SylvainG

Chemical toe warmers works well. Keep in mind though that they require oxygen to generate heat so if your shoes /shoe covers are well insulated, you'll need to take them out after a while to re-oxygen them. They last for several hours so if they have not exhausted all their heat generation, simply put them in an airtight ziplock bag. Without air, they'll quickly stop generating heat and will reheat once taken out.

MauiKai

You know those yellow chickens you squeeze and they make a loud noise? Well, they make a really irritating noise when you stick one in your mouth and blow it really hard

SethAZ 

Were the cassette cogs or chainrings worn out by the old chain? I learned my lesson the hard way.

daihard 

The big chainring was out, too. Fortunately, the cogs are still in decent shape. This was my lesson learned.

SethAZ 

It's embarassing to admit it, but when I first started riding again in 2009/2010 (again meaning I hadn't ridden much since I was in my late teens/early 20s) I didn't know much about bike maintenance, and rode a mountain bike chain until it finally broke. By then it was totally wasted, and my large chain ring was pretty badly shark-toothed by it as well as a couple of the cogs. Ended up replacing the chainring and picked up a cheap new cassette after I did some reading and realized what had happened. I honestly had no idea until that point that chains actually wear out (get longer due to wear) and need replacing. I figured they just last forever unless they break. I guess that's because my experience with bikes back in the 80s was all with older lower-geared bikes with much thicker, more durable chains, and it'd just never been a problem for me.

SethAZ 

My most recent bicycle purchase was today, and it was a set of Shimano Ultegra 8000 SPD SL pedals to put on my new Lynskey R260, which is arriving on Friday. I also have a pair of Compass Stampede Pass tires (32C, the extralight version) to put on it. Other fairly recent purchases include a Brooks B17 saddle that I bought specifically for the Lynskey, but which now has over 1000 miles on it on my current bike while waiting for the Lynskey.

DoYouDiverge

Out Front mount for my Bryton 530. Looks cleaner than the standard front mount. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bike-Comput...GLYP5hTOV0H1sQ



and a Stix Saddle Mount

taz777

@DoYouDiverge - that Stix saddle mount looks interesting. Is there a reasonable clearance between the bottom of the saddle and the top of the Stix light so clothing/body 'overspill' doesn't obscure the light?

DoYouDiverge

Yea there's plenty of clearance. As long as your butt is on the saddle properly This is probably the optimal place for a tail light.

taz777

Thanks. Just ordered one as the price was quite reasonable (for a Specialized product, that is!). It needs a SWAT-compatible Specialized saddle, so should work on my Phenom.

WhyFi

Cool, thanks for the tip - I probably won't be out for more than a few hours at a time, so I'll see if I can get at least a couple rides out of each.

SethAZ 

If you're out for a few hours at a time I'll be surprised if you get two completely useful rides out of them, but who knows. I used some of these to help me out while sneaking in a 50 mile ride at like 12:05 AM Christmas Eve Day to get a head start on Strava's Festive 500 challenge one year*. You could be more careful with them than I was as far as limiting the air, but I didn't get two rides in with them before they were used up, even when put in air-poor situations like being duct-taped onto the toes of my cycling shoes.

*getting in a 50-mile ride at midnight on Christmas Eve allowed me to get a large chunk of miles in, then go to sleep, wake up again Christmas Eve morning and ride again, effectively giving me one extra sleep cycle during the 8-day challenge to get help recover from all those miles.

noglider 

I actually like changing out a worn chain. I like the way the bike rides with a new chain. I replace my chain prematurely to get maximum wear out of my cogs and to avoid messy cleanup. It is the one place where I am wasteful. And I've never worn out a chainring.

Slick Madone

Garneau and Reebok Actifly shoes for use on my Wahoo KickR. They are actually better than I expected.

DoYouDiverge

And if you have the Stix Comp you can get a free upgrade to Stix Elite because of the recall (google the pdf). The Elite has a '3D' bump in the middle that allows the light to be seen from the side and the Headlight has a cut-off beam pattern that is more focused so its brighter in the dark. They also have longer battery life for certain modes especially Eco mode (60+ hours).

taz777

This may help to explain things more clearly:

taz777

Indeed. I swapped out my recalled Stix Comp for the new Elite recently. i wondered what that 'bump' was for!

ARPRINCE

Do you have a pic to share? I'm interested as well. It looks like it would work on both my saddles (S-Works Power and Power Expert) but concerned about fit since I have a Lezyne Road Caddy hooked up under them.

DoYouDiverge

https://www.bikeforums.net/hybrid-bi...263-print.html







That's not my bike but I saw those pictures before making the purchase myself.

ARPRINCE

@DoYouDiverge Great - TNX!

MauiKai

You know, getting one of those stuck in my throat just might give the desired effect called "stacking" in vocals that Layne Staley used as the singer for Alice in Chains.

Hmmmm

daihard 

You have company. I rode a lot as a kid/teenager (in the 70s/80s), but as adult, I've only been biking for 4 years. I too had no idea how chains wear out and must be replaced before they damage gears. Even more embarrassing, this is my third chain. My first chain lasted more than two years, so it never occurred to me that the second one would go bad within a year. I must have ridden a lot more in the last year.

ARPRINCE

Hmmm....it looks like I will have a clearance issue with my rig if I decide to get one.

noodle soup

$60, for a $240 jacket.

casualsunday

After 7 rides I'm already tired of flat pedals. I was just waiting till next paycheck to get some shoes and pedals anyways.

Giro Apeckx II and Look Keo Classic 3. Picked em both up new for ~$80.

Should work well for my commute/lunch rides.