. @clover and I were riding down a hill and slowed to let a pedestrian cross at a marked crosswalk, and were "rewarded" with an angry honk and close pass from a Tesla that was behind us.
I guess some drivers either are in their own little world or don't care about people crossing the street. :/
When @clover and I got to the bottom of a long hill while #cycling yesterday, I heard the tell-tale sign of a #tubeless leak in my front tire, a well-used #Panaracer #GravelKing. She even said it was smoking, but I knew it was just sealant blowing out.
Thankfully, it was at the end of our ride and I didn't have to deal with steering on a floppy tire. I did snap this picture, though.
I tried seating it again today and it just wouldn't hold air because of the same spot. That's when I noticed the bulge in the sidewall near the bead, so I decided to toss the tire and put on a fresh (identical) one I had in reserve. The new tire seated without issue, aside from how I had to do it twice because I put it on the wrong way the first time. :P
This isn't a knock on Panaracer tire quality, of course. The tire's been through a lot and there was only so much tread left anyway.
The real downside is that the bike will be "offline" until tomorrow so that the sealant can make its way into all the tiny leaks while the wheel is resting in a safe environment.
Broke a lace in my #motorcycle riding boots during the week and had to tie them up within the criss-cross lacing while I waited for some aramid laces to replace it to arrive. Reminds me of doing the same to a number of #cycling shoes I've had over the years! #bicycle
A randonneur-style handlebar bag with a lightweight metal basket frame that uses hinges instead of bends would hold its shape extremely well over the years. 🤔
Now that the Nivex derailleurs have been in production for a while, Rene Herse is taking analog shifting to the next level with the Floating Chain. This system is lighter, has less resistance and costs far less than all derailleur systems available today.
Jan Heine, head of R&D at Rene Herse Cycles, explained: “One-by drivetrains have simplified bicycle gearing, but it’s time to go a step further. Most cyclists need only three gears: one for uphills, one for flat roads, and one for downhills. The steps between these gears tend to be relatively large. Large steps between three gears are easiest to accommodate on the front, with a triple crank. So we’ve effectively turned the one-by around and put all the gears on the front.”
The Floating Chain system uses a triple crank and just a single-speed freewheel on the rear. As an added benefit, front derailleurs are lighter, more reliable, and less prone to damage when the bike falls over.
In the interest of keeping the system simple and to reduce mechanical resistance to a minimum, there is no chain tensioner. The chain length is selected for the big chainring, and it’s allowed to float freely when it runs on one of the smaller chainrings. There is no need to keep the lower chain run tensioned, as long as you don’t backpedal for more than half a revolution of the cranks.
My alloy HED rims never go out of true and the braking surfaces have lasted for years. You get better quality when you pay a bit more irrespective of material.
I'm discussing this elsewhere at the mo too. I don't get the 'it's carbon so must be better' obsession. I ride both and have alloy rims that ride every bit as well as my carbon and indeed better in some circumstances.
@crowdotblack @lopta I wouldn't want >30mm alloy rims either, but >30mm carbon can be harsh once terrain gets lumpy: Riding more than say 150km off-road km in a day on my 43mm rims can leave me feeling battered and seeking out road routes as an alternative.
@crowdotblack @lopta I wouldn't want >30mm alloy rims either, but >30mm carbon can be harsh once terrain gets lumpy: Riding more than say 150km off-road km in a day on my 43mm rims can leave me feeling battered and seeking out road routes as an alternative.
@crowdotblack @lopta I hear nothing but good things about Rene Herse tyres, but can’t bring myself to risk the cash: a risk only in that I know I’m as likely to rip or pinch a £40 sidewall as I am an £85 one, and RH are never available at sale prices unlike the big brands. Maybe I’ll treat myself some day.
Replaceable derailleur hangers and the problems they can pose
Replaceable derailleur hangers Several years ago, I wrote an article called 'Chaos, the new standard'. That article holds so much truth even today that I thought a follow up was in order. So, here it goes. A company that's been around for 51 years, as we have, will tell you the importance of standards. This is a short article detailing one such detour that we took in the 1980's.
