at the lbs

So, I go into the local bike store (LBS) this morning with the bike with the fouled up brake on it and the guy behind the desk says, and I quote, "Uh oh, what did you do?"

I go through the story (see yesterday's post).

He invites me to take it down to the basement to the mechanic I know. We are old riding buddies, and have known each other for about 20 years.

He sees me coming and says, and I quote, "Oh no..."

____

It is nice to be so predictable.

I think.

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As an aside, the SanDisk Extreme SDHC UHS-1 card is howling fast in my Fuji X-10. Much more so than the Lexar Platinum 2 card I was using before. I think it is approximately twice as fast. Write times are almost instantaneous.

frankenfenders two - a five minute fix

Before I get into describing how I built up the rear fender of my commuter mountain bike, I would like to complain about something. If you don't want to read that bit, skip to the pictures.

Ok, I admit it. I am a klutz.

No, really, I am.

I have a positive talent for messing up mechanical projects. I am not scared to try adjusting or making things, but more often than not, I mess things up. Some people can, when handed a device or machine, figure them out and seemingly like magic, make them work properly. I figure out how to foul them up beyond belief. My favourite mechanic at the LBS sees me coming and often greets me with a "What did you do this time?!?" and a look of fear and trepidation on his face. Sigh.

With that in mind, consider what happened tonight. I rejigged my rear fender to create more clearance for snow, and managed to mess up the rear brake caliper to the point where I think it may need replacing. While putting the rear wheel back on the bike after working on the rear fender, I nudged the tab on the dead brake pad (the non-moving one) with the brake disk and pushed the pad out of alignment. It was stuck inside the caliper. The only way I could see to get it out was to remove the back plate adjuster part of the caliper and reseat the brake pad. I have seen this done before and it works. But. You knew there had to be a but, didn't you. But, I forgot to clean the threads of the adjuster plate and it jammed. Seeing as I have been riding in the snow and salt and grit of winter this was predictable but I failed to clue into this until it was well and truly too late. I tried, very carefully, to remove it, but the wrench slipped and I stripped out the Allen key hole in the middle of the adjuster leaving it stuck in the wrong position. So now I have a rear brake which works, but is wildly out of adjustment. If the mechanic at my favourite LBS can get it out, and if that part is replaceable, I might be looking at a cheap fix. I suspect though that I am looking at a new rear caliper.

Grrrrr.

I had taken some pictures for tonight's blog entry on my Fuji X-10. This camera uses an SD card (I hate those things and much prefer CF cards - this was true even before tonight's story). I caught the edge of the card on the edge of the card reader and managed to foul up the plastic dividers between the broad flat pins on the card. I no longer trust the card, and should get a new one. It took nail clippers to trim off the plastic bits to get it into the reader so that I could retrieve the pictures.

Grrrrr again.

I am not touching anything breakable again tonight. Like chairs.

Anyway, on with the frankenfender.

The rear frankenfender on my bicycle is made up of three parts. The lowest part is a scrap of skinny mountain bike whip fender that I had left over from another bizarre fender build from a few years ago. It is not really needed except that I like to keep as much crud out of the front derailleur as possible. 

This is the top of the small fender bit I use as a shield to protect, at least somewhat, the front derailleur. It is mounted by a screw in the threaded hole in the cross brace between the chain stays.

This shows how the fender bit is attached to the frame. It also gives some idea of the (limited) protection the fender offers the front derailleur.

Next up is a standard cheap sks fender. It is one of those ones which clamps onto the seat tube with a cheap flexy "claw" (see the above picture) and mounts to the brace between the seat stays with a bolt and a bracket on the fender. What I did was remove the bracket entirely and use zip ties to mount the fender to the brace and bike rack.

Close up of the criss-crossed zip ties holding the fender in place. There is an indent in the fender which is lined up with the seat stay brace which gives almost 1cm more clearance between the fender and tire once the normal mounting bracket is removed.

Underside of the criss-crossed zip ties. This looks like it will catch some snow, and it will, but it won't catch much snow and the added clearance is worth it.

This zip tie keeps the fender from flopping all over the place. The thing is very securely mounted, and the fender is well protected, so the likelihood of the zip ties breaking is very low.

The final part of the frankenfender is a rear deflector shield which I use to both end off the fender and to make a deck on my rack.

As you can see, there is huge clearance here for the wheel. This part was unchanged in tonight's rejig of the fender. I can testify that it does a great job of keeping crud off of me. I am not sure about people behind me, but I don't get anything on my clothes. I had to trim it a bit as the length, while good for blocking wheel spray, was such that heavy bumps bounced it into the tire where it would jam and pick. To fix that, I trimmed off a chunk and refixed the trimmed bit with zip ties (I love zip ties) to the bike which ended up both stiffening and shortening the fender part.

Here is what the whole thing looks like "live" on the trail. This picture is the older version of the set up, but shows how it looks when all covered in snow. The only difference between this and the current version is the amount of clearance for the forward two bits of fender.

The snowy front part - it looks the same now but for the added clearance. This does show why the refit was needed though - powder snow like this is fine, but the wheel would almost jam up with continued riding through slush which freezes to ice on the bike.

The rear part of the fender. It is clear to see how I added the hacked off bit back to the bike, and how much clearance there is for snow. Buildup is a non issue for the rear of the fender.

And lastly, the whole thing with both frankenfenders in the snow.

That's it for tonight.

on making frankenfenders - a five minute fix

Usually, I end up putting frankenfenders on my bicycles when I decide to use a fender. You see, the problem I have is that often I am attempting to attach a fender to a bike that is not really made for fenders (or, at least, is not made for fenders and a rack at the same time - like my Kona Jake the Snake) or does not have enough room for proper fenders and studded tires (like my Kona Dew City).

