What part of TURN don't I understand?

Went out for a quick ride on Glowie, which became an adventure in the last three blocks.

It started out well, since I didn't have a lot of time, I took the bike on a route I hadn't used with that bike yet. (The weather was beautiful, it was supposed to rain, instead they now predict horrible weather for tomorrow.) The Strava segments were not my best, and one of them was among my worst.

What was interesting about the trip was that I did an out and back to the current end of the local bike path with a turn around in a construction zone. Measuring from the footbridge (Why the Hell does Piqua have two bridges on the bike path with stairs?) to the construction site, Strava gives it around 1.8 miles. (It varies on two different pages for the same segment.) It took me 7:56 to head out, and only 7:55 to return. Only 1 second difference in the two directions, which I really find amusing.

I felt good coming out of the last section of the route, and got onto Main street. Seeing the light was still green, I gunned it. I realized as I entered the turn at somewhere north of 20 mph that I was on a fixie, and I wasn't about to coast that turn. I had to accept that I was probably going to crash into the curb, and it was probably going to freaking hurt, so I did the only reasonable thing I could decide in the fraction of time allowed, I changed direction and aimed for the curb head on. I managed to jump my front wheel up, and the rear may have come up as well, but it hit the curb hard, and I felt the bike momentarily ride only on the front wheel onto the grass and gravel of the parking lot / grass of the factory on the corner. The bike felt a bit wobbly as I headed out from there for the few blocks home, but my speed was about normal. Once home, I put the bike on the repair stand, cleaned it up a bit, and adjusted the rear wheel. No visible damage to the bike, not the frame, not the wheel, not the tire. It did knock the wheel loose, but it was an easy thing to tighten, and I actually got the lag out of the chain this time. (So it is now, in theory, better than before my ride today.)

I don't really want to think what would have happened had that been my road bike I was on at the time. That is the second incident that I am lucky to have walked rode away from this year. (And I didn't destroy my wheels this time!)

If I had a tail light, I'd have gone out for another ride. It looks great out there, a shame the Indiana Weather Service has predicted some real nasty weather for tomorrow. (Which includes Trick or Treat.)

Pure Fix Zulu - review

One week ago, I got my new bike built, and I almost have the settings zeroed in. The bike, a Pure Fix Zulu, is a solid bike, once you get it adjusted.

My bike is actually a second generation Pure Fix, which gives it a nicer head badge, a second area to mount a water bottle cage, and some screws in the back to help adjust the rear wheel. The head badge is nice though, and I am happy to have the option for a second water bottle cage. (The pictures on the website show both versions.)

I still don't have it dialed in completely, partially due to wanting a newer stem. Pure Fix has an adjustable one for about $20 plus shipping. I might try to find one locally, it is a common enough part. The other main thing that is bothering me is that the rear tire seems low. The stock tires are rated for 85 PSI, and at about 200 pounds, that tire looks like it will give me a pinch flat. It hasn't happened yet, and it might just be shell shock from the many flats my road bike has gone through since I got a new wheel set.

Really though, aside from not being the most comfortable setup for me (I wish the steerer tube was taller) at the moment, that is all I can really complain about. (Well, that and a fixie is a lot harder than I am used to, since I am more used to a 24 speed bike.)  The only other thing that seems odd to me is the small difference when changing from a forward motion to a reverse motion on the pedals, if my stroke is not quite right, I feel a little jump in the chain. If I had the rear wheel in with the chain tighter, that would probably go away. It is better after I adjusted it, and if it wasn't set as a fixie and was instead was using the freewheel, it wouldn't even be an issue. Heck, I think I have noticed it on my geared bike before, and not realized it until now.)

The bike handles great though, barring some hills which I still have to get used to. There is no shifting down, and sometimes I get to the top of a hill winded and only moving a few MPH, slower than I am used to, but the expenditure to get up is more too. Going down the hills is another matter. I am still building confidence in the down-hills, not to mention the issue of turning while still pedaling at speed. Then means wider turns so far, though as I get better that will improve somewhat.

The seat isn't too bad, though it took some adjusting to make it just right. For a stock saddle, it may be the best seat I have had. I might even like it better than the expensive one I put on my road bike, though with only a 20 mile ride and a a few shorter rides, it isn't fair to say yet.

