Broken Spoke @ Bike Shop

Bicycles Plus

I dropped off my rear wheel, Shimano WH-R540, at Bicyles Plus+ after work yesterday. They didn't have the spoke in stock so they are going to order it. It should definitely be ready by the PMC Weekend. It would be a bonus if it was ready by this weekend.

At least I got in almost 300 miles of training over my 2 weeks of vacation. Also thankful that the spoke chose to break at the end of my vacation and not at the beginning (or during the PMC for that matter...)

I plan to write a big blog post about my trip to Alabama sometime soon.

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Ed's Bike Shop

The Day have Finally Arrived!

This past Saturday I rode up to Ed's house and he popped on my new Shimano Ultegra 9 SP 12-25 rear cassette. I'm glad I didn't decide to try an do this myself because:

1. I had none ot the right tools
2. I am anxious about making any adjustments to the rear derailleur.

Chain Tool, originally uploaded by Martinator.

Ed told me what this tool was called, but I forget its name. Eventually we used it correctly to help get the old cassette off.

Shiny new 12-25 Cassette, originally uploaded by Martinator.

One less excuse on the climbs.

The old cassette came off and the new one went on. Ed put the bike back on the stand and made the necessary adjustments to the rear derailleur. The rear derailleur is a bit stretched out when the chain is in the biggest gears (up front and in back) but it will suffice for now.

I will though, eventually need to get a new chain. I should probably get one before the big PMC ride.

BTW: Thanks Ed! :-)

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Pan Mass Challenge

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Kick-stand for Catherine

Lousy Day for a Ride

It was cold, very windy, and threatening rain on Saturday afternoon. I took a pass on riding. Instead, I did some work on Catherine's bike.

Bike Shop Customer, originally uploaded by Martinator.

Catherine successfully graduated from using her training wheels late last summer (Catherine Loses the Training Wheels). While we were at the bicycle shop in town (Bicycles Plus), she reminded me that she needed a kickstand for her bicycle. Here is Catherine and her bike in the workshop area of our basement.

Measuring the Proper Kick-stand Length, originally uploaded by Martinator.

The instructions on the packaging that the kick-stand came in were rather vague. So I came up with my own method. First I mounted Catherine's bike on my Topeak PrepStand Pro Bicycle Repair Stand and made sure the wheels were level. I used a flat piece of wood and a level.

Then I mounted the kick-stand (which was about a foot long in its unaltered state) and looked to see where it met with the board/level. I made a mark about a half inch above where it met the board. That is where I will be cutting (It's aluminum, so it should be easy to cut I'm told.)

A Tool with a Tool, originally uploaded by Martinator.

This is me, ready to cut away with my Black & Decker Jigsaw. Scott at the bike shop (yes, I'm on a first name basis there) told me that a hack saw could cut through the kick-stand. I don't have a hack-saw, but I do have this. I even had a metal cutting blade. Always wear goggles for safety.

Kick-stand Ready for Cutting, originally uploaded by Martinator.

That the kick-stand in my ski tuning vise attached to my cluttered workbench. I used my left hand to further stabilize it by holding on to it on the left side of the vise. I did the cutting on the right side of the vise. The Jig Saw made quick work of it.

Right Length?, originally uploaded by Martinator.

After cutting it I loosely attached it to the bike (hand tight only) to see how the length was. Although the angle of the cut was wrong, the length was correct. It was good enough.

Back on the Stand, originally uploaded by Martinator.

I put the bike back on the bike stand so I could securely attach the kick-stand to the bike.

The Result, originally uploaded by Martinator.

Catherine's bike now has a kick-stand!

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My Rear Derailleur...

Fixed, I think... Maybe?

Ok, so this past weekend I threw my bike up on my Topeak PrepStand Pro Bicycle Repair Stand and armed with my trusty Topeak Hexus 16-Function Bicycle Tool, and an article about repairing my rear Derailleur form the latest issue of Bicycling Magazine, I went to work.

(Wow, that's a lot of product placement in one sentence ;-)

On Wednesday evenings I run into fellow cyclist/neighbor/friend Ed at our daughters Gymnastics class. I told him of my rear derailleur issues and he mentioned that maybe my rear derailleur hanger might be bent. I read the Bicycling Magazine article and I was reluctant to disconnect anything. It didn't look bent, but I know that even the slightest misalignment cold cause my gears to skip. So I kind of just used my hand to move the whole rear derailleur into what I thought might be the correct position. I really don't think I exerted a lot of force on it. I really don't even think I did anything. I cycled it through the gears and no more skipping. Hmmmm..., I guess I did the absolute minimum and fixed it.

On the Trainer

This morning I got on the bike trainer and noticed that I didn't notice anything wrong with the way my gears were shifting back there.

I guess the true test will be when I get back on the road sometime in the spring.

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Bike Shop Day

Sunburned

Saturday I took the family on a Whale Watching Cruise out of Boston. It was fun. I forgot to apply sunscreen and when I got back, my face was, and still is, sunburned. So as a result, I didn't feel very much like going for a ride on Sunday.

Bike Shop: Schwinn

So instead of going for a ride, I decided to tinker with my bikes. I broke out the bike stand in my (shady) driveway and threw on my 1982 Schwinn Varsity. Back in the spring I had thrown on some new tires. I took it out for the test ride and the chain snapped. So on Sunday, I decided to see if I could fix the chain instead of getting a new one. I had a chain tool as part of my Topeak Bike Tool and I figured I should learn how to use it. Better to learn that in my driveway than out on the road.

Cleaning the Chain

Nice and clean.

Almost back on.

I had the chain in a zip lock bag. So, before doing anything, I poured some chain cleaner in it an shook it. The chain got real clean.

