Slipping Seatpost fixed!

I’ve had a chronic problem with a slipping seat post on my Karate Monkey ever since I bought it.

I would ride, and even for short distances (less than 5 miles) I noticed the seat post would slip. I posted it to the LHT and CC Google group (just because it’s quite active and often very helpful) to see if anyone had any experience with such slippage on any of their Surlys. Being as the seat tube on a Karate Monkey is the same diameter and tubing as any other Surly bike, I thought it was worth asking there. I heard a few stories where LHT frames were replaced by Surly, and others where it was just a matter of an undersized seat post. I hoped the ladder would be the case, but as it turned out, neither were.

I changed out the seat post with a different one (thanks to the good guys at Bowcycle) and that didn’t make a difference. I measured the seat posts with my digital calipers, and I was getting anywhere from 27.03mm to 27.18mm. The size is stamped 27.2mm and I assume that these are typical manufacturing tolerances. After calling Kurt at Bow, he asked if I could just bring the whole bike in. So I did, and Blue (one of those great bike mechanics who knows much about bikes, even weird stuff like retro-direct drives, and home brew 2 speed fixed setups) thought right away that it was the seat post locking collar. That thought entered my mind, but I doubted it for some reason. Surly used to make their constrictor seat post binder, but got complaints that it was just too beefy and ugly. My KM (as well as my LHT) came with the new collar. So, we strolled around the store until we found a cross check with the old style seat post binder.

Here is a comparison between the two Surly seat post clamps - photo credit goes to Chubby Super Biker -

I took it home, have it a try, and wala. I’ve got about 30 miles of gravel in on the KM this week and she’s holding steady. Man it feels good to get these little nagging problems taken care of. Kudos to Bow for making this top priority, and doing whatever they could to make it right. The customer service there is second to none. Kurt apologized numerous times for the inconvenience and always notified the mechanics when I was going to be coming in so I wouldn’t have to wait at all. They’d pull a bike out of the stand and put mine in there as soon as I walked in the building. I can’t say enough good about Bowcycle.

The new manly constrictor!

So nice to have the KM back. Last night went for a late right to work up the heart beat. First ride of the summer that I’ve had to use my lights. The KM continues to impress.

(I was told by a creative mind that melting a little wax to the seat post sometimes will help give it a little extra stick. Sounds like it might work, unfortunately, for me it didn't. Interesting idea though.)

Garage Work

This past weekend we opted out of camping, and with all the rain we had I was glad we did so.

I took the opportunity to get a project done thats been bugging me for quite some time; my garage. I made a deal with myself that I wouldn’t unpack my garage stuff (still sitting in my dad’s motorcycle trailer) until I have my garage painted. This is the only way that I can ensure I actually get to it. Once I hang one tool up on the wall, that’s it. It would forever be bare drywall. I hate that. Besides, in 10 years it’s almost un-paintable and you’d basically have to redo the whole thing. So, work late Friday and Saturday nights, and start organizing at a leisurely pace Sunday afternoon. First order of business, bicycle storage. I need more than this, but it’s a start. I’ve still got 6 bikes in the basement. Maybe I need to cull the herd a little more intensely? Na, just get a little more creative with bike storage. I was also planning on building custom shelving and work area, but when I saw the price of this hammer and bash together stuff, I’d be crazy to give up 3 more weekends just to get the garage usable. This system will work fine for what I need. Mostly just bike maintenance and the odd wood working or electronics projects. Still adding a few more shelves and organizing a bit more, but hopefully it'll be all done this week.

Next on the garage list, hook up my Sony surround sound so I can wrench in musical bliss!

Found the problem

The front wheel of my LHT was built up with a Dyno hub by Peter White. I have the stock front wheel hanging in my parts department. There was some type of rim tap installed (not sure if it was I who put it on or PWC) but it was pretty thin in a few spots. The ridges of the spoke holes were sticking through in a few locations. I was able to determine exactly which spoke hole was causing the problem (props for matching up the logo on the tire with the valve hole and careful removal of the tire and tube while changing flats) and installed a new rim tape from MEC. I combed over the rest of the rim and the inside of the tire just to be sure, and they looked fine. We’ll give her a week or two to see, but I’m pretty sure that this little problem should be gone now.
On the fixie, I found that I had a failed presta valve. No tears in the rubber or anything, just the air leaked through the valve itself until it was down around 15PSI. I know you can tighten up the little valve inside the stem on a Schrader valve, but I don’t think this is the case with a presta. New tube on there and we’ve got both bikes back on the road again. Thank goodness!

