cons: 
Weight
Difficult to pitch and pack rain fly
Poorly designed poles

Conclusions:
I really wanted to love this tent.  It was my first 4 season tent and I was excited to try it out in cold weather.   

I appreciated the length and width of this tent and it's robust construction. It seems to be very well built.  I also learned that the four season designation mostly means tougher materials and better ventilation controls. Although the heavier weight was a concern, using a BOB Ibex or a motorized ovehicle to haul gear negated this factor. 

Sadly, after two nights of camping at 9400' in Colorado during September, I'm returning it. Here's why: The pole tips are badly designed. They easily pull out, both in-sleeve and while fastened to the footprint/tent. This makes it difficult to install or remove the poles into the rain fly sleeves.  

In the comfort of my living room - no big deal. When it's 22 degrees and you're struggling to keep your fingers from going numb, it sucks. Big time. Stopping to pull your gloves off to re-insert the pole tips for the 5th or 6th time is annoying. It's also aggravating when the poles get stuck in the too tight rain fly sleeves. 

Did I mention it was 22 degrees outside?  Not fun.  Especially when you're trying to get camp packed and rolling quickly so you can get back to town for a client meeting. 

Hey Alps!  Are you reading this?  I wanted to love your tent.  You need to redesign the rain fly and pole tips. This would have been a high quality purchase otherwise. At the price, you'll find it hard to find a better deal on a large four season tent.

About the author:  I'm an avid outdoor enthusiast and have spent countless nights in tents in the wilderness.  I hike, ski, ride mountain bikes and motorcycles, run, and love all things outdoors.  Unlike many of the other reviews you'll read online, I didn't receive any compensation or freebies for this review, sadly. I make my living helping people make smarter real estate decisions. 

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Wheel Size: A Study in Contrasts

It boggles the mind.

Why do bros do this? They take a perfectly useful pick-up and spend thousands of dollars to make it far less useful: slammed suspension, gigantic damage-prone wheels with low profile tires.  Maybe I'm getting old, but I don't get it.  It's like taking a NFL player and forcing him into pimp shoes and a zoot suit and then asking him to take the field.

I'll take the Honda Element, thanks.

Fisker Karma - It's Back?

GT spotted a gorgeous Fisker Karma in downtown Boulder this evening.  

  

Only 2400 or so of these were produced, making it a very rare vehicle.  The company description: "Karma’s vision is to inspire. To offer timeless design with technology that creates an ecologically sensitive product; so distinct that it forms an emotional connection between buyer and brand."  

According to Car and Driver, "the Fisker Karma is the lewdest wedge of car porn to hit the pavement since the onset of the 5-mph bumper. From one 22-inch wheel to the other, the Fisker is a heartthrob, a design spectacularly unchained from the shackles of practicality and brand identity that enslave other automakers. It is an auto-show concept car before it has been horsewhipped into bland banality by the finance, marketing, and engineering departments. It is a car built by a company started by a designer."  

 

After the company failed to repay $192MM in loans from the DOE, the company's assets were seized and the automaker declared bankruptcy.   it's assets were later acquired by Chinese investors and supposedly the vehicle will be reintroduced.   We're not sure if this is a new 2016 or an older model, but it remains a rolling work of art. 

Size Matters : Dollar Shave Club vs. Gillette

A few months ago, I decided to try Dollar Shave Club.  What can I say? The relentless advertising got to me. Plus, I was on my last Mach3 blade after blowing through another supply from Costco.  

One late night, after a few pints of beer, I clicked over to the Dollar Shave Club website and signed up for an order. 

First - I don't normally review hygiene or beauty products at GearThoughts.  I'm much too busy with my day job.  But the DSC experience, and subsequent let down, is worth sharing. 

You should also know that I don't just shave my face. I usually have a beard, so I shave a portion of my face.  I also regularly shave my entire head.

The Cartridges

The first cartridge I ordered was the DSC Executive.   At $9 for 4 cartridges, it comes out to $2.25/cartridge. This price includes shipping to your door but doesn't include tax.  It's marketed as DSC's premium product with 6 stainless steel blades per cartridge.

The next cartridge I tried was a step down, the DSC 4X.  It costs $6 for 4 cartridges, or $1.50/cartridge.  The 4x refers to 4 stainless steel blades.  It's marketed as DSC's mid-level product.  

