My bike-to-work day

I have been off and on with biking to work lately. A combination of being a short walk away from BART and working some long/tiring days have had me in kind of a funk. For bike-to-work day I made an extra effort though, and it paid off with pancakes.

Someone in the City of Oakland hierarchy organized a pancake breakfast/booth show/speeches event in front of city hall, and I work all of two blocks away, so I pretty much had to stop by. Because I was still in my bike funk, I rode the Schwinn and planned on only riding the short hops from my house to BART, and from BART to the office. I had forgotten how much of a workout (on the quads specifically) pedaling that monster was, and in my nice clothes no less.

I was met at the first BART station by some early volunteers. They weren't supposed to be up and running until 07:00, and I went by about 06:45. One of the guys came over to give me a bag and asked if I wanted any of the beverage/food they had, but since I was hopping a train I passed. When I got to Oakland I got a nifty "I biked today" sticker, like the "I gave blood" ones you get at blood drives. I also got a couple of pancakes, some coffee and OJ, and saw some interesting booths. I was pretty early (07:30) and most of the booths were just getting set up. I hung out for a little while and then wandered back to work.

There was one other guy from my office that rode, and where ever it was he went, he got a t-shirt. We did run into another guy in the building when we were heading out that night who had ridden for the first time that day (although I got the impression he had ridden before, just not to that particular location). All in all, a lot of fun.

Goop

I've been meaning to test out Green Slime for a while. Not because I just like the idea, but because I keep getting slow leaks in the rear tire on my commuter bike. Since it has an internal-geared hub, getting the wheel off and on is a bit of an issue, and then I have to make sure the chain is tight and occasionally readjust the cable tension to keep it in the right gear. Add to that the fact that just flipping the thing upside down to get the wheel off is a significant challenge due to weight, and you'll see why tire changing/patching is low on my list.

(Keep in mind, I do have liners in the tires, but I think the spoke ends may be poking through the rim tape and causing little tiny holes.)

The last time I flatted, a few weeks ago, I just stuck my tongue out and left it flat. Last weekend I picked up a tube of slime and went to work. The bottle has pretty clear directions on it, and I went by them. I won't repeat them (rote) here, but roughly:

• Let the air out and then pull the valve core (the top of the bottle has a built-in removal tool).
• Use the hose to pump slime into the tube, about 1/2 the bottle for a bike tire
• Replace the valve core and inflate.
• Roll the tube to distribute the slime and remount.

That was the basic chain of events I followed, and it was almost that easy. The biggest issue I ran into is that the goop is thick. It took a lot of squeezing on the bottle to get it moving. Another thing to be aware of:

DO NOT REMOVE THE BOTTLE FROM THE HOSE, OR THE HOSE FROM THE VALVE STEM UNTIL THE HOSE IS EMPTY!!!

I cannot stress this enough. If you do (like I did) the pressure in the tube will pump all of the goop back out and it will go everywhere and be a pain to clean up. I had the advantage of having a utility room that I could work in and worry about cleaning up later, but had I been in my old apartment I would have been in trouble.

So far the slime is holding. I've done a few rides of varying length, and haven't had the slow leak problem again. If it holds I may go ahead and slime all of my bikes, just in case.

A ride to work (sort of)

"Sort of" to work, I mean, not a sort of ride. Most of this week I'm in training away from the office. The training is a couple of miles from the closest BART station and makes it a perfect ride. The area of Dublin where the training is has a lot of new development, including new wide roads with nice new bike lanes.

There were a couple of downsides, which go more to show how long it's been since I did a bike commute than anything else:

• The stairs - the BART platforms are raised, somewhere between two and three stories high. My bike is a tank (and I love it) and hauling it up all those stairs was a little rough.
• The climbs - the office we're meeting in is up a mild slope. I have said before (and will say again) that I hate gentle slopes because I always think I can take them in a manly gear and then bonk about halfway up. To some extent this, is mitigated by using the Schwinn since it's only a three-speed, but still.
• The weather - not a big deal, but it was five-ten degrees cooler when I got off the BART train in Dublin than it was in San Leandro when I left. Nothing significant, just surprisingly chilly.

