Cycling Thread

[simmer2]

In Mallorca on a 10 day bike trip right now.

For any road bikers out there, it is absolutely fantastic.

Doing the tour with a company called Magic Places which have been doing this tour for something like 20 years and are great

[GomerPile]

Hi Team CP,

Just took mine and my wife mountain bikes off the wall to see how they wintered. My brakes (hydraulic) are terribly spongy, and hers seem fine.3 I am wondering if anyone has had the same issue with vertical hanging of their mountain bikes, is it is time to redo the seals on my brake system, or is it time to reorganize the garage. The garage is attached, not heated, so generally above 0.

GP

[Fuzz]

Just squeeze them a bunch. I hang mine vertically and after long storage this happens. They should be fine.

[Northendzone]

lots of bike shops store bikes by hanging them, sometimes they are hung upside down.

if they don't come back after squeezing them, you could try "burping" them (these instructions are for shimano brakes - none of my bikes have had sram brakes, but i'd imagine they are similar)
1. start with bike on level ground and make sure it is steady
2. reposition brake lever to be 90 degrees from the ground
3. remove the brake fluid fill cap
4. gently squeeze the brake lever and watch for some air bubbles coming out of the fill port
5. repeat a few times, and then top up with brake fluid

if that does not work, you may need to bleed brakes.

you can find vieo of the brake burp on youtube

[redflamesfan08]

Almost a full month later than last year, but got my first commute of 2018 in today.

Over an hour door to door and I lost feeling in my feet, but still better than transit. I think the goal this year has to be 4000 km, made it 3300 last year.

[Northendzone]

yesterday's weather got me hoping that i can start riding next week.

if the weekend forecast of ~+12 is anywahere close to be true, i will go for a recon ride along my route and then see what the forecast is like next week.

as an aside, last year i bought some tires for my commuter at walmart, they are bell tires and they feel a little thicker than my previous tires, but what i noticed when i mounted them was they are blackwall tires, with no reflective strip and i thought they looked real b@d@$$ - although safety was my next thought......

[Simon96Taco]

Any good links or resources to a "Bike Building 101" type of page?

Background:

I have an older Peugeot road bike that I currently have in pieces. When I bought it (think I paid $50 for a box of pieces) I intended to put it together as a single speed as a way to learn more about bike mechanics, but now am thinking that maybe multiple speeds and having it as a commuter would be better (the road bike I currently have is more of a racing bike and has no bolt holes to add racks, etc). I understand there might be some nuances around some of the threading being reversed as it's a French bike.

Any good sites for a pieces-to-bike build up recommended? Any comments regarding a multi vs. single speed?

Thanks!

PS - I hope to get my first commute of the year in next week!!!!

[worth]

I found myself most often referring to Park Tool's site:

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...-bike-assembly

And also searching YouTube if I need a video on a specific piece or part of the install.

You can use a single speed as a commuter. I plan on building one in the future. Up to you really!

[Fuzz]

Sheldon is a good resource, particularly on old bikes. I'm not sure he has a start to finish guide, but just search whatever part you are working on at the time.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

And youtube. Pick a thing to work on, and google it. Nothing is to hard to DIY on a bike like that.

Multi vs single will entirely depend on where you want to ride, hills, and your strength and desire to suffer if you have climbs. If it is for commuting, put your road bike in one gear you feel comfortable in, and see if you would like to do your commute in that gear, every day.

[Simon96Taco]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Multi vs single will entirely depend on where you want to ride, hills, and your strength and desire to suffer if you have climbs. If it is for commuting, put your road bike in one gear you feel comfortable in, and see if you would like to do your commute in that gear, every day.

Without even trying it, I suspect my strength and desire to suffer are both very LOW hahaha.

[Fuzz]

Yes, particularly by Friday...usually then I just want to be home, and the crawl up 10th st. can be a bit demoralizing. And that's with gears!

[Northendzone]

to me, single speed bikes are for folks that want to stay in the core/beltline area or cruise the downtown paths.

if you want to ride where there are hills, and you enjoy being able to ride up, then why suffer

[Table 5]

Anyone here have any real world experience with SRAM Rival 1x?

I'm currently in the process of speccing out a bike, and considering it as an alternative to the Shimano 105 groupset, as the cleaner/simpler idea of a 1x appeals to me. It will be mostly for a "gravel" bike frame, but more or less will be just used to bum around town, on bike paths, sometimes hauling my Charriot.

Good/bad idea?

Downside is that it seems to be more expensive (and on that note, having a hard time finding a place online to buy the whole groupset). Plus I find SRAM's kind of look ugly with all their graphics (although the other's aren't much better).

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Anyone here have any real world experience with SRAM Rival 1x?

I'm currently in the process of speccing out a bike, and considering it as an alternative to the Shimano 105 groupset, as the cleaner/simpler idea of a 1x appeals to me. It will be mostly for a "gravel" bike frame, but more or less will be just used to bum around town, on bike paths, sometimes hauling my Charriot.

Good/bad idea?

Downside is that it seems to be more expensive (and on that note, having a hard time finding a place online to buy the whole groupset). Plus I find SRAM's kind of look ugly with all their graphics (although the other's aren't much better).

Sram 1x works really well. I have a Force 1x gravel bike in my garage and it's pretty seamless. Works really well. Not a huge fan of Sram road front derailleurs though.

I wouldn't say that Rival is any better than 105 though. Different in how you shift. If you are used to Shimano you may not like Sram Double Tap. I'd try it first.

[worth]

My partner has a Kona Rove ST which has a SRAM Rival 1 on it and it's a great groupset. Can wholeheartedly recommend it in a 1x setup, makes for a great gravel grinder, plenty of gear inches and a pile of fun to ride.

TBS Bike Parts is a Canadian company that should have all the parts for SRAM groupsets that you would need:

https://www.tbsbikeparts.com/bike-pa...oupset-builder

I'm also currently building a 1x Shimano system for a bikepacking rig. This is using the XT MTB groupset however, not a road groupset.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by bossy22

If you are used to Shimano you may not like Sram Double Tap. I'd try it first.

I'm coming from a 20+ year-old bike with Gripshift....I'm sure either one will be just fine.

[Fuzz]

Gripshift is awesome, particularly on my winter commuter while wearing big mitts!

I do love it on the MTB bike to though, for it's ability to drop 9 gears with a big twist.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Gripshift is awesome, particularly on my winter commuter while wearing big mitts!

I do love it on the MTB bike to though, for it's ability to drop 9 gears with a big twist.

Yeah, I've actually been a big fan of it myself, even though the shifts aren't particularly smooth on my bike after all these years.

[habernac]

Anything not well traveled by cars today is icy death. Be careful out there. My knee is purple and I think I bent my right pedal.

[Fuzz]

Eek!

Most of my ride was good(other than the ice pellets to the face) but as i came around Crescent Heights I thought...I need to make a sharp left, I wonder if this is icy? So while rolling I dragged my foot. It felt like a curling rink, so I'm glad I checked. Came to a stop and walked until i got on the grass. The rest was fine. I wonder how bad it will be with snow on top? Sometimes it improves it. I hope so.