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Monthly Archives: December 2011

Building a Dynamo Wheel

28 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

dynamo lighting, Edelux, New SON 28 Hub, proper tension, rivendell, sheldon brown wheelbuilding, son 28, wire routing


I decided to document a recent wheel build to try to capture my thoughts while going through the process.  Ever since I bought my Rivendell in 2009, I planned to add a dynamo lighting system to it.  I experimented with one last year on a “winter” bike, and decided it was awesome for a number of reasons.  It takes all the thought and worry out of riding at night.  You will have a light, and it will not gradually fade out like battery systems.  With the modern German lights made by Busch & Muller or Schmidt Maschinenbau, the beam pattern is wide, bright, and generally much more usable than what I was used to with the round, unfocused beams on the battery lights I have used.

New Hub

I have built a couple mountain bike 26″ wheels in the past, so I felt like I needed the practice.  The front wheel is just a 2-3 hour job for me at this point, and the hardest part is getting the wheel laced up correctly.  In the end, this went pretty well – I just sat down in my office with the parts and a few books (Jobst, and Zinn), as well as the Sheldon Brown wheelbuilding web site.  I had used beeswax on the spokes in the past, but this time I went with linseed oil as was recommended by my local bike shop.  I lined up the wheel, and got all the spokes laced up with 5 or 6 turns of the nipples.

New SON 28 Freshly Laced

At this point, it was on to the Park truing stand for tensioning and truing:

In Stand and Ready

I used a Park Tensiometer to bring the spokes to a proper tension, and found that plucking them for tone was a great way for me to get them consistent.  The rim I used, a Velocity Synergy, is the same as the back wheel from my prior set.  I found it to be simple to lace.  It was also quite true once the spokes were tensioned up.  I didn’t have to do too much fiddling with this rim to get it right.

All Unwrapped and Freshly Mounted

Next up: mounting the Edelux light on the front of my Platrack.  I decided to mount it front and center keeping the light low to give good relief to the road irregularities.  I’ve read that most dynamo lights are designed to be at fork crown height for optimal beam.

Edelux

Here are a few pictures of the mount and wiring:

Showing the Light Mount

From the Bottom Showing Rear Wiring

Front Cable Run Along Rack

Joining Fork

Looped Once at Bottom and Connected to Hub

Rear Light Wiring at Front

Joining Frame Along Brake Cable

Routing on to Seat Stay

Down Inside of Stay

Routed Under Fender

... and Out to the Rear Light

The trickiest part was finding a way to route the “too short” rear wiring in a way that would work.  I used Shoe Goo to glue the wiring under the lip of the fender.  It worked out just fine, but I would have rather had an extra foot of wire so I could route it along the downtube and chainstay.  Ultimately, this setup works really well, albeit with a bit less tire clearance in the back 🙂  The lights are on whenever I need them, and I don’t have to worry about batteries.  The beam on the Edelux is wonderful, and easily as bright as any of the other lights I’ve used (Planet Bike 2 watt, EOS, B & M IQ Cyo).  Happy rides!

From the Front

And Behind

Wheel Carrier

08 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

bicycle wheel, brooks, honjo, rim, rivendell, Synergy, transport, velocity, wheel carrier, zip tie


riv-wheel-carrier-1riv-wheel-carrier-2riv-wheel-carrier-3

Wheel Carrier, a set on Flickr.

I had to carry a rim home tonight, and could not devise a good way to put it on the front rack. This seemed to work out pretty well, and I got home with nary a scratch.

I used zip ties to try to keep everything snug and rattle-free (at least on the fender).  I had done this method of wheel transport before, and every bump bounced the bottom of the wheel off the fender.  Tieing it down really helped this time.

I had to watch how close I got to traffic, parked cars, and other bikers, but it wasn’t a problem.  I did have a bit of scratching on the top where the rim was held by the straps and buckles.  This was likely due to the rim coming in contact with the metal seat loops that the bag straps use.  Nothing a light sanding won’t remove, but a slight annoyance in the occasional rattle department.

