Citizen Rider

October 2007 - Posts

• Simple Wheels

  The first thing you need to know about wheel building is that you don't need to know everything about wheel building. If you want to lace up a crow's foot pattern or tie and solder, if you want to argue the merits of paired spokes, bladed spokes and ridiculously small numbers of spokes, be my guest. But to build yourself a reliable wheel just remember three cross, inside spokes pulling and 14 gauge. Build it round. Tension it adequately. Don't use thread locker on the spokes. Make sure you use the right length spokes so that when you thread the nipples down to the bottom of the threads you have the same amount of tension on each spoke. If you've mixed lengths, the wheel will wobble where the spokes are too long or short. Most spoke calculators will give you the right offset lengths for drive and non-drive spokes in the rear. If you think of it, you might want to run outside spokes pulling on the rotor side of a disk-brake wheel. Don't be afraid of 36, 40 or 48 spokes for heavy-use wheels. Thirty-two is good for all-around sporty wheels. In wheels, there's nothing wrong with normal. Don't let a fashion trend for weird, disposable wheels cut you off from a very helpful and accessible skill for the self-sufficient rider. Posted Oct 31 2007, 03:50 PM by Citizen Rider Filed under: Wheel building, Easy Customizing

• The Garb

  Bike clothing sets us apart from normal people. It may be something as simple as a helmet on top of an otherwise inconspicuous ensemble or a full-on pro cycling outfit. As both engine and driver, a bicyclist has to accommodate a variety of needs. Our clothing has to protect against the weather, provide visibility and allow the engine to work efficiently. When I commuted in a town over distances of less than five miles, I wore my work clothes, usually jeans or painter pants, a tee shirt or a flannel shirt, and appropriate jackets or vests in season. I couldn't get myself to forgo cleated shoes, though. I kept a pair of sneakers at the workplace, wherever that might be, so I didn't have to lug a bulky pair of shoes for no good reason. When I moved out of town and rode six or eight miles each way, over rolling terrain and more open roads, I started wearing shorts or tights as the weather dictated. Having done that it was an easy step to jerseys and cycling jackets. It was more of a ride than bopping through the city had seemed to be. Now my commute is a genuine ride through the countryside. Bike clothing may not be a necessity, but I certainly prefer the freedom of movement, comfort and protection. But I look like a freak when I get off the bike. People are getting used to seeing cyclists, so it's not a big deal. But the pants in particular can look a little more revealing than I prefer. Tights may be worse than shorts. To the average onlooker, I have chosen to wear the shrink wrap when I could have worn jeans. Freak! No trousers in the wardrobe of a normal person provide the free leg movement but trim fit at the ankle desired by cyclists. Okay, women and sufficiently qualified men might wear capris, but for guys they still qualify as a social statement at this time. For the grocery run today I just wore jeans. It was fun. With the loaded BOB, I wasn't sprinting or cornering hard. I wore a please-don't-kill-me-yellow vest and put the yellow dry bag in the trailer to enhance visibility. That way, when I went into the store nothing betrayed my oddity. Self-conscious people may be encouraged to see that one does not need to dress up too flamboyantly to take advantage of practical cycling. Posted Oct 30 2007, 06:10 PM by Citizen Rider Filed under: bike clothing, transportational cycling

• New Link in the Sidebar

  As someone who has commuted by bike for more than 20 (closing in on 30) years, I have picked up knowledge and information from the street. But Commute by Bike is a fantastically informative website for commuting riders who don't want to wait for trial and error. One thing struck me right away. When I left racing behind I took that intensity into transportation. I felt my money and energy were better spent in something that helped me physically and economically, as well as helping the environment and urban congestion, for all that congested urbanites did not seem to appreciate it. That reasoning and that spirit are strong at Commute by Bike. One commenter said that he got as excited over lighting systems and other practical componentry as he had over go-fast racing equipment. It's true. Go check out Commute by Bike. Just don't forget to swing by here, too. Posted Oct 28 2007, 10:00 AM by Citizen Rider Filed under: transportational cycling, bike commuting

• Innovation? Oh, please.