Fixing the Chain

Getting the bad link off was real easy with the tool. Reconnecting the chain once on the bike, not so easy. The difficult part was trying to line up the "peg" with where I wanted the peg to go. I was determined to do this with only the tool I has in hand. What I did was use some of the pieces of the links I had taken off to help with lining up the "peg". Once I figured out how to do that, the rest was easy. Now I have a Schwinn that I can pedal but can't stop reliably (the brakes still suck).

Bike Shop: Specialized Seat Position Experimentation

Before

After

On the last Phat Tuesday ride, someone had commented that my seat may be too high as my hips were rocking. Someone at work had also mentioned that my seat was angled too far forward and should either be neutral (parallel to ground) or angled back. so the first thing I did was to level out the seat. Easy enough. Then I measured the height and lowered the seat to minimum recommended height for my inseam (see the frame size calculator in left column). I threw on my bike shoes and took a spin in the neighborhood behind me.

Wow! What a difference! Sitting felt a little awkward at first but it was definitely much more comfortable. I felt like I could pedal with much less effort. I may not need to swap out my 11-23 rear cassette for a 12-25/27 cassette for those tough climbs after all. We'll see on the next ride...

Work to Car Dealership

Not My First Choice

Yesterday's afternoon ride from my office to the car dealership reaffirmed my opinion that commuting by mountain bike over a significant distance is not the ideal way to go. Maybe that had something to do with the bike weighing ~33 lbs. before I put the Topeak MTX BeamRack Bike Mounted Rack with well packed MTX Trunk Bag DX on it. However, I must say again that the rack/bag combo is a much better option than a backpack, and it is very useful for those Bike Path days with the family. I wish there was a similiar option for my road bike, but between the carbon fiber seat post and the lack of braze-ons (it's a "racer", not a touring bike...) I don't really have many options outside of a backpack.

Picking up the Car

It was kind of cool that both of my "vehicles" were ready on the same day. I biked to the Dealership to pick up the car. Mounted the strap-on rack to the back and put the mountain bike on it. Then drove to Bicycles Plus to pick up my other bike. I just thought that was cool, even though the drive through surbian rush hour traffic sucked a lot more the riding the mountain bike 12+ miles on the road.

Support Your Local Bike Shop!

I like my bike store. I was having a lot done to the bike:

• Fix broken spoke (original reason for taking it in)
• Replace chain (original chain with ~5,000 miles on it)
• Replace rear cassette
• Replace Front Chain Rings
• Brand New Tape for Handle Bars (it needed it)

On top of that, the bike shop mechanic gave my bike a full tune up before he realized it wasn't on the work order. Nice. He even waxed the frame with Meguiar's Car Wax. (Personally, I use Zymöl. ) Nice.

Support your local bike shop :-)

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Bike in Shop: It's Ready!

Yeay!

Bicycles Plus just left a message on my cell phone. My bike is ready!

So now I can take my mountain bike to the dealership, pick up my car, then drive to the bike shop and pick up my road bike.

Bike in Shop: Day 5 - Bike to Work

Bike in Shop: Day 5 - Bike to Work, originally uploaded by Martinator.

The car had to go to the dealership today and I had planned on biking in to work from there. I didn't want to reschedule, so I took the mountain bike. It was only 12 miles afterall...

Using a Mountain Bike on the Road: the Good and the Bad...

The mountain bike I used is one that my step-father passed on to me after he got his full suspension Cannondale. It is a 1992(?) Specialized StumpJumper.

The Bad

• The bike is heavy and slow.
• The gearing maxes out on some decents.
• Climbing sucks...

The Good

• I don't worry so much about every little pothole, crack, or patch of sand/gravel while riding.
• The bag on the rack is a much nicer option than a backpack.

Device Failure

GPS Signal

On Route 27 in Wayland, I lost the GPS signal for a good 2 miles or so. Oh well, at least I'll get an accurate distance measurement from the [~16(?) year] old Cateye ATC bike computer I'm using as a back up.

Cateye ATC

Ugh. for some reason, a few miles after I regained the GPS signal, the bike computer simply reset and stopped recording speed and distance. Oh well...

Hmmmm... What did I forget?

Underwear. As I arrived at the dealership, an thought crossed my mind "I forgot to pack underwear." Luckily, I was able to pick up a pair at the Maynard Outdoor Store once I got to work.

Note: I lost the GPS Signal on on Rt. 27 in Wayland.

Bike in Shop: Day 4

Bike in Shop: Day 4
Originally uploaded by Martinator

Today would have been a beautiful day to have ridden in to work. This post next to my desk is where my bike would be parked.

Bike in Shop: Day 3

1:57 PM - No Call Yet...

The bike shop hasn't called yet. I don't think I'll be making the Phat Tuesday ride tonight.

I do have all my gear in case they do call :-)

Bike in Shop: Day 2

Monday...

The bike shop I go to, Bicycles Plus in Franklin, MA, is closed on Mondays. Tomorrow is the weekly Tuesday evening group training ride. Maybe if I am lucky, very lucky, My bike will be ready...

Bike in Shop: Day 1

Mowing the Lawn...

So the bike is at the bike shop. After I dropped my daughter off at Gymnastics, I set about mowing the lawn. As I was mowing, my neighbor, and fellow Phat Tuesday Rider, Ed biked up. He was coming back from a ride and I told him my about my bike. He mentioned that he was in the bike shop yesterday and saw a bike on the stand that looked like mine. Cool. Maybe it will be ready a lot sooner that I think.

Water bottle mounted on the Lawn Mower. Just not quite the same...

More Bikers...

I saw 2 more cyclists ride by as I continued to mow the front lawn. I hope I get my bike back sooner rather than later...