[EasyRider]

Thanks for the ride report. Any pics? I was thinking of doing the non-competitive event, but never got my act together. Maybe I’ll retrace the route in the fall when it’s cooler.

[EasyRider]

Re: the Champagne of Beers and broken glass under the overpasses, I think it’s likely left by fishermen. Hike up the Potomac Heritage Trail from TR Island to Chain Bridge and you’ll find more of the same.

[EasyRider]

@anomad 162103 wrote:

I would be just fine with a mountain double up front and an 8 speed rear.

I love small rings. All the rings on my commuter’s parts bin triple are “little” rings. 26/34/40

[EasyRider]

@TwoWheelsDC 161972 wrote:

I’ve been using one of these for about 4 years, at various points stuffed into a backpack and pannier (mostly backpack though). Every day, I fold up pants and shirt, then throw in undershirt/socks/underwear. I keep my shoes at the office, but the Pack-It is small enough that I have enough room for shoes or other items like lunch.

Well sh#t! No need to reinvent the wheel. Get one of these. I am!

[EasyRider]

There’s probably an expensive purpose built bag for this, but here’s a cheapo way.

Before you leave in the morning, fold your shirt and slacks clothes around a stiffening board made from coroplast, or some other lightweight, thin, rigid material. The idea is to make the board the core, and fold the clothes over it. Put the folded clothes+stiffener into a plastic grocery bag so that your clothes don’t get abraded from rubbing against the inside of your backpack or bag. It’s not perfect, but it’ll get the job done.

[EasyRider]

I have SRAM Apex on my newest build. Only a few weeks in, but I like the levers for the reasons Hozn describes.

I’ve also got a 46/30 FSA crankset on that bike. I think FSA may be the first big maker to be offering this combo, which up to now has been kind of a boutique item. Seems like these cranks could be the key piece of the puzzle if you’re trying to have even lower gearing that what you have now, with a 30t granny ring on the Ultegra triple.

The FSA 46/30 would give you noticeably lower gearing than the 50-34 SRAM compact double you mentioned … and about the same gearing as your current setup with that $20 roadlink bit I mentioned

[EasyRider]

I have no experience with this item, but it’s billed as a cheap way to make your existing derailleur compatible with larger cassettes.

https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/products/roadlink

Ultegra is nice stuff, personally, I’d be reluctant to replace those parts.

[EasyRider]

Judd’s route is good advice, I think, even if it’s a lot of turns. I’ve been commuting up and down the Pike from Nauck for the last 5 years. I’m for the most part comfortable taking a lane from Walter Reed down to the Sheraton and into DC (waiting at S. Courthouse Road like Judd does is key), but I use the sidewalk to go home between the Sheraton and S. Courthouse Road because I’m not fast enough to keep up with traffic going uphill. The real problem roads for me are S. Glebe and S. Walter Reed, I tend to avoid them.

[EasyRider]

@KLizotte 161550 wrote:

I am loathe to bike on Columbia Pike so the easiest way for me to get into DC would be to use the golf club shortcut to Army Navy Drive.

You might try putting down the sidewalk on the Pike to the Pentagon.

[EasyRider]

@Vicegrip 161555 wrote:

99% of bike roller bearing sets are not sealed they are shielded. Even the ones with the rubber coated metal cover and all are still likely only a shield bearing. A fully sealed bearing has much higher friction loss than a shield or open bearing. We wimpy meat motors can feel even the seal friction……..

Some bearings are better than others at resisting intrusion and some lubricants are better at displacing water and also less prone to becoming a whipped frothy paste of water and badly reduced in value lube. My rain bike has BB30 bearings that would die at a rate of one good soaking and done. The bearings I get are cheap-o $7 a set types which I flush and pack with good synthetic HVAC bearing grease. This extends the lifespan to a year or so.

The SKF square taper BBs that Compass sells aren’t cheap, but they come with a 10 year warranty.

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/09/11/skf-bottom-brackets-after-5-years/

Of course, very few people want a square taper bottom bracket anymore, and fewer will pay $150 for a component that is hidden inside the frame without visible branding or color choices!

[EasyRider]

Depends on what the definition of “last” is. If it means “flawless in feel and perfectly silent,” not long. But if you mean “functions without being noisy or grinding,” a long time. Internal bearings are shielded from the elements. External units trade durability for other advantages.

A traditional cup and cone bottom bracket can last years and years a commuter or weekend bike. The evidence is millions of used bikes. I recently replaced the original cup and cone unit on my 1990 Trek 950. I bought the bike used 6 years ago and put over 10,000 miles on it over the next 6 years. It had clearly been ridden hard on trails before I got it. I replaced the BB on a whim earlier this year. I was replacing the chainrings and cleaning the bike anyway. I noticed the BB just needed some fresh grease but I wasn’t in the mood for adjusting it, so I put it in the parts bin and installed a Shimano sealed cartridge unit instead.

[EasyRider]

last sighting was 22 years ago

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14968[/ATTACH]

[EasyRider]

On the Friday commute home, I was pleasantly surprised – an asphalt path just north of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has been converted to gravel. There are quite a few old lamp post bases along the path there, and they really blended in with the black path surface. Now they stand out nicely against the bright gravel!

[EasyRider]

Was politely (and easily) passed by a cyclist sporting a pink VIP zipper pull as I moseyed over to Clare and Don’s last night. A belated good evening, sir.

[EasyRider]

@AT_Hiker59 161143 wrote:

Is there any educating bikers to sensible courteous trail usage?

Sure. Arlington County, WABA, the League of American Bicyclists, and other organizations, all sponsor cyclist education programs that encourage safe and courteous use of multi-use paths. Shouting at a fellow trail user, and allowing your pit bull to get close enough to sniff them without asking their permission doesn’t, in my opinion, fall under the category of “education.”

Perhaps the bicycle education programs I mentioned earlier can teach pedestrians to walk their dogs on the right shoulder of the trails, rather than down the middle of the path, as so many seem to do.

[Author]

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