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Invalido posted:There's a bit of cosmetic rust in spots where water drops hang around but not too bad. I'm just too lazy to do chain maintenance in the evenening. I could get the compressor out to the shed and blow dry the chain and then apply I guess but I don't, too much effort. Lube sprayed onto a wet chain seems to stick worse and then I risk it getting squeaky before I get home from work if it's wet. I really dislike a squeaky chain. Every passing winter day comfort me in my choice of going for a gates belt lol
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Jan 27, 2023 13:14
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Buying a one-speed chain per year is still cheaper.
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Jan 27, 2023 13:36
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I rode my old ebike for 5 years before I finally decide to replace the chain. Only doing it because I plan to sell it. Never had any problem with the cheap chain. Rear hub motor takes care of most of the load from the chain. One thing I found out is it has really long 122 links, normal bike chain pack only comes with 116 links. My new bike uses 118 links I think. So I had to look for the really long 122 pack on Amazon. stephenthinkpad fucked around with this message at 13:52 on Jan 27, 2023 |
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Jan 27, 2023 13:50
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Looking for some tire advice. I’ve gone about 1750 miles on my Kona Dew and got my first flat while commuting. I go about 7.5 miles each way. Had the bike shop fix it, but I got another flat today on the same wheel. I figure there is some dirt or grit stuck in the tire. I’m running the stock WTB Horizon Comps (650x47c). I’ve loved them for performance and traction, never lost it on ice or slush. But flats on a commute suck and I think I want to step to something more durable. I got bike lanes, but there is literally broken glass in them sometimes. Any recommendations for a one or two step tougher tire? Just switch to marathon pluses?
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Jan 27, 2023 15:46
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I've got marathon pluses on my bike and my wife's bike and she only had her first flat after a year and a half of commuting. My city is paved with broken glass and since they went to biweekly recycling the trucks drive around dumping little piles of broken glass every 30 feet 
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Jan 27, 2023 15:55
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Dobbs_Head posted:Looking for some tire advice. Seconding marathon pluses. They're by far the best against flats I've tried over the decades. They have drawbacks (kind of pricy, heavy, can be a bit difficult to mount/dismount, not the comfiest riding) but a flat always sucks so to me they're worth it. I still always carry everything I need to fix a flat by the roadside when commuting but apart from a bum studded tire at the beginning of this winter flats don't happen to me much at all anymore. Maybe once a year on average on the schwalbes. Used to be once a month or so when I ran lighter tires. Glass is the most common culprit, but metal debris, sharp pebbles and even thorns from plants have stopped me before. The road bike with light skinny tires gets lots of flats but I rarely commute on it and it sees nowhere near the same distances over a year so I don't mind as much. It's fine to bring flats to the bike shop for repair but if you don't know how to do it yourself and want to learn there are excellent youtube tutorials (it's not difficult once you learn a few tricks) and the tools you need are few and cheap.
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Jan 27, 2023 17:07
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Dobbs_Head posted:Looking for some tire advice. Normal marathons are a bit nicer to ride on than the pluses and similarly invulnerable. Marathon supremes are a faster rolling slick version. Pirelli Cinturato Velo are a nice middle ground between proper fast tyres and marathons, they’re tough, but roll really well and are tubeless. Only go up to 35c though I think. Some of the continental touring tyres are worth a look too. Contact travel.
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Jan 27, 2023 17:26
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I know how to fix a flat. It was more about time efficiency, and the fact that my flat kit got moved out of my bag, that I went to a shop. There were also a bunch of small cleaning / tuning issues that I haven’t had the time or proper weather to work on. Took the bike back to the same shop. They had some tires that they recommend that fit the 650 wheels in stock and offered to comp me the labor to swap them. I may also get marathon pluses later but go skinner than the 47s.
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Jan 27, 2023 18:06
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I went with Marathon Supremes on my commuter last time I needed to replace things, and I wish I'd just gotten Pluses for the extra toughness.