I compared the DSC Executive and 4X against my old Mach3 blade, pictured above (at least a month old). At a recent trip to Costco, I paid $32.99 for 14 cartridges, or $2.36 per cartridge before tax - the most expensive of the three cartridges reviewed in this article. 

Note: I did not order or test the DSC Humble Twin, the entry level cartridge.  I also did not test the uber expensive Gillette Fusion ProGlide.  

Performance: 
Forget about the number of stainless steel blades.  Size matters more. 

All cartridges shaved about the same on a relatively flat surface but the experience was very different when it came to tight areas such as beneath the nose or next to the ear. Maneuverability is your friend. The smaller the cartridge, the more easily you can shave hard to reach places. 

Gillette's cartridge is 31% smaller in height (top to bottom measurement) than the DSC Executive and 17% smaller than the DSC 4X. It is far more agile.  This is a critical difference. 

After struggling with both DSC razors for some time, I gave up on shaving the tiny nook above my ear with either DSC product and resorted to using my month old Mach3 to finish the job.  The DSC cartridges are too wide. 

Ease of rinsing was the 2nd biggest factor when it came to shaving performance. Because the blades are so narrowly spaced in the DSC cartridges, hair would frequently jam between the blades.  This happened routinely with the DSC 4X and completely clogged the even tighter spaced blades on the DSC Executive. To keep clear the hair, I needed to run my thumb against the cartridge (downward motion) under running water to dislodge the stuck whiskers. On the Gillette March3, rising the blade under water alone was enough to dislodge all hair from the blade surface. 

It gets old to need to run your thumb down the blades with each and every swipe, dramatically slowing how quickly you can shave. Look carefully at the photo above and you'll see hair still stuck between the blades of the DSC cartridges.  Even a finger rubdown doesn't easily dislodge hair stuck between the blades. 

Conclusions
You'll save only about $20 a year if you switch to the DSC 4X.  It offers a similar shave quality to the Mach3 and you'll also get stuff in the mail, sometimes including a free sample of shave cream or lotions. That's kind of cool, but it doesn't make up for the poor rinsing performance and the difficulty in reaching hard to shave areas. For the $20, I'll gladly spend less time getting ready in the morning.  

The bottom line of this two month experiment?  Unless you enjoy primping in the bathroom, stick with the Gillette Mach3.  Despite being a decades old product, it still shaves cleanly, rinses cleanly, and the cartridges last a surprisingly long time.   If you want to extend the life of the cartridge, rinse the blades in alcohol when you're done shaving.  It's the evaporation of the water that dulls the blades faster, not your whiskers. 

As for the DSC Executive, I recommend you skip it entirely.  It offered no better shave than the 4X.  In fact, it was actually worse because of the huge size and tightly packed blades on the cartridge. 

Note:  Unlike many other product reviews you'll find online, I did not receive any free samples or products from either Dollar Shave Club or Gillette.  This is not a paid endorsement or paid review. If you liked this article, feel free to donate via the button below.

Logo Compensation

Strapped

If you're tall,  this just might the best Miata mod ever.   I'm 6'2" (with a 34" inseam),  and I've always struggled to fit in my NA.  No longer.  

Two words:  game. changer.

Diesel Truck Culture

Since when is it OK to leave your diesel pick-up idling (at a gas pump!) while you sip coffee inside? We finished pumping, paid, parked and bought a coffee.  By the time we left, there was a line 3 cars deep. 

...And we're not even complaining about the fumes.

Who you winking at?

Abaxo Pannier Initial Review

The last time I bought panniers, George W. Bush was still in office.   I was living in Boston and needed an easy way to haul stuff for my daily commute into Cambridge.    I bought a Blackburn Expedition rack and a set of used Cannondale branded panniers on eBay.

   

Over the last thirteen years, the bags survived countless trips to grocery stores.   I regularly overstuffed them with six packs of beer and jugs of milk. They endured years of being left outside in the salt air when I lived on Nantucket.   The bags held up to the harsh sunshine of Colorado, although the fluorescent orange faded.   They held up to being towed behind cars, literally thousands of miles of whipping wind gusts.   They've lasted longer than my first marriage. 

Blackburn Expedition EX-1 After 13 Years of Abuse

The bags needed a few repairs along the way.  The built-in elastic bungee fasteners failed, replaced with galvanized fence wire which permanently mounted them to the rack.  When holes in the nylon fabric appeared,  I used a glue gun to patch them together.   But the journey is now reaching an end.   They're falling apart. 

