Bike light

Winter is here again and I really need a better headlight. The light I’ve got now is a piddly 2 AA battery flashing ‘be seen by others’ light and i need a super bright luxeon led ‘its pitch black, show me the edge of the canal’ kind of affair.

Wow they’re expensive! I never realised buying a torch could be such a minefield. Well, in a true ‘keep it cheap’ style I stumbled upon this site www.instructables.com which has many diy projects submitted by like minded folk. I intend to seek out a suitable project with maximum brightness/buck.

SS chain tensioner nonsense = new frame

I reverted back to using a chain tensioner as I have not got a SS specific frame. After a while now though its getting on my nerves. The bike without it is fine going uphill but coming down hill is a different matter, the chain slaps about so much that I’m sure its going to come right off and I’m going to go flying. So im going to look for a SS specific frame just something cheap on ebay. The tensioner is just so noisy, click clack click – I may aswell have gears.

A quick look revealed that there is an abundance of street/dirt/jump frames with horizontal dropouts for not much money but ive never ridden such a bike and wonder what the geometry is like for a more XC/commute style ride?

I can dream about an on-one or santa cruz chameleon frame but they’re not in my budget range, besides I just don’t think you get the kind of deal you once could on ebay anymore – overenthusiastic and snipe style bidding (waiting until the last seconds of an auction) cause many a bargin to be lost at a price not that far from the price of a new item. Recently all my purchaces have been from people who have set reaonable buy it now prices. I’ve seen fair buy it now prices dissapear only to be bid upto stupidly high final amounts well over the original buy it now. Do people really think they’re the only ones watching and going to get it for 99p?

Sheldon Brown

Haven’t posted for a long while. I’ve been off the bike for a bit due to family stuff/health etc. I’ll be back with more regular posts soon (and lots of bike updates) but I thought I’d take this opportunity to offer my condolences to Sheldon Browns Family. Sheldon Passed away 3rd Feb 2008, he was without doubt the foremost technical guru on single speeding/fixed gear as well as all other things cycling related. I never met him, but every time I have a cycling related question I’d go to his site and find the answer and I am very grateful to him for making all his knowledge available to the rest of us. If you haven’t already, you should check out his site www.sheldonbrown.com which I hope will continue to be the vital resource that it is. Alternatively to find out more about the man himself check out his wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Brown_(bicycle_mechanic).

Release That Tension

I’ve found a gear ratio that allows me to remove the chain tensioner that I was using. Originally I was running 32/16 with a half link. I tried 32/18 but still needed the tensioner. It was so close that I was sure 32/17 would be the right gear. However, Gusset do not manufacture a rear 17t sprocket so the only one I could find was made by surly but retailed at £20, a little pricey when I wasn’t really sure. This did make me think that an odd numbered rear sprocket would be the answer and got hold of a Shimano DMX 15t rear sprocket for £4. I had to take the half link out to get it to work but the difference is incredible, the bike is so much quieter and there is no longer that dragging feeling whilst pedaling. If you’ve got vertical dropouts and are running a chain tensioner I highly recommend experimenting to try and run without one, you will not regret it.

Numbness

Increasingly I am suffering with numbness in my hands and fingers whilst riding. In as little as half a mile I can feel the tingling rising up to the point of almost complete numbness. A little research hints at a few solutions, gloves! Well I already use a pair. Comfy grips, a riser bar linked in with riding geometry ie stem reach and seat to handle bar distance.

I’d always had a flat bar and have never known any different. This was a good opportunity to try out a riser bar and I managed to get hold of one, for wait for it, £2. Yes that’s right 2 whole English pounds. Not a very cool model mind you, made from steel, silver and with a slight ‘shopping bike’ look to them. Well we’ll call them ‘old skool’ and have a go.

 

Couldn’t be arsed?

I remember after the first few days of trying out my new bike my arse was really sore. This puny little knife edge of a seat was no match for my delicate rear end, so I went and bought a nice wide comfy gel saddle. Now I will be the first to admit that it looked unsightly but my god my bottom was most appreciative. I could now dismount without a big sigh of relief and a John Wayne waddle at least. As my posterior hardened up to the new daily schedule I reverted back to the sportier model in the end, it gives my legs more room when pedaling and it is much lighter too.

