[GuyContinental]

@essigmw 28296 wrote:

having been a submarine officer, and having given orderes to sonar from the conn, I would like to be involved in the creation of this. Funny story, when onboard a submarine going out to sea, you are allowed to bring along an “underway cap” to wear in place of the uniform ship’s ball cap. Some people brought a cap of their favorite ball club, I brought a Colonial Williamsburg Tri-corner hat. And once underway I learned that the Executive Officer really gets upset if you give orders from the Conn in a pirate voice whilst wearing a ‘pirate hat’. “Helm, Sonar, Dive, Ti’s be Leftenanant Essig — the Deck and the Conn be Mine!”. “Conn, Xo fix yourself!”

That rules.

I’ll remind everyone that talk like a pirate day (Sept 19) is only a few short weeks away. Every year I come thisss close to getting divorced… maybe training our toddler to stomp around and fret about his wenches and dressing the baby up like a parrot was a step too far…

[GuyContinental]

@krazygl00 28251 wrote:

I am a big fan of using a tensiometer; it is really not that hard to do, and ever since I started building wheels I’ve come to understand how important using one is to building and maintaining true and strong wheels. I know that many will say you can get pretty close using “feel”, and while you can certainly locate very looseor very tight spokes with your fingers, human sensory accuracy is too limited to get the spoke tensions even enough (See the “Just Noticeable Difference”). To produce a truly strong wheel that will stay that way for a long time, the spoke tensions need to be within a few (30 or so max) kilograms force (Kfg) of each other, and this is simply not achievable without a tensiometer.

The idea of being able to accurately tweak and build my own wheels is pretty appealing- what set up do folks use?

Amazon bundles the nice Park stand + tensiometer + alignment gauge for around $325… that’s a lot of $20 truing services but if I look at it as a hobby and squint maybe I can justify it… perhaps just the tensiometer as a pretty tool that would allow me to be proactive about wheel issues… I could amortize that over the 24 wheels* that I have in my basement- that’s only $2.65 a wheel!
LINK

*5 of my bikes; 3 of my wife’s; 2 single wheel trailers; 2 unicycles and 2 spare 26″ wheels… I may have a bike problem

[GuyContinental]

@paulg 28228 wrote:

It shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve broken many spokes on rides and carried on.

You might want to just check out the rim and other spokes just to see if there is a more serious issue, such as cracks, if not you’ll be OK to get home. Did the tire flat? I’m surprised that a spoke broke but you didn’t pinch flat as well.

Do you have a multi tool? If so they quite often have a spoke wrench that you can use to true up the wheel just enough to stop it rubbing on the brakes. Doing that will make it easier to get home or to the bike shop. A good start is to loosen the spokes on either side of the broken one, do a half turn each time and check if it’s making a difference.

You should also remove the broken spoke or bend it around the other spokes so it doesn’t flop around and impale you or get caught in the fork.

Good luck.

What he said- I broke a spoke yesterday off-road on my cross bike fully 20 miles from home. I tied it up, trued up the wheel just enough to clear the brakes (careful with this, better to go brakeless if you don’t know how to true a wheel- you could really muff it up) and replaced the spoke and nut when I got home. One spoke, not a huge deal, two in a row… not great… three and it’s walking time. Wheel is probably fine too.

Truing a wheel is kind of an art and it *really* helps to have a truing stand but if you at least understand the theory you can get your way out of a bind.

[GuyContinental]

@Jason 28215 wrote:

I have a suggestion, not for the program but more for the riders: Stop weaving all over the place and riding like lunatics just because you ride in khakis/skirts instead of athletic gear. And quit the crazy ivans PLEASE!!!

Thank you.

So wait, non ELITE riders ride like a-holes too? Go figure…

[GuyContinental]

@acl 28211 wrote:

What started me thinking about it is that whoever maintains the Indian Head Rail Trail (where I ride after work) put up a sign at around mile 9 that points to a little side trail and says Bennsville park ½ mile; Woodrow Wilson Bridge 16 miles.

