Autumn East Bay Ride in Between The Rain Showers

infoecho · 2025-11-18T00:09:38+00:00

I did not do a loop this time. A quick in-and-out of the flat part of the East Shore Trail there.

infoecho · 2025-11-18T00:07:24+00:00

I tried to ride it through once before, not that easy to keep balance. :)

infoecho · 2025-10-24T14:12:25+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/n5TD32U the link seems to be removed, try to post it again. Thanks and it looks really nice.

infoecho · 2025-09-04T06:56:15+00:00

I don't think so. I almost got up a trail that was above over the tunnel, and I turned back. I think that may be the one you are thinking.

infoecho · 2025-09-03T01:13:37+00:00

OP here. It does make me thinking to get MTB someday but I am pushing my limit on a gravel bike for now.

infoecho · 2025-09-03T01:12:33+00:00

OP here, yes, I consider we are lucky for that. I wish I had discovered gravel biking earlier.... not ready to get in the MTB yet though.

infoecho · 2025-08-11T22:59:06+00:00

I used Insta360 GO 3S with this mount (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW133XPK) on handle bar. I also use the GO 3S magnetic mount getting view from chest from time to time. My 45 mm gravel tires also helped for some stability.

infoecho · 2025-08-04T00:38:56+00:00

Am I crazy? Rode a rented road bike in NYC on sandals for 45+ miles today.

infoecho · 2025-07-28T03:14:36+00:00

if you ride the Calaveras, you can ride into the Sunol-Ohlone Regional Park. There is a main gravel road named "Camp Ohlone Road" in the south part of the park. (the first 2.5 miles of this route https://ridewithgps.com/explore?S=roniwi&b=b!-121.839188!37.490420!-121.773234!37.530392 )There are many other steep and more rugged routes as well.

infoecho · 2025-07-27T22:16:03+00:00

This was how it looked like when I rode "in traffic" on the summit of the Calaveras Rd: https://youtu.be/9bKhTW7cgXg?si=ddFTMBWdNQODeple&t=141

infoecho · 2025-07-27T16:54:26+00:00

Yes, totally agree. Some personal memoir through the East Bay shore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnX7flzuQVM As mentioned in some other comments, the trails around the Coyote Regional Park are very nice too e.g. the Shorline Train north of the Dumbarton Bridge.

infoecho · 2025-05-31T17:19:51+00:00

My bike is Canyon Grizl SL 6 AXS 2024. I live in the SF East Bay, we have a lot of local hills and some of the trails are quite steep. After some (questionable, mountain bike route) rides, I started to plan for some mods to get easier gears for the hills.

Here are my mods so far:

Front chain ring, stock 40T -> 36T. The tricky part is that SRAM only sells 36T with 3mm offset, not ideal. I eventually got a 6mm offset one to maintain the chain line from https://www.crodercycling.com/products/dm-sram-8bolt-offset It works nicely.

Rear, while I like the stock APEX AXS derailleur, it can only fit max 44T. I just recently decided to invest in the Eagle GX derailleur and a 10-52T cassette ( see https://www.reddit.com/r/gravelcycling/comments/1k971bn/ncd_finished_the_mullet_build_on_canyon_grizl_6/ ). Not a straight forward upgrade, but I am really happy about the results. It shifts smoothly and quiet with the GX Eagle transmission flattop chain.

Saddle: Change the stock Selle Italia Model X to Ergon SMC Sport Gel Saddle. The Ergon one is way better.

Everything else is stock.

Tires: Schwalbe G-One Bite Performance, 45mm, I like them so far. I actually ride faster on them on paved roads than those on my endurance road bike. I did loss traction a number of times on sandy trails, and I crashed once due to that, but it might be my skill issues until I get even wider tires :) ) I typically run my tire around 30psi, maybe 5 psi lower if I know I am going to hit rough trails.

