Category: cycling

Defective FSA OS-190 Stem

Published January 5, 2010

While working on my new bike I realized that a slightly shorter stem would be good, so I ordered an FSA OS-190 from Price Point. When the box of parts arrived it had been opened (photo), but as the thread locking compound on the screws was unmarred and there were no marks on the stem it appeared to be brand new. Unfortunately, after installing it I found a small crack in the stem cap, right near one of the bolts. Here is a photo of the stem on my new bike, with an arrow pointing to the cracked area.

Having torqued the stem bolts (cap and steerer) to FSA’s published 78 inch-pounds (FSA’s Stem and Post Torque Specs – PDF) I don’t believe this was caused by me during installation. This is also a particularly inopportune place to have a crack, as it could easily lead to stem/bar failure, which would likely result in a pretty bad crash. Even though it was relatively cheap and looks good on the bike when I request to return the item to Price Point I’m tempted to get a different stem, as I don’t want to risk there having been a bad batch.

Currently I’m thinking of a Thomson Elite X4, but now I have to decide on 0° or 10° rise. The aforementioned FSA is 6°, so 10° shouldn’t be too different…

UPDATE: Thinking about it, I wonder if follwing the FSA directions, which I followed, to “[l]ightly grease the bolt threads and under bolt heads” caused the problem. It’s my understanding that greased fasteners, particularly under the heads, are easy to inadvertently over torque, even with a wrench. This is because the fastener slips along much more than normal, and doesn’t provide the resistance that the torque wrench measures.

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Sunday Morning Winter Ride at 10°F (-12°C)

Published January 3, 2010

Starting a bit after 11am a group of us headed out for some biking at Stony Creek. With temperatures bounding between single and double digits Fahrenheit it was definitely a cold day. With a double-layer of sweat pants and BDU pants, boots and toe warmers, thermal layer, fleece, and jacket I was almost a bit over-warm, but some armpit venting and selective undoing of layers made things rather nice. We ended up riding one course of the single track, visiting The Pines, The Snake, and The Roller Coaster before heading back to the car. This was a rather slow ride, with my middle of the pack average somewhere around 8.6 MPH.

Wanting to wear boots I also fitted my bike with platform pedals, which turned out to be an interesting experience. Since these pedals have a bunch of sharp pins to ensure good traction my foot had no float, meaning that whatever position my foot contacted the pedal in was the position I had to pedal in, unless I was able to lift up my foot and replace it. This doesn’t sound like a problem, but compared to a normal clipless setup where one can pivot a foot at will, it’s a bit uncomfortable. There were also times where I’d inadvertently come off of the pedal, not due to slipping but forgetting that I had to provide continuous, but ever so slight downward pressure while on the upstroke of the pedal. Thus, I’m really not sure I like platforms for riding single track. At one point I had to duck around a tree that I almost hit, and the familar motions that I’d make with my foot to move the bike sideways a bit didn’t work and I ended up clipping the tree.

All said, it was a very nice ride. Having studded tires I had no problem staying upright on icy patches, even if I did have to walk a couple glazed switchbacks in The Snake. With the frequent riding of others and the snow being as cold as it was, everything was packed into nicely gritty flat areas, as seen above.

Here’s a couple of the photos that I took today:

· Standing in the bathroom at the Stony Creek mountain bike trailhead getting ready for a cold winter ride.
· Regrouping at the end of The Pines.
· Heading towards The Snake on a cold single-digit Sunday morning.
· Bob’s icy mustache in the field after The Roller Coaster at Stony Creek on single-digit early-January ride.

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Debadged Klean Kanteen

Published January 2, 2010

My sister got me a an 18oz. plain stainless steel Klean Kanteen Classic for Christmas, along with a Sport Cap 2.0. This will eventually be fit to my new bike with a stainless steel King Cage Iris for holding drinkable things (water, HEED, juice, etc) while biking. Being made of stainless steel the cage won’t leave any marks (save for scratches which can be polished out as needed) on the bottle, and it should look nice for years. It’ll also be easy to scrub out, should any unexpected funk develop.

