Bolt Upright

In my quest to transform my Trek 820 from mediocre (at best) mountain bike into the Ultimate Bike Path Warrior, I made the great leap of swapping out he bars. Now, to some folks, the so called "leap" of swapping bars is akin the the "leap" rolling out of bed in the morning, but to me, it's kinda special. So I ordered a set of "Tourist" bars from Velo Orange. I did not want to ditch my trigger shifters in favor of something more "traditional" like thumb friction or bar end shifters and I am glad to report that they, as well as the 820's original grips fit right on the bars. The whole process was, for the most part, painless. I had to re-rout the cables a few times and, truth be told, making them a slight bit longer might not be the worst die that I ever had. I had to wait two day to get to take it for a ride. It was sort of a torture.

Now, if you follow my blog at all (and I know that you don't), you might remember that a couple of years ago I had in my stable, for a short time, and Olde Tyme English Threespeed. I didn't like it that much. Unlike in The City Proper, out in my neck of the woods, there are a LOT of hills. I found that the tried and true Sturmy Archer hub just wasn't what my Big Bottom needed to get around. I also remember, now, feeling as if I were perched up on high with the bikes riding position. As if I were gliding effortlessly amongst the Common Folk and that they should all look up at me with bent necks as I rode by. I remembered this because that's exactly the feeling that I got as I test rode the UBPW.

Now, I certainly expected a more upright riding position on the re-styled Trek. It only makes sense. What I did not expect was how much of a difference it would really make. It was very sit p and beg. A little too much so for my liking actually. I don't have the bars set level either. There is a fairly good angle at the grip end to make my hands fall more naturally onto the ends of the bars and around the controls.  I found myself choking-up on the bars some time and even sliding forward on my seat. I guess the weight distribution felt off, too centered on thereat of the cycle. I'm going to adjust the angle some more I think. Maybe move the seat forward a little, which seems counter intuitive to me: I brought the grips closer, the seat should move farther away, right? That's not how it feels when I'm riding it.

Another difference was that the Three Speed had a nice, sprung, leather Brooks Saddle. That would have been nice to have yesterday. Not imperative, and if the riding experience had not been so strikingly familiar, I might never have begun to pine for that seat. But pine away I did, like a dead parrot for the fjords.  Again, adjust before replace. Not afraid to do either. I have WAY more invested in this bike in terms of parts and labour that I do in the actually bike! I might be back in the V.O. catalogue before long.

There is a female cyclist who's blog I follow. She began her riding adventures on three-seep commuter type bikes. She rode to get to the store, get to work and began writing to share her experiences on it. As she began to get more into riding though, she began to bend forward over her bars. She got diamond frames and drop-bars and she began to write about how she was using different muscles and how it was effecting her riding. I had no idea that it would work so stunningly in the reverse mode! The lower third of my thigh muscles took it the hardest. Not all that bad, but I only went about four miles with no real climbing to show for it. Seriously: weather it was a natural by-product of the riding position or some sort of flashback the that poor outclassed three speed, riding around on theta bike with those bars did NOT make me want to go up hills with it. Not really an absurd fate since this bike's main function is to pull a 3 year old in a trailer along bike paths and go to the grocery store every now and then. Still, at least I should try a hill or something I guess. Now, here is the weird part. I felt like I wasn't going very fast at all. However, my GPS motored and computer generated average speed was actually higher than is normal for me. Sure, there were no climbs to drop it down but neither were there descents to raise it back up. EIther way, I would have thought that I would have had a lower number for an average.

The verdict? I liked it. I'm pretty sure that I will be keeping these well made and super comfy bars on my bike. The chrome looks a little silly coming out of the black stem, but other than that these bars are a win and a half. 

Velo Frustrato!

Oh look! I just made up a Harry Potter spell! Magical. What is NOT magical is the frustration that I feel when it comes to my cycling endeavors. No, 2011 is not off to a roaring start.

First, there is the whole winter weather and holiday season thing. Last year I had no trouble suiting up and heading out to battle the elements on the old Diamondback. This year? Not so much. I feel slightly silly and pretentious. Like I think that I am more hardy than my fellow New Englanders. I know that's not true because every time I go into The City it seems as if every one in Boston who OWNS a bike is still riding it. It could also have something to do with the fact that that trusty old Diamondback has never worked right after riding it in the crud last winter. Which brings me to point number tow.

I am a sucky wrench. I just don't seem to have the skills or the patients to develop them. Or the tools. Tools are an important part of the equation. I have an old English Three Speed and while every one on the Internet will tell you that they are "the answer", this bike is an answer to a question that I never asked. I have been tinkering with this thing for what: two years now? It STILL isn't right. Not only does it not function correctly, it will not work well for me, in my environment. Sitting bolt upright on a three speed bike isn't cutting it for me. There are simply too many hills that are too big for me to conquer on this bike (or any other for that matter) in my fitness shape, right now. So why do I bother? I do not honestly know. Every one makes such a big deal out of these things that I feel a need to follow along with the crowd and, if not actually ride one, to at least have one. I don't know what to DO with it though. Do I tear it apart and keep tinkering with it in the vain hope that I will "figure it out" and get it working right? OR, do I ship it off to be fixed up by a pro. It's more money and less knowledge. It would also be quicker and safer and I could use that bike as a winter beater if I DID want to venture out to run an errand or something. "I plan on doing a tweed ride next year". And a century. Not on the three speed of course!