What?! I could ride to the WW bridge?! Did someone build a new bike trail? I could ride my bike all the way home?!?! So I followed the side path to the park, circled around the park looking for a trail, an on-road bike path, a wide-ish road with a share the road sign. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Nearly as I can figure, they mean take normal county roads to the bridge. They were just teasing me. But it planted the idea, and now I keep trying to figure out how to do it. Without dying and all.

I’ve got it! Take the rail trail all the way to the river where you’ll have a kevlar racing kayak stored in the bushes, cruise up the Potomac to National Harbor where you’ll have a second bike locked up then simply cross the bridge and go where you need to go. Shouldn’t take more than 3 hours each way and you’d have buff shoulders and legs! And no crazy PG county roads…

And they say that this isn’t a bike friendly city… pshaw

[GuyContinental]

@acl 28197 wrote:

I’m not actually suicidal.

‘Nuff said- I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t do my commute, particularly in the winter and darkness, if I had to do any long stretch of it on surface streets and most definitely not on PG county surface streets. We are a “bike-friendly” area as compared to lots of cities but I think that you have to be in a hyper “bike aware” city like Portland, San Fran or Seattle (maybe Minneapolis?) to pull off a multi-hour, all season street commute without getting dead.

This reminds me that I’m very very lucky that I can stay on trails for 95% of the trip.

[GuyContinental]

@mstone 28189 wrote:

The time thing is very site-specific. It takes me roughly 2x as long to bike, because the car route is mostly highway at hours where I can hit 60MPH; for someone with more congested traffic the bike can be more compelling. My bike route is also longer than the car trip, because of the choke points that force bikes onto non-direct routes.

Oh, don’t get me wrong- if I take the work-out out of the equation the riding is definitely more time intensive. Everyone’s math is different- if my ride was much longer it would be tough. Lately I’ve been adding a net 5 miles each way with 7 miles of slower pace singletrack- the ride time has jumped to almost 260 minutes getting me home 30-45 minutes later than I would like. I can get away with it as a summer treat but that extra few miles in the afternoon would not jive with the work/home life needs. 5 miles shorter (20 each way) would be just about right for getting enough exercise and not pushing the envelope on work or home.

[GuyContinental]

@acl 28152 wrote:

I would like to start commuting by bike because I recognize the utter ridiculousness of getting off work, riding 20-30 miles for fun and exercise, then getting in my car and driving 25 miles home. In theory, getting off work, riding 30 miles for fun and exercise, and ending up at home rather than back at the office would save me the time, money, and aggravation of the 25 mile drive. I might yet do it someday, at least on occasion.
.

So what’s the hold up?

My “why did I start commuting” thing was basically what you just said- I wanted exercise and had no time (two little kids) and a nasty 30 mile commute. I was waking up at the crack of dawn, driving 30 miles (45 minutes) and swimming for 90 minutes, working, then driving home in soul-sucking traffic for 75 minutes. 210 minutes a day (plus $23 a day in gas, tolls and pool access). I realized that the ride (25 miles- it’s shorter than the drive), including dressing/undressing was less than 170 minutes RT. I was happier, sleeping later and actually spending more time with my kids and saving oodles of money (which I spend on bike gear of course)… that makes it hard NOT to do. I have no shower, no facilities, and absolutely no biking culture in my workplace but it all works out somehow…

It took awhile to do it- several months of 1-way trips- and I don’t do it everyday (I try to do it 3x a week) but I’m fitter than I’ve ever been in my life, sleeping well and get to see bunnies, owls, foxes, deer, groundhogs and whatnot on the way to work…

[GuyContinental]

@Dickie 28141 wrote:

For what it is worth I switched to a Banjo Brothers wedge a while back and really like it . Depending on how long you had the 50 spot in there it could be worth as much $52.37 by now… better investment than a bank, although I don’t think banks distribute your cash along a bike path, so there’s that.

Trying to sneak a name change through are we Tricky Dickie Sewell?

[GuyContinental]

@rcannon100 28135 wrote:

We have a fitness center with a shower rate of $80 per year. Yes, that is key.