Brake it to me gently

I’ve been riding my new setup a few weeks now and the only technical problem I have encountered is that my old front wheel seems slightly out of true. As I apply the front brake the stopping action is abrupt and jerky, which is slightly scary on the down hills. I’ve taken the plunge and bought another wheel which cured the problem. I had tried to tighten the spokes on the old wheel but alas they had rusted and were unmovable. This newer wheel has fittings for a disc brake so I’m tempted to get a front set just to see what all the fuss is about. I have read that they offer greater stopping power but are heaver. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a cheap test set to try out for minimal investment.

Double up your MTB inner tubes

I found an interesting article in a mountain bike magazine, well actually it was in the letters section. A guy had written in to explain how he uses old inner tubes to improve puncture and pinch flat protection. He slits the tube around the inner circumference cuts off the valve and wraps the opened up inner tube around the ’new’ inner tube inside the tire to give an extra layer of protection without adding too much weight. I’ve tried this and it does seem to work.

I am trying to work with the lowest tire pressure I can at the moment at 35psi, and although it does seem to give increased comfort to the ride the traction on the tarmac section of my journey seems to slow me down a little. I’m going to play around over the next few weeks to see what difference it makes. Although I have got just a cheap set of 26 x 1.95 XC tires on the bike and I have little experience with better, more expensive tires. I appreciate that companies like specialized put a lot of money into R&D into tire design but with so many other things I need to get for the bike I’m reluctant to splash out at the moment, even if tires are the connection between you and the road.

All in a ratio

I have found that the best source on the web for information on single speed bikes is sheldonbrown.com. From the information on his site it was apparent that a single speed converter kit would be the cheapest form of conversion. I still wasn’t sure if I was going to like single speed biking so if I was going to waste some money it might as well be as little as possible. A far cry from the elegantly polished and machined Eno hub the (gusset) kit comprised a 16t splined sprocket, a locking ring, chain tensioner and several spacers of differing widths. I plumbed for a new 3/32 chain as well and set about fitting the kit.

Obtaining a straight chain line, obviously one of the most important considerations, was very easy and on the second jiggling about with the spacers it was set. The chain now fitted to the 32t front chain ring and 16t rear sprocket I had a perfect 2:1 gear ratio (51 gear inches). I played about with chain length to see If I could get away without a tensioner, even trying the very hard to find half link (charliethebikemonger.com) but the chain was far too tight and binding or just too loose. I purchased a cheap 18t sprocket in the hope that this would solve the problem, and if not but for a millimeter or two would have worked. I contemplated grinding a flat on the threaded wheel axel to give me the little extra room (again details of this from sheldonbrown.com) that I required but felt uneasy with my competence in this task. A 17t sprocket (dropping to 48 inches), which I am sure will be the answer to this gear ratio conundrum is a little harder to find, gusset do not manufacturer one in this size but having found the perfect item made by surly I am tempted to try it, only the price tag of £20 is stopping me but it does look like a quality item. The chain tensioner makes the pedal stroke feel a little draggy, almost as if someone is slightly pulling you back, and is noisy too, without it the bike is almost silent. I think I will invest in this little spiky piece of metal and I’ll let you know how it performs soon.

Old Skool Brakes

I immediately cottoned on to the fact that I could probably lose a fair bit of weight off the bike, without all the gear paraphernalia, yet whilst the bike was in pieces in my porch that was the only weight I was in danger of losing.

A quick stint on eBay and I picked up set of v-brakes, The bike frame has disc mounts too but as I was going to be using my existing wheels so rim brakes were my only option. A lovely set of Shimano Deore LX brakes for £15 suited me fine and after a little clean and fitting with new fibrax pads the brakes looked and worked beautifully. They have adjustable pull on the lever, adjustable reach and seem very light – I’m not a weight weenie but anything helps. Maybe titanium bottle cage bosses would be next?