Next – on to the build…

More Pics of the Nitto Platrack

06 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

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Tags

a. homer hilsen, cargo, nitto, platrack, rack, rivendell, Wald


Hilsen-Platrack-2-1Hilsen-Platrack-2-2Hilsen-Platrack-2-3Hilsen-Platrack-2-4Hilsen-Platrack-2-5Hilsen-Platrack-2-6
Hilsen-Platrack-2-7Hilsen-Platrack-2-8Hilsen-Platrack-2-9Hilsen-Platrack-2-10

Platrack, a set on Flickr.

I removed the Wald basket when I did the Populaire, and have left it off for the past few weeks to get a feel for usability “naked”. While I have to lash the cargo down a bit more, the small cargo net I use works well. I picked up a box of donuts on the way in to work today, and carried a laptop home on the front rack with no problems, and minimal movement. This set shows the rack a bit more in its raw form.

November Populaire

01 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

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Tags

100k, November Populaire, randonneur, SIR, Washington backroads


November Populaire 100k (1 of 10)November Populaire 100k (2 of 10)November Populaire 100k (3 of 10)November Populaire 100k (4 of 10)November Populaire 100k (5 of 10)November Populaire 100k (6 of 10)
November Populaire 100k (7 of 10)November Populaire 100k (8 of 10)November Populaire 100k (9 of 10)November Populaire 100k (10 of 10)

November Populaire, a set on Flickr.

I did my first Randonneur event – a cold November Populaire 100k. With temps in the upper 20s and lower 30s, it was a bit numbing, but the scenery was gorgeous. These photos don’t begin to capture it.

It really whet my appetite for more of this type of riding. In talking with other riders, one thing that intrigued me was that they said it was a great way to see the beauty of WA state, and other areas of the country if I was so inclined. Having loved to do road trips in the past, I feel like this would be an even better (slower) way to see the surroundings.

After 62 miles in roughly 4 hours, I felt numb, but not exhausted.  I felt absolutely fine by the next day, and was commuting as usual the following week.  I hope to add a 200k in December or January.  I have a feeling it will take a bit more from the tank, but it sure sounds like a nice way to enjoy a day!

Nitto PlatRack Attack

01 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

a. homer hilsen, basket, cargo net, commute, Mark's Rack, nitto, platrack, populaire, rando, rivendell, road bike


Having convinced myself that low trail is not the holy grail of front loading bicycles (i.e. I don’t have a problem with my higher trail bike), I added a Nitto Platrack (Rivbike.com) to my Hilsen.  I’ve used it now for a few weeks of bike commuting, as well as a 100k Populaire ride with the local randonneur club.

Rivendell Front Loader

Observations so far:

  1. It has the same ride feel as just having the smaller Mark’s Rack on the bike.
  2. The long stays that support near the hub don’t make a noticeable difference in the handling.
  3. There is no additional noise.
  4. I don’t have a problem with the looks – I thought the long stays would bother me, but they are very insignificant.
  5. I like having a wider base of support.
  6. I’ve found the basket to be mostly unnecessary.  Using the Acorn Boxy Rando bag worked great on the Populaire.
  7. The elastic net holds my ShopSack and other additions just great.

With Wald Basket and Cargo Net

The advantages are mainly around having a larger platform.  This makes it a lot easier to transport bulky items without needing a basket, but if you like the built in container a basket provides, it will give it that much more support when loaded.  I.E. no wobble.  It just feels solid.

Other Side

From the Cockpit

Verdict:  Solid! Recommended!  I will be running this combo for the foreseeable future.  I don’t feel it gets in the way, and adds enough versatility to make it worth keeping for commute duty, without being “in the way” for a longer distance ride.  I’m not racing, so I’m not counting grams.  That said, I don’t feel this makes me any slower on a rando.  Tires are something I feel much more when I change things out.

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