Re: The bicycle thread

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So now I've got the derailleurs and chain off and soaking, working on the cables and casings, and I noticed there is some play in the steering head.
I must admit I've never pulled apart a bicycle steering head--did a motorcycle years ago and it was a nightmare (as were the swing-arm bearings)--but I expect this to be much simpler--I doubt I'll be looking at tapered roller bearings.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: The bicycle thread

652
YankeeTarheel wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 8:31 am So now I've got the derailleurs and chain off and soaking, working on the cables and casings, and I noticed there is some play in the steering head.
I must admit I've never pulled apart a bicycle steering head--did a motorcycle years ago and it was a nightmare (as were the swing-arm bearings)--but I expect this to be much simpler--I doubt I'll be looking at tapered roller bearings.
If that's the green Trek 820, I went back to your picture of it to make sure I was remembering the correct headset style.

It's a cup and cone set, and the ball bearings are most likely caged rather than loose (as in, "unless some fool put loose bearings in there").

This article on the Park Tools web site goes farther into things than you might want, but in case you want to repack the bearings (not a bad idea on a twenty-year-old bike):

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-he ... et-service
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Re: The bicycle thread

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BearPaws wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 10:40 am
YankeeTarheel wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 8:31 am So now I've got the derailleurs and chain off and soaking, working on the cables and casings, and I noticed there is some play in the steering head.
I must admit I've never pulled apart a bicycle steering head--did a motorcycle years ago and it was a nightmare (as were the swing-arm bearings)--but I expect this to be much simpler--I doubt I'll be looking at tapered roller bearings.
If that's the green Trek 820, I went back to your picture of it to make sure I was remembering the correct headset style.

It's a cup and cone set, and the ball bearings are most likely caged rather than loose (as in, "unless some fool put loose bearings in there").

This article on the Park Tools web site goes farther into things than you might want, but in case you want to repack the bearings (not a bad idea on a twenty-year-old bike):

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-he ... et-service
Thanks! Actually, it turned out to be one of the easiest bearings to work on. Caged bearings top and bottom, so far, the only ones on the bicycle...and I tipped the frame on the bike stand 90° so the head was level rather than vertical. Cleaned the races and cages, then fresh Belray grease. No play at all, turns easily.

Last big job is repacking the front wheel bearings, which are loose bearings of course. I'm hoping I won't need to true this wheel either (the back was acceptable).
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: The bicycle thread

654
Yeah, that type headset is pretty easy to service.

The newer "threadless" sets were a surprise to me twenty-two years ago, when I returned to the bike business after a couple decades away, but they are pretty easy as well.

The Park Tools site is a treasure trove of good information.
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Re: The bicycle thread

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BearPaws wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 2:19 pm
The newer "threadless" sets were a surprise to me twenty-two years ago, when I returned to the bike business after a couple decades away, but they are pretty easy as well.
Wow. I'll have to look at the newer bikes we have.

My wife is WONDERFULLY tolerant of have 3 bicycles in the front foyer! (two are hanging in the garage, and the 6th is the one I'm bringing back to life).
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: The bicycle thread

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For some reason, I thought I had threatened to show pictures combining two hobbies: bicycling and kayaking.

A bit of background: For several years, much of my cycling was for utility--commuting, hauling stuff, errand-running. One of my social circles had a focus on "let's see if I can do THIS with a bike," and a couple of us had/have bike trailers (the cream of that crop being the Bikes at Work brand trailers).

When I first got my Bikes at Work trailer, I was using it for doing handyman stuff. For the price of a car payment or two, I have a trailer that has lasted me almost a decade. Shortly after buying that trailer, I loaded a kayak on it, pedaled my self to the river, and went for a paddle.

That trailer wasn't long enough to haul the nicer boat I eventually bought, though. Indeed, the day I bought that boat, I was bicycling home from work, noticed that the locally-owned outfitter had the boat on close-out pricing, and took it home. The sales guy knew me, and was only so surprised that I would do such a thing.
boat hauling by bike.jpg
I volunteered for the local Ironman (tm) event several times, as on-water support during the swim portion of the event. When I used my smaller boat, I used my trailer to haul it to the event. But the longer boat worked better on the bike.
bike boat hauling.jpg
Of course, that's not the most common bicycle. It's a Surly Big Dummy, a long-tail cargo bike, with the optional "wide loaders" and "long loader" from Xtracycle.

