2024-04 Winters End

April brought the start of the return of the birds, and the snow started to melt. It’s not possible to plant anything due to frosts, snow and the ground being frozen. Most winter sports are no longer possible but also neither are the non-snow activities, so it felt a little like waiting for May.

Starting to Grow

As April went on we started putting hardier plants into the greenhouse but it was still going below zero C inside overnight so we had to be careful to avoid plants being damaged from overnight frost. We used smaller plastic greenhouses inside the polycarbonate greenhouse and little candles to try to keep the temperature just over zero.

Towards the end of April we also had to pump out the meltwater from the greenhouse. This year was a lot easier that last year as we had a sump pit in place for the water pump to sit in, but also the field nearby had been ploughed which caused the water runoff to follow the plough lines away from our garden. We still had to pump out some afternoons and evenings however and it is a lot of water. I’m hoping this year or next I can setup a permanent electric feed to the greenhouse and a smaller permanent pump and outflow to automate the spring task of pumping out.

Tyre swap time

It was also time to switch over tyres from the studded tyres to all condition/summer tyres. There is an awkward period when the police deadline for swapping tyres comes, but then a cold spell follows. I avoided using the car when snow fell with the non studded tyres fitted. Changing the tyres with just the cars normal change kit takes a while and not having a torque wrench for the wheelnuts was something that bothered me a little. I found two wheelnuts looked to have stripped threads which was either from the previous owner or recent garage repairs. I got some replacement wheelnuts and put a torque wrench on my wishlist for another month. I also removed the winter “stuck in a snowdrift” survival bag from the boot. It was a bit too cold for a wash but I’d sort that in May.

Getting a bike

With the ice and snow melting I realised I’d put on weight over winter, I was feelign a little stuck indoors, and I didn’t have a bike to exercise on.

I’d used an ebike in the UK for commuting and it came with me to Sweden, but the motor needs servicing and the bearings were making a distinctive “clunk” and wobble as the pedal arms turn, which indicates a failing bearing that is part of the motor shell. Organising for it to be serviced has been tricky, with the official Bosch-listed service centres stating they don’t do this work, or not replying. I could send it further away but then I would need the tools to dismantle the motor from the frame, and if I got those tools I could get a couple more plus the service kit and attempt it myself, provided I had some time. But the risk is that would go wrong and all the options were not cheap. In short, I was getting a bit stuck in loops on this problem.

I figured that I’d get a normal mountain bike to encourage myself to exercise more. In the UK I enjoyed cycling, especially mountain biking, but after university I lived in various cities for about 20 years. Now that I live in the countryside it seemed like a great idea. I could then fix the ebike motor later without rushing and not miss April or May.

State of the Bike Industry

I thought bikes would get cheaper over time but the bike industry has had a really odd time over covid. In short, many companies saw a rise in demand in 2020 so they ramped up production and also pushed higher-end models. At the same time bikes got really expensive. Then demand fell off and in 2023/2024 various bike suppliers were left with a large surplus. There’s various videos on youtube the explain the full and ongoing story which is affecting multiple companies. But as a result there has been some good deals/discounts advertised at a few dealers in Sweden.

Choosing

I made a shortlist of bikes based on what was available and on offer, and the types of riding the bikes were suited to. I watched various reviews resisted the urge to spend more to save small amounts of weight when I know the most important thing is my leg power and the enjoyment. If a bike is fun to ride then you’re more likely to go out for a ride, and the fastest racing bike is not always the most fun and might be more likely to give back pain and similar on longer rides compared to a more laid-back bike.

In the end I went for an older model. It was a 2023 bike, but the “generation 5” frame which was first released in 2021. It was the cheapest Trek full suspension, and the lowest model in the range based on the frame. I knew the right size to get based on other riders comments who were the same height. I also knew the good and bad points of the bike. The bad points people raised, like the rear axle fixing and the motorbike-style steering range limiter weren’t things that would bother me. The higher model “ex8” edition was potentially better value for money in that the higher component specification would save money in the longer term compared to if someone decided to upgrade the lower model over time but there is always a better bike and sometimes it’s important to recognise that something is good enough. There was also the new generation frame, but it was a kilo heavier which I’d probably notice and it was over 50% more expensive. There’s a few youtube videos on this bike and I’ve linked one below:

Riding

After about 10 days it arrived and I went for a few short rides with some old pedals (mountain bikes often don’t typically come with pedals) to get familiar with the bike setup. I quickly discovered I was quite unfit, having not cycled for months, and not used a unpowered bike for some years. I ordered some pedals and waited for the weather and road conditions to improve.

I’d not ridden a full suspension bike for about 5 years, so my technique was a bit poor at first. The bike bounced up and down when I printed out of the saddle and I remembered to make the effort to stay in the saddle and pedal more in circles than stomping on the pedals.

I wasn’t sure if I’d done the right thing for the first week or two, as there were naysayers on youtube, the wet winter soft roads were slow which made the bike feel slow, and the higher “ex8” edition had various better upgrades. But with every ride it grew on me more. Later in May I got to do some big rides and climbs and it has been great.

I felt a bit out-of-touch trying out some of the new developments that have become part of mainstream mountain biking.

The “dropper” seatposts allow you to press a button and the seat drops down into the frame. Unloading the saddle and pressing the same button brings it back up. I thought this would be pointless for the type of riding I do but it’s been a pretty handy.

The new style gearing, with one chainring at the front and a wide selection of gear ratios across 12 gears at the back works really well. I thought I would miss the 3×8 or 3×9 setup a lot more but in all my rides I’ve not had any chain issues which felt a lot more common on the old setups. Maybe I cant put in that little extra speed on a fast downhill like I could with 44 teeth at the front and 11 at the back but that’s pretty rare that I notice that and I’m not racing.

I did get some orange grips to replace the slightly squishy feeling default ones and I thought the bright colour at the left handlebar edge might maybe make a car give a little more room on passing, but otherwise I’ve tried not to buy things for the bike.