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Jan 27, 2023 19:25
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Yeah, I was gonna throw in a caveat about Marathon Supremes, just in case. I think the casing is probably pretty tough, but that slick rubber is sticky and it loves to pick up little pieces of wire, other metal, and glass that need to be spotted and plucked out before they work themselves in further. The stock tires that came on my touring bike/commuter are way better about shedding that stuff, and I think it's down to having cheaper rubber that is harder and not as pleasant to ride on. The Supremes are still puncture-resistant enough that I keep then on my commuter, but I dunno if they feel like a true "Marathon" tire. I know op hasn't even mentioned em, but just something to be aware of.
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Jan 27, 2023 20:30
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marathons plus are bulletproof but boy do they let you know it every second you’re riding on them
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Jan 27, 2023 21:30
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Another me problem is that I find bike wheel / tire sizing confusing. The fact that there are 3 distinct measurement systems makes it really hard to tell if a particular tire will fit. I’m like cross checking three charts. It’s hard to tell how much change in tire width would be ok. The tires I was using had so many bits of metal, wire and glass in them. It was hard to trust that any tube I put in them wouldn’t just get punctured again. I’m not entirely happy with the tires the bike shop had, though, so I’m still looking. Thanks for the suggestions everyone! The ride home was tougher than usual. But I was also wearing work clothes instead of bike gear, was super tired, and had a head-wind the whole way.
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Jan 27, 2023 23:37
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Dobbs_Head posted:Another me problem is that I find bike wheel / tire sizing confusing. The fact that there are 3 distinct measurement systems makes it really hard to tell if a particular tire will fit. I’m like cross checking three charts. It’s hard to tell how much change in tire width would be ok. ISO and ETRTO are the same and worth looking up for any small tire. Listed tire width frequently varies by a couple mm from widest measured width, and you have to rely on community knowledge for a given tire model. Going up in size is limited by your fork and frame. Just leave some margin for grit and mud to not rub your frame. Going down in size is limited by your rim width. You probably want to have the tire be 1.25x the inner rim width so that the bead isn’t too loose against the rim. Going up or down a few mm in tire radius also affects your distance from the ground. Handling doesn’t change much. You might notice extra height if you put down just one foot at a light. If you drop the height a lot, you might scrape the pedal when leaning over a lot in a turn while still pedaling.
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Jan 28, 2023 11:10
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kimbo305 posted:Helpful words Frame width is the hard limit for tire thickness but you're likely to experience fender rubbing before that. It can usually be adjusted but not always. Taller or lower bike will be really noticeable if you have a side kickstand since not much difference in tire size will greatly affect the bike's lean angle when on the stand. Not all sidestands are easily adjustable in length which can be mildly frustrating at times.
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Jan 28, 2023 13:11
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kimbo305 posted:Going up or down a few mm in tire radius also affects your distance from the ground. Handling doesn’t change much. You might notice extra height if you put down just one foot at a light. If you drop the height a lot, you might scrape the pedal when leaning over a lot in a turn while still pedaling. I dented one of my pedals in a steep turn. Went from feeling like a badass to a jackass. The dew’s stock 650-47c are pretty wide, but I really like the height and geometry. And I’ve ridden over ice with the slicks without losing much traction. But I figure moving toward a more durable tire will up traction naturally. I don’t want too big a change, though. 40mm is probably a floor for width on my next tire. I don’t want to go wider than the 47s.
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Jan 28, 2023 13:26
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Dobbs_Head posted:But I figure moving toward a more durable tire will up traction naturally. I don’t want too big a change, though. You have it backwards, soft rubber is grippy but doesn’t last long. Hardwearing durable tyres last a long time but have worse grip.
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Jan 28, 2023 13:34
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Also narrower tires have less grip, wider ones more.