I don't mind riding though more challenging sections of the bike path either, I don't really worry about hitting a rock, or riding off onto the grass, like I would on my road bike. It is actually kinda nice to be able to not worry about the terrain as much. If not for my legs getting really tired quickly, as well as my arthritis in my hands acting up quickly, it would be perfect. Once I get a new stem, and more time on the bike, those issues won't matter.

Of course, with the Zulu, the key selling point beyond the bike itself is the glowing. I haven't ridden at night yet, partially due to not having lights on it, and partially because it is basically winter in Ohio. It is cold, almost too cold in the day time, let alone at night, to go for a ride much of the time.  But that doesn't mean I haven't seen it glow while in use. There is an underpass or two around here just dark enough that the bike will begin to glow while traversing. It is just for a few seconds, but it works beautifully. Also, when putting the bike into the house, it glows a little.  I also replaced the original hand grips with the same model of grips, except for glow in the dark. I don't know why that wasn't stock, but I like it better this way. (It isn't that I replaced them, rather I just installed the glow in the dark model instead of the regular ones during the build.) It really takes it's moment to shine though when I leave it in the living room. I turn the light out before bed, and poof, glowing bike. I love it.

I am happy with the choice to get a Zulu model. (Though it was almost out of stock when I wanted to order, I did also consider the possibility of ordering the Kilo and then the yellow glow wheels, but aside from that costing an extra $120 (though I'd have a spare set of wheels...) I really like the pure white color better.

I will admit, there is some temptation to add the Oscar to my stable, modded with bull horns. The chrome does look nice, but hey... I don't have the money for that at the moment. No matter how shiny it is.

Once I get used to it, I am sure it will be one of the more active bikes in my stable.

Glowie Deschanel is a creul dominatrix

(Not the best written blog by me, but I am tired after writing 3 papers for school tonight. This will just have to do. The title though I decided about 20 miles into the ride yesterday though.)

Saturday morning was as crappy an October morning as I can remember. It was raining, and in the lower 40s as I drove the boys to the baby sitter, and we prepared for the Groovy Gourd. We knew that at least 50 people had signed up for the tour, and even with the weather, we decided to just ride to the starting line. (It was only a mile away...)

The final count for those who actually attempted the ride was 7. (But the shirts are freaking awesome!) Nobody who signed up to do the shortest ride did such, and a few of use went for each route.

The funny thing is as we got ready to start, we wheeled my bike into the dark hallway near the restrooms, just so the collected people could stare at the mystical glowing bike. It hadn't been in the light long, but it was enough to show off what it could do.

The first thing I learned was that riding a fixie for the first time as part of a bike tour in 45 degree weather while it is raining and still attempting the 25 mile route is really stupid. The first 3 miles were fine, the cold hurt and extremities were going numb, but I have had that happen when running before. The bike ate its way though the bumps on the bike path with ease, though it did remind me harshly that there is no coasting on a fixie. I took the hills with gusto, early on at least.

About a mile or so into the ride, we went through a short tunnel under a road, and that was enough for my bike to switch on the glow, for about 2 seconds, my bike was green, and then it was white again. It is always a treat to see the glow appear suddenly like that.

My wife was on her Schwinn Fastback, which did give her a fair bit of advantage. I also realized quickly that my seat needed to go up a bit higher, and the handlebars were a bit too low for me. (Another reason you don't do a 25 mile ride as your test ride.) Still, for the most part, I kept up with her, and usually got to the top of the hills before her. Glowie though, she gets mean. A fixie does not care that you are getting tired, your clothes soaked through from the rain. I wasn't wearing my heart rate monitor for that ride, but I know that my pulse was higher than normal for a ride.

Much of the route was along my normal training routes except for a section I was unfamiliar with.  This section included some decent hills that I would have loved to hit in better circumstances. I rode up all of them, even though it left me drained at the top. Ruthie, however, ended up walking up one of the hills. (Remember, she as on a Sora equipped road bike, I was on a fixie with Mountain bike bars.)

