Harry’s Progress..

I had my second ride with fifteen year old grandson Harry this morning.  The first was on Thursday after I had finished building the bike (see earlier post) and that was his first ever ride on a ‘proper’ road bike.

Todays ride was more like a proper bike ride and he seems to be taking to it well and appears to be enjoying it.  He sits on my wheel all the time and every time I look behind he is still there and this morning we did 29 miles at 15mph average which is very good.  Maybe we could have gone faster if I really pushed it.  If he sticks with it and keeps these sort of performances up it wont be long before I am sitting on his wheel all the time and he has to check up on me.

Click image for ride stats

We produced some pretty good figures all things considered.  Very good for a fifteen year olds first proper attempts.  So maybe this cycling thing is in his genes?   This to add to the rugby, football and cricket already in his repertoire.

I Rode The Road To Roade

This afternoons bike ride made for a nifty title I thought.  I was actually going to do a different circuit that took me near to but not actually to Roade.  However as I was pedalling and thinking, as I do when I am cycling, I thought to go to Roade would make a nice title so I had to go there to qualify.  It made it a ride of just over 35 miles and fifth successive day of cycling.

Click Image For Ride Stats

It was a lovely afternoon for a ride.  I had spent the morning creating a road bike for my Grandson Harry to use on his first exploratory bike ride with me tomorrow.  I had offered him the chance to have a go just after his birthday as he has expressed some interest in the cycle racing on TV.  I was 15 when I first took up cycling properly and really got into it from then on.  Who knows it might be in Harry’s genes too?  To add to his Rugby, Football and Cricket CV.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Plan ‘A’ was for him to borrow my Specialized bike with maybe a few adjustments.  He was 15 last week and is pretty much the same size as me so not a lot of adjustments would need to be made.  However in a moment of genius yesterday I thought of using the frame from the ‘fixie’ bike I had made up but never used.  I was sure I had enough stock of spare parts hanging around in the garage that would enable me complete the job.  This would solve the problem of him not having a bike on hand to use as he wished.  I could make up this bike and leave it with him all set up and he could hang on to until he either decides against cycling or he gets into it and we can invest in something a bit better.

So this morning I set to to create a bike from what I had in stock and was  pretty much finished by lunchtime.  It just need a cassette block fitted and find a chain long enough.  I left these jobs to do until after my bike ride.  I didn’t want to waste the opportunity for a shorts and short sleeve shirted bike ride in the nice ‘warmish’ sunshine.

I completed the bike on my return and now we await the events of tomorrow!  It looks pretty good I think.  The frame is a Raleigh Dynatech Titanium, so its quite light and the complete job is just a little heavier than my the Specialized but he is young and fit and I have to retain some advantage!!  Maybe not quite the latest fashion in frames but as long as the seat, handlebars and pedals are in the right place for a good riding position thats all that matters for now.  Carbon Fibre can wait until later.

Bike Works..

No bike riding today although it was nice enough for it.. especially compared with recent weather.  When checking my bike on arrival at Stony Stratford for the ride on Saturday I noticed an unhealthy sound coming from my back wheel area.  It sounded like some grit or something had got into the bearings.  I had no choice but to continue with the ride home and kept my fingers crossed.

This morning after breakfast and a few chores and when it was a bit ‘warmer’ I knew I had an appointment with my bike down the garage.  It needed fixing before I rode it again.  I gave the wheel spin as the bike hung on the rack and it seemed quiet actually.  Nevertheless I stripped the wheel down completely, quick release spindle out, removed the axle, removed the cassette and took the freewheel off.  I gave everything a thorough clean and reassembled it all again with waterproof grease and all seemed well.  I also got the chain cleaner gadget out and ran the chain through that a few times before applying a judicious spray of lubricant.  It definitely needed it after the last few rides, plenty of water about.

Now I am all set for a ride tomorrow, hopefully, but whats the betting the weather gods are not with me?

Bike Stable Update

Felt F3, Best Bike

Specialized Allez, Winter/Training Bike

Kona Kula, Mountain Bike

Claud Butler, Touring BIke

Dynatech 725 Ti, Fixed Wheel

Kona Lava Dome, Town Bike (Ex MTB)

Svelte Felt

Since riding the Specialized all winter and having got used to the feel of it one of the first things I noticed on riding the Felt again with the Selle Italia Flite saddle was how uncomfortable the saddle seemed.  It was quite a bit narrower than I had become used to over the winter so I decided a change was called for.

