kamotE trails

I recently upgraded the stock crank from my Tern Link D8. The stock crank is steel which has a lot of flex that eats up the power you apply on the pedals. It also has a cartridge type square tapered bottom bracket that is really heavy. I was contemplating between a Shimano 105 and Litepro.  I decided on the Litepro because of easy sourcing. Specs: Outboard bottom bracket 170mm crank length 56T chainring Aluminum crank for stiffness One piece CNC chainring with integrated bash guard Weight Weight is definitely a big change with this upgrade. The outboard bottom bracket and aluminum cranks reduced the weight of the bike by around half a kilo. Performance The stiffness of the cranks definitely improved the pedaling feel. It felt lighter to pedal even with a higher tooth count. The jump from 52T to 56T increased the top speed of the bike but the climbs suffered. The effect was minimized because of the increase in pedaling efficiency brought by the stiff c...

I have been having a lot of chain drops on my Tern Link D8 recently so I decided to install a chain guide. The stock chain guide doesn't seem to prevent the chain from going to the outer side of the chain ring. I purchased the Tern Mainstay Chainguide from an online source for less than Php 500. The package came with an installation guide which is very handy. Installing it would require a bit of bike technical skill and tools. You would have to break your chain and join it again after installing the chain guide. Fine adjustment is pretty straight forward.  Even with a modified drivetrain (11-36 cogs), the chain guide fits well. I am hoping that changing the chain ring from 52T to 56T would not present any problems. So far, I have not yet experienced any chain drops even with aggressive shifting. It does its job and also made the bike look a bit cooler.

Origin: Munich, Germany Alcohol Content: 5.3% Bottle Size: 500ml I got this beer from the supermarket. It's a bit pricey compared to other importer beers. According to Paulaner, this is a dark version of wheat beer. The bottle and labels are premium. There are sediments on the bottom of the bottle which is due to the beer being unfiltered. The guy on the logo seems some kind of bearded man in robes. The taste is strong and dark. The flavour is a bit cocoa and roasted malt. There's some hint of citrus that gives a refreshing taste. I think this beer is best enjoyed with a bowl of meaty "pulutan". After a bottle, I'm still looking for another one. It's one of the beer where you need another bottle after finishing up the previous. I need to try the other beers that Paulaner is offering.

Yes, they do expire. Unlike hard drinks which can be stored for years, beer has a limited shelf life. There are many factors affecting the freshness of beers. Where you store it, the position of the bottle when you store it, temperature and other factors. An indication if the beers is still fresh is the hisss sound you get when you open the bottle. Foaming also indicated freshness. You can also check the best before label to make sure. I have tried drinking beer that is way past is best before date. It tastes bland. The bitterness is watered down. All the flavours seemed washed out. I tried the Grolsh premium lager beer without checking the best before date.  It has a nice green bottle with the cool cap. After tasting it, I noticed that it doesn't live up to its "premium" tag. I though maybe it's premiumness will come after some more sips but unfortunately, its still lacks any kick. I checked the bottle and read the label. I found out that it's way past...

My old Holy Shit grips are paper thin so I decided to replace them. I've had good experience with T-One grips from my folding bike. I've been using T-One Bricko II grips with bar end for my folding commuter so I decided to get that for my mountain bike. nice packaging I got the T-One Bricko II grips without bar-ends. It has a palm rest which adds comfort for those long road rides. The textured and hexagonally shaped grips provides very good feel and grip. The twisted look also gives additional grip. view from the cockpit I used all the "bricks" for my mountain bike setup. It's a bit longer than the previous grip but still fits well. I like the gold lock-on accents which adds bling to the bars. front view with I-spec levers I recommend this grip for train and bike commuting. 

The sweatband that never saturates. My usual head setup when bike commuting is a headkerchief(a one piece flexible tube cloth) to cover my nose and face and a bandana to soak up the sweat coming from my head.  I wan't to wear something on my head before putting the helmet so that sweat won't go to my eyes and glasses during the ride. I usually bring 2 scarf/handkerchief when going to the office. I use one going from home to the office and one for the way back. These soaks up the sweat for the long ride. I usually hang this on my office chair to dry before storing it in my bag. I discovered something new when I went to the ROX store in BGC. It's the Gutr sweat band. It's pronounced as gutter but they spelled it leaving out T and E. It's probably a marketing thing to make it look and sound hip. It's made of silicone with a rubber ring at the back. The ring comes in three sizes for proper head fit. It's secured with a velcro strap. The headband ...