We finally got to the only rest stop, about 20 miles into the ride, but don't hang out there long. Standing around while wet is not a good thing. We were feeling worse, and it showed.

It was fortunate that the stop was actually on one of my main training routes, and we decided to take a shortcut home. We got to one of the more interesting downhills, and I fought the bike to keep the speed unusually lower than normal, as my wife was hitting the downhill much slower than normal. We skipped the bike path enterence (She didn't trust the two downhills if we were to take that path back to the start, and we didn't want to go along the prescribed route to the finish. We took surface streets back downtown, put the bikes inside the city building, and tried to warm up. (We debated going strait home, but the furnace isn't fixed yet.)

We warmed up there a bit, and I rode home alone to retrieve the car. (Ruthie had a hair appointment that morning after the ride.) I didn't even bother with putting the rack onto my Vue, I just pulled off her bike's wheels, threw them in the back and put her frame in the back seat. We brought home 3 gourds, (it was the groovy gourd tour!) and I got to unload. My jeans were soaked, all my layers were saturated with water. I changed to my only spare pair of jeans, and put on the gourd tour shirt before heading up to see my oldest son's soccer game. This did not help anyone warm up, and after the game, we headed out to the mall for a snack. Where I ate and promptly fell asleep at the table in the food court.

I woke when my wife called to tell me that she would meed me at home, and once home, I slept for a few more hours. I don't know if it was the exhaustion of riding in the cold rain, being on the fixie, or all the shivering afterwards, but I felt like the exertion was worse than when I had done either of my half marathons.

After I slept, I threw Glowie onto the repair stand, and cleaned it off with baby wipes. (Seriously, I still buy wipes for that very reason.) I couldn't find any paper towels, so I had to skip relubing the chain. I did flip the stem upside down to add a little hight, raised the seat a bit more, and adjusted the brakes. (Front only. It is a fixie after all.) I then put the bike into the garage and reassembled my wife's Schwinn. I had to adjust her brakes a little, dried it off, and cleaned it up a bit. I will probably hit both with some lube in a few days, but they seem fit to go.

My first bike build - Pure Fix Zulu SSFG

On Thursday, I built a bike for the first time. Really, I am amazed that they fit the thing into a box not much larger than my flat screen tv came in, and a bike actually came out of it.

For my first time building a bike, I built a Pure Fix Zulu, which is one of the most interesting bikes I have ever owned. (Though I have not done anything under than a few hundred yards on it in getting the seat adjusted and such. Been busy.)

My wife has named it Glowy. I thought I would give it a cool name, but nope. It is now "Glowy Deschanel."

So.... that pic was taken using my Fuji camera, and I couldn't see anything in the viewfinder. I pushed the button, waited 8 seconds, and then waited a few more as it tried to figure out what was going on, and gave me that above pic.

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The build started after I got a call that the bike had come into the bike shop after almost a week. (I would blame Columbus Day, but California is a long way from Ohio, according to UPS.)

Even if the box does have a wing logo. Guess it would need to wings to be faster....

Unboxing it wasn't too bad, everything was in there really tight. As I got the packing foam, and bubble wrap, and tape, and meine gotten, how much protective stuff does this thing need? Artie found the wire snips and got the zip ties off. (It would have taken me a few minutes to find them in his shop.) Finally, I got it into the repair stand.

Once on the rack, I realized it was on SS mode, so I flipped the wheel, and realized there was a single black spoke on each wheel. For consistency, I later put the front wheel on with the black spoke on the same side as the rear.

There are two black spokes among the white ones, I assume the one on back tells me if it is in fixie mode or not.

I then went on to attach the handlebars, which was mostly easy aside from the hand grips. Artie later corrected that issue, and showed me the secret to that. Instead of the stock OURY grips, I installed a glow in the dark OURY grips. Essentially the same product as the stock, but glowing.

I then added on the pedals. (Actually, I think I did that before the handlebars.) I added the Pedal Straps to the pedals, grease the threads, and stuck them on. This took about 15 minutes, of which about 2 minutes was adjusting the straps, and 1 minute to putting the pedals on. The rest went towards finding the pedal wrench. For some reason, I didn't think about it looking different than mine, and that made it harder. Finally found it, sitting 3 inches from the other tools I was using, and was surprised to see it was designed for both 15mm and half inch pedals. (Park Tools are great sometimes.)