What are standards, and why should you care? If you are a person who wants to buy a bicycle that you will ride for 20 years plus, then standards mean a lot to you. For instance, I ride a Rodriguez road bike the we built here in 1999, and I'm still riding it today. I consider myself a Forever Bike person. I will still be able to buy parts for this bike in 20 years too. Any part that needs replacing we will have in stock. That's because it's built around ISO standards (International Standards Organization). ISO standards were settled upon by the bicycle industry in the 1970's in an attempt to make sure that people could get their bicycle fixed in just about any country, and well into the future. It's worked miraculously....until recently.
First time we've gone riding together since before the pandemic! @clover has been suffering from asthma for a long time and it has hindered her #cycling, until now! #ebike (1)
I liked the other post because it was a nice bike post, but it wasn't from someone I thought I knew. And then this popped up and I went "didn't I just like that photo?". Anyway, sounds like you two had a great day!
I would love to give it a try sometime to compare to the Can-Am Semiautomatic on the Limited. I would miss a clutch but I think the idea is a huge accessibility win giving a lot of flexibility and options to new and existing riders.
Really glad it's not too different from a "normal" bike in terms of looks and parts. Feel a whole lot better buying from an established brand (even an evil one like Specialized) rather than one of those companies that was formed to capitalize on the e-bike trend.
If you ride, your brain knows how motorcycles work intuitively, but we bet you'll struggle to explain it accurately. We're trading opinions for science in a pursuit to understand how motorcycles really steer.
These dynamics also apply to #bicycle riding, obviously.
Had an awesome time at the California Superbike Class I went to last weekend! While I was one of the bigger weenies on track as far as speed is concerned, I learned a lot of good handling skills for two wheels. The BMW S1000RR was pretty cool, too, aside from the maintenance alert coming up every time the bike was booted up. #motorcycle (Albums (59 photos total), 14 photos attached)
To get there, my dad and I did a road trip with an overnight stop halfway between home and Willows, CA, where this session was taking place.
Had a great time on this month's Swift Industries Social Ride! There were almost 40 of us on this ride since we all wanted to enjoy the nice weather after so much gloomy rain. The pace was nice because we were able to chat most of the time, but we also were given free reign to climb and descend more significant hills at our own pace. (Album)
Hoping to do more social rides this Summer since I think it's what I really need out of my hobbies (both bicycle and motorcycle riding) now.
Wow! You just triggered some memories. I got one of these for my 14th birthday. I used to double someone on the back and tow a friend on a bike on each arm home from high school.
I just googled this now and found the poster on ebay from the exact dealer where I (my parents) bought mine.
Over the years our cost of doing business and the cost of living in our city have only gone up. We have aspired to provide living, professional wages to highly skilled tradespeople. I firmly believe that high wages and more opportunities and entry level positions for more diverse types of mechanics and salespeople are the keys to revising the bike retail model and replacing the exclusive and gatekeeping culture of bike shops and at the same time provide service that is more reliable and better value than riders are typically able to depend on.
After years of skirting the edge, depending on tightening margins, and digging for good luck in heaps of bad, we have hit a string of the bad kind; the reality that we cannot support ourselves and at the same time do this work in the manner that we most want has become undeniable.
It is a true thing to say that if your business can’t afford to pay fair wages, your business has no business doing business.
The shop’s closure is happening faster than we would have liked, and the livelihoods of my staff and myself are all at risk, as is our ability to meet all of the obligations we have to our customers. We will be closed for the next few days to organize ourselves, and then in the next few weeks, starting on Wednesday the 17th, we hope that you’ll consider coming in and picking up anything you might need from our shop. We have many high-quality ebikes for sale, as well as accessories like lights and helmets. We have bags of Lego for sale on a sliding scale from $5-500. We have all kinds of lovely things, and any support would be greatly appreciated.
Took the opportunity to do some routine maintenance on the bike in the warm comfort of home.
