Bicycle thread

[ducnut]

Originally Posted by Craiger

Mail order for me is out of the question at this time. I must now correct myself having looked at so many different bikes Saturday, I confused myself on the bike that was marked down. The bike is not a 2012 it is a 2011 left over. The bike that is marked down is a 2011 Defy Advanced 4 if that makes a difference. I am going to test ride it Wed with an open mind about the size and comfort. I also am 95% sure I am keeping my Cross Trail. Does this new and correct information change anything??????


http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/....4/7316/44046/

The differences I see are the '11 is a 9spd and the '12 is a 10spd; the '11 has a 25T low gear and the '12 has a 28T low gear (you can swap cassettes on the '11, up to a 28T, if you need lower gearing); and there are subtle geometry difference. These aren't huge differences, especially, if you decide to upgrade the drivetrain, at a later date. I think the price is fair enough, provided it fits you. It's still a great bicycle. I still stand by my previous post, on the rest.

[pierce]

Originally Posted by ducnut

The differences I see are the '11 is a 9spd and the '12 is a 10spd; the '11 has a 25T low gear and the '12 has a 28T low gear (you can swap cassettes on the '11, up to a 28T, if you need lower gearing); and there are subtle geometry difference. These aren't huge differences, especially, if you decide to upgrade the drivetrain, at a later date. I think the price is fair enough, provided it fits you. It's still a great bicycle. I still stand by my previous post, on the rest.

9 speed chains are both cheaper and more durable than 10 speed chains. Ditto the chain rings, the 10 speed chain rings are really thin and more prone to wear.

[ducnut]

Originally Posted by pierce

9 speed chains are both cheaper and more durable than 10 speed chains. Ditto the chain rings, the 10 speed chain rings are really thin and more prone to wear.

Oh, c'mon! The difference is negligible.

I'm over 5K miles on the same complete 10spd Apex drivetrain and the chain (PC1071) is still within spec. Maintenance is the key to making anything last.

[DougZ73]

This may be a silly question. I have a GT MTB..and it has three gears in front and IIRC, 8 in back. BUT, I almost feel like I can not really use all of them, because if I have it on the inside gear in front, and try to use the outside most gear on the rear wheel, it feels like the chain is almost too cocked? Does this make sense.

When I first noticed this, I thought the crank bearings on my new bike were bad right outta the box...but then when riding more, kinda figured out that it was the way the chain was rubbing against the front derailer.

Can that be adjusted out by shop?

FWIW...shifts with no issues.

[GP640]

They all do that

No, really, the drive train is not set up to run small/small or large/large on most mtbs.
Ther is a combination of chain length and chain line that makes these combinations
tough on components.

You have enough duplication of ratios to prevent these situations.

[pierce]

Originally Posted by DougZ73

This may be a silly question. I have a GT MTB..and it has three gears in front and IIRC, 8 in back. BUT, I almost feel like I can not really use all of them, because if I have it on the inside gear in front, and try to use the outside most gear on the rear wheel, it feels like the chain is almost too cocked? Does this make sense.

When I first noticed this, I thought the crank bearings on my new bike were bad right outta the box...but then when riding more, kinda figured out that it was the way the chain was rubbing against the front derailer.

Can that be adjusted out by shop?

FWIW...shifts with no issues.

I would ONLY use the small front ring with the biggest 3-4 back rings. Use the middle ring until you need a lower gear than small front to middle back on up to the biggest back.

and don't use the biggest 2-3 rear cogs with the big back cog, either. like, for example if the front cogs are L,M,H (L is smallest, H is biggest), and the rear cogs are 1-8 (1 is largest, 8 is smallest), shift something like L1, L2, L3, L4, M2-M7, H4-H8

give or take. this gives you maybe 16-18 usable gears instead of the theoretical 24. The M and H ranges probably overlap and there may well be evenly spaced gear ratios that require double shifting (say, M6 to H4 to M7 to H5 to H6-7-8 or whatever...)

[DougZ73]

Originally Posted by GP640

They all do that

No, really, the drive train is not set up to run small/small or large/large on most mtbs.
Ther is a combination of chain length and chain line that makes these combinations
tough on components.

You have enough duplication of ratios to prevent these situations.

Originally Posted by pierce

I would ONLY use the small front ring with the biggest 3-4 back rings. Use the middle ring until you need a lower gear than small front to middle back on up to the biggest back.

and don't use the biggest 2-3 rear cogs with the big back cog, either. like, for example if the front cogs are L,M,H (L is smallest, H is biggest), and the rear cogs are 1-8 (1 is largest, 8 is smallest), shift something like L1, L2, L3, L4, M2-M7, H4-H8

give or take. this gives you maybe 16-18 usable gears instead of the theoretical 24. The M and H ranges probably overlap and there may well be evenly spaced gear ratios that require double shifting (say, M6 to H4 to M7 to H5 to H6-7-8 or whatever...)

OK, thanks for the quick replies guys. "useable" gears..key point I suppose. Just glad to know there is nothing wrong with bike and I am not going nuts.

[Gummee!]

The 'I've got all this Gore Tex cycling stuff, fuck it let's ride' ride.

So Sandy's sticking around the area and I'm going stir-crazy cause I ain't ridden in a day.

So I went riding! Gore jacket. Gore gloves (BMW Summer Rains ). Gore booties. Only thing that wasn't Gore were my tights. ...and that's cause they don't make em 'cycling tight.'

There's been a few trees knocked over. There's at least one power line down. LOTS of debris on the roads.

Only reason I was chilly was I was overdressed under the jacket. Got sweaty, then chilly. I was going hard enough to not get cold, but not so hard to stay warm.

All-in-all

M

edited to add: fenders rawk!

[YakSpout]

Originally Posted by Gummee!

