Bike Tinker

Blog

  • Four clicks on a 7 speed shifter

    Four clicks on a 7 speed shifter

    I bought a used 7 speed set of bar-end shifters in preparation for gearing up the Gravel Roadster. I also got a nice set of clamp-on downtube shifters for the Ross at the same time, but realized that I don’t have a cassette-able wheel that will work with the 120mm spacing it has now, after 13 years as a fixed gear. The Kogswell singlespeed hub I’ve got on there is only suitable for fixed use (and offroad fixed, at that), because the nut (or something) makes it unpossible to remove a freewheel with our normal Earth tools.

    I digress, but the gist is, “hey I might have zero single-geared bikes by the end of the summer.” Unlikely, but possible. I might do it just to freak myself out. I have an automatic Sachs two speed coaster brake wheel and a Sturmey-Archer S3X three speed fixed I can put on the Quickbeam in about four minutes (that’s half an hour in biketinker time).

    Back to the matter at hand. I did indeed install the cassette and (just the right) shifter on the Gravel Roadster, and I rode it 10 miles with some friends from work, on their normal road loop (Lakeville, Stage Gulch, Adobe Rd). If we were to judge on tire size, I was the clear winner, with 54mm Big Apples, to their 25mm whatevers (volume increases by the cube, too, so… yeah). If we were to judge on usable gears, though, I was by far the loser. I had two chainrings, but no front mech (that’s English for “derailleur,” which is French for “derailer“), they were only 4 teeth apart, and of the nine cogs in back, I had maybe 5, since I could only get 4 clicks out of the indexing. The smallest cog (biggest gear), and the top three (easiest) cogs were unreachable with the shifter. My hardest available gear was about perfect for the ride leader’s pace, which was steady, just shy of brisk. The cassette is by no means a tourist’s friend, or a mountain bike cluster. It might even be a straight-block (it’s not). The limited range cog set is the funniest thing about the bike, even counting the Cyclone derailleur and the pink fenders. It is a roadster, though, not a jeep.

    So I was rolling along Lakeville, getting parched on Stage Gulch and spinning out on Adobe Road, with cogs ranging from 13 to 18 teeth on a 32 tooth ring. About 72″ to 54″ of development, WHICH IS THE SAME RANGE I HAVE ON MY FIXED BIKES.

    I had a good time, and my only embarrassment was failing to call out a black foam-wrapped 2×4 laying across the bike lane. “It looked like asphalt! I never ride with people! Ride fatter tires! Geez… ”

    But. For all the fun, and the adequacy of the gear, it wasn’t working like it ought, which irks my OCD, and I don’t see the point of having shifters if they don’t give you more range than you can get with a dingle setup.

    Why didn’t the Shimano 7 speed shifters give me a full derailleur’s swing of travel? My full friction Suntours on the Bontrager give me all 9 cogs. My friends on the RBW (Rivendell) list told me how to fix it (and more interestingly, why it was broken), which is a post for another day.

    (I’m learning a bit from Paul McGowan, not just about musical reproduction, but about blog posting. Set the stage., String the punters along, and give ’em their money’s worth…) ;^)

    gravel-roadster-gears

     

  • Spoke replacement with a disc wheel

    I rigged up the Gravel Roadster with a 9-speed cluster, a Suntour Cyclone derailleur, and a 7-speed bar-end shifter. So gears. I put gears on the old Big Apple one-speed.

    gravel-roadster-gears

    I’m setting it up for my brother, who’s moving out here in August, after 20 years in the Navy. He ought to have a bike to ride, and I’m doing the shakedown cruise by riding it with roadies on the lunchtime ride at work.

    One of them noticed my rear wheel was out of true, and when I went to fix it (after not finding my truing stand anywhere), I saw that a spoke was broken. There are a few silver spokes mixed in with the black already, so the wheel probably took some damage at one point, and other spokes may fail.

    broken-spoke-disc-wheel

     

    The downside of the disc brake, is that you can’t really get a new spoke in there without pulling the rotor. I poked at it, then just pulled out the DeWalt and the Torx bit and started dismantling.

    disc-whee-2lThe new spoke went in easily, and I thumbed it down to into the hub flange to angle it correctly, and peeled up the rim tape to drop in the new nipple.

    new-spoke-disc-wheel

    A few turns with the spoke wrench (and a little slipping and rounding – what’s up with that?), and the wheel is now acceptably true. I failed to mount the tire in the “correct” direction again, though.

  • quite the touring rig



    DSC02347, originally uploaded by socalpedalpusher.


    Check the hitch connection on that homebrew bike trailer. It seems like it deserves more study. I think there’s a fork or two in there, creating a universal joint…

  • I can’t be the only person to recycle cable ends

    I squeeze them transversely (if the hole was a rice grain, I’d grab it by the ends and gently squeeze until it turned into a lentil), to open up the tube, then I clean up the opening with a scratch awl or corkscrew end. Or a nail. Pretty much the closest thing that might work. There’s a kind of fit curve between “can I see it from here,” and “I’ll know it when I see it.”