My primary use for panniers is to provide onboard storage on a townie bike.   I mostly haul groceries and sweaty yoga mats, beer and layers of clothing,  and of course water bottles.    Although tempted by nice, highly rated products from Ortlieb (among others), I'm not about to go touring on this machine.  I also don't want bags so expensive that I would be upset if they were stolen.   In this college town, theft is a real possibility.   

Surfing around the web, I found a company called Abaxo selling what looks like decent quality panniers for a very reasonable price.   The description sounded good:  "Waterproof nylon canvas with quick-attach mechanism with highly reflective safety patches on front and back, extra thick heavy duty material and construction, tapers at the bottom for extra heel clearance, handle with rubber grip for easy carrying, and a patented no-rattle attachment system plus bottom spoke protection shield."

At $35.87 each (including shipping), the price was less than half comparably sized Ortliebs.    Abaxo also seems to maintain high quality feedback ratings on eBay and a reasonable return policy.  What did I have to lose?

Initial impressions:  

Still wrapped in original packaging.  

Quick release is intelligent and intuitive.   Pull up on release strap to open fasteners.

The bottom fastener has an adjustable slide to position the bags fore/aft on the rack

Fastener mechanism and locking tabs appear well made.   Rivets might rust.  We'll see. 

Single needle stitching doesn't appear particularly durable but time will tell.  The nylon is heavy material.

Inside:  spoke guard and heavy plastic, riveted. 

Installed and ready for a test ride

You can find the Abaxo panniers on eBay in a choice of three colors.   My initial impressions are that the quality is acceptable, especially for the price.   I'll post an update after I put some miles on these bags. 

p.s. If you're looking for a rack to pair panniers with, I recommend the Blackburn EX-1 Expedition Rack.  It has held up even better than the Cannondale panniers.  I've loaded the rack with almost 3x the 45lb duty rating (buzzed girlfriend) for short rides without any issues. 

Sidi Crossfire vs...

Years ago, when I bought my first dual sport, a (now re-sold) KLR 650, part of the deal was a big discount in the store on anything they carried or could order.   
The first thing on my list?    A proper pair of riding boots. 

Why boots?    Because riding off road means a high risk of injury to your feet and legs.  Although I had been lucky wearing just a pair of hiking boots, I've seen several riders break bones and end up on crutches.

No thanks.     

I chose a pair of Sidi Crossfire Adventure Boots - the top of the line, albeit pre-Gore Tex version.   Now, years later, I've ridden with these boots all over the country and logged tens of thousands of miles without any complaints.   Although not advertised (back then) as waterproof, they've proven to be heavily water resistant.      

At $500+, they're my most expensive piece of kit but I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again.  They've performed well and proven their value.    

Shopping today, there are more alternatives available.    I recently ran across this review of Forma Adventure Boots.    At $300, a serious competitor.    It's worth a read.

Adventure Motorcycle Forma Adventure Review

Costco Run

Today's adventure:  a Costco run.  

Adventures with Blitzen

I took a quick jaunt up Flagstaff today on Blitzen, my '75 R90/6.    It was a beautiful October evening for a ride.

3rd Gen 4Runner Maintenance Update

Before my recent trip to Black Rock City, I performed a major service update on my 1999 4Runner.

The work included new front and rear oxygen sensors, spark plugs, spark plug wires, an oil change (Mobil 1 10w-30, Mobil 1 oil filter), new ac belt, ps belt, and alternator belt.  I also bought and installed a new oil fill fill cap because the old one had begun leaking.    I noticed some oil seeping from the valve covers too (it didn't occur to me later that the oil fill cap and valve cover gasket leaks were related.)

And for good measure I installed an OEM roof rack and Yakima roof top box.

The parking lot of the auto parts store

On route to the Playa, the motor threw a Check Engine Light (CEL).   I pulled over at an auto parts store and borrowed their OBD II diagnostic reader.   It registered P0171 Lean, Bank 1.   I noticed that I had forgotten to tighten a vacuum clamp on the intake.  So I tighted it up, replaced a cracked vacuum line, and reset the code.

The CEL came back.     At the next auto store I am across, I pulled the MAF and cleaned it.   I also replaced another questionable vacuum line.  

The CEL came back.    I bought a new PCV and replaced it.  This was the clearly contributing to the leaky oil seals.   The PCV was shot.

