Bike to Work – Changes Afoot

23 Monday May 2011

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Goodbye Basket, My Old Friend...

I generally feel like it’s a bad idea to make changes when you’re trying to go above and beyond, but I’ve always been a tweaker. I felt it was time to try drops again, with the amazing May Seattle both-way wind. When I got them on, the basket became unwieldy. There is just not much leverage with drops, and the bag I use (Rivendell Shop Sack) is bumping the hoods, so I decided to go rando mode, again…

Since I was changing things, I also put some nice light tires on to see if I could feel a difference. I went with Grand Bois 700c x 30mm Cypres. They are definitely light, and measure in at about 31mm on my Synergy rims. I have them at 65psi rear, and 50 front. They definitely feel nice so far. The gravel road handling is just fine with these tires. They climb right up the short steep dirt part of my commute, and I didn’t have any slippage. So far, I love em. They look great, too. Not as unique as the Jack Browns, but great just the same.

I’m still unsure about the drops. Less control, but more aero position is definitely a tradeoff. My neck is feeling a bit tired at the end of the day, and I haven’t had that happen since the last time I was on drops. I’m hoping I get used to it. I did have a zen moment a few times on the ride home tonight while gripping right where the flats curve forward into the hoods. It felt right.

Update to Bars and Cranks

18 Wednesday May 2011

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New compact double crank and rando bars

OK – 2 days under the belt and about 40 miles.  I like the cranks.  It seems the 5mm difference is noticeable, but not a change for the worse.  I seem to be fine in the knees, and it is not affecting my average speeds or feeling of power output.

On the bars, I’ve been tweaking the layout – I put the drops at about 17 degrees, and moved the shifters back a bit to fit my hands.  It’s a bit weird to be so laid out, but not bad so far.  My back and neck seem to be fine.  I feel like it is definitely helping me fight the wind to be more aero.  The problem with biking in May is I’m going into the wind both ways – it blows from the south in the morning, an the north in the evening.  I love getting low in the drops when that happens.  I do like the flare of the drops in the rando bars.  I also don’t mind the narrow width so far compared to the 46cm Noodles I had been using.

The cassette is going to have to go.  The 8-speed SRAM 12-30 is not ideal for the chainline – the spacer by the hub pushes the 7-speed cassette out, and this seems to help.  I also like the 34 tooth big cog on the 7.  I’m cleaning it up, and that bad boy is going back in service.  The LX derailleur is no better or worse than the DuraAce it replaced.  The front derailleur is still creeping in on the big ring, and I constantly have to trim it.  I need a new derailleur – if I can find a nice Campy compact double, I need to snap it up.  Riv used to sell them 😦

Oh yeah – no basket.  I’m dumping the basket on the Riv.  Going to stick with the Acorn bags…

MTB Update

18 Wednesday May 2011

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My snow bike has been morphed back into a regular mountain bike.

I added a Brooks seat, properly color coordinated, and put Schwalbe Big Apples on it for commuting.  It was used for my 9-mile commute and performed admirably,  albeit sort of like a big sail with the upright position.  With the shock and the Big Apples, it’s severely cushy, though.  A real Cadillac.

I may keep this bike around for awhile, at least until I can add a newer steel frame to the stable. There are only a few components I will keep on this bike over time.  The whole drive train is quite worn, and needs replacing.  It’s amazing how much better the simple Sugino cranks are in comparison to the “modern” Shimano/SRAM stuff.  The rings look like they were stamped from sheet metal and bent to shape.  Garbage.

I also need some simple pedals that are uniform on both sides.  I really like the MKS Sneaker pedals, and may try the Grip Kings for this kind of bike.  I will keep the wheels and Big Apple tires – great ride on/off road if it’s not muddy.  I may experiment with other shifting options – the XT Thumbshifters are nice, but I’ve moved on at this point, and can really see the advantage of a modern mountain brifter for off-road riding.  I’m fine with friction for the road, but there are more extreme transitions in the dirt, and quickness can save your ass.

Cranks and Crankstas

18 Wednesday May 2011

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I am doing some changes on the Hilsen at a most inopportune time of the year – Bike to Work Month.

I had picked up a compact double Sugino crank in 170mm instead of my usual 175mm.  As long as I can remember, I’ve always ridden 175s, and lately my psyche was telling me that my legs were extending up too far and it would help my knees to go with a shorter crank.

It seems like internet-lore is very inconsistent on the “proper” length of cranks, although there is a lot of pseudo science about it.  I decided to do my normal “test it myself” routine.  I left the Tange bottom bracket that came on the bike, and simply swapped the crank out.  The old crank was a triple 24-36-46, and the new one is 34-48.  I also changed out the chain and cassette as it was quite gunked up.  I got a Wipperman 808 that I love – best connector link I’ve used – super simple.  I slapped on my older SRAM 8-speed 12-30.

The DuraAce 7800GS I have used since the bike was new has never had a warm spot in my heart, and I had been reading good things about the LX derailers.  I picked up one cheap on e-bay, and set it up, as well.

Since I was in a changing mood, I also swapped my Porteur bars and bar-end shifters for Nitto Randonneur bars and down-tube shifters.  I always liked having the clean simplicity of this shifting setup, and it’s been windy lately, so I wanted to get more aero.

Phew – lots of change in the middle of a high-mileage month.  I’ll give a more detailed report on how this is working out later this week.

Resurrected MTBs

25 Friday Mar 2011

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I saw an article in one of Grant Peterson’s Rivendell Readers last year talking about the great old steel lugged mountain bikes of the 80s. I have a ’91 Stumpjumper Pro, and a ’96 Kona AA (aluminum), and always liked the Stumpy better – it’s on my restoration project list. It just felt more right for me than the Kona, and I think it was mainly due to a combination of its steel construction, good components (SunTour XC Pro), and it being my first MTB. The Kona always felt stiff, dead, and a bit unwieldy.

I have a friend who wanted to get back into biking.  He was planning on picking up a new bike and indicated he had an older mountain bike from his school days.  I took a look at it, and fell in love with the bike – it was an ’80s Jamis lugged bike, and I was inspired to try to resurrect it.  After he picked up some new parts for the bike, I built it up for him in a few days.  It turned out to be a good commuter for him.  Originally his bars were too low for his back, but we got him a “dirt drop” stem and boosted them up quite a bit.  He’s nice and comfy with the high bars, and is now even eyeing changing them to the Albatross bars to get even more upright.

Rebuilt for commuting

After enjoying this build, I decided to find a nice lugged MTB that I could resurrect for myself – I figured it would be a great winter commuter.  I ended up looking at a number of Bridgestones, an ’84 Stumpy, and an ’88 Miyata.  The last one really worked for me based on price, condition, and parts.  It was all XT, and the frame pump mount and clean, beautiful brake-less seat stays (u-brakes) made it a no-brainer.  It was very similar to my friend’s Jamis, but had a bit of extra clearance so I could easily fit Schwalbe Big Apples.  Wow – comfy!

80s lugs in the snow