New Blog

I've named a new blog which I hope to post to shortly. It's called Fix It. Also I've added it to my links list and what it is going to be, is a technical blog about bicycle maintenance. I thought that if I had a place to blog only about bike maintenance and technical advice, it would make it much more searchable by topic. Nothing in it yet, but if you are interested in a topic in particular, head over there and leave a comment. I am not a professional mechanic, but have certainly done a lot of work on bikes over my years. I'm always working on bikes, mine and many others for other people and thought I may as well document what I'm doing and put it somewhere that might be helpful to others.

Cheers,

Jerome.

Mtn Fixie!!

I'm pretty stoked today, I rode my 2nd fixie to work. This one is a bargain bin (recycling yard) special with total cost being $35.00 CDN. That was for the rear track cog and a new chain.

The frame was one I picked up a few weeks ago and knew it would be a great little fixie for winter. It's a 80's Raleigh Tange 5 lugged frame. I haven't measured the frame size yet but fits me quite well. I really scored with the handlebars, their a beautiful set of Raleigh aluminum bars with the logo etched onto them. I had wanted a set of riser bars like this to cut down, but when I saw how nice these ones were, I could bring myself to touch them with the hacksaw. Even the Seat post is nicely fluted. The wheels are not that great, so I decided to take them apart and re-lace them with a twist. I think I'll be truing these for the first several rides, as I can hear them creaking when I wax on it to go and stop. Skidding has proven very difficult with this bike. I think it's because I running a fairly low 38/17 combo. The cranks were with this bike as well as the chain wheel. I tested out the 48T chain wheel, but I want this bike low for drudging through deep snow.

As I mentioned it was a budget bike, I simply used the rear free-wheel hub and secured the track cog with an English bottom bracket and I am amazed at how secure it is! I've tried stopping it loose on the pedals, and it won't budge. The rear tires were off of a bike I picked up from the recycle yard that was a piece of crap, but had good tires. Took off the tires, through the rest of the bike out. I even re-used the inner-tubes! Cheep, Cheep, Cheep. I paid $550.00 for the wheel set on my first fixie, so I wanted this to be as extreme of a contrast in regard to the project as I could get.

Riding so far has been great and I think that this will serve it's purpose very well. A few more weeks and I should have everything set up just the way I want it. Soon, I'll post a picture up on FGG, my all-time favorite website.

Anyways, all have a great day and ride on!!

Jerome.

Brendon's Bike # 3

Well, our little project is done paint. Brendon decided to go with a 2 part epoxy paint rather than wait for powder coat. Now, this weekend I'll try to get it all put back together for him. Hopefully I'll get it done as he's in school starting Monday. I think that this should turn out quiet well and I can't wait to see what Jordan will do to it in regards to graphics.

FIX IT

Yippee Skippie!! I was camping this weekend (long weekend here in Canada) and was greatly surprised to see that the road were pretty much free of ice upon our return. You know what that means kids??!! FIXIE TIME!!

Things were a little wet, but the planet bike SpeedEZ Fenders did a pretty good job of keeping the brown stuff off my back. Every time I ride this bike, I am reminded why I like the Fixed gear setup so much. If you've never tried it, I highly recommend that you try it out if you get the chance. I'd never ridden one until I built up this one, and wasn't disappointed even in the slightest. Fix yourself up, you won't regret it.

Cheers,

Jerome

Lace em up!

This title applies to two portions of this post. First would be what most Canadian probably think of when they hear that phrase, Hockey! I went to the flames game last night (birthday present from my good wife) and what a great time that was. Unfortunately the flames lost 7-5 to Colorado, but it's always great to watch them play.

Second, might be what many cyclists think of when they hear that phrase. Wheels! More specifically, building wheels. I bought a wheel truing stand with some of my birthday money and decided it was time to learn how to build a wheel up. I took a wheel off of a free bike I picked up last week (it's going to be my fixie mtn bike), disassembled it, cleaned the spokes hub and rim. I had seen pictures of bikes that had twisted spokes and wanted to try that. I started out lacing it all twisted and got very confused. I started again lacing it with an easy 2-cross standard spoke pattern. After that, I figured out a way (my wife figured out a way) to twist them up. Anyway, here is what I ended up with. It's perfectly true, tight and I can't wait to see how it rides. I'm sure this wouldn't be something to do on a big hit bike, but for the commuting I do, strong wheels aren't of utmost importance. Looking good is.

Brendan's bike # 2

Well, the little piece of BB came out of the frame with ease. Just another sign that this bike has actually been well maintained. When I was taking off the fork, I was amazed at how clean and fresh the grease looked. I'm glad to see such a great bike being brought back to life instead of just going to the steel wreckers to get turned into rebar. Recycling isn't just about plastics and the ozone layer, it's about finding someone else who is in a position that you were in, but now are not and giving them a head start down a particular road. In this case, someone was done with this bike. Brendan was looking for a bike. The two worlds somehow mingle and both parties are on their way to happier riding.

Jerome.

