Search results for:

an you ride along in the drops and the float your hands off the handlebars and maintain your body position? If not, your cycle fit needs to be adjusted for your current physiological limits.

A commonly circulated bicycle fit falsity. As one pedals harder one's body pushes back. If you can do that it probably means that your bicycle does not fit:-) Seriously... Taking your hands off the bars tends to also mean taking pressure off the pedals and, of course, the body will fall forward. The drops are there on a modern road bicycle not for "just riding along". Given that the currently "standard" riding position is defined by the hoods Zeitgeist is to use bars whose design to ease the transition and provide minimum body movement in the transition from hoods to drops. Drops are lower but provide less reach and more body leverage--- and maybe reduce the frontal area . Moving foward in the saddle during sprints and moving back during climbs is standard.. The main issue with saddle height is injury prevention and less about economy.. If you look at a lot of old pictures you'll see saddle heights and reach all over the place.

First you probably want to loosen the part. I'd used some freezing spray to get the bit very cold. An inverted can of something like Blast Off can work. If looking to purchase something I've found CRC Rost Flash quite good. The aim, I think, is to get the rest of the screw removed without needing to drill anything out. Don't expect things to work "first time".. a few goes and letting some time for the penetrating oils to make their way should be allowed for...

As far as I recall, Campag also recommended assembling square tapers dry for all the years they made them.

What can I say: not based on industrial best practice.

I used to have a mil handbook on line in my old site.. Let me see if I can find it..

To be honest I'm hard pressed to think of some fixture on a bicycle that could not use some assembly paste or lube. That includes square tapers, splines, couplings--- including Hirth--- and carbon parts including seatposts. That said not all assembly pastes and thread lubrications are suitable for all materials and applications. That is why specialist lube companies makes such as wide range of products. Luckly bicycles tend to use materials that lets one narrow down the choices considerably. I've found Klueberpaste 46 MR 201 to suitable for almost every screw, bolt and press-fit. There are a few applications where Loctite or beeswax have their place (both are lubes) and a few where I'll use a screw paste such as Klueber Duotempi PMY45 or Weha Keramik Paste.

Chain lubes? How said the original lube found on a virgin chain is optimal? Depends upon for what.. For sprint events on the track there are, I feel, better lubricants about than what I pull out of a Izumi box.

Notice how they are wearing leggings/leg-warmers but NO gloves? Looks like most of their riding was in the motorcar that took them to the lake for the photo-op... Here they are getting ready.. the guy on the left is trying to clean the parking lot dog-poo from his new white shoes...

By using two different locks you're requiring the thief to be comfortable and adept at picking/smashing two different locks.)

That is, unfortunately, probably very good advice. It raises the bar quite high. Probably best if one of the locks is "exotic".

First vid is a just a bump key, most crap locks fall for that. The keys can be found all over the place.

Yup. But each are pretty specific. A Master Lock bump key is different from an Abus.. But not just "crap" locks are prone to them... Its a basic flaw in pin-tumblers. Any pin-tumbler can be "bumped". Disc tumblers can't be "bumped" but they are still quite pickable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9sKnVeLsAk

You do all realise that lock-picker has spent many hours, in the comfort of his own home ( probably ) practising on that one specific d-lock?

Given the popularity of that model why not as gannef specialize? The Krytonite is not a cheap lock so is it not logical to assume the objects have value? The lock is also very popular so the chances of finding one are also excellent.. Common and with a valuable bounty..

All locks can be picked. The more popular the lock the more know-how there is on how to best open them. I can show you a similar video on ABUS locks-- done by a guy selling special keys for 20 EUROs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiLSj84sGPQ

The same guy sell sets to break into cars.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUXFUB6fR4E

According to the police the main function of the lock is to prevent non-thieves from stealing. That is why most insurrance companies care that it was locked and less so with what. The reason to get a good lock is to try to raise the standard a bit and suggest to a thief that the "other" object is easier takings...

No, SPDs are much better. Their durability compared to Speedplay is off the charts. They don't need any of this care regime bullshit that Speedplay do and I can buy a whole set of SPDs for the price of one poxy cleat set for Speedplay.

Speedplay are not "install and forget until replacement" nor are they inexpensive but they are not that hard to maintain or "fragile". Pumping some grease every once and again through the grease port is, albeit too much for the "non enthusiast", pretty much in line with the demands of road bicycle maintainance.

The cleats are indeed expensive and not as long lasting as any of us would like but still robuster than most other popular road pedal cleats. The surface of the cleat is slippery metal unkind to stopping at lights but easily "hacked" with some Sugru. The C-clip itself will generally hold up through 10 of 1000s of clip-outs. The cleats are unfortunately very expensive--- more so in Europe than in the US. It's really the price of the cleats that pushes the cost of running Speedplays to the top.

In defense, however, of Bryne if he made the pedals stronger and the cleats harder wearing it would push the weight up and significantly dampen sales--- the Time Equip TBTs were ideal in nearly every category but weight (even the Equip Titan tipped the scales at 470g for the pair including cleats, 4 hole mounting versus, for reference, 280g for Speedplay stainless). Even the Roubaix SE and series Pave models, despite minimalization, weight more--- the pave even a few grams more than the SEs (casting versus machined alu bodies and the addition of a bit more surface). Today's Time pedals are similar in weight to Speedplay-- even lighter (185g for the Ti including cleats on 3 hole shoes is more or less what Speedplay Nanograms with 4 hole shoes weigh)-- but they are no longer robust (the bodies break) and the cleats wear fast (no longer brass).
SPD-SL? Campa Pro-fit? Both are really similar to the old Look design but nicely executed.. They are really nice pedals if you liked that design and the biomechanics.. and they are also a tiny bit heavier.. The PD-9000, for example, is 320g with cleats-- roughly the same a Speedplay stainless with 3 hole adapter. The Record Pro-fit is even 355g (again with cleats).
Personally I think the main alternative from a biomechanical perspective to Speedplay are the Time Xpresso pedals. In Europe, at least, the Time pedals and cleats are cheaper... Unfortunately I'm not 100% convinced by their current design focus: easy clip-in.