I got the front brake adjusted, which wasn't that hard. The only thing I didn't like about it was that dual pivot centering screw is a phillips head screw. The one on my KHS uses a tiny little allen head screw. I can't blame TrueFix for this, it is a manufacturers thing with the brakes. My wife's Schwinn has that kind of screw. I haven't looked, it might even be the same brakes.

Adjusting the seat was a little challenging, since resting on the bike made it want to roll off somewhere. I had to adjust it a few more times after a short test ride, but I think I have it where I want it.

Final checkover from Artie showed that the stem was on crooked. (I can't believe I missed that) which was a quick fix, and it was done.

I skipped some steps in the process. I did them, just didn't write them up. (Such as installing the front and rear reflectors.) The biggest challenges I had were finding the right tools (Not using my own, the correct one didn't always jump out at me) and also this:

Really, when I pulled that out of the box with the misc parts, I couldn't figure out what it was. I was holding it by the black part, and though the other end was looking like some kind of plug. I almost called Artie down to ask what it was when I realized it was touch up paint. I can't say I ever had a bike that came with touchup paint before. (And I didn't need it.) I'd love some touch-up paint for my KHS, it has a few spots in need.

I haven’t gotten a full ride in yet, will finally do that in the morning, but the only thing I am not sure I like about the bike is the steerer tube is shorter than I would like or am used to. (I do like that the top tube is a flat, and not a slanted one.) Also, with 45~50 mm deep wheels (I didn't measure, and I have heard two different numbers. Yea rounding.) it is not as easy to find spare tubes.  Even though it is steel, I can tell it is much lighter than my KHS road bike, though that is steel too. It does weigh more (I think) than my wife's aluminum road bike though. In the test rides, I think it handled in a way I can't describe, I think I am beginning to understand how some people really love this style of bike.

Also, it glows in the freaking dark. (There are some detractors that complain that it has to be in light to charge first, I don't see that as a problem if I am riding and then it gets dark, or I have it in a lit place before riding. I don't do that much night riding anyways, but hey. It glows in the dark.

(Had the Zulu not 'magically' became available while talking on the phone with some of the Pure Fix people, I also would have considered the Oscar. It doesn't glow, but it is a beautiful chrome bike. (I would probably at least switch it to drop bars.) I am almost tempted to sell my vintage Schwinn to make room (and funds) for that one. Of course, that one doesn't glow in the dark... but it sure is shiny.

Personally, the only things I think I would change from this bike in the default state would be to have the glow in the dark grips instead of the black ones, have a longer steerer tube, give it a white saddle, and include the foot straps with the bike. (And if the brake adjustment screw used an allen head, that would be great too.) (If glow in the dark or white pedals are an option, maybe that as well, or a while crank.)

Still, most of those changes are personal preference. With as many color options that they have, it should be easy to find a great match. (The chrome one still is tempting.) Also, it would be great to take it to a bike shop, since having it built there is a part of getting the warranty activated.

(edited 10/19/13 to fix the brand name from Purefix to Pure Fix.)

Crash crash pop pop - wasn't me....

I had just finished getting my classwork down when I came downstairs to my wife receiving a phone call. Her mom had crashed her bike, and needed a ride. (Well, my mother in law, and father in law both.)

I put the bike rack on the back of the car, and head over to pick them up from the park near the crash. (It was on a part of the bike path, but I don't know where. My wife claims to know though. I just rode the path today... anyways...)

I lifted up my mother in law's bike and walked straight up (ok, an angle) the very steep levee hill and directly to my car. I had to put my mother in law's bike in the back of the car, wheels off, since she didn't have the converter on it today. My wife would have had a heck of a time with that.  My father in law had also crashed (Which was not conveyed to me before I left. I still don't know how or why he crashed.) and was walking with his wife around the path to the park, partly because the rear brake had stopped working.



After I drove them home, I brought their bikes into the house to see what was going on with them. Both had low tire pressure, my mother in laws was the worst for air pressure. I swear I have told them a dozen times to always make sure there is enough air in the tires, and use a freaking tire gauge. (When at home, of course. My CO2 pump doesn't have a pressure gauge, but I know what close enough is, their tires were not near close enough.)

