[Dickie]

As I passed an older gentleman in tight knickers fully kitted tootling on the WOD this morning I offered my regular “Good Morning”, and in a wonderfully confident manner he replied “I’m doing 80 miles today, sorry I’m going so slow”. I smiled for the next 10 miles, wish I could have joined him for the 80.

[Dickie]

@mstone 93953 wrote:

Me: the frazzled guy trying to teach multiple children the rules of polite use of the trails. (Keep to the right! Stay in your lane! Signal! Not so close!)

You: kitted up people on road bikes passing between the trying-to-be-good kids and the oncoming baby strollers on the other side

It sucks that these weekend bozos wear the same outfit I do but have half the sense and none of the manners. Wish I had seen you, I would have been the kitted guy encouraging your kids and complimenting their skills. Awesome that you were out there on the weekend, it’s seeing families riding together that makes the MVT tolerable.

[Dickie]

First, lets be clear about what sprocket combination you are talking about. You say the 2nd chainring.. I’m assuming you have a triple? If you are in the “middle” chainring and the smallest rear cog, this would actually be considered cross-chaining…but that doesn’t matter as it’s just words.

Cross chaining is not caused by derailer adjustment, it is caused by alignment of the front chain rings, axle length, and the spacing of the rear wheel and cassette. The rubbing on the derailer however is often the result and this occasionally be compensated for with a few tweaks. If you were able to ride in this combination before without any issue there isn’t any reason why you shouldn’t now. To me it sounds like a lazy mechanic unwilling to spend the additional time fine tuning your bike. The suggestion to just find another gear combination is offensive…. you have the gears, you have the combination you like, it should be adjusted properly to work as it always did.

Adjusting the trim as Dismal suggests is probably the best fix for now. I suspect that the limit screws being adjusted would help as well, but this can be tricky as too much adjustment can cause you to over-shift and drop your chain. The barrel adjusters on the rear derailer will not help this situation and if the bike is shifting correctly you shouldn’t mess with it. The front derailer barrel adjuster is a bit of a crap shoot.

[Dickie]

…. was disgusting. I was soaked just waiting for my Garmin to connect… went through 2 water bottles in the first 15 miles, that’s a first for me. Perhaps being hung-over contributed.

[Dickie]

@lordofthemark 93879 wrote:

Did the ride from SE to Park Center in 67 minutes, I was pleased. Traffic in SE was surprisingly civilized for a game night. Another cyclist on the Eye Street lane asked if I was taping my ride, I said “Oh this, its just a helmet light”. Second time someone has asked about it in three days. Maine/Water continues to be a mess – the end of Water that is open, right by the fish market, has a nasty bump covering a wire. I took 4MRT to Walter Reed instead of going up the 31st street hill to Abingdon. May not have been much faster but definitely more pleasant. The sidewalk on the west side of King Street from Walter Reed to 28th was definitely not pleasant.

I thought I spotted you on 4MRT last night, we crossed paths but I didn’t call out in time. Good to see you.

[Dickie]

@hozn 93840 wrote:

The Garmin Virb and the Shimano Action Cam both look great — the former for its ability to be controlled by my Garmin GPS (Edge 510) and the latter due to its super compact size. I would want them mounted with out-front mounts on the road bike (K-Edge or similar, ideally under the GPS). The GoPro doesn’t look too bad in this setup, but the Shimano is very attractively tiny. It’s hard to think of anything that looks dorkier than a helmet mounted GoPro. OTOH, the GoPro chest mounts make for some decent bike videos and probably work better off-road than bar mounts (due to constantly twitching steering, not stability/security of unit).

Does anyone know which editing suite allows for combining in the TCX/GPX tracks to overlay speed, cadence, etc. I haven’t investigated this at all, but that would definitely be a feature I’d want — and probably my choice in camera could be swayed if it was easier with one [bundled] software suite.

I’ve read a few reviews on the Shimano product but one of the complaints so far is the lack of editing software being packaged and the concern that timely updates will not be available… only time will tell I guess.

[Dickie]

@Phatboing 93828 wrote:

My thought is that you’ve convinced yourself you want a GoPro Hero3+ Black edition and want the internet to validate that decision for you

Alternatively alternatively, why not get separate cameras for bike and business promotion? The things that make for a good bike camera do not necessarily make for a “producing promotional videos” camera. For example, except for the GoPros, I don’t know of any good bike cameras that have on-device previews (which is fine for biking, because that keeps the camera small).

Actually, I’m not totally convinced… cost and form factor are preventing me from pulling the trigger until I’m sure they’re isn’t an alternative. As for buying two…. not going to happen. If you read between the lines, buying it for work and using it as such allows my company to cover part of the cost, thus I can also use it on the bike. Actually, the idea for a bike camera came first, it wasn’t until talking to Bobco that I realized other possibilities.

@Vicegrip 93833 wrote:

How about the garmin Virb? I don’t have any direct experience with it but it looks like just the thing for a bike.

