[BobCochran]

@hozn 152873 wrote:

Sounds like a fun project, and your proposed build sounds great, but you should prepare for this project to get expensive. It sounds like you have no expectations of reusing existing parts, so you are probably expecting that this won’t be cheap. Also, plan to buy multiple versions of the various components you need — i.e. when ordering bike stuff, you will probably order the wrong one at least once. Road stuff is a little easier than mountain, but the ecosystem is full of incompatible pieces. This is partly why building yourself is always way more expensive than buying the off-the-shelf bike. That and not getting access to wholesale pricing for components — If you buy everything used and don’t make too many mistakes, you might be able to get close in price. I recently did a paint & build-up project for my son’s bike (I think you saw that thread) and ignoring all the things I got/had for free (frame, bars, hubs, brake calipers & rotors) that was still a ~$1k project. (And I got the components right the first time, since I spent many days researching — and I had all the tools I needed.)

I would say that you should try to figure out your road frame sizing, though. There are numerous online calculators, so start there; probably start with a fairly “non-agressive” (i.e. upright) position — calculators should ask you for that sort of input. Nothing would be more frustrating than building up the bike and realizing after a couple weeks that the frame is not the right size. To some extent you can err on the side of smaller and then size up with longer stems or more spacers, but doing that changes how a bike rides — and especially on a touring bike, you probably wouldn’t want super twitchy steering (long stem).

Steel is fine — so is any other material, really. Powdercoating is somewhere around $100-150 around here. They’ll mediablast it and they may offer some additional ($$) services for rust removal, but I wouldn’t buy a rusty frame. See if you can find a used ti frame on ebay (once you know your size). Or buy a chinese ti frame for ~$600-800 if your budget allows it!

Definitely go disc brakes if you want the flexibility to run big tires or switch between 700c and 650b. I would spec a frame with clearance for 700x45mm (which is what my Habanero frame has) and then also clearance for 650bx2.1 — then it could serve as a great mountain bike (of sorts) or a touring with 35mm tires + full fenders. If you can, get a frame that takes a tapered (1.125-1.5″) fork, though you can make do with a straight 1.125 fork if you must. There is only one full-carbon straight-steerer fork with fender eyelets, that I’m aware of (the Spot CX fork; it costs ~$400 new; I got mine for closer to $200 used on eBay). Frame supporting tapered fork definitely increases your options. Less critical, though, if you’re thinking of using a steel fork.

Anyway, keep us posted!

Thank you very much, you offer a lot of good advice here. I like the way you say the ecosystem is full of incompatible pieces. That is very good. And yes, I will be prepared to spend money and discover I ordered the wrong part more than a few times. Same story in home improvement work: oh, it is time to go back to Lowe’s because I really need this other part.

I will work on getting my frame size calculated. That is my starting point.

Thanks a ton!

Bob

[BobCochran]

@hozn 152888 wrote:

Are you looking for leaderboard data (there may already be an API for this) or individual ride data?

If the latter, I would suggest that you can simply submit a pull request (https://github.com/hozn/freezingsaddles) for a new API that addresses privacy concerns — i.e. one that respects rides marked private (doesn’t export them) and maybe anonymizes user names/IDs and ride titles / IDs.

Hi Hozn,

Thanks for getting back to me. This is not at all an urgent issue and I don’t need the data. There is no reason at all to make you do extra work, either. The reason for my inquiry was idle curiosity and I understand about the issues you are bringing up. So don’t sweat this!

With that said I’ll look over the GitHub page you mention. I know a bit of Node and ES6 (although my use of Promises needs a lot more improvement) and I’ve taken some of the free MongoDB classes. MongoDB, the company, does provide free training databases and I have most of them on my server. Maybe I can be an assist to you in some other ways.

Thanks a ton

Bob

[BobCochran]

Is there any way to get regular data updates in JSON, TSV, or CSV format? JSON preferred. I’m interested in plugging it into MongoDB just for my own NoSQL training.

If it is not possible, this is just fine.

Thanks a ton

Bob

[BobCochran]

I’m impressed!

Are your shoes warm enough for this time of the year? What brand and model are they?

Also could you kindly tell me what model the Garmin is?

Thanks a ton

Bob

[BobCochran]

@Steve O 152863 wrote:

Did you register and are waiting? I know our team is also awaiting a replacement. You can still go the registration page, although I have no idea how long the list is.

Hi Steve,

Yes, I did register…I hope. I think I’m in waiting mode now.

I would really prefer to join Team 7 because they are local to me, and I know some of the Proteus team. But if that is not possible I’ll be happy to join your team. After all, riding is the point, even in the cold. In the interest of full disclosure, I’m deaf — I can’t hear. I do try to put in decent mileage, though.

Thanks a ton

Bob

[BobCochran]

Thank you both for your help. I’m interested in a road bike — one that can be equipped with metal fenders, wide tires, front and rear racks. I’m thinking in terms of a randonneuring type bicycle. Mainly I want to do the project to have a bike of my own — one that will give me freedom to try out different components. For instance, from what I’ve read, I’m guessing that drop bars can’t easily be substituted for the flat bars on my Jamis because the frame geometry is wrong for drop bars. I currently have 2 bicycles with flat bars and I think I need to experiment with drop bars. Trying out different parts is a big goal, to get a sense of what my own preferences are and what I think will work for me.

