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Cyclist advice and talk, ey?

K

katie ta achoo

Blogger emeritus
Original poster
I know a bunch of MacRumorers are cyclists. Howabout a bikes and cycling thread?

I can't take off my rear wheel without somehow screwing up my rear derailleur. Then, I have to fine-tune the derailleur for about 15 minutes. It's annoying and frustrating. What am I doing wrong? I smoosh the derailleur out with my hand to get the cog out but... urgh. It's just not working. 😡

Picture 1.jpeg
Why do you hate me, bike?
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In happier bike stuff, anyone doing any neat charity rides or the like?
 
I haven't been riding regularly for a few years...😱

Used to mountain bike often, but my mountain bike is now 11 years old and a little small for me. I want to buy a road bike and get back into regular riding before I get too old and fat.

Hopefully somebody with more knowledge can help with the derailleur...on my mountain bike you just bend the linkage back, pull off the wheel and do th reverse to install. Never had any issues with it getting out of sorts after removal.
 
thats seems an odd problem. you just should be sure to either shift to the lowest gear before removing the rear wheel, or make sure you get it back on the gear it was on before removing it. ive sometimes had some issues but typically was always able to crank them away in a few cycles.

i now ride fixed so probably not the best of help with road bikes.

i don't have any charity rides that i do, and i haven't been riding much due to the cold weather here, but i'm looking forward to critical masses and cycling with friends as soon as the weather warms. probably will start up again in march or so.
 
katie ta achoo said:
I thought I just had to have it on one of the middle gears.


If it's something that simple, I'm gonna scream.
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When the chain is on the smallest cog you are increasing the amount of slack chain and taking tension off the derailleur. As you take the wheel out, gently push the derailleur backwards and the wheel should drop out. 🙂
 
In March I'm doing the MS 150 ride in near Phoenix (two day event, 100 the first day 50 the second). I've got a '06 Gary Fisher Wahoo hard-tail. I've got one pair of road wheels and one pair of mountain wheels depending on where I'm going.


Lethal
 
Sounds like a nice setup Lethal...I always wanted to get a set of road wheels for my hard tail, never did get around to it though.
 
Nice thread. Glad to see there are quite a few Macrumors cyclists.

I'm getting ready to start racing again Feb 14th. Doing some work on my Scott CR1 tonight to get it ready to go.
 
LethalWolfe said:
In March I'm doing the MS 150 ride in near Phoenix (two day event, 100 the first day 50 the second). I've got a '06 Gary Fisher Wahoo hard-tail. I've got one pair of road wheels and one pair of mountain wheels depending on where I'm going.


Lethal
Click to expand...

I'm doing the MS150 local to me-- Houston to Austin. It's 180 miles (100 on day one, 80 on day two). How has your training been so far?

That bike setup sounds pretty nice.. The boy is doing the MS150 with me, but we just got him some slick mountain tires... so they're like 26"x1.5" I think.. I'd have to check. They're so wide but we can't drop money on wheels.

I have a beautiful little Trek 1220 road bike. Blue in the front, purple in the back, and it weighs nothing. I'd love to get a bunch of lighter stuff on it though.. I'm looking at you, drivetrain. 😡
 
I like my Wahoo, but being an entry level mountain bike it's nothing spectacular. The slicks I have for are 26x1.5, so fat by road standards, but so much lighter and faster than knobbies. The wheels, pedals, seat, grips, and bar ends are all after market (god bless the bar ends for long distance and climbing) so the bike feels 'homey' to me. This will be my 2nd year doing the 150 so the training is much easier because I've pretty much stayed in shape from last year. Last Sat I did 50 miles and this weekend I'll squeeze in 60 (weather permitting). I try and do shorter, more intense rides 2-3 times during the week.

I'm also doing the RAGBRAI ride across Iowa in July. Depending on how the 150 goes I might get a road bike before the RAGBRAI. My Wahoo comes in at a over 30lbs and that ain't exactly light for road work.


Lethal
 
I envy those of you who are doing actual rides at distance.

I did a few but never did a century - I think 70 miles was the longest for me. I rode in knobby tires, baggy shorts (complete with hairy legs) and a T-shirt...absolutely no cycling paraphinalia whatsoever other than the helmet and number pinned to my shirt. I'm sure I looked a newbie but it was always a blast. I rode a bone-stock 1998 Trek 930 steel hardtail, which I still have. It has proven a reliable and rugged bike, just under 30lbs, but the frame is a little too small and it doesn't seem to be worth it to try to get a taller stem these days.