My mother in law, who got hurt in the crash, has a fully ridable bike. (Well, after I air up the tires.) I would (other than it being a women's 7 speed cruiser) feel safe riding it, the dérailleur is just a hair off, but not worth fiddling with. A half turn of the limit screw is all it probably needs, but she doesn't use that gear anyways. (And, since she broke her collar bone, it is a rather moot point.)

My father in law's bike seemed at first like the brake cable had snapped, or came loose from the lever. (rear brake) They still functioned when I pulled the cable under the top tube, which made it stranger. After about 5 minutes of staring at it, I discovered the lever itself had snapped into two pieces, inside the lever's housing. I have bent a few of those in my day, but I have never seen one snap like that. Personally, I'd try to fix it myself if it were my bike, but I have never done that before, so it can go to the shop he bought it from. (Hey, at least that shop has cheap water bottles. That makes the trip worth it for me.) Would I ride it with just a front brake? Perhaps. It got scratched up from the crash, but nothing too bad. (Other than the brake lever, of course.)
 

Suddenly though, with these two bikes in the house, I think we have hit the saturation point of bikes in the house. I really am thinking I might need to get rid of the Cannondale that I have a whole 8 miles on. I swear that thing hates me. That, or I need to find a way to organize them all better.

The stable is getting larger...

This morning I ordered another bike. Yeah, really, I guess the name of the blog does say "a" bike.... but anyways... moving along....

It was an interesting challenge, as I set a payment for the amount to Capital 1 yesterday, but they blocked the payment from my available credit. (I have the rewards card, and dang it, I want that 1.5% cash back credit thing.)

This, it turns out, was because my wife hadn't activated the card I had requested for her, which hadn't arrived yet. Rather a strange problem, really, but whatever. Got that sorted out, and got onto Amazon to place the order. It went from "Shipping in 1 to 2 days" to "Shipping in 1 to 4 months" with an estimated date of January 15th. That's next freaking year. Ah hell no.

I ended up calling the company (not saying who or such until I have it in hand!) and got talking with one of the founders of the company. Winds up, they found another one in the warehouse that wasn't in the online inventory, and I also ended up getting a discount that made it cost less than it would have on Amazon.

I am still waiting on the tracking info to go live... It is being sent to the local bike shop, and it will be a quick build for whoever does that. (Might be me, might be Artie. Either way, he gets to sign off on it for the warranty.)

Still, with the Gourd a week away, it should be interesting.

Cool weather riding

I got out today on the KHS and did my longer 10 mile loop that I like, it works out to 14 miles including getting to the start of the loop and home again. It was a nice, mostly quiet, ride, with minimal sounds coming from the bike.

I had hoped to get a few miles in yesterday, but I threw the chain. That was my own fault, somehow I had missed tightening the drive side crank arm, and the dérailleur was adjusted for that... Quick stop at the bike shop (Artie has much nicer bike repair stands than the one I have) and I got the dérailleur to 95%. It still creaks when I push the gears for speed. (Which is sort of normal...)

Still, it performed today like it should, and that is what matters. I averaged just over 14 MPH, which I have only done one other time outside of actual races this year. (Tour de Donut average speed was 16.3 and the Troy Strawberry Festival average speed was 16.18 MPH)

I don't know, maybe the wind was with me today, maybe I just got into the zone a few times. Per Strava, I did two segments, one being from the river I cross near my house to a major cross road, and the other is the actual 10 mile loop. (There is a little overlap of those two) and today I did my second best on both sections. I was still about 2 minutes behind my best time in the 10 mile loop, though 5 minutes faster than my previous 3 attempts.

It appears I have decided on my next bike. I had thought that I would get a mountain bike, something that I could really abuse over the winter, and maybe just in general. I did a lot of research based on my paltry budget. I ended up narrowing it down to 4 models on bikes direct as well as whatever the LBS could find for me. (Previous years models, etc.)

And then, I saw it. And all the other models and such were tossed out the window. Once I have my hands on it.... then pics and stuff.

