#171 : Tuesday Night Ride

Tuesday night and NoLights Louie surprised me

when she said 'Yes' when I asked her if she wants

to go to Mt. Faber with me and StairRider Deck.

I was thinking, that was quick? I normally have

to give a lengthy sermon about the virtues of climbing

before she says yes ...

... of course the main reason it was so easy asking

her to go was tonight was the night she was going to

pick up her new pride and joy from Hup Leong :

her new wheelset made up of Hope Pro2 Evo hubs

and ZTR Crest rims!

So, I told her that this new wheelset should be around

2 tons lighter that her last boat anchors ... errrr wheelset.

Not just that! This Hope Pro 2 Evo hubs should have no lag

when she pedals and all these points should translate

to better climbing performance.

To my chagrin, she said she can't feel if they are light...

and worst of all, she asked : 'What lag?'

Sighhhhh ....

Anyway, I lead NL Louie and SR Deck to a different

first lap. We went via Telok Blangah Rise instead of

going via West Coast Rd. This first climb should be a

lot steeper than our normal loop.

Well, either the wheelset indeed gave better climbing

performance or they are expensive placebos. NL Louie

was able to hang with us for 3 laps instead of her

customary 1 serious lap + 1 photo session lap.

Apart from the new wheelset, NL Louie was also

wearing a new helmet which is supposed to be women

specific. ... I still don't know what the difference

is between smaller men's helmet and a women specific

helmet ... might be just pure marketing gimmick?

Ok, now that I have sowed the seeds of doubt in

NL Louie's mind about the practicality of buying

women specific helmet, she did tell me that

this helmet is a lot airier than her previous Limar

helmet.

The 2011 version of the Uvex Onyx Helmet also

has mesh on the front holes to prevent insects

from entering the helmet. Also, it has that all

important sticker proclaiming that this helmet

is 'Made in Germany'. All that for just 69USD at

Jenson's USA :-)

Finally, on our way home SR Deck and

I were interviewing NL Louie and here is

the non-verbatim (and artistic license applied) 

transcript of the interview :

SR Deck : What's the diff between the Hope Pro 2 and

Hope Pro 2 Evo? (PS. looks like Pro 2 has been

replaced by Pro2 Evo. But Hope website does not say

the difference between the two hubs)

NL Louie : hmmmm ... it's faster?

SR Deck : Why?

NL Louie : Uhhhmmm... i don't know ....

MH : I told you not to buy that! If you bought

XT hubs and any ZTR rims, you would still

have change to buy decent brakes.

NL Louie : Damn the price! I want my hubs to

have that buzzing sound and it should be red!

MH : Why?

NL Louie : Duhhh! It's red and it buzzes! It's faster!

MH : Have you seen any Pro XC Rider using

those loud, buzzing hubs?

NL Louie : They don't?

SR Deck and MH : sighhhhh

*all pictures used with permission from

NoLights Louie