Show us your bike (bicycle)

[D4D]

Out riding with my son on a bike trail this morning and we had our first mechanical. He was a bit to aggressive on the grip shift and threw his chain off the top ring and jammed it between the cassette and the spokes. Good to see the biking comradery as most riders asked if we were ok, a couple of older road guys stopped and gave me a hand fixing it. I only removed the plastic spoke protector thingy the other day too

[Paddler Ed]

Out riding with my son on a bike trail this morning and we had our first mechanical. He was a bit to aggressive on the grip shift and threw his chain off the top ring and jammed it between the cassette and the spokes. Good to see the biking comradery as most riders asked if we were ok, a couple of older road guys stopped and gave me a hand fixing it. I only removed the plastic spoke protector thingy the other day too

Worth checking the stop screws and cable tension when you get a chance - my quick way to set the cable tension is to drop it to the frame end of the cassette, back the cable clamp off and then tension any slack out of the cable and tighten the cable clamp. Now move the gears over to the lowest gear, and see how it goes, perhaps tighten the L stop screw a touch until it stops it shifting to that gear; back it out a touch so that it shifts smoothly to that lowest gear.

[D4D]

Thanks Ed, I had a quick look and the derailleur hanger is a banana shape. My son must have dropped his bike at some stage. Time to find a new hanger as it looks too far gone to bend back into shape.

[Paddler Ed]

Thanks Ed, I had a quick look and the derailleur hanger is a banana shape. My son must have dropped his bike at some stage. Time to find a new hanger as it looks too far gone to bend back into shape.

Forgot about child involvement...

[Paddler Ed]

Best sort of bike shopping... someone else's money...

We're trying to find my brother a new bike:
-Based in Melbourne, so wants something does commuting
-Doesn't own a car, so the bike does most things
-Has a little 'un, so needs to be able to take a Toppeak child carrier
-Wants something quick
-He's 5'8" with a 29" leg... so a complete contrast to me at 6'3 with a 34" inside leg...
-Decent spec on it.

Bikes he's had in the past:
Azonic DS1
Various "cool" fixe type bikes, currently running a Fuji thing

Budget of about $3k with child seat.

We've been looking at:
Cannondale Slate
Kona Unit
Giant Toughroad SLR 0

Curve balls that we've lobbed in are:
Marin Pine Mountain
Specialized AWOL

Any other suggestions; I think those give you an idea as to where the thinking is...

[Foo]

Watched Shane Perkins race for the first time last night at the Anna Meares Velodrome. There was a fly lap where they had a motor bike winding the riders up and then pulling out before the start of the last lap.

Shane was to quick for the motor bike in the wind up and had to keep backing off  but he still did the last lap at an average speed of 75.7kmh and that, my friends is not to shabby at all.  The motor bike needed to be hittin 80kmh at least for him to have gone quicker. 

Foo

[Prydey]

Watched Shane Perkins race for the first time last night at the Anna Meares Velodrome. There was a fly lap where they had a motor bike winding the riders up and then pulling out before the start of the last lap.

Shane was to quick for the motor bike in the wind up and had to keep backing off  but he still did the last lap at an average speed of 75.7kmh and that, my friends is not to shabby at all.  The motor bike needed to be hittin 80kmh at least for him to have gone quicker. 

Foo

ah, the Keirin. 

[Foo]

No, not this one, this one was just one rider for a flying lap, after two laps wind up. He did however win the Keirin also.

Foo

[NewieCamper]

Yesterday the convict 100 MTB race was on. 100kms on dirt, with a fair bit of rocky technical stuff. Of course the elite riders do it in about 4hr, but Jason English, 7 time world 24hr solo champ apparently was riding baxk to Newcastle (another 100km) after smashing out the race in podium time.

Personally I did 2 min outside my best time, but blame the equipment. When the rear shock doesn't have any damping it was a bit like riding a pogo stick at times and every time I got on a rough descent it kept topping out and making horrible noises. Taking it easy on the descents and all the pedal bob on the flats was surely worth a couple of minutes in 6h27min.

[D4D]

Personally I did 2 min outside my best time, but blame the equipment. When the rear shock doesn't have any damping it was a bit like riding a pogo stick at times and every time I got on a rough descent it kept topping out and making horrible noises. Taking it easy on the descents and all the pedal bob on the flats was surely worth a couple of minutes in 6h27min.

Good effort, any idea why your rear shock failed?

[NewieCamper]

Good effort, any idea why your rear shock failed?

Seems to have a bit of an oil leak around the lockout lever. It's done about 3000km since I've owned it and hasn't had any service other than adding air in about 5 years so it's done ok.

[Foo]

Good stuff Newie but next time, make sure your gear is up to the task and then you'll kill ya best time. 

Foo

[NewieCamper]

Good stuff Newie but next time, make sure your gear is up to the task and then you'll kill ya best time. 

Foo

on the previous ride it appeared that just the lockout wasn't working, then it must have got worse and I didn't have time to get a shock service prior to the race. I did service my forks that were playing up once before the same event and they only lasted about 2 decent descents before they were just as bad again so I figured I'd better not tempt fate and DIY service a rear shock with no time for a replacement. 