Noise is a sign that something is wrong or malfunctioning on your bike. Having noisy brakes is irritating not to mention the loss in braking power. Most of the time, the noise is caused by contaminated rotors and pads. This can lead to irregular brake wear. world's lightest 1PC stainless steel rotor I have been experiencing noisy front brakes. This is extremely noticeable during wet rides when water comes to contact with the rotors. My front brake is a 180mm Alligator brand rotor. This rotor is the noisiest one I've used so far. My rear rotor is an Ashima Airotor doesn't make this irritating noise. Since I've had good experience with my Ashima, I decided to replace the front with an Ai2 Ashima rotor. On Paper The Ai2 is an upgraded version of the Airotor . It weighs 97 grams based on its label. It uses less mass so Ashima warns on fast rotor heat up but if proper brake application is used, this is not a big issue. The low mass enables it to cool down faster...

I wondered what an original German beer would taste like so I tried Oettinger. I don't know how to pronounce this right and there are weird letters which I don't know how to sound. I got the 500ml can of Oettinger from the grocery. Only the can is available but I would have preferred the bottled version. It came in a yellow and blue can.  It is a naturally cloudy weissbeer according to the label. Alcohol percentage is the usual 4%. I poured it in a clear glass because I don't like to drink from the can. The taste of this beer is okay. I don't have anything good or bad to say about it. It's just "okay". I can drink this with a bag of chips and enjoy a movie without thinking about how the beer tastes.  Not much to say about it. 

I got these powerbanks from Lazada when they did a flash sale. Talk about hot products. All stocks were gone in a day.  I was lucky to get these two because they limit purchases to one for each color. It comes in a small color coded package. I got the gold one and my wife got the pink. She wanted the gold but that means I get stuck with the very masculine pink so she gave me the gold. The gold is not really like Saudi gold or the yellowish gold we're familiar with. It's more of a metallic brownish shade which is nice. The pink is also nice, looks like metallic red and not hello kitty pink. I could have gotten away with that color. Build The powerbank is made of aluminum. Solid feel and cold to touch. It claims to be credit card sized but not credit card thick. It's fat but small. On the front are four led to indicate status and charge. A power button which doesn't seem to do much but just check on the remaining charge. There are also a micro USB plug for chargin...

Tagaytay is famous for its cool weather so a lot of tourists come here on the weekends.  This is also a usual destination for most southern cyclists.  There are various places and routes cyclists take when going to Tagaytay but one thing is sure, all of them goes through a hell of a climb. Tagaytay is located south of Manila. There are two major roads you can take to reach the Tagaytay proper; Santa Rosa route or the Aguinaldo Hiway route. Last weekend, we tried to climb Tagaytay after a long break from our weekend biking routine. The familiar feel of your thighs burning during the climb all came back to us. Our starting point was at Jollibee Pacita in San Pedro, Laguna. From there, we took the national hiway up to Pavillion Mall in Binan. From there we took the inner roads going to Nuvali. As we reached the intersection of Nuvali, we turned right to Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road then the uphill battle begun. fog covered road ahead After some 16 kilometers of uphill cl...

I've had this brake set for almost a year installed on my Merida HT bike. There are various reasons why I chose this brake set apart from other options in the market. Tidy cockpit with I-Spec technology I-Spec - this brake can be used with the XT I-Spec shifter that I planned to buy that time. Its also neat on the handlebar since there are less clamps that are cluttered on the bar. Brake pads with fins that are seen on the higher Shimano models can be used with this brake set. Value for money - nice brakes that won't break your bank. Squishy levers One thing I noticed after installing the brakes is the squishy lever. Coming from an Alivio brakeset where a slight squeeze will apply the brakes instantly, I feel that the new brake lever need to travel more before the brakes bite. I don't know if this is how a modulated brake is supposed to feel but it really doesn't feel right. noisy combination. Alligator rotors + Deore brakes I topped up the min...

I've got this grips 3 years ago and its still the shit. I got it for Php 500 at Cartimar when I first assembled my mountain bike. Dabomb Holy Shit Grips Build It's a "lock on" grip meaning it has clamps on both end that you use to secure it to the handle bar.  I prefer this kind of locking mechanism for the grip compared to the traditional slide on type. It's easy to pull out in case you want to change your brake lever or shifter. It's also easy to replace your handle bar. The other type of grip is such a pain to remove and it's also prone to movement when in use. Definitely find the "lock on" type of grip for your bikes. Feel The grip is made of soft rubber with embossed skulls all over. At first, I found the skull design a bit dorky but it grows on you. The feel is superb. It's soft and grippy. Very comfortable. Durability After some years, my grips are worn out on the outer palm side. It's understandable since that...