I also bought a new (remanufactured) MAF.    I tried resetting the CEL with just the PCV replaced, but the CEL came back so I went ahead and replaced the MAF.     The CEL no longer comes on (with about 1,100 miles of driving).

This MAF sensor has not been cleaned in at least 130K miles

Remanufactured MAF sensor in front, cleaned but still faulty MAF in background

Working on a vehicle during a road trip isn't a lot of fun.    One reason to not do a major service just before a trip.

Camping photos:

A video that would have been helpful to watch BEFORE I was on the road.

Scenes from Cars and Coffee

A few scenes from Cars and Coffee this past weekend.    

From the boot of a gorgeous Jaguar XK150

Just a friendly reminder from a concours quality E28-M5. 

It's true.   The typical Rolls Royce Phantom owner probably never opens the hood.   Yet for $263,200 MSRP, I'd expect a little better than this.     You're looking a cheap plastic cover made to look like the top of a motor.  It doesn't even sit on top well, there are huge gaps around it.   It's horrible and a little sad to see so little authenticity in a marque with such a long history of the very opposite.          

Repainting a 4Runner

After 16 years of being on the road without a garage and over 180,000 miles, my 4runner was starting to look a little shabby.   The clear coat had peeled completely off the roof and was mostly gone on the hood.   It was also starting to peel on the top edges of the doors.  

What to do? 

I looked into having local body shops here in Boulder repaint the truck.    Their estimates were between $5,000 and $6,000 - an outrageous amount given the value of the vehicle.   I explored having it wrapped in vinyl, which would provided a tax advantage (advertising cost), but the local wrap shop said that I'd need to have the rest of the clear coat removed prior to doing it.    Plasti-dip was by far the cheapest option, but results were uncertain and it required a ton of my labor.   Neither wrapping or plasti-dip would fix the rust bubble that was starting to form just above the windshield. 

In the end, I chose Maaco.   I was hesitant, but I toured their facility in Denver (on Federal) and their higher-end paint seemed acceptable.  The el-cheapo Maaco options weren't very good and the highest end "Platinum" package didn't offer any further advantage in terms of warranty or real quality.   I chose their 2nd highest end "Performance" paint work with DuPont paint, a 5 year warranty, and a base cost of $1,200.    

Of course, like all warranties, there is a lot of legal language and carve-outs.   Maaco's 5 year warranty is really pro-rated after 3 years and it doesn't include the rust repair, only the paint.    See the table below. 

The paint ended up costing $1469.85, the bodywork to fix the rust bubbles was $451.20, and a new windshield was $240.   With taxes, my final out the door cost ended up being about $2,206.75.   Here's the detailed invoice. 

How'd they do?

For the price, they did a pretty good job.  I expected minor imperfections and my expectations were met.   Take a look...

Paint chips in the hood are all gone.   The white line above the grill is a reflection.

A paint drip near the side mirror. 

slight over spray near the window molding

A paint drip or two, slight over spray along window moldings. Minor imperfections that are only visible when you look closely.  I expected it and can live with it.   I was surprised that they painted the door handles and the mirrors, these were always just colored plastic (not painted) but they look pretty darn good.    I hope the paint on these parts holds up.

The only clear disappointment (so far) is that under certain light, there appears to be a very light mist of clear coat visible on dark plastic pieces of the dashboard, as if someone opened the door while there was still a clear coat mist in the air.    It doesn't rub off with a fingernail, but I haven't tried a cleaner yet.  I'm not sure what, if anything Maaco can do about it.   I'll follow up with them and see what they say.

Overall, I'm satisfied.   It's a 4/5 star review with one star being deducted for barely visible mist of interior clear coating.    

Dually Ford Explorer?

You betcha.    Spotted somewhere on I-80 in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile in Russia

Here's how one Russian biker handles litter bugs.

BMW R1200GS Starter Grenade

I was at my local BMW dealer for new tires and noticed a new R1200GS in the service bay.    It was quite clearly missing a few choice bits, most notably its fancy new water cooled motor.   

So I asked what happened. 

"The starter motor failed," the service adviser replied. 

"Wha.... you had to remove the entire engine just to replace the starter?"

"No, when the starter failed it injected pieces of itself into the motor.  We have to take the motor apart to remove the pieces of the starter." 

There's a running joke among Beemer enthusiasts.   First year owners are beta testers.  

Don't be a beta tester.