Bicycle ERA |OT| This Is Why

[angelgrievous]

Okay so I'm gonna need some help here if anyone is interested in lending a hand. I've decided to go with a 1x drop bar set up on the old hard rock above. The things throwing me off is the gearing. It has a 3x7 now and I'd like a 1x10/11 if possible. I'd also like hoods/shifters but not totally against bar end shifting.

I figure I'd need a new BB and rear wheel? I'm not really sure. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[linkboy]

Ok, so I just pulled the trigger on my drive-train upgrade for my bike (went with the Advent X). After that gets installed, my fork will be the only thing left to upgrade.

And here's a couple of questions I have.

I might also need a new crankset, and I don't understand the differences in teeth (30t vs 32t for example). My bike has a 30t chainring on it, would I notice much of a difference going to a 32t chainring? I have this one in my Amazon cart.

Also, I have a Trek Marlin 5 that I bought back in 2015, that I'm looking to restore for my son (the frame is in great shape, but everything else isn't).

Ultimately, my goal is to reuse as many of the parts from my Ozark Trail Ridge as I can (brakes, drive-train, etc). However, I'm not sure what parts are ultimately compatible, mostly in relation to the rear cassette. I know the Ridge uses a freehub, and the Marlin has a Shimano HG2 cassette (which i believe is a freehub as well) which is going to be removed.

 

[Psychotext]

Brave people. Upgrading drivetrains is a horrible introduction to all of the competing standards and sizes in the world of bikes. Definitely would only recommend it to those with the right temperament. lol

 

[linkboy]

Brave people. Upgrading drivetrains is a horrible introduction to all of the competing standards and sizes in the world of bikes. Definitely would only recommend it to those with the right temperament. lol

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I know, I just want to get that Marlin 5 back up and running for him to use eventually. His current bike is Wal-Mart Dynacraft Gauntlet, which works for him now, but he's going to outgrow it very soon, especially if he hits a growth spurt since he's turning 13 this year.

I'm looking at it this way, if I can reuse the parts from my Ridge in some capacity on the Marlin 5, that saves a bit of money in the long run, as I was planning on upgrading my Ridge .

I went with the Advent X since that was the drive-train that Seth from Berm Peak recommended in his upgrade video on the Ridge, so I know it'll be compatible with my bike. The LT-Woo A5 drive-train that's on the bike isn't bad (it's definitely budget), but it doesn't have a clutch, which is what I want.

 

[Psychotext]

Finally got a chance to upload my last event of the year, if anyone is interested: https://www.strava.com/activities/10071964550

Need to get my shit together and get into the gym, because if I don't make a start soon, next year will eat me alive.

 

[linkboy]

Just got done upgrading the drive-train and crankset on my Ridge.

I went with the Microshift Advent X drive-train

We have a local bike co-op here in Reno, and they have public workstations where you can do the work, and one of the mechanics will show and assist you. I got there around 10:30 and finished around 1.

I've taken for just a quick drive and it felt great. There's defiantly going to be a bit of a learning curve from the cheaper drive-train that was on it. It really does feel like I'm riding a different bike. The only thing I have left to do on this bike is upgrade the fork to an air fork, but I'm not going to do that until around springtime.

As for my Trek I posted above, I've got it stripped down to the frame and I'm going to see if the stock drive-train/crankset from my Ridge will work on it (I'm going to head over on Wed, my next day off, to work on the Trek). I will need to see if I can replace the freehub on it or get a new set of wheels since my Ridge had 9 gears (and the one that came with the Trek only supports a 7 gear cassette). My Ridge originally had a square-tapered tube (just like the Trek), and I think I'm just going to use that setup, if I can. There's nothing wrong with it and it's only been used for 6 months, and I'd hate to see a perfectly good groupset go to waste.

 

[Frontieruk]

Just got done upgrading the drive-train and crankset on my Ridge.

I went with the Microshift Advent X drive-train

We have a local bike co-op here in Reno, and they have public workstations where you can do the work, and one of the mechanics will show and assist you. I got there around 10:30 and finished around 1.

I've taken for just a quick drive and it felt great. There's defiantly going to be a bit of a learning curve from the cheaper drive-train that was on it. It really does feel like I'm riding a different bike. The only thing I have left to do on this bike is upgrade the fork to an air fork, but I'm not going to do that until around springtime.