As to cost, I realize a project like this will cost me more than just going to a shop and buying a bike off the showroom floor. Bicycle Quarterly recently published an article on a 1980s Trek road bicycle that someone converted into a reasonable randonneuring bicycle. That sort of a project is what I’m thinking of, except I don’t have a parts bin that I can fall back on to reduce costs. Also, the Trek model in that article didn’t really allow for wide tires.

Thanks a ton

Bob

[BobCochran]

Okay, thanks. I submitted a late registration and hopefully did the right thing with Strava. I’ll see if I get assigned to a team. If not, I’ll wait till next year.

Bob

[BobCochran]

How is the fixie project going?

[BobCochran]

@Brett L. 152742 wrote:

Where’s our 11th? Having lots of fun riding, and wanting to ride even more. Won’t be at the coffee ride tomorrow, but will be out earlier in the day. Enjoy the long weekend everyone!

Do you folks still need another rider? If the team is all set for this year I can wait till next year and cheer you on.

Thanks

Bob

[BobCochran]

@jrenaut 151127 wrote:

So when I was in Ann Arbor for Christmas, I took the time to visit my brother-in-law’s LBS (since most of the ones local to me don’t actually have boots in stock) and tried some on.

New boots by Jon, on Flickr

Just putting cleats on these now, might try breaking them in on my Freezing Saddles opening ride.

I’m looking for boots, too. I like the look of yours.

Thanks

Bob

[BobCochran]

Folks, I’m simply asking questions that are quite valid about this helmet. Sometimes, looking beyond the cute technology stuff and asking about safety issues can at least make someone pause.

CPSC Certification: Has anyone even looked recent bicycle helmet recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission? I can say there are some. These “certified” helmets are hazards to the wearer. I skimmed a couple recalls last night — really just the headlines for them. How about checking into the test protocol used for bicycle helmets these days? I’ve skimmed it. It is very difficult to make sense of the protocol, and the requirements for certifying a helmet seem pretty weak. An importer of a helmet doesn’t even have to perform certification testing on the device, if I understand the rules correctly. The importer can rely on the foreign manufacturer to perform the testing. I have certain doubts about the value of a statement that a helmet meets the CPSC criteria for bicycle helmets.

Electronic devices can cause bad injuries regardless of voltage. What counts is not the voltage but the current that is being passed. There is no need to believe me, just check this out or Google for yourself. http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/JackHsu.shtml gives an interesting summary. Since most LEDs need about 20 milliamps of current, I would say that much electrical power passing into the skull or brain following an impact is quite significant. It might not kill you but it won’t do you any good at all.

I would be even more wary of a helmet that has a lithium polymer (lipo) battery embedded in it. These batteries can and do explode and catch on fire. Again, you don’t need to believe me; just Google. The Lumos website does not post details of the battery chemistry on its website. It doesn’t discuss construction of the electronics built into the helmet either. Hopefully they have steered away from lipos. A battery with a protection circuit can still explode and/or catch on fire if a severe impact hits it.

The Lumos website makes no claims as regards actual safety testing of the helmet. It claims the helmet meets the CPSC standard which is what matters here in the USA. It does not detail the test results, nor does it discuss other safety issues. Sure, it looks great. Sure, the built-in LEDs are great. But is the helmet really safe to use if the wearer takes a spill and has a considerable head impact? I have doubts about that.

[BobCochran]

So a thief confesses to his lawyer that he was attempting to steal someone’s bike, and willfully destroyed an item of that person’s property (the lock) in order to steal, and he or she wants to sue the owner of the bicycle for attempting to protect his or her property. Hmmm. Very interesting. I wonder what the lawyer will advise. Is the lawsuit going to be worth the criminal prosecution of the plaintiff for property destruction and attempted theft?

Another analogy: barbed wire has been around for ages, and is still used. I don’t recall cases of lawsuits where burglars sued for injuries caused by barbed wire while the plaintiff was committing a criminal offense.

I don’t think there is going to be an issue here.

[BobCochran]

@Emm 147762 wrote:

Good video, thanks for sharing! Ours are hopefully coming in the mail soon. My husband ordered 2 off kickstarter over a year ago so we’ve been patiently waiting…I just hope ours gets here soon so I can use it this season.

Thoughts:

• This helmet is expensive enough that I’m going to be extra pissed off if I ever fall off my bike while wearing it…

One reason I was asking about whether the helmet meets impact protection standards is because I don’t know if it has been tested, on crash dummies, to find out what happens if there is a terrific impact on the electronics. And yes I did skim the Lumos website. What will happen to the crash dummy’s head when electronic parts and perhaps wiring with a battery-driven electrical charge are slammed into it? I doubt the Consumer Product Safety Commission standards considered this scenario — of helmets with integrated electronic parts powered with live electrical charges. The point is, what happens to a person’s head when this helmet takes a terrific impact in the areas containing electronics.

Bob

[BobCochran]

Hey, that looks great! I think you discussed the 1x and brake details in a separate thread, I’ll look for it. Let us know how it rides.

Bob

[BobCochran]

I guess we will see if helmet sales “take off”. I like working with electronics and LEDs myself.

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