  Here's what I want: Make a good product. Make a name for it. Make a lot of it. Keep making it. Any questions? Posted Oct 27 2007, 03:37 PM by Citizen Rider Filed under: Obsolescence vs. the cyclist

• Inside the Mechanics' Studio

  If James Lipton was going to ask me what my favorite curse word is, he would have to do it early in the program. The next 15 or 20 minutes would be one long bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. I'm doing a conversion to linear pull brakes on a customer's nice 1988 Rockhopper. He's finally getting rid of those Exage cantilevers that used those fat, chunky brake pads that bolted in from the back. The way the pads flared, they would either cut into the tire or develop a lip below the rim before half the pad's volume had been worn away. If the frame builder had been a little careless aligning the brake bosses, the curved washers on the pad did not provide anywhere near enough range of adjustment to correct the discrepancy. No one mourned the passing of these brakes. Their only virtue, which turns out to be a curse, is that they take forever to wear out to the point where a frugal rider can justify replacing them. The ones on this bike had finally developed enough of a problem for me to suggest it was a good opportunity to hop into a more modern system. But I've been Shimanoed. I failed to notice (or remember) that this Rockhopper came with integrated shifter mounts. The shifters are above the bar, where they sensibly should have remained in a perfect world, but they don't have their own separate bar clamps. Instead, the brake lever body has a tab sticking off it and the shifter mount bolts to that. In an earlier repair we had sawed the tab off for the rear shifter and installed one on a separate clamp. Seeing that helped me overlook the way the front shifter was still attached until I was disassembling the brake system. XXX XXXX IT! XXXX XXXX XXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX!!! And so on. I'm ripping the shop apart, looking for what I know I will not find: a decent quality, top-mount thumb shifter for the front derailleur. I may have something at home in my personal stash, which I am loath to relinquish. To help a bro' out, I might do it. It could be something from the Golden Age of Suntour, or a nice Deore DX. But meanwhile I've got this guy's bike ripped apart and only Shitno to blame for this predicament. 1988, people. I've been grappling with these arbitrary bastards and their weird aesthetics for a LONG time. ************************************************ UPDATE: All Hail Patent Infringement! I dug up a cheesy friction shifter that had a surprisingly decent clamp. The four locating holes for the shifter unit matched the four pegs on the bottom of the original Mountain LX shifter itself. I am able to transfer it to this separate clamp. We're movin' ahead! Posted Oct 27 2007, 01:36 PM by Citizen Rider Filed under: working in a bike shop, Obsolescence vs. the cyclist, repair

• Shooting the Moon

  Riding out the local rail trail after work last night, I caught this shot of the rising moon, one night short of full. The Olympus Stylus 720SW doesn't officially have as bright a lens as the C 3040, but it always brightens my low light shots to an almost embarrassing degree. I shut it down two full stops with the exposure control to make try to make the moon appear at least somewhat like a disk. It sort of worked. After leaving the lake, the trail bends eastward through the woods. The moon was so bright it killed my night vision. It hadn't come up far enough to help illuminate my way. I actually had to shade my eyes with my hand. I wished I had a helmet visor. With leaves down all over it, the path disappears even without another challenge to vision. The route goes between the rails and then beside them, crossing numerous times. An entertaining grope on any evening, it was even more so last night. Posted Oct 26 2007, 09:08 PM by Citizen Rider Filed under: bike commuting

• Emergent Cable Routing

  Bar-top intermediate brake levers present a challenge when wrapping the bars. Depending on your level of fussiness, you may want to get a little fancy wrapping the bars up to the lever clamp. I like to do it this way. It keeps the bar wrap snug around the bar, rather than stretching it around the housing where it enters the back of the lever. It takes a little stuffing, but it looks neater. Posted Oct 26 2007, 07:50 PM by Citizen Rider Filed under: working in a bike shop, repair, bike maintenance