Not being fond of having too many logos on things I removed the Klean Kanteen branding from the bottle with a No. 96 Scotch Brite pad, whose grit perfectly matched the existing finish of the bottle. A solid rubbing over the logos and a quick wash with a bit of soap and water later and the bottle is now nice and plain, ready to match the logo-free bottle cage.

I’ve been using the bottle and sport cap to drink from while writing this post and it’s really quite nice to drink from. With a silicone check valve on the top to let in air while drinking liquid flows quite quickly. The use of this check valve means that its not completely leakproof, but it should be sufficient for bike riding when the bottle is generally kept upright in a cage.

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Acquired in Trade: WTB Laser V

Published December 30, 2009

Through a very timely trade with someone on the MMBA Forum I was able to swap my ill-fitting WTB Rocket V for this new and (very? overly?) shiny WTB Laser V. I’d already ordered a Laser V to try out, but unless this one’s appearance ends up being beyond reproach, I think I’ll be returning it. As can be seen here the chrome and yellow bits aren’t too terrible when taken in context with the yellow bits on the computer and the various silver things on the bar.

Being cloth the cover of this one is also a bit rougher than I’m accustomed to, but that should be okay for now. If it’s not there’s always plenty of other options. At least this one will only cost the $7 or so to ship back the unwanted saddle when it arrives.

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Bonding Cut Bicycle Cables

Published December 30, 2009

After installing a bicycle cable and crimping on an end cap, removing it usually results in a frayed cable which is difficult to remove and reinstall. For maintenance reasons I want to be able to do this, so I’ve begun looking at methods to seal the end of a cut bicycle cable as is done with factory cuts.

My first experiments with cyanoacrylate glue (aka Super Glue) seem to work well, and when Erik suggested that I solder them, I decided to give that a go. Some research online indicated that a silver-bearing solder works well, so after acquiring some plumbing solder (with silver in it) I gave that a try, and it wouldn’t wet the surface nor wick into my test cable. Normal lead/tin solder for electrical work didn’t work either. I next tried a blowtorch, and while fun it only resulted in ablating the wire resulting in what is seen on the right.

So, right now I think that wetting the ends of the cable with cyanoacrylate glue is the best solution. This is what is shown on the left, and it results in a rigid, solid piece of cable. Disappointingly the cable could be crushed (and promptly frayed) when squeezed with locking the pliers that I use to pretension cables, but this should be acceptable.

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UHMW Tape Applied

Published December 29, 2009

Today I did a bit more work on my new bike, applying UHMW polyethylene tape to various places where cables are observed rubbing the frame. Thus far it seems to have worked pretty well, although I have to place one or two more pieces to deal with cable rub on the fork. I also spent some time today wrapping the chainstay in an old scrubbed-clean tube tube to protect it from (and silence it during) chainslap. Photos of all of this can be seen under the following links:

· UHMW tape on the left front of the down tube to protect against cable rub.
· UHMW tape on the seat tube to (hopefully) keep the front derailleur housing from damaging the finish.
· A thin strip of UHMW tape on the Fox Float RP23 shock just in case the cable hits here.
· UHMW tape behind the computer wire-wrapped brake line on the fork crown.
· The drive side chainstay has been wrapped with part of an old tube to both protect it from damage and cut down on chainslap noise.

Now that the bike is almost complete (only waiting on a new saddle and stem) I’m becoming anxious to ride it. It’s too bad proper outdoor riding on it won’t happen until spring, when I can be reasonably sure that a bike won’t be stuffed with saltwater after riding around the block. Until then I’ll just keep riding my current bike.

(No, there are no complete photos of the new bike yet… I’m waiting until it’s wholly fitted out with the proper parts before this happens.)