Brendan's Bike Part 1

I grabbed a bunch of bikes from the recycle yard a week or two ago and one of the gents that works here walks to work regularly. An Idea popped into my head "Would Brenden want a bike?". I asked him and him and he told me that he had been thinking of buying one for quite a while but just haven't yet.

So long story short, I stripped down a Kuahara, which was actually in great shape with some pretty decent components on it. As you can see in the picture, some how the right side of the bottom bracket cracked, leaving the threads still in the frame. Brendan's going to try yanking that out, and if it works, he brought his sand blaster in to work to day and will start ridding the paint and send it out for powder coat.

I'm pretty stoked that he's so cranked about riding his bike to work. Also, he's going to school (SAIT) in a few weeks and staying with some family in Calgary 8 blocks from SAIT. I can't think of a better way to get around for those 2 months he's in school.

Another one of the gents that works here is an incredible artist, and we're hoping that he might be able to pinstripe or tribalize this thing once the paint is done. This could end up being a sweet little ride, and a great project.

Will keep you posted.

Jerome

Matching vehicles

Hey, look at this, when I don't wash my truck, the dirt matches the lettering on my MTB!! Custom truck and bike combo!

Neato!

I decided to ride this bike to work today because it's got the fattest tires and once I left a large amount of air out of the tires, I actually had quite good traction on the freshly fallen snow. Just a fair bit more work grunting around town with flat tires. Oh well. Good work out.

On that subject, if anyone has a Pugsley or has ridden a Pugsly, would you be so kind as to leave a comment on your thoughts? I am thinking that it might be a great little (not really) bike for winter commuting. Any input would be most appreciated.

Cheers,

Jerome

Pics from the seat

It was a cold ride yesterday morning, -16C, but no wind so it was quite easy to be comfortable. So much so that I figured I'd stop and take a few pictures of nothing too exciting. On the ride home for lunch, the light snow had some very gentle ruts in it and made the bike zig-zag all over the place. I opted to drive my truck back to work and swung by the bike recycle rack by my work. I took two more bikes yesterday and there are two more tempting me.


The sky is kind of grey and flat for the last several days, but the great thing is that @6:00pm, even with he overcast skies, it's light out!! I love riding home when it's not dark. I ride to work early enough that there isn't much traffic, and morning drivers seem to be a bit more cautious than when they are returning in the evening after a hard day in the office and a miserable ride home stuffed into a car. Evenings seem to be death race 2000 where everyone is just trying to get home as fast as possible. It's nice when they can see you clearly from a distance rather than catching a glimpse of my blinkers as they're 10 feet from my rear tire.

All that being said, the drivers in Strathmore have been more than courteous to me lately. With the fresh snow, I've been opting to ride right in the car tracks in the lane and not on the shoulder. To my surprise, they have all given me more than enough room and most have pulled completely into the opposite lane and passed my slowly. Thank you Strathmore. It's much appreciated. I also think that people are getting used to seeing me on my bike, on those roads, at those times, which definitely helps. That's the beauty of more people riding bikes! The more people are on their bikes, the more the cars are used to it and anticipate it, making it much safer for all. In the summer I'll often see another cyclist or two riding to work, but in the winter, I've never ever seen anyone else spinning around town.

I also think that it helps having a bit of experience riding bicycles in traffic. It was the same thing when I first started riding motorcycles. (I've sold most of my motor bikes but still have two and still really dig them) It takes about a year to get truly used to driving in a manner that naturally assumes you're invisible and automatically adjusting your speed, lane position and constantly be looking for bail-out routes for every time you see a car on the rode. It's just the way it is, you can't change it, you can fight it, but if you loose, you really loose.

I used to run in a manner that enforced the fact that I'm a pedestrian and all cars have to yield to me. It was all fine and dandy until last year on the first day of training for my 3rd Marathon. I was crossing an intersection in the cross walk @ 5:30 in the morning and an oncoming truck had a stop sign. I figured that he would try to casually blow through it while only slowing down a little, and I was going to make him stop!! Only problem, he didn't see me at all and whack!! I was hit by a Ford 3/4 ton 4X4 truck. RIG PIG!!!

Oh no.

By God's grace I was completely unscathed, even through it threw me over 10feet and crack the plastic grill of his truck, I somehow landed on both feet. Adrenaline took over and I tried yanking him out of his truck and told him that I took the first hit, now he's taking the second whether he likes it or not. He took off and I filed a police report. Nothing came of it, but for his sake I hope I never see him again. Serenity now.......

The point is, that while I was completely right, I could have paid the ultimate price for being right. Being dead right isn't worth it. You can't change the way that people drive, you can't change the fact that people think they own the road and the most important thing is getting through the intersection first but you can change the way that you interact with the vehicles around you. Knowing that cars can and will be erratic and ignorant at times, lets you know how you need to adjust your riding style and mind set to ensure that biking is all fun and no danger. Biking is safe, if the rider is safe.

Jerome

When Bicycle Helmets Make No Sense

I received an email this morning from a gal I work with and in the subject heading was the title of this post, and here are the pics she sent me.