As for my Trek I posted above, I've got it stripped down to the frame and I'm going to see if the stock drive-train/crankset from my Ridge will work on it (I'm going to head over on Wed, my next day off, to work on the Trek). I will need to see if I can replace the freehub on it or get a new set of wheels since my Ridge had 9 gears (and the one that came with the Trek only supports a 7 gear cassette). My Ridge originally had a square-tapered tube (just like the Trek), and I think I'm just going to use that setup, if I can. There's nothing wrong with it and it's only been used for 6 months, and I'd hate to see a perfectly good groupset go to waste.

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Tidy...

 

[Facism]

picked up a shard of glass in my rear tire ;_;

Any recommendations regarding patches would be great, want to see if I can get any life out of this tyre before needed to replace it.

 

[angelgrievous]

Update on the Hardrock:

Still working on it. Getting new bars next week, the cables are out to be updated, gonna remove and clean the rear cassette. I might try drop bars, not sure.

 

[Vert boil]

Somehow a bolt worked it's way loose and fell out of one of my panniers. Thankfully it just uses bottle cage bolts so was an easy replacement.

Need to find a flask that will fit in a bottle cage snugly. I don't always use bags so I can't always bring my 1 litre one along.

 

[Vert boil]

Whelp, replacing the cassette and chain on my road bike has been extended to changing the shifters/brakes from tiagra mechanical disc to tiagra hydraulic and changing the bottom bracket thanks to BF.

Weee..... some good deals on 4 pot brakes for my tourer as well. ;(

 

[y0shizawa]

Any tips on commute cycling with icy roads? We've got a sudden cold snap and its been slippery underfoot, and this is the first year of cycling to work for me so its all new and a little daunting.
I've not got a mountain bike, I've got a hybrid with tyres that are closer to thin road bike ones

 

[bawjaws]

Any tips on commute cycling with icy roads? We've got a sudden cold snap and its been slippery underfoot, and this is the first year of cycling to work for me so its all new and a little daunting.
I've not got a mountain bike, I've got a hybrid with tyres that are closer to thin road bike ones

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Honestly? My top tip for cycling in icy conditions is: don't. It's all too easy to fall, and on ice that means falling hard. Very easy to fuck yourself up.

You could go down the route of studded tyres but for me, I just put the bike away when it's icy.

 

[Vert boil]

Shifter has a bunch of vids about winter cycling as he's from canada.

Ride a bike on winter snow and ice without slipping and falling

There are a lot of great reasons to ride a bike in winter -- it's just as fun as it is in summer! -- but all that snow and ice can make things slippery. So, ...

www.youtube.com

Eight mistakes new winter bike commuters make and how to avoid them

Riding a bike through winter can be a challenge, but there's no need to miss out on the pleasures and benefits of riding in winter. So, after doing it badly ...

www.youtube.com

Advice will depend on where you are (how long the ice will be around), if the roads you ride are ever gritted etc.

On the absolute extreme end you can get studded tyres.

 

[y0shizawa]

Thanks guys, that's helpful. I'll play it by ear with how frosty it is (it's varying) and do a test ride this weekend to see how it feels

 

[bawjaws]

Thanks guys, that's helpful. I'll play it by ear with how frosty it is (it's varying) and do a test ride this weekend to see how it feels

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Frosty is fine, icy is sketchy.

Main issue with ice is black ice that you don't even see until you're on it. It was -3°C through the day earlier this week and there was black ice in the car park at the local supermarket - I nearly fell on my arse getting out of the car, so screw the idea of cycling on an ungritted road or cycle path.

 

[Psychotext]

I wouldn't do it without studded tyres tbh. I've had some really painful crashes on ice.

 

[bawjaws]

Ice and high winds (40+ mph) are pretty much the only conditions that I won't commute in. Everything else is fair game 🤣

 

[Psychotext]

This weather is killing me. Been struggling with depression anyway, and it's just been too wet to even consider going out and riding.

Ignoring how unpleasant it is, even a short ride turns into hours of work to get everything cleaned up / maintained. FFS.

 

[Facism]

yeh absolute ball ache these last few weeks. It didn't rain yesterday, but every path and road was soaked or muddy. Just complete ass to ride in.