Drat, that’s less than I spend on ShowerPills in six months… I sooooo want a shower that doesn’t involve a work tub, a pack towel and body wipes…

[GuyContinental]

@rsewell19 28130 wrote:

I have a funny feeling that part of the CCT will be pretty congested for the next few days! I’ll keep my eyes peeled for you!

I’m riding it this afternoon but have no hope of finding anything… well maybe the bright yellow Pedro’s lever. Bummer, I had just stocked it up with goodies from the “what to carry” thread. Not impressed with the TimBuk2 seat bags…

That bill has been on/in my bikes for years… it’s depreciated right?

[GuyContinental]

Rsewell:

If you are feeling intrepid, I lost a Park patch kit somewhere on the CCT between LFP and the WO&D (seat bag came unzipped)… it also has a $50 bill in it so if you find it you get a kit and a prize! (Actually, I’ll buy you several patches and some beer if you find my fifty bucks).

[GuyContinental]

Second follow up for those pursuing CX brake knowledge… for those of you that actually know what you are doing on a cross bike, you will laugh at this but I come from 18+ years mountain biking so much of this did not immediately come to mind. After 600 miles (maybe 200 on dirt- some of it very technical) these are some of my observations…

You have (essentially) three possible braking positions on a cross bike:

Hoods– lowest brake power, good for climbing, nearly impossible to both hold on and brake, also tough to get the ft wheel off the ground- you can wrap your fingers and scrub some speed with your index fingers but stopping isn’t really going to happen. Alternatively, you can hold on by pinching thumb and index fingers leaving four fingers for the brake- this will stop you but good luck holding on unless you have monster hand strength

Drops– good brake power, very fast, rough to transition out of and hard as heck on the body. I call this the Danger Squirrel posture because your head is basically over the front wheel and with an aggressive set up you are verrry low and verrry forward. For awhile I was riding this way exclusively when heading downhill- it was great- I could brake (and stop), I could hold on, I could even climb. However, roots and technical sections really hurt and I was always theees close to pitching over the bars. Also, steep downhill gravel is really bad news when your weight is all the way forward…

Bar Tops with interrupter levers– great braking power, MTB handling, better front wheel lift but not so great climbing and not extremely fast. Superior for getting over logs or through major technical sections.

I added the interrupters over the w/e and I am now a happy camper- Hoods for climbing/cruising; Drops for Danger Squirrel fast; Bar tops for most descending and technical riding. I still have a long way to go on the learning curve (I bleed a lot) but I have a ton more confidence in braking now that I have decent equipment and some real tools in my technique.

[GuyContinental]

@krazygl00 28004 wrote:

giving me the Super Mega Donkey Power Two-Handed Wave-Through (which I have never seen before).

I hate it when Helpy gets mad at ME for being courteous and following the law… of course from their perspective, they are delivering a random act of kindness which when refused, is cheapened. No win for the cyclist- if we “expedite” the light we are scofflaws, if we don’t take the hint we are wasting their time. Of course it’s our own dang fault for being so unpredictable as a group compounded by the signal confusion of crosswalk vs light.

[GuyContinental]

@krazygl00 28009 wrote:

I just wish SKS made RaceBlades (the quick detach ones) that covered 32mm tires (they max out at 23mm), because I don’t like the look of fenders on a cross bike and don’t want to have them on ALL the time.

Couldn’t agree more- RaceBlades are great… if they fit. I can get a front blade on my “nice” bike but that’s it, rear geometry is a no go and I don’t like to deliberately ride that bike in the rain anyway. The CX with it’s 34mm tires just laughed at me when I tried to cram them on. On my old bike the blades would go on in about 1 minute so I only used them when I actually needed them or when there was a high prob of nasty rain in the PM. Fiddling with classic fenders and then chasing down the inevitable squeaks drives me nuts.

On fenders in general- mid summer I like warm rain and don’t even bother with a coat unless it’s really gross, but my ride is jussst long enough that even temps in the 70’s can be a big issue for body temp. Staying dry becomes pretty dang important.

[Author]

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