Also, I scanned the piece of UHMW tape seen above along with its mate and the seat tube / rear derailleur cable piece before applying them so that I could reproduce them easily in the future if needed. These scans, at 1200dpi with false color to aid in cutting, can be found here:
Down Tube / Front Triangle Template · Seat Tube / Front Derailleur Housing Template.

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Incorrect Hours

Published December 27, 2009

Today I saw the above post-Christmas sale advertisement on Macomb Bike and Fitness’ website. Even better, unlike many other local shops they are listed as being open on Sundays. Needing a different saddle and stem for my new bike I figured that I would head there and try to pick up some cheap parts, hopefully pulls from bikes or demos. This would both support a local shop and get me the parts quickly. Unfortunately, when I got there a printed sign on the door indicated that they are closed on Sundays.

While I understand that many bike shops are closed on Sundays, it’s really frustrating to waste a bunch of time because a shop can’t get its posted information straight. I think at this point I’ll just order the stem and a likely-fit saddle online from somewhere.

UPDATE: I should note that I contacted Macomb Bike and Fitness after this and they apologized profusely and promptly changed the listed hours. They’d also offered to make it up to me with something reasonable, but in the mean time I was able to trade someone for saddle (which seems to fit) in trade, and acquire appropriate stem from another local shop.

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Measuring My Sit Bone Spacing

Published December 26, 2009

Using a spare aluminum plate^†, some leftover cheap cardboard^‡, a chair, and a ruler I was able to measure my sit bone spacing. This was done by sitting on the assembly with my legs bike pedal spacing apart, then grabbing the metal plate and pulling it against myself to ensure good dent formation in the cardboard. I then looked and felt for the dents in the cardboard, marked the centers with dots, and measured. I then rotated the cardboard and repeated the process to get a second measurement. Both measurements were ~122mm, so I’m happy with the result.

Some research into how sit bone measurement should translate to saddle size uncovered the Specailized Body Geometry recommendations for saddle widths, which are supposedly as follows:

· 130mm saddle for sitbone center to center width of 100mm or less.
· 143mm saddle for sitbone center to center width of 100mm to 130mm.
· 155mm saddle for sitbone center to center width of 130mm or more.

The WTB Rocket V saddle which came with my new bike (post forthcoming once it is complete) felt a bit narrow in the few test rides I’ve taken, and at ~130mm measured width these measurements confirm that it likely is the wrong size for me. The Specialized OEM saddle that came on my old bike is ~140mm and matches the aforementioned recommendations. As it has been comfortable for two years now, I think I’ll be looking at a new saddle somewhat along these lines.

Now to figure out which one to try…

† Former Power Mac G5 and Mac Pro stand.
‡ Twelve South BackPack box.

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UHMW Polyethylene Tape for Cable Rub and Chainstay Protection

Published December 21, 2009

I’ve had little luck finding products to protect bicycle frames against chain slap (on the chainstay) and cable rub on the frame itself. As illustrated here on the Bianchi D.I.S.S. cable rub can be quite ugly, and chain slap can lead to paint chips on the chainstay. After a bit of research I found McMaster-Carr part number 76445A764, a 5 yard long, 2″ wide roll of 0.0115″ thick Ultra High Molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW / Wikipedia article) tape with a self-adhesive backing. Selling for $17.85, this translucent material is commonly used to make slick abrasion-resistant surfaces, so I figured it would work well protecting bicycle surfaces from rub wear.

The roll of tape arrived today, so I devised some abrasion and impact tests which would replicate wear conditions found on bicycles along with testing removability of the tape and its acrylic adhesive.