 

[NetMapel]

This weather is killing me. Been struggling with depression anyway, and it's just been too wet to even consider going out and riding.

Ignoring how unpleasant it is, even a short ride turns into hours of work to get everything cleaned up / maintained. FFS.

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Could you get access to some indoor cycling perhaps? Would that help you feeling better?

 

[bawjaws]

Could you get access to some indoor cycling perhaps? Would that help you feeling better?

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I won't speak for Psychotext but I find indoor cycling utterly soul-destroying. Just a grim, grim experience that does nothing for my mood compared to getting outside on the bike.

 

[Psychotext]

Yeah, I train indoors, it's fucking shit. I'm not one of these people who get endorphins from exercise either.

 

[Vert boil]

Sand has been a ballache around here the last few days, cleaning aside.

Was riding back from shopping in the dark along the unlit part of the prom and the high winds have covered the entire path with sands. A couple of runners were coming the other direction so lowered the main front light (900 lumens) so it didn't shine in their eyes and I ran into a deep bank of sand, almost ripped the front wheel away from me.

Another part of the prom with a high path has had sinkholes for the past year that they've started to fix (ramming poles into the ground). They are using heavy machinery that have tank treads which have compacted the wet sand into rumble strips. First time I went over them was in the dark and the fuckers threw me up into the air.

 

[Psychotext]

Sand is incredibly hard to ride on at the best of times. Can be cycling downhill but still having to put in power like you're going uphill.

 

[Bubble Metropolis]

I picked up this Cannondale Bad Boy 2 yesterday for my first ever non-electric bike. Maybe not the best choice, but I live in a place where bikes have to be inspected and insured for road-use so I went with what was available locally to make sure I didn't run afoul of the regulations.

After growing up/living in cities that were completely inaccessible without a car for the first 30 years of my life, five years ago I bought my first bicycle and have been using it for commuting/shopping/everything. It was an 'electric assist' bike, though. This country has a lot of laws limiting how powerful and autonomous an electric bicycle can be so they're much weaker than the ones available in the US for example. They're really not made for the distances I was beginning to travel (mainly commuting, but around 20km a day) and the expensive repairs were beginning to pile up. I decided if I was going to be spending a lot of money on upkeep I should spend it on a bike that I actually care about. (I just bought whatever they had in stock when it came to the electric one.)

I've only had it for two days now, but I am a bit surprised at how much it's kicking my ass so far. It's a weird sensation having the distances and routes I've ridden every day for years suddenly turn into a serious workout. Pretty fun, though! I'm excited to get some more time in, but the sub-freezing temps are keeping my rides short at the moment.

 

[Psychotext]

I'm in Stockholm right now and I'm in awe of so many people riding in really fucking cold / blustery conditions. Hardcore.

From what I can see, most of the bikes don't even have studded tyres, so I have no idea how they're staying upright.

 

[Vert boil]

That's a very pretty bike. Reminds me of the Quella Nero single speed. There's one on ebay really close to me for peanuts but the frame is massive. I'd destory my nuts everytime I'd have to stop.

 

[NetMapel]

I'm in Stockholm right now and I'm in awe of so many people riding in really fucking cold / blustery conditions. Hardcore.

From what I can see, most of the bikes don't even have studded tyres, so I have no idea how they're staying upright.

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How well maintained are their bike lanes/streets? Are they clear of snow/slippery? If so, it's probably not terrible to bike in, eh? Compared to what I see locally here in a North American city, we get snow piling up and freezing on bike lanes and side walks. Hence it'd be quite dangerous here.

 

[Frontieruk]

Merry Christmas

 

[Bubble Metropolis]

I wouldn't say I'm confident in my cycling abilities, but I've been commuting in snow and ice for a few years and it's not that bad unless you get a few days of consistent snow/melt that builds up on the sidewalks (legally supposed to ride on sidewalks here as that's where the bike lanes are). If it's fresh or smooth it's not a problem, but with people walking all over it (again, sidewalk) it becomes really deformed and hard to maintain traction. I try to ride on the road as much as possible then (not illegal, but no bike lanes).