Mechanical Woes

First, I seem to have an issue with the seat post on my new Karate Monkey. After finally tightening the crap out of the collar bolt, it still slipped down about an inch on my last ride. It was only 11 miles, and while it was gravel, it should never move. I posted it to the LHT and CC Google group, looking for anyone who may have had a similar experience, and I did learn of others having such problems on other bikes. There was a case where the same thing happened with a LHT, and Surly came to the table and ended up sending a new replacement frame. Good on ya Surly. I need to measure my seat post and make sure that it is the correct diameter. If not, I’ll head to my LBS where I bought the bike and see if we might be able to try a few sizes of seat posts. Hopefully one slightly larger size will do the trick. If not….hhmmm…..I hope to be able to get a new frame to change out. That’s the worst case scenario, and I’d rather not think about that.

Second, not such a big deal, just flat tires. First one was about 3 weeks ago on my LHT. I rode it to work after lunch as I always do, same old route, and when I went to leave that evening, the front tire was completely airless. As I was changing the tube, I was careful to remember where on the wheel the flat happened so I could inspect the wheel and indeed there was something in there that was suspect to me. I forget what that was though. I remember thinking that I’ll just wait and see if I get another flat and then I’ll know I’ll have to deal with whatever the possible cause was. Well, yesterday, that other flat came. Now I really wish I remembered what the suspect cause was. I guess I’ll find out when I take the wheel off.

Third was after lunch today. I drove my truck to work this morning (shame shame shame) and picked up the LHT. (I could change the flat at work, but I’m a wuss and by far prefer working on a stand if I have any choice at all) and was planning on riding my fixie back to work. Went to put on my race blade fenders to help keep the water from jumping up at me. What do I find? A flat rear tire! Argh. I go from having no flats in 3 years, to 3 flats in 3 weeks. Frustrating. Kind of makes me want to just run out and buy some of the toughest most flat-resistant tires I can find (think Schwalbe marathons). Before, while running any tire, even tires I found for free at the recycling yard, I’ve never had a flat. Now, these three. Oh well, I guess we all have to deal with our share of mechanical headaches. I just don’t know why I got all of mine in one lump sum.

De-branding the LHT?

I’ve been thinking lately about removing the decals from my LHT. I’ve read up on it, even on the LHT and CC Google group, and from what I’ve learned, it’s really quite easy. Any thoughts on whether or not I should do it?

The reason I’m thinking of removing the decals is this; the LHT is such a great classic looking bike. The decals don’t help that at all. I think the go very much against the look of a classic bike. I removed the decal from the dealer that I bought the bike from already. I hate it when they do that. I didn’t get any special deal, and even the service left a lot to be desired, why would I let them advertise on my bike? I mean come on, give me 10% off accessories when I’m buying the bike or at least have it ready for me when you say you will. The first and second time you say you will. If you can’t do those things, you can’t advertise on a bicycle that I paid for.

With my LHT, it’s not so much that I don’t want to advertise for Surly. They make great, no non-sense bikes and make them affordable. I honestly can’t really think of a bike out there like the LHT, other than the LHT. It’s a great platform from which to build a nice touring bike. Very capable of meeting the task it was designed for, and compared to bicycles of a similar skill strength, it’s cheap. I’m quite happy with my LHT and think it’s a great bike. But there is the whole issue of the look of the bike. The color could be dubbed as a classic color, the tubing size, geometry look great, but the decals just don’t work. Especially if you want to “Rivendellize” your LHT. Some of the Surly Pacers have a nicer looking decal. I wonder why it got a different decal?

I’m not totally convinced I’m going to do it yet, but I think I might just de-decal the LHT. We’ll see.