All that aside, I'm glad to be on the bike for the week.

Grumble...

There is a gremlin haunting my commuter bike, the Schwinn. I've already written on my problems with the rear tire, and it has once again attacked me. This time I know it was a gremlin.

I rode Monday and Tuesday of last week because my truck was in the shop. Tuesday afternoon I got off BART a few stops early to pick up the truck, then drove to the Concord station to pick up the bike. Both days the ride was fine. When I got to BART the bike was fine. When I unloaded the bike from the truck at my house the back tire was soft, and by Wednesday evening it was flat.

I'm taking the lazy way out, and trying the "pretend there's no problem" option of just pumping the tire back up without actually doing anything. My hope is that there was something in the way I loaded the bike into the truck that caused the tire to flat, but I'm not expecting to get that lucky. Thankfully work takes me out of town on Monday so I couldn't ride anyway and that will give me Monday afternoon to take it apart and try to find the problem...

The test

Monday evening I decided to make a test-run on the ride I'll be doing when I decide to get of my lazy @$$ and get back to biking at least part of the way to work. It's a not overly special ride, a little more than 3 miles each way down a quick (speed limit 40 MPH) well-maintained artery of a road. This was my first ride in months on the Scwhinn and I felt it.

I've mentioned before how sore I get when I switch from one bike to another, mainly because I have a couple of different styles of bikes. My day-to-day commuter is an upright Schwinn that's older than me and almost as heavy. As happened the first time I rode it, I felt most of this trip in my quads. The other thing I noticed is that the new dress shoes I bought last week are very slick on the bottom. I did the ride in my work clothes because I will be doing it that way "for real". The slick shoes led to an odd foot position on the pedals  (all the way back so the heels caught on the back of the pedal) which will really screw me up when I ride clipless on the weekends.

All told it took me about a half an hour (including the pleasant visit with the other commuter I mentioned in my last post) to do the 6+ miles. It will feel great to be doing that on a daily basis again.

Slow leaks

I can't think of any aspect of bike maintenance that drives me farther up the wall than slow leaks in tubes. Especially with my Speedster. Why that bike in particular?

• No quick release - The rear (internal gear) can't be and the front just isn't, and for commuting that's just fine (it buys me an extra 0.5 seconds) but for replacing tubes it's a pain
• No work stand - The other bikes hang on a rack and I could probably get their (quick release) tires off on there, not the Schwinn because...
• It weighs a lot - This is an old school steel tank, which I love, but the lean-against-the-wall style rack my other bikes are on wouldn't hold it
• Full metal fenders with attached taillight - This makes it tough to just wheelie the bike up and over on the rear wheel, I get about 1/2 way and hit the fender
• Odd tire size - When I had new wheels built I did the cool but not smart thing and kept the original S6 wheels, which makes getting new tires and tubes a pain (that will change soon)
• Tires that don't sit easily - I don't know if it's S6 in general or just the tires I have, but they do not sit well on the rim so pinch flats are a constant source of worry

That's the beginning of the list, but you get the point.

For the last week I've been commuting on the Trucker because the Schwinn is flat in the back. I pulled it off this weekend, couldn't find a hole, put the tube back on and a few hours later (3 or 4) it was going flat again. In the end I will probably pull the tube and replace it, tagging it as leaking and fix it later (when I have access to my dad's fountain to find the leak). I think I'm also going to get new rim tape because the old stuff looks pretty shot, and some of the add-it-yourself anti-flat goop.

The importance of variety

My last post I mentioned both my (not very) expansive three-bike stable, and that I had to commute on my touring bike due to a flat on the commuter. One thing I didn't mention is the odd discomforts I felt riding it.

