The Lounge of Terrestrial Wheelmen

[George]

finding all my clothing, seeing whether it had shrunk excessively over the winter...

I hate it when that happens!

I like those floor pumps with a large gauge at the bottom. Much better than using a pump with no gauge and then a separate tire gauge as for a car tire, as I did when I started riding again back in 2013 and didn't know any better.

Today's bike I admire (but am not buying) on craigslist:

Specialized Rockhopper - $260

[M4FFU]

^^ Sweet!

[George]

More wrench-turning foolishness on cheap old bikes follows. Pardon my enthusiasm, but I really enjoy doing stuff like this.

Spoiler:

Before, with a stem that was fine last year but now seemed too short, original 1990-ish Shimano 200GS mostly plastic trigger shifters and four-finger brake levers, and in need of a cleaning and waxing:



After:



Making them the same size wasn't the specific goal here, but as the kids are about the same size, this should work, for maybe two weeks at their current rate of growth.

Obligatory drive-side picture with new pedals, grips, brake levers, shifters, cables, cable housing, front brake cable holder, and the whole thing washed and waxed.



When I got back into cycling and started reading everything I could find about bicycles online, I read people grumbling about how difficult cantilever brakes are to set up. They haven't given me pause before this weekend. On his bike, attaching a fresh brake cable requires one hand to hold the cable tight and another to turn an allen wrench to secure the cable to the cantilever arms. Of course, it still needs adjustment from here, but that's all it takes to connect the cable before starting the fine-tuning process.

But on hers, while reusing the original parts instead of using a newer connector cable setup as I did on his, I needed to use two hands and two wrenches of different sizes to tighten the upper nut and bolt while also tightening the lower nut with a third wrench while holding the cable tight with my fourth hand. Simple, right?

All this bike stuff is still easier than setting up a Stratocaster with a floating bridge.



Close-ups of those old but new-to-me brake parts, before and after. This bike is in such good shape overall that the brakes were about the only mildly surprising part of this tune-up.



Yes, my workbench top is painted OSB. It started as a temporary thing with a piece of leftover wood, but I've never gotten around to replacing it.



Both Hardrocks have a strange (to me) channel welded to the frame for the rear brake cable to pass though. I'd prefer a regular brazed-on cable stop toward the rear of the top tube, but this works just as well, I suppose.



Mission accomplished. I tried to get that saddle up just a little higher, but she liked it where it was. I think the fit looks pretty good for now.

[Tom Servo]

All this bike stuff is still easier than setting up a Stratocaster with a floating bridge.

Truer words....

[G'day Mate]

First 100km ride today since January last year ... crikey.

[George]

Good to hear from you. Keep on truckin'! (or, um, cycling...)

[SportWagon]

First 100km ride today since January last year ... crikey.

And have you solved your login problems here, too? We've all missed you!

[SportWagon]

Was that really the last post here?

I finally got out for this year last Sunday, a little earlier in the year than last year. But still later than I should be able to manage.

Is it Bubbles who shows up on the strava club records but whose rides can't be found?

Spoiler:

A white cat crossed my path just as I head down towards the covered bridge. Is that good luck?

When I got to the rest stop near the bridge, a second, more luxurious portapotty had been added to the single one I'd seen during a drive one day.

After a brief rest stop, as I crossed the covered bridge, a stern-looking Mennonite woman was walking in the opposite direction.

I was glad that my legs seemed to be able to slowly push me up all little hills for the whole ride. They have been getting that old-man degenerated look.

As I rode down to Conestogo, another Mennonite woman was out at the end of her driveway; probably waiting for a ride.

I had left early enough that the cows on the little farm near the little bridge in the valley hadn't been sent across the road to the pastures yet by the time I successfully climbed the last uncertain hill without walking. A buggy was coming down that hill as I climbed it, actually, but luckily no car wanted to go either up or down at the same time.

After I got back I was surprised that it seemed to take me over two hours to do all the required wind-down. I'd got up at 4am and hadn't finish with my 2.5 hour ride until 11am. And at that point I took a nap, which is arguably still part of the time use

[George]

Spoiler:

Yes, the white cat is good luck, but the stern-looking woman probably broke the spell. I'd say you broke even.

I keep thinking I'll get a bike ride in on the weekends but there's always other things to do instead - family stuff, kids' sports, work around the house, etc. I really need to get a job closer to home for many reasons, and bicycle commuting is on my mind this time of year. I would love to bicycle commute again, and I wonder if I'll ever be as lucky again as the job I had from 2012 - 2016 with a bike cage, locker room, showers, etc. Those probably aren't good questions to ask at job interviews. "Sally, make sure we don't hire this guy. He's one of them!"

I drove to work today (as opposed to my usual train ride) so I can visit the two bike co-ops in Denver today - one at lunch and one after work (they're open until 7:00 PM). Looking for parts to finish up a project that I'll show you guys eventually.

I'm also looking around for a replacement for my 20-year-old sedan and hoping to find something I can toss a few or all of our bikes in to go ride cool places with the family. Anything would be better than strapping that awful bike rack to the back of my trunk and then strapping the bikes on the rack. It's a colossal pain the arse.

The Denver Century Ride is next week. I rode the 50-mile option last year (okay, so it was only 48.5 miles but the organizers call it a 50-mile ride) but haven't ridden enough this year to consider doing it now. I'm sure I could finish, but I'm not in shape enough to enjoy it.

Today's bicycle of interest (to me, anyway) on craigslist - a '90s hybrid with 700c wheels and cantilever brakes. Obviously it would need drop bars on day one, but otherwise it looks good. Groovy paint job, too.

Mountain bike large 24 inches - $100



And here's a picture I found on the internet of the same bike with some interesting modifications:

[George]

Found at co-op #1 today at lunch:

1 1/8" quill "dirt drop" stem - tall and not a lot of reach - for five bucks.

Shimano RSX 3x7 integrated shifters (the same as on my Allez) for TEN BUCKS!

I realize they may be old and worn out but I'm willing to gamble a Hamilton on it. They look really clean inside.