Xtracycle De-commissioned

I've been searching for a frame with which to re-build up my Xtracycle for sometime now. It seems that finding decent steel MTB frames in size large is a very difficult task. Last Fall my drive train finally gave out on the existing build, and it has been sitting in my garage ever since. It was about 10 years old, so it has held together quite well. I have the new drive train, and pretty much every single other component to re-do the Xtra on, but I wasn't prepared to stick it all onto a frame that is way too small for me. I'm very excited about all of the components that I've gathered for the next build, but I just can't seem to locate a decent frame. I don't want to go out a buy a brand new one, so I'll just have to keep waiting for the right used one to come along. I'm sure that some time during this summer, I'll find a great one for free at the local recycling yard, I seem to find several decent ones every year. For now, I must simply wait. Being a new cheap bastard, I don't want to dole out more than $100 for a frame.

When I re-do the Xtra, I want something that is a little more capable of some longer distances. Particularly the 26 mile each way commute to work. I'll be switching between mustache and a few different drop bars to see which I prefer, but the key ingredient, as with any bike......a frame that fits well. All the parts now relocated to the rafters of the garage. It's a shame that frame is way too small for me. It's a Trek Antelope 920, and I really like it. Maybe I'll bring it back as a MTB for my wife.

Cool Site

BikeHacks. Worth a look.

DIY Seat Bag QR

I love this kind of stuff. DIY, that doesn't look DIY, doesn't look geeky. I saw this video over at the Epicuran Cyclist and thought it was worth sharing. Great idea about how to make a quick on and off set up for classic style (Carradice in this case) seat bags using a boat cleat. Brilliant.

Will lend tools for tools

A bit ago, a co-worker gave me a splined bottom bracket tool for fixing up his MTB.

Today, another co-worker gave me another (different) BB Tool because he bought the wrong one. Funny thing, the BB Tool that co-worker #1 gave me was the BB Tool that co-worker #2 needed. Instead of returning the tool, he gave it to me. Sure I built up a SS commuter bike and gave it to him a year ago, but boy, this getting tools from co-workers for free is great.

I’m always willing to lend out my bike tools, and they’ve been getting lent out a lot lately. Just a small thing I can do to get people out on their bikes. It’s really paying off in a big way.

Will work for tools

A buddy of mine here at work was in need of some technical expertise to get a bike back in running condition. Don't know why he came to me but whatever.

Bikes are really incredibly simple machines and very easy to work on. I suppose if you're not mechanically minded, that might be a different story, but I did an apprenticeship re-building turbines and 10 cylinder diesel engines where I could crawl into the crankcase. My Dad is also a Millwright and I spent hours and hours as a kid messing around with him in the shop, building all sorts of things and fixing our cars. Maybe their not so simple to everyone, but I find them incredibly easy to understand and work on.

Anyway, the person who had the bike previously didn't take care to make sure that the cranks were properly tightened. I'm sure they kept coming loose and they'd get out their trusty Ukrainian socket set (crescent wrench) and tighten it up a little and figure they were good until next time. With the square taper axle, this will wreak havoc.

SO I took it out so he could take it in to get a new one. The crappy thing was that I didn't yet have a splined bottom bracket removal tool. I buy my tools on a need to use basis, and in all the bike messing around I've done, I still haven't had to change out a splined bottom bracket. Until now.

He ended up going into the shop to get the bottom bracket after we measured it still in the bike, and I told him that if he would pick up on of those those BB splined sockets, I'd use it on his bike and pay him for it. Always looking for an excuse to buy tools, and I don't get to bike shops all that often.

He came back with all the parts (new BB, chain rings, and crankset) and I put it all back together for him. When I was done I asked how much I owe him for the tool. He told me, "it's yours for all the work you've done." Sweet!! I'll take deals like this any day. I had also adjusted his derailleurs, brakes and headset, so it's not like it was just 15 minutes. In all I spent about an hour on the bike.

I was just doing it because he's my friend and it's one way I can help promote cycling and get people out on their bikes. I give free tune ups all the time to people at work and my neighbours, but to get tools for doing it? Pure gravy.

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

I did something I've never done before....I sold one of my bikes! Oh the humanity!!

In wanting to expand my bike collection into a more purpose-built style of bikes - read snowbike - I sold my trusty Iron Horse Warrior. This was the first bike I ever bought new. Why would I sell it? Well, last year I used it once and that was camping with the family. I think I rode it to a Lions meeting last fall too. I don't ever get out to single track, ride gravel or role long excursions in the mountains. The truth of the matter is, I didn't use this bike anymore. So, why not let someone else enjoy it?