The thing was surprisingly manageable.
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Re: The bicycle thread

657
New toy for my e-bike! Garmin Varia RVR315 from Amazon's Prime days--$105.
It's a rear-looking radar that talks to both my watch and phone, telling me when a car's coming up behind me. It even puts a graphic of how far the car is behind me...and if there's more than one! Got a nice phone holder to go with it as the app is easier to see than the watch which is on my wrist. Talk about saving yer ass!
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: The bicycle thread

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YankeeTarheel wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 10:07 pm New toy for my e-bike! Garmin Varia RVR315 from Amazon's Prime days--$105.
It's a rear-looking radar that talks to both my watch and phone, telling me when a car's coming up behind me. It even puts a graphic of how far the car is behind me...and if there's more than one! Got a nice phone holder to go with it as the app is easier to see than the watch which is on my wrist. Talk about saving yer ass!
For years, I thought of such electronic doo-dads as overkill, and not particularly useful. I've been using eyeglass- or helmet-mounted mirrors for forty years, though.

As a cycling instructor, once certified in both the major national programs (League of American Bicyclists League Cycling Instructor and, better still, CyclingSavvy instructor, more on that in a moment), I tend away from what I think of as hardware solutions to software problems.

One of the things we teach in CyclingSavvy https://cyclingsavvy.org/ is that lane position does a LOT to communicate to other road users (including, but not limited to, those driving cars). My default lane position is in the left tire track of the travel lane I'm using, which informs road users coming up behind me that they are not going to be able to pass in my lane far earlier than they would realize if I'm in the right tire track (or worse, right against the edge line). That alone gets me better passing distance than just about anything else I do, including flashy lights.

I earned my LCI (League Cycling Instructor) certificate in October of 2007. By 2011, I was hearing of a newer program called CyclingSavvy, that did much more with regard to real world cycling issues faced by people who didn't necessarily want to know how to fine-tune their shifting mechanisms or ride organized centuries. In 2012, I got to take the CS workshop, along with a number of other League Cycling Instructors, and saw for myself how it focuses on interacting with traffic (an LCI Coach that taught another LCI Seminar chided candidates for being too interactive with other road users). In 2013, I became a CyclingSavvy instructor.

One of my students, herself also an LCI, commented that she liked CyclingSavvy better because it "treats us all like adults." The typical LCI presentation comes off as stentorian, in my experience, where the CyclingSavvy workshop is designed to be more of a conversation guided by the instructor.

And CyclingSavvy has a lot of online resources. I highly recommend the program.
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Re: The bicycle thread

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Y'know, I've been riding bicycles since I was 6. That's 60 years. No matter where you are, there are always plenty of drivers who just don't give a flying fuck about bicycles.
I've been riding a motorcycle for 45 years, and too many car drivers also don't give a flying fuck about motorcycles. Even cops with their sirens and lights going have been T-boned by "cagers". About 17 years ago a friend out on the West Coast was killed when he, a deeply experienced driver, was T-boned by a thoughtless idiot in a pickup. As careful as you are, all you can do is improve your odds.

So I assume that not only does everybody in a car or truck not see me, too many don't give a flying fuck, and some fuckers even get a thrill from trying to force me off the road. And that's from experience on both kinds of bike. Just the other day, a landscaper's box truck was cheating on making a right-turn-on-red, not actually stopping, and nearly hit me on my bicycle as I had the green and was going through. This was DESPITE that I always ride with my front light in strobe mode as well as two flashing tail lights. In my town there are far too many "Lexus Ladies" in their SUVs, who think they have special dispensation from The Pope, The Rebbe, or God to ignore traffic laws. And the landscapers' in their trucks aren't any better--and park anywhere they want.