On a better note all the mechanical issues I've had during events have been rideable, unlike others that have to pull out.

I've also copped a few flat tyres, but (touch wood) have so far only gone flat after the event is finished on over 20 starts, except one during the event. They've either gone flat rolling back to the car, or in the garage the next day.

[D4D]

Nothing wrong with upgrades, the seat look like it has a hard ridge at the back. Will be interesting what you think of the grips, I have a set of lock on DH grips at the moment and think I may go back to the old and trusted Oury grips

I ended up swapping the Enduro models for the All Mountain models. The All Mountain models are a little less hardcore, the Enduro models are race oriented. Mountain Bikes Direct were great to deal with, they swapped the grips and saddle over without hesitation.

[paceman]

hi all,

this may have been answered before, but my searching hasn't found anything...

how do you guys clean your bike?  ie:  what cleaning agents for different parts of the bike...

mine is in need of a clean and was wondering what you guys use...

[GGV8Cruza]

I wash my bike with normal car wash suds after most rides to keep it clean and tidy, no pressure washer as you dont want to blow the grit into the fork seals or the bottom bracket

I was the chain and running gear with a citrus degreaser for chains with a chain cleaner when ever needed depending on the conditions. I use a brush to get the heavier items off the chain and bits as well

GG

[paceman]

I wash my bike with normal car wash suds after most rides to keep it clean and tidy, no pressure washer as you dont want to blow the grit into the fork seals or the bottom bracket

I was the chain and running gear with a citrus degreaser for chains with a chain cleaner when ever needed depending on the conditions. I use a brush to get the heavier items off the chain and bits as well

GG

thanks for that, GG...

is it worthwhile giving the frame a spray with inox, or similar to stop rusting?  we live fairly close to the beach...

also, what about the rims, where the brake pads make contact?  have seen others use a white spirit to get a good clean?

[Paddler Ed]

thanks for that, GG...

is it worthwhile giving the frame a spray with inox, or similar to stop rusting?  we live fairly close to the beach...

also, what about the rims, where the brake pads make contact?  have seen others use a white spirit to get a good clean?

The frame will only rust if it's a steel frame, and there aren't many of those around really now - although I still have a steel Kona back in the UK. I have been known to use furniture polish before to leave a waxy finish behind...

With the rims, you don't want to use white spirit as it's oil based - metho is a better bet as that won't leave a residue behind that impedes brake performance.

[D4D]

Good topic, as you can imagine I have OCD when it comes to cleaning my bike

After each ride, wipe down everything with a damp cloth. I have a spray bottle of a very weak solution of CT18 that I use to dampen the cloth.
If the bike is muddy, I wash the bike with slow running water and a soft brush, then wipe dry with a chamois, use the air blow to get bulk water off.
After washing & drying I wipe over the frame with a cloth sprayed with silicone spray. That was a pro-tip I saw somewhere, stops mud etc. sticking to frame and makes it really easy to wash off.
Chain gets a quick blow with air to get the bulk water off, a wipe with a cloth and then a lube with 'Squirts' brand lube.
If the chain is really muddy/covered in crap then I use a chain cleaner (Park Tool) with a heavy CT18 solution, followed by a wash with water and dry/lube as above.
For the brake discs I use another pro-tip of isopropyl alcohol wipes, I use multiple wipes until the new wipe is clean.

[D4D]

Topical - Should You Jet Wash Your Bike?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzbpHGyFzc8

[Prydey]

i don't use (and probably wouldn't use) high pressure water to wash my bike, but i do use mains pressure with a garden hose.  normally i remove the wheels so hubs aren't getting a direct spray, and you just have to be mindful of where you aim the water.

i'm not a fairweather cyclist either, so its no different to riding in the rain.  bike (and rider) is getting a fair soak this week.  you just have to pull it apart for a bit more regular cleaning and regreasing during the winter months.  my bike isn't pristine, but i do look after the drivetrain.

[NewieCamper]

Council clean-up, eBay and Gumtree have been good to me.
Now I need to decide which is my camping/pub etc bike:
Apollo Everest e-stay:

DiamondBack Ascent with cool retro Manitou forks (not working):

and GT Aggressor with some bling White Industries Cranks

Total cost $55, less about $15 after I sold  an Apollo Koscuisko on eBay that came with the Everest.

Current plan is to keep the Everest and DiamondBack and move on the GT after swapping the cranks.

[Foo]

Black Beauty is ready for the assault on Redlands Crit tonight. 



Foo

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

[scblack]

Black Beauty is ready for the assault on Redlands Crit tonight. 



Foo

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

Nice bike Foo.

I've got a question: the same as me, you have the steerer tube poking a good bit above your stem. Why do you leave it longer than strictly necessary?

I've done it in case I end up with another type of stem it may be thicker than current one, so have options. Or if in future I am less flexible than now, and want to raise the stem later. And also just plain giving myself some option/space if I want to fiddle around with setup.

Just a query, I'm interested in other ideas.

[Foo]

That is the precise reason why I've left it that way, scblack.  It is much better to have a little bit of room to move in the position setup, especially if you change the bars to a lower drop or reach. 

Foo