The 'I've got all this Gore Tex cycling stuff, fuck it let's ride' ride.

So Sandy's sticking around the area and I'm going stir-crazy cause I ain't ridden in a day.

So I went riding! Gore jacket. Gore gloves (BMW Summer Rains ). Gore booties. Only thing that wasn't Gore were my tights. ...and that's cause they don't make em 'cycling tight.'

There's been a few trees knocked over. There's at least one power line down. LOTS of debris on the roads.

Only reason I was chilly was I was overdressed under the jacket. Got sweaty, then chilly. I was going hard enough to not get cold, but not so hard to stay warm.

All-in-all

M

edited to add: fenders rawk!

Definitely following Rule #5.

I, on the other hand, forgot my shoes for Sunday's ride, stayed in and played with the baby while my wife and f-in-law hit the road. Well, I did give my bike a thorough cleaning while the YakSprout was sleeping.

I'll also take the easy way out on tomorrow's ride with the club and drive over to it rather than ride 13mi to the meeting point, do the ride and then ride 6mi to work. Too damn dark at 5:30am to try riding over. Next week should be better after the time change.

Solvang Prelude Metric is on Saturday, though, and we've got a group together to ride that. Lunch after at Firestone Brewery.

[RxZ]

Well, the sun is setting at about 1830 now, and starting next week it will be 1730

Not enough time for me to get a ride in after work.

So I just ordered a MagicShine MJ-808 headlight

Some local semi-pro racers are putting on a MTB skills clinic this Sunday as well. Should be fun, and very educational since I can tell while riding that I am doing stuff probably not the best way

[YakSpout]

Originally Posted by RxZ

Well, the sun is setting at about 1830 now, and starting next week it will be 1730

Not enough time for me to get a ride in after work.

So I just ordered a MagicShine MJ-808 headlight

Some local semi-pro racers are putting on a MTB skills clinic this Sunday as well. Should be fun, and very educational since I can tell while riding that I am doing stuff probably not the best way

Just ordered one of these from a few pages back:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261073771436...84.m1497.l2649

I should have it in 2-3 weeks.

[beeks76]

Originally Posted by pierce

and my new HG50-8 13-26 cassette arrived today ($11 on amazon!!), brought my back wheel down to my favorite LBS where they nicked me $5 to slap it onto the wheel on the spot (no complaints). took it for a brief spin, a mile or so down a side street and back. YES! my thoughts of a 2x9 or 10 upgrade are receeding. I do believe this will do the trick for quite some time with the crankset I have, my low is now a 28:26 which is plenty low enough, and my high is a 48:13 which is taller than I'm gonna be pulling on a flatbar bike any time soon. most important, ALL the gear steps are much closer. color me


hey, for laughs, I ordered one of these on fleabay... direct from China.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261073771436...84.m1497.l2649



I looked up the tech specs on a Cree XM-L T6 bin... its not 1800 lumens except maybe down hill with a tail wind, but it IS capable of over 1000 lumens. thats about as much total light as a automobile halogen 9004 high beam. this should be fun. if the supplied li-ion pack is the 6400mAH 8.4V they claim, thats 54 watt-hours, which should keep it burning for 5+ hours on way-too-bright, and much longer on 'plenty-bright'.

I'll report back when I've got it and had some time to play with it. bonus, it has a headlight strap in addition to a handlebar clamp.

Yeah I have kind of been waiting for a report, anything yet? I am contemplating one of these myself but would like to here from someone who has used one first. Thanks!!!

[pierce]

Originally Posted by beeks76

Yeah I have kind of been waiting for a report, anything yet? I am contemplating one of these myself but would like to here from someone who has used one first. Thanks!!!

not here yet. china post, don'tcha know? heh.

found some online reviews on bike forums of these exact lights, this is a brief summary of what I gathered using my subjective reality filter... Yes, they are in reality 700-900 lumens not '1800' or '1200' as advertised. they run moderately hot but not too bad because the aluminum body is a heat sink. the beam is a little too much of a spotlight, several guys added spreader lenses to make them more of a horizontal spread. they ARE about as bright as a single motorcycle low beam. the supplied mount is suckage, one guy drilled and tapped 3 small holes in his and screwed it to pieces from an old catseye bar clamp, much better. the battery pack works OK, and uses standard 18650(?) liion cells available from Battery Junction and others for cheap, so even if the supplied batteries conk out early, no big deal. the wiring is a bit funky, but not hard to redo when needed.

this was probably the best of those forum reviews...
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-...mp-759177.html

[beeks76]

Originally Posted by pierce

not here yet. china post, don'tcha know? heh.

found some online reviews on bike forums of these exact lights, this is a brief summary of what I gathered using my subjective reality filter... Yes, they are in reality 700-900 lumens not '1800' or '1200' as advertised. they run moderately hot but not too bad because the aluminum body is a heat sink. the beam is a little too much of a spotlight, several guys added spreader lenses to make them more of a horizontal spread. they ARE about as bright as a single motorcycle low beam. the supplied mount is suckage, one guy drilled and tapped 3 small holes in his and screwed it to pieces from an old catseye bar clamp, much better. the battery pack works OK, and uses standard 18650(?) liion cells available from Battery Junction and others for cheap, so even if the supplied batteries conk out early, no big deal. the wiring is a bit funky, but not hard to redo when needed.

this was probably the best of those forum reviews...
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-...mp-759177.html

Wow, excellent summary thank you!!

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by beeks76

Wow, excellent summary thank you!!

+1

I'm lucky in that I have a buddy that owns an LED lighting company. I figger if anything goes wrong, I have a source to either get it fixed or upgraded.

Mine's not here yet either. I'm thinking Sandy may have had something to do with that.

M