Stephen's Personal Blog

Well, the weather finally turned bad and I dropped my bike off at a local bike shop today for a tune up. The only real issue was the wobbly steering (yes, still) and the wobbly back wheel. The owner was very generous with this time and knowledge and answer my many questions. I feel kind of out in the woods sometimes with ideas. It seems like they are actually pretty commonplace. Things like increased fork rake, double handlebar tape, stem extension, steer tube extension, tire size (my front and back are different sizes), etc. He mentioned several rules of thumb for estimating adjustments to cleats, saddle height and position, handlebar position, etc.

The only real changes to my bike might be a replaced fork. Carbon fiber is lighter and the steel tube that mounts up into the bike is cut for each bike. My original fork, due to is small-medium size frame on my large body, is too short in the tube. I’ve looked for a carbon fork, but I like to keep my dropouts for racks and fenders. It seems difficult to find an accommodating fork. This might be difficult to engineer, but not impossible.

An article I read recently talked about the angular momentum of the spinning components; wheels, gears, chain, and crank. These are always in motion and always in motion because of the rider. Even a slight weight loss is significant, because it is multiplied by the number of pedal strokes.

For all the technology gains, it seems that the real question is between a double or triple front chainrings. Double or 18 speed is 250+ grams lighter. And on most training rides I rarely use the lowest low, though I do hit the highest high and my speed tops at about 30 mph because of it. I wonder if I could find a gear combo with double ring that I would like.

I was kind of surprised. It was hard to leave my bike behind. Even for a tune up. She’s 900 miles old. That’s a lot of hours.

A few minor bike upgrades came in today and I immediately applied them. One that I had considered for some time was the longer stem. In the crouch position my bike seems too short. So, I ordered the longest stem possible, 130mm. It is much longer, maybe twice as long, as the original. Surprisingly, it’s lighter too. The angle isn’t has high as the original Bianchi stem making the handlebar height the same.

When I removed the old stem I found a hex nut inside. It was really loose and I tightened it till snug. On the ride afterwords there was no front wheel wobble at 16+ mph. Though there is some kind of jitter in the front wheel when speeds are over 20mph that I can’t pin down.

The handlebar extensions that protrude outwards like a rams horn from the handlebars was mounted level with the ground. I didn’t installed the forearm holders, because they look bulky and in the way. Using the extension always put my wrists at an odd angle. So I lowered the front end down so my arms will lie level and lay on the handlebars. This is a good improvement. Should have done it sooner.

The bike trip requires a shoe that can walk around without stomping on the clipless cleats. I got a leatherish shoe and some sandals. The shoe works Ok. It’s a bit long and some adjustment to the cleat position needs to be made.

The leather saddle seems to be coming into shape, finally. I can’t feel it, but the sheen isn’t even anymore. There are definitely surface indentations.