I recently changed the pads of my V-brakes in my foldie.  The old pads were quickly depleted after a rainy commute home.  Water on the rims and brakes dramatically increases the wear on your pads. Blue Jagwire Pads on the front brakes I purchased 2 sets of Jagwire V-brake pads from Paulina's at Cartimar. They were twice the price of the local MOB brake pads. I was hoping for better performance with the "Jagwire" pads. "Jagwire" in quotes because I am in doubt if its genuine just a China rip off. After cleaning the wheels and installing the new pads. There was a noticeable noise when braking from both the front and back brakes. It was so irritating that it was calling the attention of all the pedestrians I pass by. A loud metal screeching noise. I tried a few things to eliminate the noise: Let normal use eliminate the noise. (FAILED) 40 kilometers of commuting and the noise is still present and mocking me. Clean the wheels (FAILED) I realized...

After I bought my Merida Big Seven frame, I needed to change my rear hub to a thru axle type. I looked around for a good but not too pricey hub in the local market.  Finding a 142x12mm hub is not easy unless you go to the bike stores in Cartimar or Quiapo. DaBomb + XT Cogs I had 3 hubs to choose from. A Shimano SLX priced at Php 2,500 but weighed a lot. A Fireeye Excelerant hub that is super light but costs Php 5,000 after haggling. And my pick, Da Bomb Rotate Hubs. A balance of weight and price. DaBomb Hub + 142mm Thru Axle Specs Bearings: 4 Sealed Bearing Material: Aluminum Holes: 32 Holes Weight: 355g Sound: somehow "Tunog Mayaman" (a term referring to the loud freewheel sound present in Hope Hubs)

This is a Japanese Branded Beer which is also the name of the place where it originated (Sapporo City). It has a crisp and refreshing taste, much like any other pale lager beers. The bitterness from the hops is not so overpowering that gives it an enjoyable taste. Alcohol content is 5.0%. You can enjoy a few bottles before getting the beer buzz. Price is on the high side since it's an imported beer.

I'm a fan of the Fast and Furious movie series.  I must say that their subtle commercial endorsements have affected me.  You've seen Dom Toretto loving this beer. Backyard family scenes that show them having fun, relaxing and drinking Corona. It makes me want to have a barbecue and drink some beer. best enjoyed with a bag of chips I was intrigued and decided to give Corona a taste. I got it from a local grocery store for more than twice the price of a San Miguel Beer. For an imported beer, the price is understandable. In Between San Miguel Pale Beer and Light Beer If you have tried San Miguel Pale Pilsen and San Miguel Light Beer before, you have an idea on how Corona would taste. Corona is a Pale Lager produced in Mexico.  It's exported all over the world and also a top selling beer. At first sip, I it was like SMB Pale Pilsen. Succeeding sips made it seem like a SMB Light beer but not exactly. I could compare its taste somewhere between a SMB Pale Pilsen an...

After a monthly grocery thing with my wife, we looked for a quick fast food dinner around the mall.  We've had KFC the other day so we opted for something else. After spotting a plate of palabok in Goldilocks that look like its been on display for hours we went to Mang Inasal to try their version of the palabok. Unluckily, it was not available so we ordered pork sisig instead. Our luck goes downhill from there. pictured: sad Sad Looking Sisig The plate was served on a hot plate. It's hot but not sizzling hot. Sisig bits comprised 40% of the plate and chicharon made the other 40%. The rest is chopped white onions. The sisig was pale but tasted like a seasoning disaster. It was very salty. You may need to eat a lot of rice to water down the saltiness of the sisig. An Orthodontic Nightmare My dentist always advise me to stay away from chips and nuts to avoid damaging my braces. I still eat chips but take extra care to avoid getting the brackets chipped off. The ...

Rainy days are upon us and its time to include a rain gear in your bike pack. You wouldn't want to ride in the rain for an hour without any protective clothing. I didn't like the experience of being drenched in rain and the head wind chilling you more. Cheap and Lightweight I was on the hunt for a cheap(relatively) and lightweight rain jacket that I can keep in my bag in case of heavy rains.  My search led me to a list of outdoor brands with costs ranging from Php 2,000 to Php 6,000.  I was hesitant to spend that much on something that I would just stash in my bag and hopefully wear at least once a year. I was locking on to buy an Adidas water resistant jacket in a outlet store up North but then I saw Uniqlo's Parka jacket.  It was on sale for only Php 990. It was perfect. Looks water resistant enough and lightweight.  It's lighter than the plastic rain jacket I used to carry around. Packable I folded it up real nice and packed it in a small pouch. You c...