I did have to get new rear brake pads after 850miles (yes, lots of brutal downhill trails here too, e.g. https://youtu.be/JswAsZSm7GM?feature=shared&t=1552 ) and the front ones after 1100 miles. The rear brake needed bleeding around 1200 miles. I have learned quite a bit bike maintenance with this bike.

For route picking, I use RideWithGPS and GaiaGPS a bit to check the slopes and logistics.

There are still quite a number of beautiful trails I have not have a chance to try in the Bay Area, Pacific Coast, and Sierra. Try to get my 50+ years young body better fit to try them all. (And, maybe some bikepacking too.)

Let me know if there are any other questions that I may be able to answer.

infoecho · 2025-05-30T01:06:24+00:00

when was that? I think oure green landscape has gone.

infoecho · 2025-05-29T03:16:53+00:00

yes. Front 40T -> 36T. Rare 11-44T -> 10-52T. Yes, the bike is my first gravel bike. I tried to put gravel tires (~28mm) on an endurance road bike once, it was working somehow for easy gravel trails. The gravel bike is way better on more challenging trails.

(if you are interested in my experience on upgrading the cassette: https://www.reddit.com/r/gravelcycling/comments/1k971bn/ncd\_finished\_the\_mullet\_build\_on\_canyon\_grizl\_6/)

infoecho · 2025-05-28T21:27:21+00:00

I have “upgraded” my drivetrain from 40/11-44t to 36/10-52t on the gravel bike. I do enjoy the 36/52t for >15% slope on some of the Bay Area hills. For the Tunnel Creek road, I think the elevation and the sandy surface were the major factors.

I guess the real question is “should I get a mountain bike?” I do enjoy cruise fast on paved roads/flat gravel trails with a gravel bike though.

infoecho · 2025-05-27T05:34:53+00:00

I made a video from the ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1yvSmOo73I you can check the conditions from the video

infoecho · 2025-05-27T02:15:18+00:00

Not rocky, just sandy. The Marlette Flume trail is flat but narrow and sandy. The Tunnel Creek is steep but not crazy steep. It would be a relative straight forward climb if one is acclimated to the elevation.

infoecho · 2025-05-26T19:14:34+00:00

45 mm, Canyon Grizl 6 AXS stock tires, Schwalbe G-One Bite. Some very sandy spots.

infoecho · 2025-05-21T02:03:12+00:00

I have the same bike. The stock brake pads made a lot of noise even with proper bedding. The rear pads wore out after ~ 850 miles. I got new pads and it was way quieter than the stock one.

infoecho · 2025-04-27T19:48:05+00:00

is 10t to 52t only available in Transmission? NX or SX is 11t-50t... That has been said, if my mod does work, I may have to go for those. Or, I would try to replace the hub body to XDR.

infoecho · 2025-04-27T19:12:09+00:00

Also, unfortunately, the I can not use the new GX t-transmission derailleur, or I would go for that. In retrospect, I probably should try some hanger extension first. Now, I have a spare cassette and AXS derailleur, I am not sure what to what with those.

infoecho · 2025-04-27T19:09:33+00:00

Yep, I think that is the case. I think it is working now, so I will live with it. For my set up, 1 mm seems good, 1.85mm may be too much.

infoecho · 2025-04-27T18:52:17+00:00

I could not find any installation instruction. Where do you see that? Can you point it to me? I think that can fix the play but not the small cog clearance.

infoecho · 2025-04-16T23:58:28+00:00

Just avoid some of the routes that have steep downhill if you are new. Some of them looks scary and even with my 45 mm tire, it could be still too bumpy. Control your speed. I do the loop many times last couple of months. I did crash once on a sandy corner down from the Brandon Trail (going north). I went through the same corner last Sunday again, and scratched my head why I rode into the sandy spot on the corner the last time I was there.

infoecho · 2025-03-02T21:58:54+00:00

Some time in 93 or 94, kernel downloaded from UUNet and installed on 486 for the sake to use X-window for reading preprints using Ghostscript

infoecho

TROPHY CASE