[kidwoo]

Haha! Nice work man!

 

[TraxFactory]

nice vid!, I love my DW bike....How was the King catch rate this season around Kodiak!?

 

[tscheezy]

I wonder if it replaces both your Spot and RFX?

I sold my RFX, if that is any indication. I built the dw Spot up with the parts from it, so it is a pretty stout build. I still have the Horst Spot for now and may keep it a while. That is still a timeless performer.

How are the mosquitoes up there?

It depends on where you are. There are almost none around town, but you can find spots within a few miles where I would consider them annoying, but still nothing like in the Interior.

How was the King catch rate this season around Kodiak!?

The Karluk and Ayakulik Chinook runs are pretty much in the toilet, and no one is sure why. ADF&G took eggs from those systems and is establishing a "put and take" sport fishery along the road system which is doing well. They have had a few setbacks the past two summers (warm water and low spawner and egg survival rates) so the number of fish has plateaued, but hopefully they will increase again with better conditions and better luck. I work for Fish and Game and have helped with the Chinook enhancement project. It's cool stuff.

I'd be interested to hear how you felt the bike handle compared to 6pack or Spot though.....apart from 'somewhere in between'........

I will post up some real thoughts on this at some point. So far the dw seems to retain the Spot pedigree with a slightly plusher feel when descending (though I also have a 160mm coil on the dw and only a 140mm dual air on the old Spot). Most of the time I don't notice the dw link as doing anything special vis a vis my Horst Spot, though you get the sensation of a rearward axle path when coasting over bumps which is a very nice trait. There are pros and cons though. The dw has less tire clearance. I drop my chain on it pretty often too, presumably because the old chainstay used to minimize chain bounce somewhat and now there is nothing in the way to stop it (I am running the same chain guide on both bikes). The dw standover is better and it seems to take a 160mm fork with no complaints. I don't notice that the bikes pedal that differently to be honest. The dw bobs out of the saddle and doesn't when seated- just like my old bikes, though it may accomplish this with a bit less compression damping. It's the sum of little things, the balance of pluses and minuses, though I don't think it's any huge leap forward: it took an incredible bike and tweaked it in a few ways that some folks may deem important, others less so. The coasting bump absorption is probably my favorite aspect of the dw.

Now we need a picture of all the camera mounts... for the behind the scenes video

I will put together a pictorial of my camera mounts. I am going to redo my propeller-head mount first though. It's so lame I'm embarrassed to show it.

 

[Vespasianus]

fantastic video! Did you use Garageband to make the music?

 

[tscheezy]

Sort of. I imported a song with vocals (Free Stress Test by Professor Murder) and chopped out the lyrics portions, and dubbed the instrumentals a bit by cut/paste, etc.

 

[tscheezy]

Ok, here are some of my video mount bits. First off, the helicopter head. I used a plastic chunk cut to allow me to velcro it to my helmet using the vents, and on top of that I used a spare Heim chain guide roller. Bolted to that I have an aluminum plate that I can hose-clamp some rod or dowel to. I used a 1/2" wooden dowel first, but I promptly broke that. Now I have some cheap WalMart tent pole sections. They flex and bounce, so some stiffer tubing would probably help, but I can take the two sections apart and the pole ends up half as long so I can pack it around. The camera is mounted on one end via the GoPro seatpost clamp mount, and I have a 12 oz fishing weight taped to the other end for "balance." I actually have the rig set up slightly camera-heavy so I can position it somewhat by leaning my head. The whole thing is a bit of a millstone and your helmet had better fit pretty tight! I would not suggest riding long with this doohickey on your head since you will look like a freaking 'tard.

For the ground-skimming shots I just used a pole similar to the propeller head contraption, but I just hold it in my hand and either ran or rode behind Barny and held the camera a few inches off the dirt as we moved along. Nothing complicated there.

On-bike scenes were generally done using RAM mounts. gpscity.com has an excellent selection of RAM stuff. I use the 1" ball head metal system ('B' size). The plastic RAM stuff flexes too much. I use them with a GoPro, but a Contour HD is pictured here:

The one exception to the all-metal rule is that I like this particular RAM arm since you can adjust the angle between the two ends independently:

Just note that these mounts are pretty solid and if you crash or catch them on something while hauling down the trail you could dent the tubing on your precious scooter or force the mount into the spokes. I have had a few oopsies using the mounts but never had anything really ugly happen. It's probably just a matter of time though.

 

[iheartbicycles]

Sort of. I imported a song with vocals (Free Stress Test by Professor Murder) and chopped out the lyrics portions, and dubbed the instrumentals a bit by cut/paste, etc.

I thought you might have! I shazzamed the song on my iphone and found the original to not be nearly as good.:thumbsup:

 

[lidarman]

Philip, that stuff is gold. Very inspiring. Thanks for sharing your setup too.

Now share Barny's thought's while she waits for you to set up.

