You Didn't Have To Do That (But You Did)

Please, let me explain.

When I purchased the Fuji Sportif bicycle, I justified the (relatively) higher price tag by focusing on buying a bike with better quality stock parts rather than buying a less expensive bike and spending a lot on upgrades.  I did this with the State bicycle and - truth be told - it was fun exploring the world of bike parts.  Some items were truly upgrades to the stock State set up... while others were just "upgrades" with no discernable impact on performance [I'm looking at you ceramic bearings. Reader, please scroll down to the "The big question: durability or speed?" section of that link].

The Fuji Sportif has quite a bit of quality built into it, so the only real change I needed was to replace the stock pedals as I prefer regular flat pedals over the stirrup and clip on styles.

So, fast forward a few months and here I am holding two coupons for bike parts that are just burning a hole in my pocket!  I won both of these coupons from bike gatherings in Houston and I just held on to them since I didn't have any strong need to replace anything on the State or the Fuji.

However, after a particularly long ride on the Fuji, I felt like the saddle just wasn't cutting it and I wanted to switch to something else.  I looked at buying a Brooks saddle (I've used their B17 in the past and loved it) but I already had a WTB Volt saddle that I had installed on my State bike a few years ago.

The WTB Volt has been my only saddle for the past three years and, it was what I had used when I rode in both MS150 rides.  So, I knew it was a comfortable and solid piece of kit.  And since I was going to change out the seat.... what else can I change up???

Enter the Thomson Elite seat post.

I have the Thomson "Masterpiece Seatpost" on my State bike because I needed a setback post and I got sucked into the hype around Thomson's build quality.

I could have gone with a less expensive setback post but the price difference between a basic one and the Thomson was not significant (like it was less than $50 difference).

And it worked well.  The positioning of my saddle was more in line with my body, so it was more comfortable to ride the State.

The Fuji has no such issue.  It was comfy right away except (after a few rides) for the Oval Concepts 344 saddle.

Coffee & Bikes held an alleycat race back in January and while I didn't place 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc... I did win a Thomson coupon for $122 during the post-race raffle.  Huzzah!  When I looked up the post I would want for the Fuji - the total cost for the Elite Seatpost at 27.2mm, 250mm length, straight bar was....... $122.

The stock Fuji seatpost is an Oval Concepts 300, alloy, 27.2mm.

The Thomson is interesting in that it's thicker in the front and back of the tube (see photo), which I assume is for strength purposes.  It also has this interesting ring pattern on the exterior - you can kind of see it in the top photo.

Next - I had a coupon for $50 from an area bike shop that I won in a raffle at another bike event back in February.  I was planning to use the coupon for maintenance / service... but I kept forgetting to bring it!

One afternoon, out of curiosity, I decided to take apart the jockey wheels (pulley wheels) from the rear derailleur just to see how they worked.  Turns out, the stock jockey wheels are a bushing style, not bearings.  Here's an interesting article about bearings v. bushings for the rear derailleur!  Not really needing to change them out, I was tempted to try out bearings style jockey wheels. Aaaaand, since I had the $50 coupon - decided that I would try out a set of FSA ceramic derailleur pulleys.  My total cost after the coupon: $8.  Bonus, they're red!

I installed both of these items on my bike and went out last Sunday morning for a 43 mile ride.  My assessment on these changes:

Thomson Seat Post: no difference between the stock post and the Thomson.  

FSA ceramic bearing jockey wheels: no difference. The jockey wheels made a soothing clickity-clickity sound as the chain went over them... but I didn't notice a difference in the resistance with pedaling.

WTB Volt saddle: major difference!  Of course, this would be expected.  This saddle is much more comfy that the stock saddle as it has a little extra cushioning.  And since I don't use padded bike shorts, that extra cushion on the saddle helps make longer rides more bearable.

So what did I learn: focus on enjoying what you have and don't worry about what could make it better as it's already the best it needs to be.

Progress Coffee Roasters - Ethiopian Harrar

I picked up this bag of beans from Progress Coffee Roasters back in June (see post) and had been eager to try this one once I made it though my stash from March.  I like peaberry coffee beans for an afternoon brew (see January post) as they have a sweet, light character that I find perfect for a casual brew.  I normally like something stronger and bolder for my morning ritual, but I was eager to check out this legacy bean since I have enjoyed so many coffees from Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian Harrar from Progress should have been a slam dunk for me.  It checks all the boxes of my preferred coffees. Plus, when I was at Progress - I had a cup of their house blend and found it delicious!  

But... my first cup of this coffee was highly disappointing.

When I opened the bag, the coffee smelled good: aromatic fruits such as plums and candied currents were present.  But after grinding up the beans, something smelled off.  And after brewing - the coffee didn't smell right at all.  By "right", I mean that it didn't smell sweet as I expected it to be.  It smelled like it was burnt in the roasting process.

I took a few more sips and made a note that the coffee tasted like a Starbucks regular roast - which is to say that the coffee tasted burnt. I truly hate Starbucks roasts because their coffees tastes like they are hiding the low quality of their beans by over-roasting them.  I'm not alone in this sentiment!

After finishing one cup and then pouring myself a second one - I decided I just couldn't drink any more of this stuff.... so I dumped the brew down the drain and tried brewing another batch.

I have a Baratza Encore Coffee Grinder and I normally use the middle  grind setting for my brews with my Moccamaster brewer.  So, I tried a higher setting on the grinder (for a more coarse grind) and tried brewing again.  Even with the coarse grind and adjusting the measurements, the coffee was still burnt-tasting, but not as much.  This coffee does not have that sweet, ripe fruit notes that is normally present in an Ethiopian.  Especially with a peaberry bean!  

BUT THEN - I had an epiphany. I don't think this a bean for a standard drip coffee bean.  This coffee should be used for making traditional Ethiopian coffee... something like this.  

I experimented again by using a slightly finer grind setting and letting the boiled water stay in the drip hopper of the Moccamaster for 30 seconds. I also added a pinch of cardamom to the ground beans in the hopper as I recalled the mélange of spices that were added to ground beans when I had traditional Ethiopian coffee at an Ethiopian shop. I then let the brew slowly drip into the carafe... and then.

Voilà, that made quite a bit of difference, but I still wasn't in love with this coffee.  Since I still have quite a few beans left in the bag and I don't plan on using this coffee again, I'm just going to leave the bag at the office and let someone else give it a try.