Barracuda - Totally Driven!

Making good use of a comp day from work.

I am so lucky my gf is teaching a class this semester at VT in Blacksburg, VA (one of my alma maters). This is at the top of a thigh searing climb up a trail dubbed Old Farm. 1.5-2 miles of steepness with the steepest at the top (of course). The downhill on the other side more than makes up for it though!

Hey willywill-

Nasty "hamburger'd" elbow my brother, I hope you're doing well and recovering!

On a different note, yesterday I posted in the MARKETPLACE an link to a XL Dos Equis Barracuda jacket on Ebay. It's all the same colors and sponsors as your Team frame... would make a cool addition to your 'Cuda collection.

Peace,

-D-

Nice Ride Will, How much travel is that front Fork?

I saw that jacket Neo, pretty sweet, I thought about snagging it but passed since it would break my vacation budget rules

The elbow is doing much better. That was the first time I have hit the pavement that hard, and hopefully the last! I appreciate those moments though, I mean how many people get to have these kind of experiences?!

Cudarider, I believe the front fork is 100-120mm on the 100mm setting. The first time I had it on there it rode really awkward but after changing the stem and handlbar setup it rides much much better. The only thing I don't like about it is on steep in the saddle climbs the extra travel puts too much weight on the rear. At the top of that trail I actually pedaled the bike right out from under me and landed flat on my ass!

I just picked up a really nice Mag 21 on Ebay and would like to convert it but that require breaking my budget rules

The trails around here (Greensboro, NC) are pretty flat so the fork does fine and I mostly use it for my commute to and from work. If I opt out of having the Ducati dealer service my bike ($900 ) I may just make some upgrades to the XX and bring back to its proper era

That front end would have made Peter Fonda envious..

Choppers are in right? I was working in Mexico a few weeks ago and everyone down there has a chopper-cycle, I figured if it hadn't already caught on I should get the fad started!

The thought of that makes me feel like taking my son's old mtb with the 24" wheel,slap a 2.3 tire on it then put double crown forks on the front with a 26" wheel with a 1.7 tire.....true chopper form...Bet that would make a nice trail bike..HA!

More shots of my rig

Just noticed that you run disc brakes on your Cuda.....where did you come up with a mount for that? Most of the mounts that I have seen look like bars that clamp onto the frame but yours look clean..

I found that at (ironically) A2Z components.
http://www.a2zcomponents.com/01company.html

It will only work on aluminum frames though, has something to do with contact surface area on the dropouts. It is a pretty cheap part too, $30 I believe.

It has been an awesome addition to my current setup, I would love to continue to run a disc in the front I just havent found a great low travel fork that doesn't cost a lot. I wish I could convert a Judy SL into a disc setup, that would be sweet!

The only gripe I have about the A2Z rear disc setup is that it makes taking off the rear wheel a pain in the arse. It is a little time consuming to set it up and dial in the clearance too, but once you do it is pretty much a set it and forget it modification. It wouldn't suit a racer or anyone who is particularly concerned about how long it take to change a flat tire, but if you want an affordable rear disc alternative to the more expensive mods that connect to an existing brake post, the A2Z can't be beat.

Plus is is called A2Z, in the spirit of the almighty Barracuda! Gotta love that