☑ New rear tire (tubeless) ☑ Cleaned the tubeless boogers out of the rear fender ☑ Installed a spring thing (converted from M4 to M5) to make the horizontal dropouts less annoying ☑ New cassette ☑ New chain
Started on a #bicycle ride today, but turned back when the frigid, gusty, and snow-laden wind slapped me around enough. #Seattle #cycling #wawx #seabikes #wasnow
When I think of #Winter here, I just think of the cold, the rain, and all of the times I was either borderline or actually hypothermic when #cycling and similar outdoor activities in it. :/
That’s true. But as someone who lived/rode/raced through friction the first time around, I don’t really have any urge to go back. I mean, it’s fine (and it lets your get away with all sorts of hijinx in terms of components) but the utility (for my) of indexing outweighs all that. #BikeTooter
In all my years of #cycling, I've never found a great solution for cold weather. If I bundle up so I'm not chilled, then I soak everything with sweat in short order. If I wear less, then I freeze. I've tried Merino wool, synthetics (Gore, Event, etc.), and so on, but nothing works well enough for me.
Sadly, that means I don't do anything exciting on the #bicycle during the coldest part of the year. Just my daily local loop. :(
I always aim to get out the door feeling cold. Sometimes I wear a windblock vest for the first bit until I warm up, and then it gets fully unzipped (and I join #teamflappyvest ). It’s usually three layers for me- a skin touching layer to wick, a middle layer for insulation (often wool), and then an outer layer for elemental protection (wind, rain, snow). The outer two layers NEED to be full zip, with pulls I can grab. I unzip on climbs, and rezip on decents. #biketooter
@nothingfuture perfect layering strategy. Mirrors my own, my weak links are hand and foot warmth in the few degrees above freezing and anything below. My most recent long ride in such conditions, I added a hand warmer to back of each hand under glove, and one each to top outer side of foot. Made it comfortable without being hot as it gently warms the blood on it’s way into extremities, and didn’t effect fit of shoes or control of digits.
same thing with winter sports. The trick for me is a good wicking base layer to get the moisture off the skin, then a breathable middle layer for insulation but that allows the moisture to evaporate and then a water resistant outer shell with enough venting to breathe but not too much to be cold.
innicycle's unique system combines a threadless stem adapter with a sealed cartridge bearing headset. The result: Finally a way to tastefully incorporate modern components with your vintage bicycle.
Advantages
Lower weight & greater rigidity
Retains stock threaded fork
Compatible with modern handlebars and stems
Easily adjusted bearing preload using only a 6mm hex key
Ultra low stack height (low stem position adjust-ability)
Fitment
The innicycle Threadless Conversion Headset™ is compatible with most road and some MTB bikes that originally came equipped with 1" threaded headsets and quill stems. Forks must be 1"-24 TPI threaded with a 7/8" (22.2mm) inside diameter. Both ISO and JIS* fork crowns are supported.
I dunno. I don’t see this solving a big problem for me, though I own a number of bikes that (in theory) could utilize this. I guess I just don’t find 1” threaded headsets that problematic? A good quality one, properly installed and adjusted should be totally fine. And there are a number of meaningful advantages to quill stems (height adjustability, comfort, esthetics). And there are lovely quill stems for 31.8mm bars, so you can run modern stuff. #BikeTooter
@enobacon That seems like before the current borderline obsession with revamping vintage bikes. When I built my 90s-mtb-turned-gravel bike, the stem that VeloOrange makes was a total lifesaver. #BikeTooter
@enobacon @nothingfuture I remember a couple of them coming out around the ‘00 fixie conversion boom, but now they are made by a number of companies in various dimensions. I had one that went from quill stem to a removable faceplate for 31.8mm bars around that time. That way I could switch flats to drops without removing all the bar tape.
If I were to get a titanium #bicycle, I'd definitely spec a compliant steel fork. I feel like steel folks get a bad rap because consumer grade production ones are overbuilt, especially ones with disc brakes! #cycling
"I'm thinking about getting longer cranks", said no one in 2023. It's definitely true that shorter cranks are a trend right now, but why? Is it all nonsense, or is there something to it? Today we'll take a deep dive into crank length and how it affects your performance. You'll get a highly biased take on the subject from someone with very short legs.
