puma1552

Pulled the dork disk off, it got bent somehow and was interfering with the biggest cog. Much nicer without.

OhLylo

I degreased, cleaned, and lubed the chain, and inspected my rear tire after flatting on Friday. The tube sealant seems to have done its job, as it held 85 PSI just fine as it sits. Tomorrow's ride to work will be the real test.

finch204

Last Friday, I ordered the Mac-Ride child bike seat. It should get here by Friday and will be installed on my Roam. I cannot wait to take my son out to the trails, especially now that he's a little older and has started conversing with us.

OhLylo

Worked out okay, no leaks. Sealant is good stuff.

subgrade

A few spokes on the rear wheel were loose, and as their nipple heads were seized after the winter riding, I took off the tire to access the nipple heads from the other side and try to work them loose. Worked only partly - I managed to free a couple of the seized ones, before one snapped while trying to work it loose. I kinda expected that to happen, still hadn't any spokes and heads lying around, so now the wheel is a bit out of true until I get around to shop for replacement parts. Anyhow, at least I rinsed and cleaned the rim from the inside as good as I could - it was much needed, as it was full of corrosive muck.

puma1552

Since I pulled off the plastic dork disk behind the cassette on my Sirrus, I figured I better bring the bike by the LBS to double check the limit screws. And while I was there, I had them adjust the barrel adjuster since I was getting slow shifts up onto larger cogs. Took about 15 minutes, $15, and the bike shifts absolutely beautifully.

Shout out to Grand Performance in St. Paul.

finch204

Weather was perfect last night, so I took out the Roam. I was reminded of one of the reasons why I bought the Roam in the first place. While on a paved trail, there was a person walking ahead of me with headphones on. I tried ringing the cheap bell that came with my Roam, but the guy couldn't seem to hear me. I didn't really want to shout out so I went off the trail onto the grassy bumpy section beside the trail, passed him then got back on to the paved trail. It was a good ride last night.

OhLylo

SoberPanda

Hello Guys,
I have a Trek DS4, which I bought in January. Have completed some 2000 KMs on it. Some 500 KMs back, I changed the tires from the original Bontrager LT2, Hard-Case Lite, 700x38c to 32 Shcwalbe Marathan Supremes. My average speed has since increased by 4-5 kmph.
Is this all because of the tires or am I actually getting better as well?

subgrade

It could be both but I'd guess that it's mostly from you getting in better shape. In my experience, tires could give or take 1-2 kmph.

OhLylo

I proofide'd my seat again, and I have the pedals off. In a little bit, I'm gonna give her a good wash, and then I'm gonna let her sit until Friday. Why? Well, my knee is freakin' aching, and my PT says it's IT band syndrome and my loose ankle causing a tendency to pull my knee inward when using my SPD pedals and shoes. I can't adjust the cleat angle outward enough to compensate and it's pissing my knee off big time. Anyways, this is all a long-winded way of saying I ordered the Speedplay Frog pedals from my LBS and they'll be here Friday. I'm hoping the free-floating pedals will help.

finch204

Yesterday was the first ride on my Roam with the Mac-ride child bike seat installed. Compared to the Thule child bike seat I had before, I no longer have issues with the seat scraping the top of my knee when pedaling. I still have to somewhat bow out my knees when pedaling, but even that is a slight improvement. It is amazing how involved my son was during the ride. Part of it is that he is older and can talk in sentences now, the other part is that the seat is just like a bike seat. There is no backrest and he has to hold on to the handlebars as if he was riding his own bike. He liked it so much he threw a tantrum when we went back home. He wanted to keep riding >_<

csrpenfab

After getting 2200 miles from the stock tires on my Trek flatbar FXS6, today's task was tubeless road conversion. For my first foray into the tubeless world, it's gone well so far. The TLR rim strips popped right into the Bontrager Affinity TLR wheels with a nice "click". The TLR tires in 700x32c are a very snug fit. A bit of soapy water got the first bead onto the rim, and then my new favorite tool, the Kool-Stop "bead jack" took care of the other side in short order. I can't imagine how I'd ever have gotten these tires on without that tool and a ton of cussing and sore fingers. I will definitely not ever be doing a trail side tube install these tight tires.