As for my Bad Boy 2: it's pretty frickin' big. I'm 185cm and the Cannondale website told me I should buy an L. I went to the store, hopped on one, and while it felt plenty big for me the guy warned me that because my arms are so long buying the L would potentially hurt me when going up inclines. What do I know, right? I'm sure he's probably correct. So they ordered that XL for me. It's massive. Sure, my reach is still fine, but I had to slam the saddle almost all the way down into the post to be able to touch the ground.

 

[Psychotext]

How well maintained are their bike lanes/streets? Are they clear of snow/slippery?

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Not well, most of them very slushy. Isn't stopping anyone. Oslo manages it much better.

I assume the tyres must be winter compound rubber.


View: https://imgur.com/a/6bjTuQC

 

[Vert boil]

As for my Bad Boy 2: it's pretty frickin' big. I'm 185cm and the Cannondale website told me I should buy an L. I went to the store, hopped on one, and while it felt plenty big for me the guy warned me that because my arms are so long buying the L would potentially hurt me when going up inclines. What do I know, right? I'm sure he's probably correct. So they ordered that XL for me. It's massive. Sure, my reach is still fine, but I had to slam the saddle almost all the way down into the post to be able to touch the ground.

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Can you stand over the bike without issue when you come to a stop? If you feel comfortable riding it then stick with it but if not consider returning it. Depending on the consumer protection where you live either it should be a free return/swap or a small return fee since it's been lightly ridden.

An XL at your height seems excessive. A large with a longer stem and maybe a new bar that also lengthens the reach seems like a better option.

 

[Rangerx]

It only really opened up later on.

 

[nel e nel]

Update on the Hardrock:

Still working on it. Getting new bars next week, the cables are out to be updated, gonna remove and clean the rear cassette. I might try drop bars, not sure.

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What saddle bag is that?

Also re: your drivetrain upgrade question (late reply I know), you may not need to get a new rear wheel. You'd first need to check your rear wheel freehub size to see what cassette it can handle (eg how many gears). Even then there are plenty of sites with reasonably priced wheelsets. Velomine and Universal Cycles are two I've gotten from.

Edit: looking more closely, most likely will have to get a new rear wheel. If that's the original hub from that frameset, it's probably too short to go from 7 speed up to 10 speed.

New BBs aren't expensive, Shimano BBUN300 come in various sizes, are reliable and can be found for under $20.

Where's a good place to order cheap but decent parts?

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Editing in for easy access:

Universal Cycles - The Largest Selection of Road and Mountain Bike Parts

Universal Cycles - 30,000+ mountain & road cycling parts. Online & in Portland Oregon since 1997. West Coast & Midwest warehouses. Instant price matches. 29er, BMX, freeride, single speed, & downhill products.

www.universalcycles.com

Velo Mine Bicycle Shop - We Build & Sell Bicycle Wheels & Components

Closeouts and sales on the best selection of road, mountain, gravel, touring and BMX wheels. Specializing in Campagnolo and SRAM Components and Groupsets. Full catalogue of bicycle tools. Everything for your bike building needs.

velomine.com

 

[angelgrievous]

What saddle bag is that?

Also re: your drivetrain upgrade question (late reply I know), you may not need to get a new rear wheel. You'd first need to check your rear wheel freehub size to see what cassette it can handle (eg how many gears). Even then there are plenty of sites with reasonably priced wheelsets. Velomine and Universal Cycles are two I've gotten from.

Edit: looking more closely, most likely will have to get a new rear wheel. If that's the original hub from that frameset, it's probably too short to go from 7 speed up to 10 speed.

New BBs aren't expensive, Shimano BBUN300 come in various sizes, are reliable and can be found for under $20.



Editing in for easy access:

Universal Cycles - The Largest Selection of Road and Mountain Bike Parts

Universal Cycles - 30,000+ mountain & road cycling parts. Online & in Portland Oregon since 1997. West Coast & Midwest warehouses. Instant price matches. 29er, BMX, freeride, single speed, & downhill products.

www.universalcycles.com

Velo Mine Bicycle Shop - We Build & Sell Bicycle Wheels & Components

Closeouts and sales on the best selection of road, mountain, gravel, touring and BMX wheels. Specializing in Campagnolo and SRAM Components and Groupsets. Full catalogue of bicycle tools. Everything for your bike building needs.

velomine.com

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It's an old cannondale with a trek light attached. Not sure the model of the bag.