I'm mostly a road (paved, gravel, etc.) rider and have been enjoying 170mm cranks for years despite having very long legs in addition to being tall. (Pretty much all companies spec 175+ mm cranks for my size.) Spin spin spin!
I still like rim brakes, but I don't have any major opposition to disc brakes as long as they're using with thru-axles. (I don't like the pads rubbing after hard braking, which is usually caused by the hubs shifting.)
Although you can find some bikes with disc brakes & QRs, at this point, they’re uncommon enough that you’re really foreclosing your options if you buy into that setup. There was an uncomfortable period around 2017 when standards were unsettled, and there are some bikes of that vintage that will just be hard to service in the future.
Finally figured out the process for getting my correct saddle position on a bike!
Start with the saddle level, a bit low, and slammed all the way back on the rails.
Raise the saddle in 3-5mm increments until you no longer lift off the saddle or have pain on or around your kneecaps. You may need to move the saddle forward a 3-5mm every now and then so you aren't completely sitting on its nose.
Once #2 has been taken care of, pedal with the technique of spinning your knees in small, tight, and fast circles. That pedaling technique will cause you to scoot forward to where your saddle should be.
Move the saddle forward in 3-5mm increments until it feels comfortable with that pedaling technique. Be sure to keep the saddle as level as possible while doing this.
Saw the aftermath of some sort of traffic incident involving an #Amazon / #Rivian van and a cyclist while I was wrapping up my daily ride. I'm thinking there was another vehicle also involved because I saw a different car's bumper wedged into the Amazon van's rear bumper.
The cyclist was limping, but he said he was okay when I asked. The Amazon driver was calling someone to report the incident.
Is it reasonable to use an inner tube (installed and inflated inside the tire on the rim) to smooth out tubeless rim tape in the case of leaks? #cycling #bicycle #biketooter #mastobikes
So it didn't quite pan out, but it did reveal "install a tube" as a great way to seat the bead of the tire during tubeless setup! #cycling #bicycle #biketooter #mastobikes
It's pretty cool how there's enough of a market for custom #bicycle frames to keep hundreds of passionate frame builders around. :) #cycling #mastobikes #biketooter
It's sad how so many people never invest into making their bike comfortable beyond maybe a cushy saddle* and end up thinking "bike riding is supposed to be uncomfortable." #cycling #bicycle #biketooter #mastobikes
*Most cushy saddles that people go for (usually based on the saddles being cheap) aren't shaped or padded the right way and end up causing extreme discomfort in a fairly short while. :/
This is true. But it’s also really difficult, right? Like, there isn’t really a good way to look at a saddle/butt combo and know they’ll get along. And good saddles tend to be expensive, and it’s often impossible to try them before you buy them. I’ve seen a couple of shops have “saddle libraries” that you can borrow from, which is good- but the time and effort it takes is rough. #BikeTooter
Yeah. It really is difficult to get it right. It's taken me years of trial, error, and shoving aside some of my preconcieved notions to listen to more experienced voices to get to this point. :/
I got a little lucky. I found a saddle that worked for me in 1994 or so, and I’ve been using that model for the last 29 years. They don’t really make them any more, so I keep an eye out for them used, buy them, and refurb them to make sure I don’t run out. #BikeTooter
They do work for some people, but I don't think they do great for me, either. The bike fitter I saw a few years back said he didn't like them (including the Cambium ones) because of the shape they form when they sag. It makes bike fitting really hard, and it's hard enough as it is!
@dan613 Did you ever get a chance to check out a recumbent? They have- without caveat- some of the most comfortable seats, ever. Like sitting on a comfy lawn chair while you pedal. They also, I’m told, make e-bike versions these days.
What are some good custom #bicycle frame builders in #Seattle? Looking for lugs and minimal aversion to moving parts off an existing bike. #cycling #mastobikes #biketooter
#cycling #bicycle #mastobikes #biketooter
Neil E. Hodges
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