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Thread: The Lounge of Terrestrial Wheelmen

  1. #21
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by G'day Mate View Post
    I often remark about how great my commute was when I ride Also, I'm definitely grumpier when I have to drive.
    Me too. I can't wait until the days get longer and the weather gets warmer so I can start bicycle commuting safely and comfortably again.

  2. #22
    What fresh hell is this? overpowered's Avatar
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    It's always interesting when one of these road raging self entitled psychopaths commits their crimes against a bicyclist who is also a cop:

    http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/...ficer_on_bike/

  3. #23
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    So, this was bound to happen eventually.

    My wife tried out clipless pedals last week, and like many converts, she went with the platform/clipless hybrid pedals. The only difference is, she almost immediately decided that it sucked only having one side to clip in on, so we got her a set of normal double-sided SPD pedals. I went to take the hybrid pedals off this morning, and they're the kind with the allen bolt on the inside of the crankarm rather than the normal whatever-you-call it on the outside that you use a pedal wrench on.

    I could see it coming, but thought I was going to be able to avoid it. I had my multitool out and was trying to get the right side pedal loose when it finally did so, throwing my arm into the chainring. Nasty gash down my forearm now...it didn't go too deep, but it's long and looks horrible. Didn't bleed a ton though, and the bleeding has stopped now, but the only thing we had that was large enough to mostly cover it was a tegaderm patch, so it's all clearly visible and looks deeply unpleasant. Doesn't hurt too much if I don't poke at it, but it did ooze on occasion when I would pull the right brake lever on our ride soon afterwards.

    So, now I have my first particularly nasty bike-repair-related injury. Hooray!

  4. #24
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
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    Rock and roll! Get her to stitch it up with regular thread, like you'd sew a button on with, for a particularly gruesome scar.

    Oozing wounds are what bike riding is all about, right?

    If I ever get the gumption to learn how to overhaul a bike and restore the '96-ish Specialized Allez I obtained in the fall, I'll be back to ask for pedal recommendations. I'm told riding a road bike with platform pedals is one of the cardinal sins of cycling, and more importantly, that you can go faster with some sort of foot restraints.

  5. #25
    Director Freude am Fahren's Avatar
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    It was a bar fight. Tell everyone it's from a broken bottle in a bar fight. Or saving puppies.

  6. #26
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    Plenty of folks still ride with platforms, but given that I thought my wife would never actually want to try clipless pedals, I'm shocked that she's just absolutely loving them now and keeps saying how mad she is at herself that she didn't get them before.

    FWIW, there are many who consider my setup to be a cardinal sin, using "mountain bike" pedals with a road bike. I like to be able to walk around when I'm off the bike, though, so I really want recessed cleats. Too lazy to change, and I think if your sole is stiff enough the smaller contact point is a non-issue, so it works fine for me.

  7. #27
    What fresh hell is this? overpowered's Avatar
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    I don't know about cardinal sin. You're not alone, though it's not super common with racing road bikes. I have seen it a fair bit with people who commute on racing bikes, though they will change the pedals/shoes for races or training rides.

    It's quite common for non-racing road bikes such as touring bikes and various commuters.

    A pedal wrench is not a bad investment and always remember that the right pedal is threaded normal and the left pedal is reverse threaded to keep it from coming loose during pedaling. Many beginners have gotten their left pedal so tight by turning it the wrong way that they could not get it loose. Also, always grease the pedal threads before installing pedals. Make sure that you always screw it all the way in but you probably don't want to crank too hard on the wrench to tighten it.

    Triva: The reverse threading of the left pedal was first done by the Wright brothers (they made bicycles before they made airplanes).
    Last edited by overpowered; January 13th, 2014 at 02:41 PM.

  8. #28
    Jedi Cam's Avatar
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    Rode the Suteki to school for the first time since Oct. 30. It felt good. I'm slow and out of shape now though. However, I vowed to hit the gym this year and I went for the first time today. I plan to keep it up for the foreseeable future.

  9. #29
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by overpowered View Post
    A pedal wrench is not a bad investment and always remember that the right pedal is threaded normal and the left pedal is reverse threaded to keep it from coming loose during pedaling. Many beginners have gotten their left pedal so tight by turning it the wrong way that they could not get it loose.
    I'll never forget that after paying my LBS $18 for a new crank (installed price).

    And I surely see the value of platform pedals for commuter bikes. I plan to keep commuting on the '93 Raleigh MTB I got from craigslist this summer but I think the Allez would make a fun and fast weekend bike for just going out for a ride for excercise and fun.

    The guy who gave me the bike suggested mountain bike pedals for the same reasons Tom Servo described above.

    My dilemma now is whether to buy some tools and spend time I really don't have tearing apart a bike on the weekends and trying to get all the little ball bearings back where they go or just paying my LBS to do it. I figure they might not do it with the same love and care that I would give it, but there's a better chance the would do it correctly, unlike me.

    It's the old time vs. money thing again, but I don't have much of either to spend on a luxury item like a second bike. I should buy my wife a nice bike instead and get her off the other Mongoose as I've written about before. I need to get them on craigslist too for cheap just so they get gone soon. Have been debating parting them out on CL for $5 here and maybe $10 there for various things, but there's the time thing again.

    So, as usual, I do nothing. I can get away with that in January but should plan ahead since spring will come to Colorado again in a few months.
    Last edited by George; January 13th, 2014 at 03:02 PM.

  10. #30
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    Must like you told me with the guitar - I have a feeling you can handle most of the repairs. I'm curious how many bearings you'd actually need to deal with - I'm pretty sure my Roubaix doesn't actually have any servicable bearings, they're all in sealed cartridges that you're just expected to replace when they wear out.

    Then again, I'm about to try to change out the bar-end shifters and brake levers on my Surly for a new set of STI brifters, so that's running new cable and housing for the brakes and derailleurs, replacing the bar tape, and replacing the controls. I'm a little intimidated by that project right now.

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