KaskadskyjKozak Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Speaking of biking, the ride today was brutal. And there was even some gnarly black ice to avoid. Quote
Sherri Posted January 23, 2008 Author Posted January 23, 2008 Speaking of biking, the ride today was brutal. And there was even some gnarly black ice to avoid. I've been lucky the past two days with that...even though it's been bitterly cold, the road's been bone dry so no black ice. That sun is gorgeous, isn't it? Good on ya for getting out there in it! Careful out there! Quote
Stefan Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Awesome ride in today. Cold but still inspiring. The sunrise was gorgeous. And by the way I solved the answer to my cold weiner. I bought some shorts that have more padding up front. Problem has been solved! W00T! Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Awesome ride in today. Cold but still inspiring. The sunrise was gorgeous. And by the way I solved the answer to my cold weiner. I bought some shorts that have more padding up front. Problem has been solved! W00T! and this was the first time I hit that problem... guess the temps have to be below 30. the sun and clear sky were gorgeous today. the views of the Olympics just friggin rocked. Quote
Jim Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Noticebly thinner biking crowd the past week or so. And it's one of the few times I resort to a face mask. How's that wind shear across the bridge these days? Quote
JayB Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Cold is a given, but today's big nuisance was the chain skipping off of the top-chainring whenever I exceeded a certain amount of pressure. Thinking the chain, the chainring, or both might need replacing. Not sure if the outer chainring is replacable on the eight-year-old beater, and having epoxied the crank-arm in place recently I'm pretty sure that the crankset can't be replaced. I was planning to subject the old-beast to the final salt/slush/grime assault this winter, then pick up a new ride once I'd finished serving the sentence back here, but that may not happen. The new dilemma might be whether to go for a POS that I can leave on the porch with a flimsly lock, and not have to worry about taking care of, or a decent ride that will last for a few years. Leaning towards the POS option at this point.... Quote
Jim Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Give the slop that you are likely riding through I'd vote for the POS as well. Drizzle is one thing - that east coast cold, ice, and traffic is another. Quote
JayB Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Leaning strongly in that direction myself. May have found a good candidate for the sacrificial POS... http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/548907457.html Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Noticebly thinner biking crowd the past week or so. And it's one of the few times I resort to a face mask. How's that wind shear across the bridge these days? no wind at all this morning. we'll see about tonight. Quote
Sherri Posted January 24, 2008 Author Posted January 24, 2008 Cold is a given, but today's big nuisance was the chain skipping off of the top-chainring whenever I exceeded a certain amount of pressure. My chain started doing the same thing just this month. Doesn't happen once I'm going at speed or up hills(thankfully), only when I start pedalling from a complete stop. The first crank or two I give it skips. It's a worry when I'm trying to beat traffic across an intersection and give it a good crank but go nowhere. I'll need to figure out if it's the chain or the rings that's worn, or if I need to add some tension to the gear shifter thingy on the back.(sorry, I can't remember what it's called). Quote
JayB Posted January 24, 2008 Posted January 24, 2008 That's how mine started and it pretty quickly degenerated into complete uselessness. If the top of the cogs on the chainring have worn to the point that the ends are sharp, chances are the chainring wear is far enough along that it might need replacing. If that's the case, I suspect that you'll wind up replacing the chain as well since supposedly chain stretch + chainring wear go together and old chains don't work well with new chainrings...but let me know if you have any luck messing around with the rear deraileur. Anything that can prolong the life of the beater without requiring additional money would be welcome... Quote
Sherri Posted January 24, 2008 Author Posted January 24, 2008 That's how mine started and it pretty quickly degenerated into complete uselessness. I don't like the sounds of that. I replaced the chain and the rear gear-ring set last year, so it must be the front chain ring or the deraileur(thanks! I KNEW it had a techy name). I'll do some tinkerin' and let you know.... Good luck on yours in the meantime. Quote
JayB Posted January 24, 2008 Posted January 24, 2008 I took a closer look at the top chainring last night, and the cogs are worn enough that the thing could almost double as a circular saw. Thankfully I can use the other two for the time being until I figure out whether the repair vs POS acquisition strategy makes the most sense... Quote
Crux Posted January 24, 2008 Posted January 24, 2008 http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=chainring&category0= Quote
Sherri Posted January 25, 2008 Author Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) I took a closer look at the top chainring last night, and the cogs are worn enough that the thing could almost double as a circular saw. Thankfully I can use the other two for the time being until I figure out whether the repair vs POS acquisition strategy makes the most sense... Careful with that saw, JayB. I got the diagnosis for mine today. Baaaaad news. Upon inspection, I could see that the chain no longer tracked in the grooves of the cogs--it rode loosely along the very tops of them, thus the skipping. When I took it into the shop to confirm the problem, the bike mechanic tried to measure the elongation but it was stretched beyond the point that his tool could even measure. He gave me a disapproving look when I told him I had 5000 on this chain(apparently, they should go for about 1000 mi before replacing them? I didn't get the memo.). So, I'm paying for that "bonus" 4000 miles of chain life by needing to replace the rear cassette and two of the three front chainrings now, along with the new chain, of course. And a few cables. Ouch. Edited January 25, 2008 by Sherri Quote
JayB Posted January 25, 2008 Posted January 25, 2008 POS = Piece of...Something. I'm pretty sure I'm over the limit by a pretty fair amount as well, but the general plan was to ride the components into the ground since replacing any two of them would likely cost more than the bike is worth. Had some second thoughts until I looked at the pulleys on the deraileur, and saw that they looked like a couple of throwing stars. The teeth were actually sharp to the touch. Not sure what I'm going to do with the frame, which is also pretty well shot. Seems like kind of a shame to hacksaw it into chunks and recycle it, but I suspect that's the fate that awaits it.. What's the longest anyone's had a bike that they use consistently? This one lasted eight years, ~2.5 of which was for the occasional trail ride, the rest was for daily commuting. So - ~5.5 years of heavy use. Had to replace everything but the handlebars, the rear deraileur, and the frame/fork at least once. Quote
Sherri Posted January 25, 2008 Author Posted January 25, 2008 Thanks for the clarification on the meaning of POS. I understand wanting to ride it into the ground because of the comparative cost of replacing a few components vs. replacing the bike. (I tend to do the same thing with my stuff, though not always to my economic advantage...neglecting to replace the chain sooner being a good example ) When I got the estimate(the pulleys on my rear deraileur were shot, too), I seriously weighed it out on those terms, as well. As it were, my bike is new enough(2 1/2yrs) and spendy enough that it would still be more expensive to NOT fix it. You raise a good question about a bike's life span. I hope to have this one for several more years, but when the repair bills start creeping up on it's actual value, it's going to be a hard call to make, for sure. Quote
Sherri Posted January 27, 2008 Author Posted January 27, 2008 What's the longest anyone's had a bike that they use consistently? This one lasted eight years, ~2.5 of which was for the occasional trail ride, the rest was for daily commuting. So - ~5.5 years of heavy use. Had to replace everything but the handlebars, the rear deraileur, and the frame/fork at least once. Similar discussion on Cyclingforums.com about Bicycle Lifespan One of the dudes still rides a Huffy. I think that was my first bike. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.