Thanks for your reply on the other questions. I'll check out those site and the recommendation on the bb.

 

[Vert boil]

Bought a new (old Ribble Audux) beater a while ago for peanuts and just got round to stripping it over xmas.

The spacer on the freehub was made of plastic and fell apart as soon as I touched it. Guessing that and just how dry everything was is the cause of the noise.

 

[Frontieruk]

Bought a new (old Ribble Audux) beater a while ago for peanuts and just got round to stripping it over xmas.

The spacer on the freehub was made of plastic and fell apart as soon as I touched it. Guessing that and just how dry everything was is the cause of the noise.

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Love my audux beater so much its I've spent more on doing it up than it cost when originally sold 😂

 

[Psychotext]

Only vaguely cycling related, but it appears that ex World Champion Melissa Hoskins was run over (seemingly intentionally) and killed by her husband on Saturday.

Horrifying.

Rohan Dennis charged over death of wife, fellow cyclist Melissa Hoskins

Reports name Hoskins as woman who died after being hit by car in Adelaide and Rohan as the driver

www.theguardian.com

Edit - I know full well who he is, but in this case, him being a famous cyclist should be irrelevant IMHO.

 

[Vert boil]

Forgot to tape dem nips before a long ride in the hills. Thankfully they weren't bleeding, nice painful start to the year.
Need to chuck some plasters into a bag, using the gorilla tape I had on me probably would have made things worse. 😵

 

[Psychotext]

I've literally never done anything with my nipples on a ride. What on earth are you up to out there?!?

 

[Bubble Metropolis]

I used to get bloody nipples from running, but I've luckily not yet encountered that problem while cycling.

 

[Vert boil]

You don't have big fat nips bro?

It gets worse the more you tape them as they get less and less used to dat sweaty grind.

 

[CathodeRayTube]

I've literally never done anything with my nipples on a ride. What on earth are you up to out there?!?

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I've only had a problem once last year. I was 100 miles into a 140 mile ride on a god awful hot and humid day and the strap of my bib started rubbing. I just took the one strap off and was fine.

 

[Psychotext]

I've never had my bib straps ever rub to any meaningful extent, or jerseys when not wearing bibs. That includes riding up to 8 or 9 days in a row.

I'd suggest your bib is too big, as it shouldn't be moving at all.

 

[Facism]

Here I am riding in shorts, T-shirt and a waterproof lol.

Annoying little issue i keep having with my GRX rear callipers is that in heavy rain, the gear lever doesn't return fully. The brake still works fine, and the return action recovers after the bike has had time to dry.

 

[Psychotext]

Just got accepted into Leadville. Now I've gone from crushingly depressed to full on panic attack.

I have no idea how I'm going to get ready for that given how much I've let myself slip in the last few months.

 

[CathodeRayTube]

Looks like fun! I'd like to try but I don't think I could switch to something like that.

I think I'm a bit to advanced in age and don't have enough time to devote to it with kids and family

Plus i signed up for the cross state ride I usually do.

 

[HTupolev]

So, one of the things that Archibald Sharp likes to reference in his 1896 book Bicycles and Tricycles is a contemporary work by some French guy named Carlo Bourlet, Traité des Bicycles et Bicyclettes. Previously I haven't bothered looking for it, because:
1-It was written in French, and
2-19th-century references usually come up blank.
However, I decided to actually look around, and... it wasn't very hard to track down! Or, at least, a Google Books scan of a later version of the work from 1898, plastered in University of Michigan watermarks, wasn't hard to track down. Gotta love the public domain!
Also, Google Translate is pretty good at dealing with the whole "it's written in French" problem. Looking at the translation and the original work side-by-side, I can usually figure out what's being said!

Here's the best part, though.

On page 73, monsieur Bourlet warns us that one of his references - Cycling, Art, Energy and Locomotion by Robert Scott (1889) - is out of print, and that it is very rare and difficult to obtain. This is dire: if a 19th-century Frenchman is warning me that a 19th-century American work barely exist, what are the chances that it's still around?
So of course, I took that as a challenge.
Aaaaand.... it turns out that it was not only extremely easy to find scans of this book, there are actually multiple different paper prints of it currently available through Amazon.

The world we live in is nuts.

 

[Psychotext]

Good stuff.