Years ago, I had to commute from South of the DC beltway up to Twin Brooks, MD, a minimum of a 75 minute ride. I had to abandon using the motorcycle because the number close calls ("Incidents" as I thought of them) jumped from about 1 every 2 weeks to half-a-dozen times every single day! And THIS was always assuming they were trying to kill me!

I can tell you that riding in the left side of a lane on a two-lane road on a bicycle is an invitation to road rage! "YER BLOCKING ME, YOU FUCKIN' ASSHOLE!" It's bad enough when you're hugging the curb.

But while my mirror helps, the radar REALLY gives you advance warning of someone coming up behind you, and how fast, and even if there are multiple cars. I cannot tell you how much relief it gives me, that extra warning.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: The bicycle thread

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And I've been riding since I was three. I'm sixty, as well.

When I started using the strategies taught in the CyclingSavvy workshops, it was amazing how much smarter and more polite the motorists I encountered were.

Yes, there is the occasional half-wit yelling that I should get off the road (that is, according to the half-wit, trying to sexually reproduce), but that half-wit has almost always already done what I needed him to do, which is pass me without physical contact. And the two times in the last sixty-thousand miles that a motorist tried to swerve as if to hit me, being in the left tire track meant that I had a LOT more room to evade the swerve. Out of the tens of thousands of times motorists passed me over a period of just two years, that percentage of a percentage of a percentage of motorist interactions isn't what I want to dwell on. Yeah, it only takes one true idiot to ruin my day, but that idiot doesn't have to be myself.
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Re: The bicycle thread

662
Well, I done did it.
I crashed yesterday. Around my town's fountain pond, I went off the asphalt path to allow a couple to walk past. When I went to get back on it, the miniature Belgian block edging was higher than on the rest of the path and I hit it at too narrow an angle. The front wheel whipped right parallel and I did a face-plant on the asphalt.

UGH!

The man said "Are you OK?" and I answered "I don't know" ...and they kept on walking! I would NEVER do that! I've got road rash on my chin, worse on my left knee (my bad knee) and the outside of my left little finger--I'd say I scraped 1/3 of it--nasty looking so I won't post it. Also other assorted small scrapes.

But I noticed the pinky didn't hurt much, but my left was killing me, making me think I broke or fractured it. I recently started keeping a spare sealed bottle of water in my front pack, and always keep a small first aid kit--about the size of wallet. I used the water to wash the cuts, then put antibiotic cream and band-aids on everything, using my phone as a mirror for my chin. Meanwhile the couple kept circling the pond and walking by me. Assholes!

I made it home one handed, because I could only use the index finger and middle finger on my left hand. My wife helped me get my gear off and I was into a shower.

Instead of the ER or an urgent care center, it occurred to me to call my orthopedist instead. He only does big joints--knees, shoulders but referred me to hand specialist in W. Orange, about 20 min away. He didn't see a fracture on the x-rays but said, given my pain, it could show up in 2 weeks when he sees me again. Seems as the healing process begins, forming bone callus, it THEN shows up! The things you learn.

Meanwhile, gel ice packs, Advil, Aleve, and bourbon meant I had a peaceful night and it now only hurts when I laugh (or try to do anything much). But now my right ring finger's 2nd knuckle is also swollen. That's a mere nuisance.

And the bike? I have yet to find a scratch. But my Garmin Forerunner watch had its protective shield over the crystal smashed to full spider web. Luckily, that's what it's for--the crystal is safe and I have others.

So, damn! I'm off riding or swimming for a few weeks. Don't want to injure the hand worse or get and of the scrapes and cuts infected.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: The bicycle thread

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I got to ride my old Raleigh C-30 this morning. First time on a bike this century. It still works and about the only issue was to put some air in the tires. I have a feeling though that since they are pushing a quarter century old I may need to get them replaced.

Having a bike with a brazillion gears though really seems silly when there is only about a two foot elevation change in my neighborhood. I need to see if anyone still makes single gear bikes and if there are any step through versions. A basket, rack and fenders would be nice as well.