I put it up on Kijiji (the greatest classified site ever!) and I had emails and calls like crazy. Had to email 4 people back to tell them it was gone!

I sold it to one of Calgary's finest, a firefighter! Chris is a really great guy who will be using the bike to commute 17kms to work and back! Sweet!

He came out to our shop in Strathmore and we went for a test ride in the shop. I was all going good until about 80ft. snap. What the heck???? The derailleur hanger snapped off! Oh crap. Talk about feeling bad. I had no idea that it was even fatigued at all. I've never hucked, or trashed. But snap! I can only think it was because of maybe having pressure on it while riding in the back of my truck, or the kids stacking logs against it while camping?? I have no clue. But, in some ways, I guess that the beauty of the replaceable derailleur hanger. I could see this thing getting hammered if I were jumping, or grinding handrails. I wish I could do that stuff, but I can't. Weird.

Anyway, I knocked 100 off the price and we loaded it into his truck. I hope he can find a new part easily in Calgary. I told him that if for any reason he can't, just let me know and I will fully refund his money. Man I feel bad. Anyone have any experiences with these derailleur hangers snapping??

I'm gonna miss that bike!

New Ratio

I've decided to change the gearing on my fixie. Riding a fixed gear bike takes more dial in time and you may just find yourself messing with ratios for a while. I was previously running 45/16, which was perfect for when I built the bike. It was a flat commute for the most part without much stopping and starting. I tend to prefer to spin out a gear rather than power through it at a low rpm. I'm a high cadence guy.

Since I'd moved, I've ridden the fixie very seldom. I did about five 26 mile commutes last summer and after each one I kept telling myself I needed to change the gearing. I've got quite a few nasty hills between here and there. The last 26 mile commute I did on the fixie I decided it was enough. Standing up on the hills, so exhausted I was simply flopping my body weight on the top of the stroke and when I hit the bottom, muster up the strength to do it with the other leg. Well, it might not have been that bad, but it sure felt like it.
I've decided to make a significantly large change, by going one tooth bigger in the back. I say this is a large change, because if you're trying to fine tune your gear ratio, you would probably mess around with the front chain ring, rather than the rear cog. When I was running a 45/16 had 75.94 gear inches per revolution of the wheel. Now, with a 45/17 set up I've only got 71.47 gear inches. 4 gear inches per crank revolution makes a difference!

I'm interested to see how this new setup works.
I do have a bike repair stand, but I'm getting to be a wuss about working out in a cold garage.

Red Zeppelin

After reading reviews, it's here! Cheap at MEC. As usual. I love MEC!

Getting Skinny

Me, nooooo. I'd have to lay off doughnuts and beer for that. Not something I'm willing to do right now.

My tire's, yes.

Vik included a pair of Hutchinson 26" X 1" racing slicks when he sold me his Volae, and it was time to give them a try.

They certainly are quicker, and that is very important to me. Less comfortable? I suppose in theory they are, and I might actually notice it over several hours of riding, but really, with 1 1/2 tops at a time I don't really notice it. They are noticeably faster rolling though. There was a point during the commute today where I held 63 kph for over 3 minutes! That felt great. Okay, it's a very steep downhill, but it still felt great. On the Continental Sport Contacts that were on the wheels previously, I'd do about 55km on that stretch. Sure some of it might have been that I was feeling strong today, but the tires did make a difference. My average speed was up almost 5 kph for the trip. I think I like these tires.

A cool thing I found out is that my el cheapo bike stand works for my Volae also! I started working off the ground and remembered how miserable it was and why I bought a stand in the first place. Figured I might as well give it a try, and it worked. Sweet.
In even less exciting news, I found my tube inventory that I had packed from the move! Nice not to fear the flat again! Woot!

Bicycle T.L.C.

Well, all of this great warm weather (note the Chinook arch in this photo) that has come lately is creating a lot of muck on the roads.

After missing and struggling for shifts on the way home today, I decide it was time to give my winter (beater) a quick cleaning.

This muck loves bikes. Particularly the drive train. Bottom Bracket





Rear Derailer

Wheel

Rear Hub
Scraping crap out fo the cogs with a screw driver

Well, I soaked them all in degreaser, cleaned everything up and ran through some shifts on the stand and noted a significant improvement.

Tomorrow (this) morning, we'll do a road test on the way to work.

Cheers,

Jerome