The Virb is nice but I assumed you’re paying for +ant connectivity and the ability to overlay your videos with all your data…. that isn’t something I’m interested in… that said I should still check out the camera quality. Thanks!

[Dickie]

@dkel 93796 wrote:

Back to school night at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School.
[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6551&stc=1[/IMG]
Given how little parking is available here, and how small Falls Church City is, I’m surprised more people didn’t cycle here. I saw three bikes parked in front, too.

That’s a hell of an incline!

[Dickie]

@Rockford10 93789 wrote:

White shirt, visor?

BTW, I saw JJ for the first time in a long time this morning. I don’t know what it was, but he was so happy, boxing-dancing and listening to tunes at Railroad Avenue!

Yep, that’s Brenda. She always looks so unhappy… but say “Hi” and she lights right up. JJ is the man, he always makes me smile.

[Dickie]

I have been crossing paths with the same lady walking on the WOD for years but only just met her. We both stopped at the Gallows crossing so I struck up a conversation. Her name is Brenda, she is 75 years old and has been walking on the trail for several years. I must admit before meeting her I had this sense she was a curmudgeon as I had witnessed her complaining and muttering at cyclists in previous encounters, but the truth is she is a lovely, warm, and kind soul with a wonderful smile when beckoned. She admitted that cyclists scare her when they pass so closely without warning, especially as she spent 3 weeks in hospital with multiple injures sustained when a cyclist hit her a few years ago. I am glad I took the time to say hello, and now I can call her by name when I pass as opposed to the impersonal bell ring I normally use…. I love my commute!

[Dickie]

First off, are you injured? If so I hope it isn’t too bad and you can continue riding. I’m also sorry this happened and was the reason that brought you to our forum. On a good note… “Welcome to our forum”. Could you provide a few details for us such as which direction he was heading, time of day, circumstances, crossing with or without signal, etc? I ride that everyday and I am almost certain I have seen him, although before I stick my neck out on your behalf I could use more info. Cheers.

[Dickie]

@eminva 93572 wrote:

And Dickie didn’t stop smiling even when I almost ran him off the trail with an ill-advised pass just west of the W&OD/Custis intersection. What can I say; more than a month and a half away from the commute and I misjudged closing speeds. Thanks for being forgiving!

Liz

@dcv 93593 wrote:

Should’ve tried a low-five, that’s what i did when i almost ran him off the trail last week.

I love you both, and of course low fives are always welcome.

[Dickie]

For what it’s worth here’s what I told a friend recently:

Take your cycling cleats, and perhaps regular sneakers as well if you are not sure what pedals will be on the bike, but also let them know what shoes and cleats you use in case they can install something similar for the test ride. Ideally you want to mimic your normal riding habits and attire as best as possible. Bring your helmet and cycling gear…. be comfortable. You want to feel relaxed out and about on the bike…. give it a good long ride… 15 minutes min. Make sure they fit you to the bike properly and adjust the saddle height for you. First thing you should do is make sure it is built correctly… don’t go bombing down some hill to find out the brakes were not tightened. Try not to confuse assembly and adjustment issues with real limits on the parts. Go through ALL the gears and multiple combinations, find out how well it shifts from the toughest combinations to the easy ones….. you should be able to use every gear without issue (although you will need to trim the front derailiier as in any bike). If it shifts poorly go back and tell them, it could be a simple adjustment or it might indicate the quality of the parts.

Get a feel for the bike, accelerate and brake relatively hard (don’t go over the handlebars). Take some corners at speed and get an idea how well it tracks and how comfortable you feel on it. Try riding no hands (if comfortable) and see how it tracks a straight line. Listen for any odd noises; pings, groins, rattles, etc. Ride in your comfort position… hands on hoods, hands on flats and get a sense of how you feel… Are you extended out too far? Are you cramped? Will they swap out the necessary parts to give you a better fit such as the stem or even the bars themselves. Ride in the drops a little…is this comfortable? Can you see without straining your neck or having to push your helmet too far back?

Look for any defects on the frame, dents, cracked paint, even look on the bottom if you can. Ask about warranty from the manufacturer and from the store (these might differ).. how do they handle a defect down the road…. will they take care of it for you? Ask about the first year, specifically adjustments during the break-in period.

Hope that helps for now

[Dickie]

Hope you’re up and riding soon, and nice job on publicly thanking those that helped. Stay safe.

[Dickie]

As I clattered along the troll bridge this morning around 6:45 I came across two gentleman riding very slowly. As I passed they warned “the bridge is especially bad this morning… be careful”. I slowed and we started talking. Turns out one had taken a spill on the troll bridge and the other had stopped to help and was escorting him for a while to see if he was OK. Two very different but equally nice cyclists who cared about the well being of others on the trail. The gentleman that had fallen peeled off at 395, and I continued on with “Paul” until 4MR where we parted ways. I love having my faith restored. Good folks, good vibes, good morning.

[Author]

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