SPD and SPD-SL are much better. Speedplay are a pain in the arse. I only use them because I'm a freak.

Come-on SPUDs are not better. You may be a "freak" but if they were better you'd use them too.. (now the old Time EQs were better but they got killed by WW culture and 3 hole shoes).

If one is going with the 2p plastic syringe you'll need grease? While any grease works not all are equal. I use and recommend Kluber Isoflex but its really overkill. If one is looking for cheap I'd opt for good quality synthetic marine grease as sold by BP, Mobil, Shell and others... If you want it to say "bicycle" there is always Phils...

Syringe is too small. The pedals are designed for the end of a grease gun.

I've used both. Found the plastic syringe to work just as well. Need to push the tip and hold the cap since grease tends to want to back-out rather than flush through.

tried buying a medical syringe, was told I needed a note from my doc.

Don't need needles! Just the plastic 3ml disposible plastic thingee...

I'm probably going to get one and will happily do peoples pedals for beer money if that'd be useful?

A small hypo syringe is probably better. They are quite cheap--- and not needing needles means one get them from nearly any chemist.

Keep on pushing grease in until it runs out untainted down the pedal spindle.

I would suggest if the pedal is hard to turn that it be taken apart and cleaned. I'd check the bearings as they may be shot. All you need is a soldiering iron, a Torx T20 driver and some medium Loctite (to put it back together).

Eddy Merckx Alu.

has anyone had any experience of Magnic lights

I saw the guy last year and played with the lights.. Works great "to be seen" but less so to "see". Nice idea--- no need for magnets--- but the price point is too high especially given the "eddy" alternatives such as the Reelight--- and there are a number of even cheaper Far Eastern knock-offs to be had as well. No magnets but needs alu rims... The best use I see of the Magnic is as a rear light in combination with a battery LED unit up front on an old-school "racer"...

Does anyone have any bright ideas (no pun intended) on how to mount a dyanmo light without the front hole in the fork.

Lights don't need front holes in forks.. Loads mount on handlebars... example Supernova http://supernova-lights.com/en/technology/mounting.html

because someone puts it on an un-machined rim, it doesn't mean it will always function well in that scenario. It is fairly obvious that when the rim gets wet the small band on the dyno isn't going to be able to provide the grip to hold contact through the water without it requiring far more force to hold the dyno against the rim.

1. Neither rim brakes nor the dynamo demand a "machined rim" but a rim with, more or less, a braking surface, viz. more or less parallel rim walls. The surface on machined rims wears down anyway rather quickly. Classical bad weather rims such as the Ambrosio Nemesis don't have machined sidewalls. There is nothing about the design of the dynamo that I see could require machining--- if so it would quickly start to fail as the rim surface starts to wear down.
   
2. The rim wall does not even need to be very deep--- less demands that most "modern" shoes.
   
3. Water? A machined surface is not more immune to water films.
   
4. Apparently a large number of people are using the dynamo for long distance touring. According to the maker "It works slip-free and with unobtrusive reliability even in the wet". I see no reason not to believe that claim.
   
5. I can see some problems in extreme cold, snow, mud etc. but that is where the accumulator based solutions come to bloom: lights are powered by a battery that is charged by the dynamo.
   
   

Can anyone help me to identify merckx frame (model name, year)?

A picture is worth a 1000 numbers...

I don't think Cordovan

Shell Cordovan looks quite different--- has a different processing as well. Looks like horsehide--- as in old school flight jackets (what became motorcycle jackets)--- or "Russian" (a kind of oiled cow leather) or roughout leather--- hard to tell from the picture. Horsehide was once commonly used in American work boots due to it's comparative low cost and stoutness. The US shoe industry is more or less finished and most of the horse hides going into the US are imported (from Europe) and intended for "higher end" products such as replica flight/bike jackets--- and the shells going to Chicago to make Cordovan (and then mostly exported back to Europe). These days work shoes are no longer a big investment item.. They are mainly global products with robust cow hides moving from India to China for fabrication.... In Europe a lot of "better" shoes are made, these days, in Romania (alongside mid-range tied into India and China for their inputs)...

He said to get track hubs that have cartridge bearings, they are strong and long lasting.

Cartridge bearings are neither strong--- typically designed for other loads--- nor long lasting. They are typically radical bearings and not designed for axial loads (side forces). They are also not immune to elements nor maintainance free. The main advantage of cartridge bearings is cost and, if correctly used in the design, ease of replacement. Cup-and-cone bearings are stronger and (typically) much longer lasting. They are also better suited to the kinds of extreme loads a bicycle wheel may experience. They are, however, bicycle hub specific and much more costly to produce. Cartridges are, by contrast, made in VERY LARGE numbers and to very high quality at very reasonable price points (standarization, economies of scale). While its quite difficult to gear up the tooling to make good quality cup-and-cone hubs it is very simple to make hubs that take cartridges--- even easier if one does not need to provide toolless bearing replacement.

rear brake can be nice just to take the speed down a little on descents

Given rear wheel lock-up (aka skidding) the rear brake is much more useful on a fixed gear than on a bicycle with a freewheel. On a freewheel bicycle most of the time one only uses the front.. the rear is mainly good for when it's so slippery that the front can skid--- and this tends to lead to loss of control. On a fixed gear the rear brake can reduce a lot of the stress of reducing one's leg speed... and help one slow without skidding (skidding may look cool to the kids but the stopping distance increases and, of course, control is comprimised)...

.