Front wheel took about 30 minutes to get all set-up working slowly. After getting the front mounted and before adding sealant, I hit it with my compressor and heard some nice "pops" as the beads seated properly. Even with no sealant, it held air just fine with no leaks. I then pulled the valve core and added 2 oz. of Orange Seal Endurance. Time to give the fingers a break and have some lunch before tackling the rear tire.

finch204

Decided to make the most of the Trekfest sale.

• Got new 700x25c tires for the flat bar Madone. Was originally going to get the new R3 tires, but since I don't ride the Madone as often, I decided to save money and got the AW2s instead.
• Also picked up the Bontrager Sport Bike Saddle which I installed on my Roam last night. Haven't been able to do a proper ride yet, but will most likely do so tonight. I have been looking for a wider saddle to use on my Roam. I previously had the WTB Speed in medium width but on my recent rides with the Mac-ride child seat installed, I felt like the WTB saddle was too narrow for me.
• Lastly, got Bontrager city front and rear lights for the wife's Trek FX-3. The city front light is actually a pain to install on a flat handlebar because the brake/shifter cables were blocking it. I had to slightly tilt the brake/shifter levers up so that the cables will not rub on the front light. It would be a non-issue on a drop bar bike.

hokiefyd 

I love the Bead Jack. I bought it to lever *any* tire over my 1997 Trek's Matrix Vapor wheels -- any tire is darn near impossible to get on that wheel. My "daily driver" bikes don't take near that much force, but I keep this tool in my trunk bag just in case.

finch204

Last night replaced the old original Bontrager R2 700x23c tires on my flatbar Madone with 700x25c Bontrager AW2 tires. It was my first time ever changing a tire on a bike, it was a good learning experience! The new 25c tires fit with good enough clearance everywhere.

jskash

I got a new chain put on today. The shop techs did not like how it was shifting (I agreed) so they also changed the cable and housing. It is shifting much better now.

OhLylo

Project Frankenbike is well underway on the FX3. I mounted the Jones bar last week...but my brake and shift cables were both too short, so I've been waiting for parts to come in. I've got it 2/3 of the way done now, with both derailleurs and the front brake all set up. Just need a longer inner wire for the rear brake and we're ready to ride again! I have a few things to do this afternoon but I'm going to try to make it to the LBS to grab the brake wire and get it done tonight so I can ride tomorrow.

In a week or two the new groupset arrives and I'll have to take it all apart again, but this has been an awesome learning experience for me, so I'm not upset at the effort, and I'll re-use all the cables I mounted up today anyways.

My only complaint so far is that I haven't been able to ride to work for a couple of days since I don't have a spare bike! I should really buy a fixie or something inexpensive for situations like this, especially since I'm expecting some downtime during the groupset work.

DucHuy

great

Juggy_Gales

New Pedals and bottle cage


Kickstand and a couple new lights.. About to do mechanical upgrades and tire upgrades

vsudhir18

trued the rear wheel which i upgraded the wheels from an LBS

puma1552

Bought a pair of Specialized Stix Elite lights to replace the older Stix Comp set I had:




Older Comp:




The Comps are maybe nicer looking, but the Elites are probably better lights. The Elite tail light is unquestionably better, but I feel like the headlight is more of a lateral sidestep, but I guess it edges out as slightly better than the Comp; the steady high setting on the Comp used all three LEDs, whereas steady high on the Elite only uses the center LED which aesthetically doesn't look as good to me, but the light is more focused on the Elite and less is wasted up towards the sky etc. like on the Elite.

Overall, I suppose they are keepers over the Comps.

t_e_r_r_y

those lights are rad! i've been looking for something compact and usb rechargeable, i think those might just tick all my boxes. thanks for sharing!

audiomagnate

I mounted a vintage Pletscher rear rack on her. I'd love to post a pic but I guess I'm too new.

camjr

New rubber on the 2013 Fuji Absolute 2.1. The original Vera Citywide tires that came on the bike lasted me 2200 miles with only one puncture (no listed puncture protection). They served me well, but the tread and sidewalls were worn out. I kept the same size (700x32) and upgraded to the original Schwalbe Marathon. A quick ride after installation showed a noticeable improvement in both ride quality and rolling resistance. I'm doing a 30 mile ride at the grand opening of a new trail tomorrow morning, and am really looking forward to it.