For them what do ride bikes in an urban environment is there any way to lock a bike up that might keep it from getting stolen or is the best plan to simply ride something no one would want to steal?
To be vintage it must be older than me!
The next gun I buy will be the next to last gun I ever buy. PROMISE!
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Re: The bicycle thread

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sig230 wrote: Sat Aug 14, 2021 3:28 pm I got to ride my old Raleigh C-30 this morning. First time on a bike this century. It still works and about the only issue was to put some air in the tires. I have a feeling though that since they are pushing a quarter century old I may need to get them replaced.

Having a bike with a brazillion gears though really seems silly when there is only about a two foot elevation change in my neighborhood. I need to see if anyone still makes single gear bikes and if there are any step through versions. A basket, rack and fenders would be nice as well.

For them what do ride bikes in an urban environment is there any way to lock a bike up that might keep it from getting stolen or is the best plan to simply ride something no one would want to steal?
Lots of companies make single speed bikes, old fashion pedal-backward brakes, beach bikes, fat-wheel bikes, folding bikes, and "fixies" which seem to have no free wheel--you pedal or stop.

My watch measures elevation change and usually my typical elevation change is 800' or more (due to regularly climbing the old Nike radar station hill). When I as down in Abaco and pedaled down from our place to the next community and back, 11 miles, the total elevation gain was 79 feet.

But even though it's pretty flat, if you go in the woods and ESPECIALLY on the sand you need the lowest gears.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: The bicycle thread

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lurker wrote: Sat Aug 14, 2021 4:41 pm
sig230 wrote: Sat Aug 14, 2021 3:28 pm
For them what do ride bikes in an urban environment is there any way to lock a bike up that might keep it from getting stolen or is the best plan to simply ride something no one would want to steal?
do both. old ratty spray paint jobs, covering up the brand names, in multiple overlapping mismatched colors. i can't imagine most bike thieves bothering to cut a lock off a bike of indeterminate make, model and color.
Don't bet on it. During the worst of the pandemic, bike thefts of EVERY kind of bike were rampant. If it can be ridden, some shit head will steal it and some unprincipled and desperate schmuck will buy it.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: The bicycle thread

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sig230 wrote: Sun Aug 15, 2021 8:12 am I'll look into getting a lock and also keep my eyes open for an oldie.

Any suggestions on what kind, type or brand of lock?
Start with Kryptonite. The big U-shaped locks and heavy, hardened chains are the hardest to cut--you need a grinder to do it. Heavy cables are tough to cut but a cable cutter may go through them. Unfortunately, the heavier the lock, the more you have to carry.
If the front wheel has a quick release, use it. Always lock through the frame and both wheels, and around something.
But if you leave it for long, anything removable will be stolen.

Back in the mid-70's I was working as a stage-hand at the Public Theater in NYC. One guy locked up his 10-speed outside with an early Kryptonite lock--the old flat-bar U. Literally 10 minutes later he checked on it and someone had ALREADY tried to used a bolt-cutter on it! 10 minutes.

From my face-plant. Nothing more is getting worse. While living on Advil (nothing new there) my hand and wrist only hurt if I try to lift something even as heavy as a plate of food. So I use my forearm or my right hand. More cuts and nicks have emerged--nothing serious. I do wish it had been my other knee--this is the one I have to support when taking long walks, or riding (torn medial meniscus)--Can't put on the properly supported knee brace because of the scrape, which otherwise is no big deal.

Cuts and scrapes are a normal part of my life. Half the time I'll be working on something outdoors, walk inside and someone will say "Hey, Dad, your leg is bleeding" and I'll respond "Huh?" and sure enough. When I was young and a carpenter it was a rare day I didn't get some minor nick. One guy I worked for would say "Checking to see if it's still red?"
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: The bicycle thread

670
Well YT, I joined the club again yesterday. Got back from my morning ride and went to get off, left foot slip out of my shoe and down we went. Landed on my shoulder and really banged up my side and rib cage.

The only things broken were my watchband and all self respect. I had the garage door opener in my left pocket and in trying to get the bike off me, find my shoe and try to get up I seemed to keep hitting the button. Poor garage door was in a spasm; up/stop/down/stop/up.