 

[highdelll]

Absolutely Fantastic!!
Tscheezy - I always love your posts.
Usually I click for the great scenery - AK and Barny
I'm Xposting this in AM - http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=7245740
Great Job! :thumbsup:

 

[highdelll]

Hey tscheezy, what's the name of that tune?
Actually propellerhead is kinda close...

 

[tscheezy]

Now share Barny's thought's while she waits for you to set up.

"Wow, what a nerd. That retarded looking contraption looks right at home on his head."

 

[pdlhrd]

"Wow, what a nerd. That retarded looking contraption looks right at home on his head."

Propeller-head...

Great video! I love the ingenuity & creativity.

 

[pdlhrd]

I work for Fish and Game and have helped with the Chinook enhancement project. It's cool stuff.

BTW- You may be familiar with the recent success we've had with the Sockeye runs in ID with high numbers of fish returning all the way to Redfish Lake this year. It's been a long slog and I'm sure more to come. Thought you'd find this of interest.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/08/12/1300119/youve-come-a-long-way-baby.html

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/...ys-for-idaho-redfish.html#storylink=mirelated

 

[Jaybo]

Interesting review

I sold my RFX, if that is any indication. I built the dw Spot up with the parts from it, so it is a pretty stout build. I still have the Horst Spot for now and may keep it a while. That is still a timeless performer.

It depends on where you are. There are almost none around town, but you can find spots within a few miles where I would consider them annoying, but still nothing like in the Interior.

The Karluk and Ayakulik Chinook runs are pretty much in the toilet, and no one is sure why. ADF&G took eggs from those systems and is establishing a "put and take" sport fishery along the road system which is doing well. They have had a few setbacks the past two summers (warm water and low spawner and egg survival rates) so the number of fish has plateaued, but hopefully they will increase again with better conditions and better luck. I work for Fish and Game and have helped with the Chinook enhancement project. It's cool stuff.

I will post up some real thoughts on this at some point. So far the dw seems to retain the Spot pedigree with a slightly plusher feel when descending (though I also have a 160mm coil on the dw and only a 140mm dual air on the old Spot). Most of the time I don't notice the dw link as doing anything special vis a vis my Horst Spot, though you get the sensation of a rearward axle path when coasting over bumps which is a very nice trait. There are pros and cons though. The dw has less tire clearance. I drop my chain on it pretty often too, presumably because the old chainstay used to minimize chain bounce somewhat and now there is nothing in the way to stop it (I am running the same chain guide on both bikes). The dw standover is better and it seems to take a 160mm fork with no complaints. I don't notice that the bikes pedal that differently to be honest. The dw bobs out of the saddle and doesn't when seated- just like my old bikes, though it may accomplish this with a bit less compression damping. It's the sum of little things, the balance of pluses and minuses, though I don't think it's any huge leap forward: it took an incredible bike and tweaked it in a few ways that some folks may deem important, others less so. The coasting bump absorption is probably my favorite aspect of the dw.

I will put together a pictorial of my camera mounts. I am going to redo my propeller-head mount first though. It's so lame I'm embarrassed to show it.

The only bike I have ridden that is head and tails better than than my HL Spot is an Ibis Mojo but it has a softer tail to it. It just pedals better but doesn't feel as solid under me...

Those shots are incredible with the spinning video cam...

 

[lidarman]

"Wow, what a nerd. That retarded looking contraption looks right at home on his head."

I can imagine....and she is prolly laughing hard at this thread too.

BTW, I just placed an order at the site you posted for mounting hardware. Not sure I will do the propeller thing soon but that RAM stuff looks way superior and more flexible than the GoPro stuff. Thanks for that.

 

[Bob the Wheelbuilder]

Very nice video as we've all come to expect.

I pictured the propellerhead thing pretty much like you've shown. You should leave the shot of your arm reaching up and giving the contraption a push in the edited video once in a while.

 

[colin1]

What kind of tires are those on the grey bike?
thanks man!
Colin

 

[tscheezy]

On the rear I have a Geax Datura 2.2 TNT and on the front a Maxxis ADvantage 2.4.

 

[EVERYUSERNAMEISTAKEN]

Tscheezy,
How does that ram yoke clamp base work on square seat or chain stays?

And I wanted to say thanks for posting all of those pics. I really like the look of the ram mounts. As soon as I get a little extra cash I am planning to spring for a GoPro HD and some ram mounts. Oh and definitely a chest mount. I really dig the gopro footage with the chest mount.

I had a original GoPro a while back that was mounted to my helmet but I ended up selling it. I wasn't a big fan of the footage unless you had another rider in front of you to kinda highlight the trail features.

 

[tscheezy]

The clamp area on the RAM yoke clamp base mount actually works better on square tubing than round. It has a square-shaped opening so when attached to a round tube it clamps on 4 surfaces while on square tubing it grabs the corners securely. I have whacked it good and ended up bending the crap out of the long threaded shaft that closes the clamp. Luckily that gave way without denting my seat stay or sucking the whole mess into the spokes. The clamp's opening is too small to go on oversized round tubes like the downtube. You will want the strap rail model for that. I pad tube with rubber fire hose material under the mount and hose clamp.