These five tests, two impact and three abrasion, are as follows. All surfaces cleaned with 99% isopropyl alcohol prior to UHMW tape adhesion:

Impact Test #1

Scenario: Tape applied to curved edge of clear powder coated steel and hit with metal objects such as file handles, tweezer handles, and a chain whip.
Result: Tape dented, no damage to surface below. Tape shown to be deformed by impacts but did not pull away from surface.
Photos: Dented Tape · Undamaged Surface

Abrasion Test #1

Scenario: Tape applied to curved edge of clear powder coated steel and abraded with small and medium fine metal files.
Result: Tape abraded, no damage to surface below. Sharper cutting with the corner of a file may have pierced the tape and damaged the finish below.
Photos: Abraded Tape · Undamaged Surface

Impact Test #2

Scenario: Painted aluminum panel with tape applied to a portion of it. To each of the protected and control surfaces the handle end of large file is dropped 20 times in a space the size of a dime and a metal rod is set in place and hammered gently with a metal bar for 10 impacts.
Result: Small metal nub on metal rod pierced the tape and damaged the metal. No other visible damage.
Photos: Bare Metal Control Surface · Taped With Impact Marks · Surface Below Tape Showing No Damage

Abrasion Test #2

Scenario: Brush made from Jagwire cable housing is placed in an electric drill. Brush is run for 45 seconds against each of the protected and control surfaces on painted aluminum panel.
Result: Severe damage to control surface, much less damage to taped area, occurring only after brush wore through tape.
Photos: Jagwire Brush · Control and Taped Surfaces After Brushing · Control and Taped Surfaces with Tape Removed

Abrasion Test #3

Scenario: Painted aluminum panel is bent, tape is used to protect half of the bend. Wire wheel is run for 45 seconds over both the protected and unprotected areas, simultaneously.
Result: Severe damage to unprotected area resulting in removal of paint and erosion of aluminum. Taped area is undamaged.
Photos: Wire Wheel and Test Surface · Control and Taped Surfaces After Brushing · Control and Taped Surfaces with Tape Removed

This tape was also relatively easy to remove from both the powder coated steel and painted aluminum surfaces. It sticks solidly in place, but picking at one corner of the UHMW tape with a fingernail will lift it and allow it to be pulled off the surface. Some adhesive residue was occasionally left behind, but it was not difficult to clean up with an isopropyl alcohol-soaked paper towel.

With these tests complete I feel that this UHMW tape will work wonderfully as a product to protect against bicycle frame damage due to cable rub and chain slap. Lacking logos and being translucent white it should be fit nicely on most frames. The tape is easily cut with scissors or a sharp razor blade and conforms nicely to simple curved surfaces. More complex surfaces such as joints should be possible to cover with some smart trimming of the tape.

While protecting the frame it will not deaden the sound of chain slap much, so it may be desirable to use some manner of rubber chainstay protector if one wishes to cut down on both noise and wear. As done previously I’ll likely continue making chainstay protectors from old tubes, or perhaps with bits of old tire as Trail’s Edge Cyclery does.

If you would like to see all of the photos from this series, please look here in the UHMW Tape album.

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Snowy Stony Creek Ride

Published December 20, 2009

Today a group of us set out for a ride at Stony Creek through the snow, along the usual trails. As pictured above the ride entailed Nick and Marty Shue, Jon Rose, Carlos McIntyre, Bob Costello, Kristi Heuvers, and Erik Silvassy, and I was behind the camera. We rode in from the trail head, did one regular route of the single track (Pines → Snake → Roller Coaster), then a generally-rare in-daylight backwards lap of The Pines.

While there was snow on the ground, none of us (save for Bob) had studded tires on our bikes, and none of us were wanting for them during the ride. Despite a couple icy bits on the two track (including one that I fell on while trying to pass Marty so I could get out front of the pack and take a picture), almost all of the single track was simply snow covered. A few of the climbs resulted in tire spin and loss of traction (leading to walking), but nothing was icy enough to cause problems.

With the bright sun and temperatures hovering around freezing this was an ideal day for a winter ride. Things were warm enough that I rode comfortably in just a long-sleeved shirt and head cover, having stripped off my jacket and balaclava early in the ride. All said, it was a great day for a ride and a nice way to spend it with friends.

If you’re interested, here is one more image from today, showing the bottom bracket area of my bike covered in snow.

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