When I picked up the Trucker and did a brief test-ride it was the single most comfortable bike I had ever been on. For the most part that is still the case. One little thing I noticed is that the muscles at the base of my thumbs are extremely sore now, and while I was riding they felt unpleasant. Thinking about it this really isn't surprising. Most of my riding (in fact 100% for the last couple of months) has been commuting, on an upright. Getting back onto a bike with drops means having to support my weight in a different position, and the body isn't used to it.

For a long time I had only one bike, a mid '90s Trek 930 SingleTrack. I had it set up for commuting (somewhat, slicks and a rack) and I rode it everywhere. My friends were training for a tour and I did their rides on the Trek, I commuted on the Trek, I went shopping on the Trek. Then it was stolen. I ended up getting two bikes to fill its duties - the Speedster and a Raleigh SuperCourse. The Speedster just isn't great for longer rides and the SuperCourse is too much of a road bike (read: extra-skinny wheels) for daily commuting on Baltimore streets. Now I've added the Trucker. Unfortunately, my time lately hasn't allowed for a lot of pleasure riding, so it's nothing but utility, which means the Speedster.

The point? If you have more than one bike, especially if you have more than one type of bike, you need to put some time in the saddle of each of them. Your body will thank you for it and (perhaps more importantly) you'll get to enjoy all of the different types of riding.

Why I have three bikes for just me - or - why I'll be paranoid all day.

I normally commute on my '72 Schwinn Speedster. It's a semi-zippy little tank, banana-yellow, with a 3-speed internal rear hub and a drum brake/generator front hub, a nice NOS Schwinn rear rack and some Wald folding baskets, a a nifty little OYB 5 way bag on the handlebars. In other words, a great city bike. Unfortunately, I couldn't ride it today because sometime between getting home last night and trying to get on it this morning all of the air decided to evacuate the rear tire. Since I was already pushing the late end of heading to work I didn't have the time to fix it. I debated driving and then decided to bring the Trucker instead.

It should go without saying that this is not what my Trucker currently looks like, but I don't have any other pics available online. That actually shocks me, because it means I didn't do a gooey post after it was finished. Anyway...eventually (as in, when I get the rest of the rear) the Trucker will be a touring rig. As of now I don't have racks of bags for it. That meant wearing the mess bag. Thankfully the weather has taken a turn for the cool today and I didn't end up with a monster sweaty back.

The problem, and the reason I'm going to be twitchy all day at my desk is that we don't have the most secure bike parking around. We have a few police barricades to lock up to, in a semi-obscured corner of the garage. There is no reason anyone not affiliated with the building would be in there, but this is a pricey and well loved bike.

Oh well, I'll just make a lot of trips up and down the stairs...

jp

I (heart) my drum brake

Today was my first 'wet' commute since installing the new drum brake and lights, and the brake worked like a charm. The rims on the Schwinn are old and I believe they are stainless. Whatever material they are, when they get wet the brakes don't work. Last winter I got to school with numb hands and forearms from gripping the brake levers with all my strength to try and slow down. Basically, I had to hold the pads tight enough to the rim to dry everything off through friction/heat and then the brakes would catch. When the rims are wet from snow slush you can imagine how long it takes to dry them in that manner.

It's not actually raining today but more of a heavy mist. Heavy enough that I had to stop at a light and pull out my goggles so I could ride without squinting. Since it was a light traffic day I decided to test out the new brake. On the first hill I tried to slow with just the rear (caliper) brake and it slipped as I expected. When I tried the front it worked great. It was a little pricey to get the generator hub with the brake, but it was well worth it. Anyone building a new wheel for use in bad weather commuting should really consider using one of the drum brake hubs. They're common on tandems, which means the hubs are out there.