After much browsing I chose a Selle Italia again as they have a leather seat but opted for the Selle Italia C2, it is a bit wider and flatter than the Selle Italia Flite.  However its doesn’t come in yellow so a change was called for and a choice between white and black where the only options and I chose white.  This of course then called for a change of handlebar tape to match.  I chose the Fizik leather tape with the small perforations as this is a tape I have come to like.  It seems to stay cleaner and can be wiped clean as well.

So this is the new look.  It was a bit of a struggle to drag myself away from the yellow look but now I have done it I think I like it better.  There is quite a bit of white on the frame although it might not show so much in this view.  If you look back a couple of posts to the ‘New Shoes’ post you will be able to see the old saddle and the old look.

I have done a 50+ mile ride today and no discomfort at all so I did the right thing and no regrets.  It was bitterly cold again today and it was back to the full length Bib tights again for me.

Felt With New Shoes…

As promised in an earlier post I am posting some pictures of the Felt F3 shod with its new ‘shoes’.  Continental Grand Prix 4000, 20mm tyres.  Its all ready for its first outing on Sunday, the first day of BST (British Summer Time) as we like to call it here, after the clock change.  I said I would not bring it back out until then so I had to resist temptation and not ride it yet.

The Tyre..

Front View

From the rear and its worrying me that the saddle doesn’t look straight, need to check that asap..

Felt F3 Road Ready (Except for that saddle !!)

 

 

Puzzle Post Corrected..

(I posted this earlier but with incomplete formula, I have now added the correction for your calculations.  It was coming up with a ridiculous answer before, even my legs dont go that fast !!)

I have included a bit of audience participation in this posting about my ride on Tuesday.

I went for a ride on my rebuilt fixed wheel bike yesterday around my Ouse Valley route by way of a test ride prior to regular riding through the winter.

Rebuilt 'Fixie'

The participation is that although I had my Garmin on the bike I don’t have a cadence sensor fitted so I dont know what my average pedalling rpm was.  I can give you the detail to work out the maths and see what you come up with.

Gear inches has no current physical significance; it corresponds to the diameter in inches of the main wheel of an old-fashioned penny-farthing bicycle with equivalent gearing.  You enter the number of teeth on the chainring, the number of teeth on the rear sprocket and the wheel and tyre size and in my case it was a 44 tooth chainring, an 18 tooth rear sprocket and a 700c wheel with a 23mm tyre.  The gear size based on those figures works out to be 64.2 inches.

So, to make the calculation you have :-

Gear Size = 64.2 inches per pedal revolution ( As its fixed there is no freewheeling ! )

Ride Distance = 30.12 miles

Ride Time = 1 hour 57 minutes 46 seconds

then divide that number by pi (3.14)

From this you should be able to calculate the average pedal rpm for the ride.

If you choose to take part in a little seasonal fun you can enter your answer in the comments (Just the answer not the working out.) or e-mail me at briango@hotmail.com there will be no prizes, just the kudos of getting it right and some seasonal fun!

By the way, I have already worked it out myself , I think !!!!

(Sorry but I cant seem to post the full ride details as the Garmin Connect site seems to have stopped working.  Maybe I can attach the details later but you have the info you need for the calculation.)

‘Winter’ Bike Preparations..

I put the finishing touches to the winterisation of my Specialized bike yesterday and after finishing the decorating indoors this morning I went for 21mile spin to check it out in preparation for the Team MK ride tomorrow. (Saturday).

What I have done to the bike  is :-

1. Changed the triple chainring to a double, 36 – 48 (from my stock)

2. Changed the front left Sti lever from triple to double (from my stock)

3. Replaced handlebar tape

4. Replaced rear derailleur from long cage to short cage

5. Tidied and shortened cables and replaced where necessary (from my stock)

6. Changed tyres from Michelin Dynamic, smooth, to Schwalbe Lugano, slightly grippier (from my stock)

7. Changed front derailleur from a triple to a double ( from my stock)

8. Fitted front & rear lights, mini/flashing type to be seen not to see with (from my stock)

9. Mudguards already fitted but part of the winterization.

Specialized bike all winter ready

All seemed to go well this morning all that was required en route was a slight adjustment to the front derailleur and on my return a small realignment of handlebars and Sti levers, they just didn’t feel quite right so out came spirit level and measuring tape.