It's morning though now and old watchband put on with new watchbands headed my way. Pain pretty severe but only if I try to breathe.
To be vintage it must be older than me!
The next gun I buy will be the next to last gun I ever buy. PROMISE!
jim

Re: The bicycle thread

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sig230 wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 7:40 am Well YT, I joined the club again yesterday. Got back from my morning ride and went to get off, left foot slip out of my shoe and down we went. Landed on my shoulder and really banged up my side and rib cage.

The only things broken were my watchband and all self respect. I had the garage door opener in my left pocket and in trying to get the bike off me, find my shoe and try to get up I seemed to keep hitting the button. Poor garage door was in a spasm; up/stop/down/stop/up.

It's morning though now and old watchband put on with new watchbands headed my way. Pain pretty severe but only if I try to breathe.
OMG, Sig, I FEEL your pain :see_stars: ...but I couldn't stop laughing at the garage door going up and down! :lol: (I put in a gadget called MyQ that allows my garage doors to be opened from an app on my phone--you don't need to get a new WiFi opener.

You may want to see a doctor but you probably can get by without seeing a watchmaker!

I found one teeny-tiny nick on the end of my left handlebar grip--all the rest of the damage was to me. Weirdly, new pains, particularly in my right hand, have been cropping up. Still can't pick up anything heavy with my left...if I must it goes on my forearm, above the wrist. I can type but slower.

Damn, this getting old shit really sucks. I SO much liked having PBF well into my mid-20's (PBF--Babies have it--Positive Bounce factor). And I don't heal as fast anymore.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: The bicycle thread

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Hasaf wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 7:46 am I am still commuting on this bike:
Image
eBikes are great! You still get exercise, but it flattens the hills. Some Class 2s are like electric mopeds. Class 1s are PAS.
I could never ride as much or as far in our hilly town without mine--normally I try to do a minimum of 10 miles, preferring to make 11 to 15. I've always liked to bicycle but I really fell in love with it when the eBike arrived last October. For the first time, I rode most of the winter--I was out riding on Jan 6 listening to MSNBC when they broke in for the attack on the Capitol, and I immediately headed home.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: The bicycle thread

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Hasaf wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 7:46 am I am still commuting on this bike:
Image
Rohloff hub? Sweet! The most-desired IGH! I see the dynamo headlight, too, although the picture doesn't show which dynamo hub you have.

I (sadly) don't ride as much now as I did six or eight years ago. Even eight years ago, I was "car-free light," meaning that we had one car that the wife or I would drive on some occasions, but that we mostly bicycled to do stuff. Ten years ago, I was commuting a little less than thirteen miles each way five days a week, and for the calendar year I put something like 5600 miles on bicycles instead of using cars, and the total bicycle miles tipped a bit over 8000.

Life has changed, though. I still have the bikes I used that year, plus a couple newer ones. The garage is full of bikes.

And most of the utility bikes have dynamo hubs and lights (the one exception being my Ryan Vanguard recumbent). One of my wife's bikes has the Shimano Alfine 8 internal gear hub and a belt drive.
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Re: The bicycle thread

675
There are lights designed to run off the battery, rather than a dynamo, and some mid-drives, like my Shimano Steps, have terminals for them and are controlled from the main computer.

I went super-simple with a rechargeable head and taillight. I charge the taillight from the headlight, then the headlight from USB charger--the headlight unclips but the taillights a bitch to remove and replace--easier to charge it in place. The headlight's on strobe and the tail light has a flashing pattern. Works pretty well to let cars know where I am. I also have recently added a Garmin Varia radar that warns me of cars behind me if I neglect to check my mirror. That, too, is rechargeable. Some come with a taillight but since I have one--and the seat has another, it seemed a lot of money for unnecessary redundancy.

I don't know crap about internal hub gearing--never had a 3-speed "English Racer", only know clusters and derailleurs. I grew up on my 49 year old Peugeot with the shifters on the down tube and totally friction, where, like a violin, you have to know and feel the correct position...click-stop shifters on the grips are a total luxury to me!

The IGH looks too much like a motorcycle transmission--I've had to rebuild a couple where the engagement dogs wore out. eBikes are heavy enough without more weight. IMHO
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

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