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Jan 28, 2023 13:37
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Dobbs_Head posted:The dew’s stock 650-47c are pretty wide, but I really like the height and geometry. And I’ve ridden over ice with the slicks without losing much traction. But I figure moving toward a more durable tire will up traction naturally. I don’t want too big a change, though. Unfortunately tires that work really well on snow and ice are terrible in every single other way imaginable so those of us who run them swap tires twice a year. I have no idea what a good all-season bike tire for your location and riding needs would be but something with soft rubber and a fairly finely cut treat pattern seems a reasonable guess. It's been decades since I did winter riding without studded tires though so I don't really know much about it except that it's much easier when it's well below freezing than when close to 0C/32F
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Jan 28, 2023 14:20
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Dobbs_Head posted:650-47c Mods?
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Jan 28, 2023 20:41
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wooger posted:You have it backwards, soft rubber is grippy but doesn’t last long. Thanks, this make sense. After researching the options this thread gave and what was available, I decided to go with marathons. The regular marathons come in a 44-584 (also, gently caress the iso convention for putting tire width first. Really fucks up a list search). I figured the 44mm width was pretty close to the 47s I’m used too. The marathon pluses only come in 40-584 and I’m not sure I really need the extra durability enough to justify dropping 7 mm and losing even more grip. Also recovered my roadside repair kit from where it got scattered.
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Jan 29, 2023 22:30
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marathon plus's are by far the most durable and flat proof tire you'll want without going for some kind of solid tire gimmick... that said, they are tricky for some people to get on which makes them a no go. IMO you should just get better at putting tires on if this is an issue
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Jan 29, 2023 23:32
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Groda posted:Buying a one-speed chain per year is still cheaper.
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Jan 30, 2023 15:59
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evil_bunnY posted:I mean that's great but you'll still have to maintain it or have it sound like poo poo after 2 weeks of winter riding. That's not even remotely true.
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Jan 31, 2023 19:49
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Groda posted:That's not even remotely true.
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Feb 1, 2023 13:50
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evil_bunnY posted:Dude I maintained my wife's IGH bike through 5 winters. The thing that improves maintenance intervals is a chain case, not so much the fact that it's single speed. CopperHound fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Feb 1, 2023 |
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Feb 1, 2023 18:24
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Full chain case igf drum brake cargo bike family coming in twice a year for their winter/summer marathon tire swap can get fuuuuucked. I miss a lot of things about that bike shop but not that bullshit.
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Feb 2, 2023 02:39
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EvilJoven posted:Full chain case igf drum brake cargo bike family coming in twice a year for their winter/summer marathon tire swap can get fuuuuucked. I miss a lot of things about that bike shop but not that bullshit. Yeah we have a dutchman just like that. It was a nasty shock the first time I got handed that job.
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Feb 2, 2023 05:48
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Ancient bakfiets rebuild continues. It's been mainly carpentry and epoxy/fiberglass work lately. I like working with nice plywood well enough and the epoxy system I've got is fine, so are the epoxy techniques and tools I've picked up from watching youtubes. Fiberglass can go gently caress itself though, it's awful itchy nasty stuff. In order to seal the wood from the elements I'm using the boatbuilding technique of "drill-fill-drill" making all holes oversized, filling with thickened epoxy and then drilling it out again. Pretty tedious and the lockable box/seat isn't in yet but the end is in sight. Imma paint this box red I think, possibly with some black stripes or cool stickers if I can be arsed to fair the sides smooth using some kind of filler before primer. 
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Feb 2, 2023 08:04
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CopperHound posted:You will get good at patching tubes if you have a chain case because removing the wheel to replace a tube is such a pain. EvilJoven posted:Full chain case igf drum brake cargo bike family coming in twice a year for their winter/summer marathon tire swap can get fuuuuucked. I miss a lot of things about that bike shop but not that bullshit. Invalido posted:Fiberglass can go gently caress itself though Invalido posted:it's awful itchy nasty stuff. In order to seal the wood from the elements I'm using the boatbuilding technique of "drill-fill-drill" making all holes oversized, filling with thickened epoxy and then drilling it out again. Pretty tedious evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 09:37 on Feb 3, 2023 |
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Feb 3, 2023 09:33
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evil_bunnY posted:Dude I maintained my wife's IGH bike through 5 winters. The thing that improves maintenance intervals is a chain case, not so much the fact that it's single speed. The only way a one-speed chain is going to make any meaningful amount of noise after two weeks of winter riding is if you mounted it on a belt drive cog.
