steelhorse51

I put the new Kenda Kwest on my old Mountain Bike and am absolutely loving it! I look forward to riding everyday now and can see my endurance rising Thank you all!!!

dr_lha

Good stuff!

TrojanHorse

It's almost time for a roadie!

steelhorse51

I have a few more pounds to shred and some gut to lose before a roadie! But that's my goal

ChrisZog

Tapping the gut with my knees will just be a gentle reminder to keep working. That said I'm still waiting on my roadie too. Got about 40-50 to lose before I start test riding/demoing. I assume that riding on the hoods around 260-275 on an endurance bike should be fine. I may not want to ride on the drops but I assume most clydes don't spend much time in the drops when they first get to their starting road bike weight.

corwin1968

Once a bike fits and allows a comfortable position, tires really are the most important upgrade you can make.

steelhorse51

I agree with the tires making a HUGE difference! It was almost unbelievable. I am going to ride my home made hybrid for the rest of this year.....hopefully get back down to around 280 and then start eye balling road bikes. I am really having alot of fun with this. So much better then starting at a wall walking the treadmill as I did years ago. I just had to get over the "haha look at the fat guy on a bike" thought in my head. I put my helmet on, glasses and headphones and say who cares what others think.....least I'm out here instead of on the couch eating chips!!

ColaJacket

I'm doing that on my road bike (5'5" 250#). And you're right, that it is good incentive to add miles to my rides.

GH

steelhorse51

Fell just short of 5 miles today. Decided that was a good stopping point. Seen as I just started in don't want to push too far too fast.

Willbird

Just depends on whether you can breathe or not, I test rode a bottom end 7 speed Sportiff at 250 and 5'8".....I could not breathe well on the hoods even with all the spacers under the stem and the stem "up".

I need to work on riding the drops more :-)......I have the stem "down" now and only about 5mm of spacer left under it.

Willbird

I just just cannot imagine that elevation change :-)....totally unlike my world around here :-).

steelhorse51

I finally got some tube patches for the bike. After my 7 mile ride early this morning I noticed a few things......it was time for some padded cycling shorts and my pedals were loosening up. I'm thinking of getting a platform/clippless pedal. I know nothing of clippless pedals so any info would be great. I want a good quality pedal....somthing that will last. Thanks!

Willbird

I got two sets of dual sided shimano spd's, both have been great. Lots of folks love the wellgo which are very similar to the shimano spd's but cheaper.

im pretty sure shimano makes a dual sided version too ?

Null66

I like crank brothers w/ mountain shoes... Quite walkable.

steelhorse51

I think I may go to my lbs and check a few options out. I hate buying shoes on line because sizes vary so much.
I am creeping closer to my first 10 mile ride!!! I put in 7 miles yesterday's and felt great! This weekend I think I'm going to find a bike path and crank some miles on.

steelhorse51

So......I did a short 5 mile ride this morning as it was cold and windy but I started to hear a growling......at first I thought maybe a brake was dragging but when I got home and went slowly around the driveway I believe it's comming from the crank bearing? Does anyone know what's in there or if they are even serviceable? Bike is in my sig

dr_lha

My advice is to check for rubbing and misalignment all over the bike. Noises can be very hard to pin down, and often things that sound like the bottom bracket are something else.

Growling is certainly a strange sound. Usually BB issues causes clicking or clunking, but it's possible I guess your BB has completely failed. Looking at the photo above (there's nothing in your sig), I would guess your bike has a fairly standard cartridge based square taper BB. Those are easily and cheaply replaced with the right tools and know how. If you don't have the tools, then I suggest taking it to your local bike shop, as the repair will likely be cheaper than buying the tools.

steelhorse51

Sorry, I thought it was in there. It is a 2003 Diamondback Topanga. Shimano FC-M572 Crank Set.

dr_lha

OK, that's an Octalink crankset, not square taper. Same advice applies though.

steelhorse51

I looked at it when I got home and I believe it's the chain rubbing the front derailleur. I think I can figure out the adjustments but I may take it in to have it tuned and get a new chain.

gunner65

When I used to commute I had really good luck with the Kenda Kwests. I put several thousand miles on one set that never gave me any trouble.

DTSCDS

The easiest solution is to make sure you are not "cross-chained". You don't want to use the smallest front "chainring" (a.k.a. "ring") while in the smallest rear gear (a.k.a. "cog") or the opposite (largest/largest). It puts the chain at an awkward angle and wears out the gears and chain faster. It also just about guarantees you will be rubbing one side of the front derailleur (FD). If you were not in one of these extreme combinations then you might need to adjust your FD. There are about a million YouTube videos on how to do minor adjustments yourself. Definitely try to do that before going to the bike store. And DEFINITELY do the adjustment before you consider buying a new chain.

steelhorse51

Ok. Do I need a stand to make these adjustments? My lbs is going to charge $50 to run through the whole bike clean, oil and make all the right adjustments.

dr_lha

Does it rub in all positions of the front derailleur? I.e. in all 3 chainrings? My advice before you take it to any shop is to try adjusting the tension on your front derailleur cable. You can do this by turning the little knob that is usually where the FD cable housing comes out of the shifter. Turning it so it pushes outwards should add tension to the cable, which may have stretched.

ColaJacket

Couple of quick questions.

1. Did you buy your bike from the LBS? If so, remind them of this when they say they want to charge you $50 for adjustments. Most LBS will do minor adjustments like this for free, for some period of time, if you bought the bike from them. But you may have to remind them that you bought the bike from them to get the free adjustment.

2. Is the rubbing happening on the small gear of the big gear? If it's happening on the small gear, does your shifter have a trim setting? On my bike, I find I have to trim the front between the bigger cogs and the smaller cogs on the rear. The middle 2 cogs will work in either trim without rubbing.

3. If this doesn't help do a search on you tube for "front derailleur adjustment". It might not hurt to add the specific model of your FD.

4. While it's not recommended, some people just turn their bike upside down to work on the FD/RD. If you do this, you might want to put some towels down under the bike to cushion the seat and handlebars.
GH