? Last night's entry that died | Main | 1963 Raleigh Sports Men’s 3-Speed ?
March 30, 2005
Working on bikes
Tonight I helped build a bike. I strung new cables and put a brake together. I took off a rear sprocket assembly and replaced the chain guard. I also learned how handlebar shifters work as we put on new cables.
Tonight riding home in the rain, I wore rain gear for the first time and I got hot and sweaty as I suspected. The other problem I had was my brakes did not work so well when wet. I'm not sure what to do about that. New pads maybe.
Tomorrow night I'm going to explain my experience with buying a bike on eBay. Or not buying a bike, whichever the case may be. We'll see. Aren't bicycles fun?
Posted by carl1236 at March 30, 2005 11:25 PM | Bicycles
Comments
I use Koolstop brake pads, and they work great in rain - they have an odd shaped divot that wipes all the water and dirt off. It *does* take a couple of revolutions to really start biting in, but they're a lot better than regular brake pads. Don't get the thinline pads, though, I found they only lasted 3 weeks in winter (as opposed to the 3 months I usually get).
http://www.koolstop.com/brakes/index.html for pretty pictures (I use Eagle 2 pads).
Posted by: Steve at March 31, 2005 07:07 AM
I second the Kool-Stop pads. Not sure if I've seen them for sale locally. I bought some from Rivendell. I bet Kenwood carries them also. I also have decent luck with the standard Shimano Ultegra/105 pads.
As for the other bike stuff, John, I feel the need to intervene. I can see that you've caught the same disease I have. Stop the madness before it's too late!
Posted by: Jim at March 31, 2005 08:59 AM
Tonight I find out if I've won the bid for a bike on eBay! Thanks a lot Jim! hehe.
Posted by: John at March 31, 2005 02:59 PM
Was that at the Depot? Are they open for volunteers on Wednesdays again?
Posted by: nathan at March 31, 2005 04:04 PM
Nathan: Yes, at the Sibley Bike Depot in St. Paul. I've been going there for 4 or 5 weeks now working on bikes. I think next week they will be open for regular business hours to the public. For sure they are doing the volunteer night every Wednesday night. Last night a guy and his son came in with their bikes and had one of the guys teach them how to tune up and fix their bikes for the season. It was really cool.
They have something like 50 plus bikes they have to get ready to go out the door for good causes so I'm sure they could use more help. It's been fun socializing with everyone also and working on bikes.
See you there next week?
Posted by: John at March 31, 2005 05:14 PM
Quite possibly - if not, then maybe the next. I was there a couple times late last fall. Look for the quiet, dorky guy - that'll be me. ;)
Posted by: nathan at April 1, 2005 12:01 PM
For those that don't know the Sibley Bike Depot yet, it's a community bike shop run by the Minnesota Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance. Check out their website at http://www.bikeped.org Their hours are listed there.
Posted by: John at April 1, 2005 09:37 PM