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Thread: The Lounge of Terrestrial Wheelmen

  1. #4931
    Jedi Cam's Avatar
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    I am sad to see it go, G. It seemed like a good bike.

  2. #4932
    Jedi Cam's Avatar
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    It’s crazy how my appetite skyrockets even after just a 45 minute ride. WANT TO EAT ALL THE THINGS!

  3. #4933
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cam View Post
    I am sad to see it go, G. It seemed like a good bike.
    It was, but it had a noticeable dent in the top tube and a couple smaller ones elsewhere. The paint was all scraped up from (I'm guessing) being locked up in the city in a previous life. I had it on craigslist last year with those things clearly noted and photographed and had no inquiries about the bike, even after dropping the price to $75.

    The rear wheel was slightly out of true (or I would have kept the mismatched wheelset), and it was ready for another overhaul, I think - brake pads, cables and housings, and new bar tape, if not bearings. Heck, I would have kept the tires and tubes to use on the Cross Check, except they were twelve dollar tires from the now defunct Performance Bicycle stores and a few years old. So the whole thing went, minus bottle cages and pedals and with a functional but slightly torn saddle installed.

    And, as I kept thinking of keeping it, I'd make myself remember the two times I was going downhill as fast as possible and encountered the "death wobble". I always wondered might have something to do with the dented tube, although online research at the time indicated it can happen for various reasons.

    By contrast, I saw a speed of 40 mph on the Surly on Strava a while back and it was smoove. While flying downhill like that isn't a big part of riding to me, I would rather not be terrified when the opportunity arises, such as when I finally get around to riding up and down Lookout Mountain. For those who don't want to click the link, it's a road ride of 9.2 miles / 14.8 km with 1,219 feet / 371.5 meters of elevation change each way.

    Lookout Mtn. in Golden, CO is not only a local’s favorite, but it’s one of those rides that people seek out when visiting from out of state (as is evident by tourists in jeans throwing up all over themselves in the summer, using a rental bike with a bottle of Fierce Grape Gatorade stuck in the water-bottle cage...

  4. #4934
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    My half-assed repair job held up well enough for a bit of a ride today on the trainer. I'm not bothering to put the rear wheel back on when I take it off the trainer though, last thing I need to do is tempt the hanger to pop off again before the new hanger arrives.

  5. #4935
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    As much fun as Zwift is, I sure wish the overall program wasn't such a horribly buggy pile of crap. Went to try to ride today and had it crash on me, but when it does that (at least on a Mac), it leaves a bunch of processes lying around that tie up the Bluetooth and ANT+ sensors, and in some cases prevent the app from logging in again, so you have to reboot.

    I ran into that today when it crashed, then on a subsequent restart wasn't able to connect to the trainer. It asked me to "wake up" any devices, and while the trainer was flashing that it was connected over ANT+, I still went to hand crank the pedals to make sure. That's when my half-assed repair job became no-assed and the derailleur snapped off again.

    Sometimes it's clear the universe thinks you should wait until another time to ride.

  6. #4936
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
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    Took my Cross Check to the shop today. Have been meaning to get the gearing sorted out for months now and figured if I kept waiting to buy tools and do the work, it would be September before I know it and I wouldn't have ridden it. They talked me out of a triple chainring and suggested changing my 36T smaller chainring for a 34T. They also suggested going to a wider-range 9-speed cassette but said it would be April or May before they could get one. Wow, I had heard of parts shortages but didn't realize it was that bad. They said they'd have a new chainring on Friday and the bike would be ready then.

    A couple hours later, they called and said they found a matching 34T in back and the bike was ready. Went for a short ride this afternoon and it seems okay, but I won't really know until I go hill-climbing on some dirt trails during a longer ride. Whatever they did, though, it it smooooooooth and dead silent now. I hope I can keep up the motivation to ride this year. It has been an easy thing to say "not today" about for far too long.

  7. #4937
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    I really miss my commute, it was my excuse to get my riding in. It's very easy to say "not today", especially when your work starts messaging you at 8:30 in the morning and doesn't stop until 7 that night, you really don't feel like you have the time to get any riding in.

    Maybe in a few months if things keep going the way they seem to be going.

  8. #4938
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by George View Post
    Took my Cross Check to the shop today. Have been meaning to get the gearing sorted out for months now and figured if I kept waiting to buy tools and do the work, it would be September before I know it and I wouldn't have ridden it. They talked me out of a triple chainring and suggested changing my 36T smaller chainring for a 34T. They also suggested going to a wider-range 9-speed cassette but said it would be April or May before they could get one. Wow, I had heard of parts shortages but didn't realize it was that bad. They said they'd have a new chainring on Friday and the bike would be ready then.
    The 34T smaller chainring was okay, but I knew if I put on fatter and therefore taller tires, I'd be over-geared again. So, I took the bike to the shop to get a triple installed and a better wheelset that's tubeless-compatible. It's anyone's guess when the parts might arrive, but in the meantime, I hope to rack up some miles on the mountain bike.

  9. #4939
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    After a year of not commuting and not riding that much (I have to admit, that last round of harassment I got a while ago while riding really took the wind out of my sails), I'm trying to get back into riding on Zwift.

    It's amazing how quickly your muscles atrophy.

  10. #4940
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    Quote Originally Posted by George View Post
    The 34T smaller chainring was okay, but I knew if I put on fatter and therefore taller tires, I'd be over-geared again. So, I took the bike to the shop to get a triple installed and a better wheelset that's tubeless-compatible. It's anyone's guess when the parts might arrive, but in the meantime, I hope to rack up some miles on the mountain bike.
    I read a fascinating article about the demise of larger gearsets (might have been watched a fascinating YouTube video.) They really are more efficient.

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