And, sadly, the century IS more likely than the Tweed ride. Although I am not in any kind of shape at all for such a ride, my riding preference clearly leans toward the "fitness" end of the spectrum. I just can't seem to get motivated to cruise around town and see the sights or run to the store. Tell me I have to meet a new mile or time goal and I'm all over it. By the end of the summer not only do I hope to be able to do regular 40-50 mile weekend rides but I want to be able to do the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. Less if I can train hard.

So, what are my resolutions?

1. Train. Burn calories and fat. Ride The Basement.
2. MTB. I like it. Its fun. There are way to many variables involved in doing it. It's too hard for me to measure "progress" on a daily basis but over time? Perhaps a race?
3. Road bike. Make the time and get out there. I bought myself a nice used Trek 1500 and it works like new. No tinkering, no excuses. Road riding IS something I can quantify quite easily. I want to do this at least three times a week once spring comes again.
4. Commute? Twenty miles each way. I might be awake and active for the whole 24 hours previous. This might be stretching the goals a little bit but it's out there.
5. Cross! This is "The Goal". The reason d'etre for all this other stuff is that I WANT TO CROSS next fall! I need to cross!
   

Three Speeds Again.

I dug the old three speed out of the cellar tonight and took her for a little around the block. Last year I never got her working right and I ma afraid that I might not this year either. I also remember thinking last year that three speeds simply were not enough. I think that i may have spoken too soon. I did not try to tackle and of the bigger hill on my usual route but I did some light climbing and first gear wasn't that bad. I suspect that with a larger rear cog fitted it would be fine for most around-town circumstances. I felt that I was going "more than fast enough" in third gear and I would have had to be peddling a lot faster to have been "spinning". The Kenda Cyclocross tires that I fitted to the bike (a mistaken purchase that turned out serendipitously) proved to be plenty grippy and plush on my all steel bicycle.

Sadly, all is no well. My sprung Brooks saddle that is so much the rage on the internet was found to be rather un-comfortable. I suspect that a few simple adjustments wold rectify this situation. Of a more dire concern is the front wheel. It sat tight and spun true when the bike was on the stand, but on the road it wobbles from side to side in the fork. I understand that thee is suppoed to be a certain amount of "play" in the front wheel of a bicycle like this but the amount of play resulted in an unstable feeling and a tire that rubbed against the fender. Both potentially dangerous situations. I have been lax in the past to spend any dough on this bike,not knowing if I had any real use or interest in it as I never got it quite out the door last year. This year, I think it might be "worth it" to have the hub situation looked into. I suspect that they might need new bearings or something. Methinks that this might be the excuse that I have been looking for to make the Pilgrimage to Harris Cyclery that I have always wanted to make. Maybe I'll run into a "certain someone" while I am there!

THREE SPEEDS!

Well, two actually. I can't get it to shift into first gear but what the hell, it's operational! I have to tell you, I really, really like the ride. I like the way that you sit and the feel of the steel frame. It was cold and the streets were not clear. I purposely tried to ride over some of those icy patches, just to see how the bike would handle. I was impressed. This was only the second time since I was a child that I rode a bicycle in the winter, but I DID try to ride an off-road motorcycle on snowy, icy trails a few years ago. THAT went amazingly poorly. In the mean time I have focused on the similarity between motorcycles and bicycles and those similarities have formed my apprehensions about riding two wheeled vehicles in wintery conditions. It turns out that the differences are more important and that the bicycle is much easier to control and stable on packed snow and ice. It was only a short ride because of the bicycle's shifting problems but it was nice to be out and very enjoyable to be riding my Triumph three speed

I picked this little number up right before Cristmas but did not get a chance to really look at her till tonight. She's a Triumph 3-speed, all black and made in Nottingham! Very nice. It came without fenders and that makes me just a little sad. It DID come with a nice looking OEM Brooks sprung saddle and another, non-branded leather springer. I got the hub's little chain un-buggered and pumped up the tires and adjusted the shifter and took her out for a ride. OW! I need to adjust the chain tighter. I didn't want to make it too tight but in the process I left it slack enough that the chain jumped forward on the sprocket and I smashed my knee. I'm not sure that I have the shifters adjusted just right, even following the Sheldon Brown article ( http://www.sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer.html ). I need to make a few final adjustments. get some fenders for her and a nice rack, and voila! I can tell you rigth now, just from riding it up and down the hills in my neighborhood, three speeds with a stock rear sprocket is NOT GROVY on the hills.

UPDATE: The little chain thingie was NOT un-buggered. IT was still very much buggered! It looked like this:
Now, I could find no pictures on the internet of the right side of a Sturmey Archer hub installed on a bike so...here it is. Installed incorrectly. That little chain thingie needs to be sticking out of the END of the knurled metal part. Trust me: it works SO MUCH better that way! Once again, here is the chain from an internally geared Sturmey Archer Hub incorrectly installed.