Jerome

Cold Ride in

Well, I don't have any pictures in this post. Just want to say that my hands were cold on the way in. It was -13C when I left my house, but there was a crisp little wind blowing.

I dropped off some books at the library on my way, and even at that point, I was in a little bit of pain. I was only half way to work too. By the time I did get to work, I was almost crying. I wondered when I left my house if my thin gloves would be warm enough, and I've found out the painful way, they aren't. Oh well. Boo Hoo.

It did get me thinking though, one thing about riding in the cold, it sure feels good when you quit! However, I doesn't feel good not doing it, the good comes from doing it, being cold and then not doing it. If you've done it, you know what I mean.

I felt good when I came into my work today and back into the warmth. I wouldn't have felt the same way if I had just stayed warm in my truck, isolated from the seasons that are a part of where I live. I think that if you live somewhere that gets cold, you should get out in the cold and enjoy it. Yes it can be enjoyable. What's more, you certainly shouldn't complain about how cold it is. You should move.

If you've never done it, give it a try and you'll know what I mean. And more than likely you'll want to do it again.

Jerome.

Single Speed!!

Well, I must say, with out the wind, the single speed idea might just be a good one. I fixed my chain last night (after picking up a cheap chain tool at Wal-Mart) and flipped the bars back up to normal. This is far more comfortable than when they were upside down. In fact, I can't believe how comfy this bike is. I don't feel the desire to go as fast as I can (I'm not sure that's a good thing) but it is a riding position that puts a smile on your face. I'm really diggen it!!
Temp. is -10C, but no wind!

Score!

Well, I'm in Great Falls MT, for a weekend get away and I've got some time to update the blog.

On Thursday, I figured I would stop by the recycling yard and see if there were any other bikes on the leave and take rack. Sure enough, Christmas came again!

The fire department in town stores all the bikes that the town and RCMP haul in as stolen, lost or whatever and hold them for about 6 months. After that time, if they haven't been claimed, they take them all to the recycle yard and leave them on a bike rack where anyone can come and take whatever bike they want, and people can also leave their old bikes there for someone else to enjoy.

This is the story behind my fixie. I left it there in the spring of last year as I just didn't seem to have the desire to maintain it. Later in the fall, I decided i wanted to try building up a fixie and wished I hadn't gotten rid of that bike. My first place to check for a frame was the recycle yard and sure enough, some one else and adjusted everything, put on new brakes and I guess they also just gave up on it. At sweet last, it was mine again.


Thursday of last week, I scored 3 bikes!!!! What does a guy need with 3 bikes?? Well, while fiddling with the gear ration on my trek (now single speed) I broke my chain braking tool (weird) and couldn't re-install the chain. I thought that I may as well take everything down for a good clean up and maintenance. When I got the chain wheels off, I saw clearly that they were egg shaped! Not good for a single speed. It explained why the chain would be slack and then tight in one revolution. I thought it was just not concentric in the way that it was bolted to the crank arms.

The Chain wheels are bi0pace and I was fixing to start an ebay search for them or something, but instead I saw 2 bike that had the exact chain wheels as what I needed. On top of that, the bike had some other decent components on them.

The third bike. Well, it's a lugged Raleigh mountain bike that was actually big enough to fit me. I'm not that tall - 6'2" - but I do find that I am much more comfortable on taller bikes. On top of this, it has horizontal drop outs and Tange steel frame, lugged!! Sounds like it was made to be fixed! I've been looking for a while for a frame to do a fixed gear with 26" mtb wheel for winter riding. My other fixie, with 700 X 23C doesn't lend itself to bad road conditions and being on anything other than pavement or asphalt. So, here is my new project bike!

While down her in Great Falls, I'll check out some pawn shops for parts and bikes. We come here several times a year to hit the American shops that we don't have at home (read: Target) and there's a great hotel we stay at in a pool side room every time. The reason that I come down is for FAT TIRE amber Ale. I have a few at the bar everyday and take back my legal limit in bottles everytime we come.

I really like the time we spend here, but right now, I'm pretty anxious to start into these bikes and in particular, the new fixie. Rough life, having to suffer through a relaxing get away long weekend, while waiting to get into my favorite hobby.

LG. Life is Good.

Jerome.

Single Speed?

Well, maybe a single speed isn't the greatest for everyone. I'm still convinced that it's the way that I will keep the trek, but I sure did wish I had a few more the other day on my way home from work.

It was -5C, but the wind was blowing @ 60km/hr! There were times when I was standing up on the pedals, and almost wondering if I was moving forward at all.

The ride home took be 4X longer than it normally does and I went out of my way, to choose a route that was sheltered with trees and houses as much as possible. It was actually alot of fun seeing new sights on the way home and it did make me realize that I need to take different routes now and then, just to freshen things up.

All this said, I love not having to change gears while riding and I really like the way a bike looks with out gears. I'll keep trying running wiht one of the Trek for a while more. Time will tell.

Jerome.