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Feb 3, 2023 10:32
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evil_bunnY posted:Is your PPE not up to it? Haven't counted the holes but it's probably going to be around 50 in total. gently caress me. I could probably have less than 18 screws for lock box hinges alone. Oh well they're almost all done except 4-6 more for the center stand which I haven't built yet and one for the box lock cylinder. I went to the super nice special fastener shop today and bought a bunch of stainless screws/nuts/bolts/washers, felt like a kid in a candy store. All holes will be filled with something useful or necessary except for the drainage holes and the grab handles/cargo strap slits which are just...holes.
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Feb 3, 2023 13:47
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Invalido posted:I went to the super nice special fastener shop today and bought a bunch of stainless screws/nuts/bolts/washers, felt like a kid in a candy store.
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Feb 3, 2023 14:18
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 30 eurobucks of hardware right there. Pricey but man their selection is supreme. 5.2mm conical torx head marine grade stainless screws in 2mm lenght increments? Why of course they have that! Easily worth the visit since I'm mostly screwing into blind holes in 10mm plywood and I want to maximize thread engagement. Had I gone to the big box store I'd have to get suboptimal fasteners and probably need to cut down a bunch of them which is just painful.
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Feb 3, 2023 14:36
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I miss winter bike commuting enough that when this cold snap ends I'm side eyeing my hybrid that I did put studded tires on, you know, just in case. I wonder if the drivers have settled the gently caress down a bit.
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Feb 3, 2023 15:00
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Also I'm getting fat.
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Feb 3, 2023 15:00
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Invalido posted:
Do those come from some magical hardware store local to you? I know where to get all that in the US market online but I've never seen selection like that in person.
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Feb 3, 2023 19:41
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oXDemosthenesXo posted:Do those come from some magical hardware store local to you? I know where to get all that in the US market online but I've never seen selection like that in person. I have a similar selection at my local independent hardware/hobby store in Switzerland, which isn't a chain. 2000 m^2 floorspace and a 6 minute bike ride from my apartment. the tools they carry are really expensive, but the hardware is reasonable
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Feb 3, 2023 20:07
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oXDemosthenesXo posted:Do those come from some magical hardware store local to you? I know where to get all that in the US market online but I've never seen selection like that in person. pretty much a local magical store, yeah. It's simply a store that only sells threaded fasteners and nothing else. OK not entirely true I saw some screwdrivers and a neat little flashlight and some work gloves by the checkout but 98% of the store is screws/nuts/washers. There's only one of these stores in Sweden AFAIK so not part of a chain, that by happenstance is close to my place of work. This is fortunate because it's only open weekdays during normal tradespeople hours. (there are chains geared towards professionals like Würth of course but their selection is nowhere near as focused or fine-grained). I don't shop at this place often but when I do it's always a nice experience and I've never left without exactly what I needed. The time before today it was new screws for my motorcycle mirrors and before that it was some nuts and bolts for mounting a trailer hitch to a car. Everything is available online of course (these guys have started doing e-commerce recently too) but today I went there with some component like a hinge and the holder for my U-lock as well as some vernier calipers and it's real nice to see and measure which fasteners are actually the best fit IRL.
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Feb 3, 2023 21:01
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EvilJoven posted:I wonder if the drivers have settled the gently caress down a bit. I have, regrettably, noticed just the opposite since the snow really started in earnest this year.
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Feb 3, 2023 23:40
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