Sometimes, though, the frankenfender job is needed because the fenders I picked do not do the job as well as I would like.

The front fender which currently sits on my commuter mountain bike is a good fender. It is wide enough to cover the full width of a Schwalbe Ice Spiker 2.1 tire and, when combined with the splash guard on the down tube, keeps most of the crud thrown up by the tire off of me. Only a tiny bit gets on my boots. I don't mind this as I deliberately opted for a fender that fits with huge space between the tire and fender so some slop is expected.

The problem I had with it was that the front of the fender did not stick out anywhere near far enough to deflect spray tossed forward by the tire. It was flying quite high in front of the bicycle, and I was riding into it.

So, I needed to extend the fender enough to prevent spray.

Here is what I came up with.

Side View showing the two bolts attaching an old scrap of fender to the one mounted on the bicycle. It is clear to see how big the studded tires are from this picture, as well as the generous amount of clearance I have allowed for snow etc to build up. On previous bikes, I have had so little wiggle room that the tires ended up rubbing on snow build up. This will not be an issue with this bicycle.

Detail of the underside of the fender showing a front view of the new fender bit. I used an old used bit of fender that I happened to have lying around the workroom left over from another frankenfender project. This is why I never throw out any scrap of plastic fender that I end up with. You just never know when it will be useful.

Angled view of the new fender attachment. A significant amount of length has been added to the front fender. I trimmed back the leading edges of the fender to make them less blunt and to make it look a bit less of a hack.

Many would not like the aesthetics of this five minute fix of the bicycle, which is something I understand.

I, however, like the Mad Max look for my commuter bicycles. They get left outside while I am shopping, out for coffee, getting groceries, and sometimes at work. I don't want a bicycle that costs a fortune to do this, and don't want a bike that looks flashy even if it is inexpensive. The kind of mods I do make the bike distinctive looking, and "mine", without adding to the desirability factor all that much.

Some would argue that removing the suspension fork and adding a rack and fenders forever removes the cool from the bike.

To that I say good.

looking to the stars

enjoying the sights

My nephew enjoying his new telescope. He loves the sky, and loves stars.

Now, he can look at them properly.

Good on you kid. Keep exploring this wonderful place we live in.

it's the end of the world as we know it but I feel fine

Seeing as the world ended today, it seemed somehow appropriate that I happened upon a spot where old things go to, well, for lack of a better way to put it, die.

I am planning a return trip when I have more time.

here comes the sun

That song always makes me smile.

So does my little sweetie. The best thing about being a parent is being smiled at - nothing tops it.

a happy gearhead

Having two hobbies which to a certain extent revolve around gear can place a person in a mindset where the point of it all can be lost in a pursuit, real or imagined, of the next best thing.

The truth is, there is no next best thing.

It has taken me a while, but I get that now more than ever.

I am truly satisfied with what I use to create pictures, and what I use to ride around the part of the world I live in.

And all that has changed is how I approach what I am trying to do through my hobbies.

taken while out with a coffee with a friend

the most wonderful time of the year? perhaps

somehow, this cannot be right

divine light 1

divine light 2

The cameras work the way I want them to. I am satisfied.

This contentment with the way things are has not made me stop yearning for new bicycles though. And really, what will ever stop that from happening?

Nothing. Part of the love I have for cycling stems from a definite love of the bicycle itself. And the more bikes that enter my life, the happier I am. To me, they are more than a machine for transport and more than a machine for exercise. To me, they are an expression of something, I don't know, bigger than a sum of their parts.

It is so bad that I get excited about new tires. Really.

My wife often jokes with me about what would I do with all the bicycles I dream about if I had them.

I don't understand the question.

But the satisfaction with the way things are does make it a lot easier to simply enjoy every minute I get to spend with my bicycles and makes it easier to focus on the part of this hobby that truly matters.

Riding.

Schwable Ice Spiker update

I was out with the bicycle with the Schwalbe Ice Spikers on it this afternoon and got caught in some freezing rain. I stayed out long enough for the ice build up on the helmet and bike to be noticeable. The traction on wet shiny roads with some ice was as I had expected it would be - perfect. It was no different than if it was just normal rain.

So far, several hundred km into the tires, I have not lost any studs (or rather, I lost three of them due to getting caught in a rut made between the concrete curb and the asphalt but was able to pick up the studs and reinstall them). There is no visible wear on the tires or studs yet despite being driven mostly on asphalt.

I did get out in some snow with them. That slippery wet stuff that builds on the roads in minutes and sends cars sliding in all directions unless drivers are very careful. Again, the bike handled it as if it was bare pavement. Acceleration was without slip, stopping was easy and stable, and steering better than expected. It is the steering that is tricky. Care needs to be taken compared to dry pavement (master of the obvious here) but the margin of error is much higher than it would be with standard off road knobbies. My biggest concern in snow like that is other traffic. A bicycle equipped with Ice Spikers is more stable and handles better than a car with snow tires in such conditions.

The studs on the center blocks have settled in very very well and are not protruding as far as they were before (it is not wear I am seeing but a settling in of the studs - they tend to settle in splayed to the side since they do not get pressed in straight due to the curvature of the tire.)

Verdict so far? Astonishing grip in the snow and ice.

the power to move you

I was just sorting through a stack of framed photos that used to be on our wall when I found a photograph of my daughter, taken by a relative when she was about five, grinning up into the camera.

It reminded me of the following: take pictures, take them often, print the ones you like, and share them.

They have the power to move you.

One I missed somehow, taken when she was around five.

 

stratford photo essay

From yesterday's walk in the frost fog.

mission managed

Got out with the camera this morning.

It was frosty, overcast, and damp, the kind of morning that produces some of the best diffuse light and a natural monochromatic scene.

Coffee and good times...

... as well as sweets ...

... rounded out the day.