On a final note, there is a bike tour next week, the Groovy Gourd Tour out of Piqua. My wife and I will do the 25 mile loop, which, depending on how it goes adapting to the new bike, my wife may well have a strong advantage on me during. That will probably end they season of coordinated rides and such, but I think this winter I will finally start doing the indoor time trials. (Computer trainer based) I know they have them in February, maybe sooner. At any rate, I am going to bed, or not. But probably. It was leg day at the gym, and that was before my bike ride.

Repairs completed, for now.

So, after an aborted attempt to remove the bottom bracket, I tried again. I went to Home Depot and got a  1 1/4" Wrench to remove the BB cups with. I then promptly stripped the drive side cup, because hey, why not?

Yeah, I did double check to make sure I knew what direction I needed to turn the blasted thing before doing it. I have done it before. I guess next time, to be safe, I will try a trick I saw online, and make a special "Tool" to keep the wrench and tool in place during removal. Extra work, but probably worth it.

I ended up trying a few dozen tricks, all of which left a destroyed BB cup (the rest of the cartridge was knocked out, fwiw) in the frame.

My normal bike shop of choice, Parker's Sport Shop was closed for vacation, and so I had called up and got an appointment with the Schwinn shop to the north. Carty doesn't have a website, so no link. They don't even have a review on Yelp at this point. The downside to Carty is that he won't tell you how to fix anything, or really what he did to fix something. Trade secrets and all that, really. I think he tells me more than some people though, since I have bought a fair amount of tools from him.

Anyways, I was told it would be about 10 days for him to get to it, so for whatever reason, he called me the next day and had it done. I know what he did, he used a power saw of some sort to cut the BB cup out, then retapped it. I didn't have the tools or knowledge to retap it anyways...

Now, I couldn't pick it up that day, so I had to wait until Wednesday morning to pick it up, after 12. So, knowing that he didn't have the size in stock that I needed (68x116 or something like that, I forgot already.) I tried  calling around. No answer from Troy's bike shop, not even an answering machine. I knew Tipp City was closed on Tuesdays, Springfield and Troy are closed on Wednesdays, Carty is closed on Thursdays (I don't know why, but I knew he didn't have the part at any rate.)

This led me to doing one of 'calls of last resort.' No, not calling Smitty, the other Schwinn dealer that happens to have his shop about a mile from my house, I called Performance Bike in Dayton. Really, I try not to buy from them what I can get from a LBS instead. It didn't matter though, since didn't have any square taper BB's in stock, let alone the size I needed.

I ended up calling the Greenville bike shop, and they had it in stock as a Shimano BB-UN54. I would rather have gotten a UN55, which has two metal cups instead of the plastic one that comes with the 54, but it did save me about ten bucks.

The bike shop in Greenville opened earlier than Sidney, and by the time I got to Sidney, Carty's was still closed. So.... I got to wander around Sidney for half an hour. There wasn't really anything to see there though, and I went and picked up my bike frame from Carty.

Once I got home, it didn't take long to lube the BB and adjust the gears. I gave the chain and such a good spray of "WD-40." Now, this wasn't the normal WD40, it was WD-40 Lithium spray.

And now, my bike is back to being completely freaking quiet. (Which is odd, because I still think that there was some sound from the front wheel before I replaced the BB, but it might not make any sound unless I get out into the country again. I really need to learn to true wheels.)

Maintenance and tire removal

I have a clicking sound that I fear may be coming from the bottom bracket. I spent a few hours yesterday tearing apart the drivetrain of the bike, and found some gunk under the cup of the sealed bb, but the cartridge wouldn't come out. I had to abandon the removal attempt. The other sound seems to be coming front the front wheel, which is somewhat new. It could just be the magnet for the speedometer though.


At cub scouts last night, they were doing bike safety, which involved riding bikes. Without helmets. Sure, I didn't start wearing a helmet until I was about that age, but it still seemed off. They also showed them how to change a bike tire, however the method involved using a screwdriver to remove the tire.
Once I got him home I got my tire change kit out, and showed him how to use tire lever.

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The above was written a few weeks ago, on my cell phone, and I never got around to publishing it or editing it. Just going to ignore it now....