Almost finished

I thought I was done with the Schwinn repairs, but I was wrong. Now, I'm 95% there. I was slowed down by having to get a new trigger shifter after the shifter that came with the new hub didn't fit on my bars. This morning I went ahead and hooked it up. After getting it in place I went out for a test ride and it didn't shift quite right, but a little adjustment to the cable tension and I once again have my Schwinn fully functional.

The damage - more money than I feel like listing and WAY too much time off the bike.

The results - new front hub which includes a drum brake (weather-proof) and generator, lights (front and rear) powered by the generator, new 3-speed internal rear hub, all new spokes on both wheels and one new tube. Also, the cables for the front brake and the shifter are new.

The only thing I need to do now is get a pile of zip-ties and anchor all of the cables in place and it'll be all done. As it stands I can ride, it's just a little squirrley not having the cables tied down.

"That's a nice bike"

I love my little Schwinn. It's simple, durable, and has all the functionality I need. Sop rats like my little Schwinn. It's old school and has the type of character that tools develop when they're over 30 years old. Little kids - don't normally love my little Schwinn. It's not flashy and looks a little odd next to modern bikes. All that being said, can you imagine how excited I was when this evening, as I was unloading the baskets so I could collapse them (won't fit through the door otherwise) a little girl who couldn't have been more than 10 years old walked by and said "That's a nice bike" and clearly meant it.

Maybe there is hope for the younger generation.

Fantastic

I try not to post from work, mainly because I don't have access to pictures, but wanted to celebrate getting back to bike commuting. The ride in was great. Cool but not freezing, just about dawn so there was plenty of light but no glare. New lights worked great and the new wheels feel good. The rear seems to be in third gear, so the climb going home is going to be a pain, but other than that I can't wait to get back on the bike. Some time in the next day or so I need to stop by a store and pick up some small zip ties, all the cables are being held in place by twisties that I had around the house and it looks a little lame. I'll add a pic when I get home.

Three days

Three very frustrating days. That's how long it's taken to get the Schwinn back on both wheels and almost ready to ride again. Friday I went back to Mt. Airy and picked up the rear wheel. Saturday morning when I woke up I had the bike, both wheels, the new lights and all the other parts to put it back together. I thought.

First - the rear. I discovered after starting to assemble the rear wheel the rest of the way (which involved putting the cog and lockring on, putting the old-style rubber rim strip back in, and putting the new tube and old tire on) that the nuts on the hub made it too wide to actually fit between the chainstays on my bike. After poking at it for a few minutes it became clear that I needed tools I did not have - namely a second open end adjustable wrench - to get the nuts off. Also, I had no real idea if both (there were two on each side) were important, so I left the rear and moved to the front.

Second - the drum brake. I ride in most weather, so I figured the generator hub with built-in drum brake was a good way to go. Drum brakes are protected from the weather, and the generator seemed like a handy way to run lights for commuting. Well, the cable supplied with the brake was a little too long and I didn't have a decent pair of wire cutters to shorten it. Alright, I decided to mount the lights.

Third - mounting lights. I was approaching frustration at this point. I'd been "working" for about an hour and had nothing to show for it except a partially assembled rear wheel and an understanding of how the drum brake cabling was supposed to go. When I tried to mount the lights I discovered that 1) the front would go on the bolt that had secured the caliper brakes without a problem, except that it was too long and 2) I would need to drill holes in the rear fender to mount the light properly. At this point I gave up and figured I would wait until Monday and drive back to Mt. Airy and see if they could help me.

They could and did. I was in the shop for about and hour and had almost all of the problems dealt with. The only thing left is to get a new trigger shifter (the shifter that came with the new rear hub won't fit on my bars and the old one is shot) and I'll be good to go. I was able to take a quick putter up and down the alley behind my house and saw that the lights work and the rear standlight is great. I will try to ride tomorrow, but don't know what gear the bike is in and shifting is difficult if not impossible. Worst that happens is I'll have a hard time getting back home.

The important thing: tomorrow I will be back on my Schwinn.