    If the cable goes into the cap, I’ll crimp it down with the needlenose pliers. Bike shops have a special tool for it, I think, that puts a nice crease in the cap instead of mashing it willy-nilly and hoping for the best.

    ferrule-recycle grooming-time

  • It’s a corker

    I like to use corks as bar plugs. They’re light, they’re natural, they’re free, and some of them have a personal connection. This one is from a bottle of Van Duzer I drank with my friends in Oregon when one of them was a winemaker there. I cut the corks in half, one half in each end of the bar.

    cork

    The only trouble is… how to get them out? Plastic plugs pry right out, and Velox plugs have an expanding screw you undo.

    For cork extraction… use a corkscrew! I’m pretty sure everyone does this, but it’s amusing and enjoyable to me every time.

    cork-pull

    The new tape (Bike Peddler has cloth tape, but you have to ask, and it’s only black) gets folded over to tuck inside, with the cork holding it cleanly.

    cork-new

    I did some other stuff to the Gravel Roadster at the same time. And shellacked the tape! I never do that, but I bought shellac to finish some paintings, and figured “what the heck.”

  • The Peddaling Baker

    I bought some baked goods from this fellow. He mills his own flour for his sourdough loaves, and sweetens his peanut butter cups with xylitol.

    pedaling-baker

    The downside is that two peanut butter cups and a hamburger bun-sized “loaf” will set you back $10. The bread was really good, and I ate it in tiny slices to maximize the payback, and kind of approach it as a $3.50 box of melba toasts, not a loaf of bread you could put in a shirt pocket. The peanut butter cups were grainy, so maybe he could mill his nuts a little finer.

    I support what he’s doing, but I can’t really afford to support what he’s doing.

  • 47mm Marathon Supremes on a Quickbeam

    47mm Marathon Supreme measures 43mm

    Here’s a 47mm Schwalbe Marathon Supreme measuring 43mm actual width on a wide-ish rim.

    Yes, those are my calipers.

    I like the Marathon Supreme on the front. Cushy, and fast. I put in my best commute time after installing it. Not scientific, but it’s a nice-feeling tire.

    quickbeam-fork-clearance-marathon quickbeam-stay-clearance-marathon quickbeam-chainstay-marathon

    I took the Marathon Supreme off the back, due to clearance issues, but I may try again with a 19mm rim. The Kwest I have on there now looks anemic next to the giant Supreme on the front. I also plan to go back to the S3X, in order to ride some climbing loops at lunchtime.

  • STOLEN BIKE – Valiensi



    MR3C9442, originally uploaded by JamesPatrickValiensi.


    One of James Valiensi’s bikes was stolen today at CSU Northridge. Yes, that’s his name on the down tube.
    If you see it on Craigslist or around Northridge, please email him (through Flickr?), or let me know and I’ll pass the lead on to him.

    Yellow JP Valiensi bike.
    Hammered metal fenders
    Wald Giant Basket on the front rack.
    Unique Bosco Bars with cork grips
    A bell.
    Leather Brooks saddle.
    Tweed seat bag.

    Dang, what a loss.

  • Three Nitto friends



    Three Nitto friends, originally uploaded by olipop.


    Olipop’s overlay of three Nitto stems, showing reach and rise. Also, it just looks cool.

  • Sycip’s personal trainer



    My personal trainer, originally uploaded by Sycip Bicycles.

  • Irony

    Irony

     

    “I think fixies are ridiculous. Because, like, brakes. Duh. And they’re terrible for your knees.”

    hipster.jpg

  • Color Matching



    Color Matching, originally uploaded by tmatchak.

    Die the leather yourself. And the cork to match. Brilliant advice from Mr. Matchak.

  • ID Card

    Just about 25% larger than life.

    20130422-200829.jpg
    I painted this little watercolor last night instead of riding my bike. It’s about 4″ across, on gessoed panel.

  • I’d trade my car for this bike…

    I’d trade my car for this bike…

    Matt Chester Utilityman on Craigslist

    If I win the Powerball tonight, I’m buying it.

    Matt Chester Utilityman on Craigslist.

     

     and… http://www.mattchester.com/

  • ** Stolen Bike ** New Dove bars



    ** Stolen Bike ** Dove bars, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.


    This bike was stolen out of my back yard near the end of last week March 4 or 5, near downtown Santa Rosa CA.

    Luckily, they left much nicer bikes behind, but unluckily, this is a friend’s bike!

    I’d JUST finished the new bar setup for her, with new shifters (courtesy of super nice internet friends), new Dove bars from the Rivendell Garage Sale, and new cables bought at retail from the Bike Peddler.

    Bleah.

    Santa Rosa makes it super-easy to file a report online, and I encouraged my neighbor to report the bike he’d had stolen the week before.

  • Commuter Time Trial Bike

    Commuter Time Trial Bike

    Aero bike, fenders, fattish tires and luggage.

    I did my 36 mile commute a couple times last week, and found myself wondering why longer commutes aren’t run with fendered Time Trial bikes. This is my take on a stock TT bike, with fat 650B tires, fenders, and luggage (a Revelate-style seat bag and custom front trunk). Oh yeah, it also has lights, a fixed gear and a chain guard.