I'd like to finally do that century some day in the nearish future, but I need to go buy something with a taller frame and work my way back into shape. I know, I know, brave words...😀
 
Lord Blackadder said:
I'd like to finally do that century some day in the nearish future, but I need to go buy something with a taller frame and work my way back into shape. I know, I know, brave words...😀
Click to expand...

Sign up for one that's terrifyingly close. Your body gets into shape faster than you think... well, mine did anyway.

I really need to start up on the training again for the MS150... I'm all doughy and sad from winter. I used to be 3/4 doughy, 1/4 chiseled legs. It looked awesome, with my shorts and jersey and glove tan. 🙂


MacRumors cycling challenge anyone? Total minutes in a trainer/on the road or total miles? I'll update after I hop on mine today..
 
I've just started riding again after a couple of months off - the weather has been particularly icy recently which has put me off the road a bit and I need to get my forks fixed on the MTB. 🙁

I want to do a local charity ride again this year (about 55 miles) so I need to get a bit fitter again! My goal for the year is to make my regular weekend ride 50-60 miles - currently it's 30-35 depending on the route.

Macrumors turbo challenge sounds good. 🙂

Hey Olly, you still got your Hummer?
 
nice thread ... even though around here you can forget biking around at the moment ... apart of getting to university and back (which means cheap old bike for me)
not that the weather is better during the summer but at least then i manage to get around 1- 1.5 hours 3-6x during the week then

no interest so far on longer distances tough


on getting new equipment: if it just wasn't that expensive i would love getting a good single speed bike for once and for all
 
katie ta achoo said:
I can't take off my rear wheel without somehow screwing up my rear derailleur. Then, I have to fine-tune the derailleur for about 15 minutes. It's annoying and frustrating. What am I doing wrong? I smoosh the derailleur out with my hand to get the cog out but... urgh. It's just not working. 😡
Click to expand...

I find the best way to avoid derailleur problems is to turn the bicycle upside down. Gotta watch out for the odometer, racks, etc, but at least the derailleur doesn't get out of whack that way.

No big rides planned, but it's been a dry winter here so good riding around town. I'm in the market for a good "town bike" and have looked at a Raleigh and a couple of others, but am undecided. Any suggestions?
 
Nice thread.

I get my back wheel out by putting it on the smallest cog, and by brute force.

I'm on the market for a new bike soon - gonna use my works 'cycle to work' scheme to get one. Was thinking of getting a Chris Boardman.

However am afraid that it looks too nice and that it'd get nicked. ANyone know of any good bikes that look a bit crap?
 
geese said:
Nice thread.

I get my back wheel out by putting it on the smallest cog, and by brute force.

I'm on the market for a new bike soon - gonna use my works 'cycle to work' scheme to get one. Was thinking of getting a Chris Boardman.

However am afraid that it looks too nice and that it'd get nicked. ANyone know of any good bikes that look a bit crap?
Click to expand...

Check craigslist! That's where I got my lovely road bike.

And fun news on the cycling front: I have to have surgery.... 6 week recovery. Gives me three weeks to train for the MS150. Uhoh.
 
takao said:
on getting new equipment: if it just wasn't that expensive i would love getting a good single speed bike for once and for all
Click to expand...

Get a frame (second-hand or in a sale) and build one up gradually from second-hand kit or old stuff that you've replaced from your other bikes. 🙂

geese said:
However am afraid that it looks too nice and that it'd get nicked. ANyone know of any good bikes that look a bit crap?
Click to expand...

Try a shop own-brand one, like the stuff from Edinburgh Bicycle or somewhere like Merlin. Destickering goes a long way to making it look cheaper too. 🙂
 
alFR said:
Get a frame (second-hand or in a sale) and build one up gradually from second-hand kit or old stuff that you've replaced from your other bikes. 🙂
Click to expand...

yeah that's the other more realistic idea, though i'm a lousy mechanic guy
but i think we've got some old (more like ancient) racing bike around at home somewhere in the heap of crap in the garage
gonna look into that next week if it's suitable for a conversion or more important if it hasn't fallen prey to the rust monsters yet
 
katie ta achoo said:
Then, I have to fine-tune the derailleur for about 15 minutes.
Click to expand...

How's your cable tension? If OllyW's suggestion doesn't/didn't solve your problem, then simply take 5 minutes and re-setup your derailleur, removing a wheel shouldn't knock it out of alignment every time you remove your wheel, though how often do you remove it??? 😱
 
takao said:
nice thread ... even though around here you can forget biking around at the moment ... apart of getting to university and back (which means cheap old bike for me)
not that the weather is better during the summer but at least then i manage to get around 1- 1.5 hours 3-6x during the week then

no interest so far on longer distances tough


on getting new equipment: if it just wasn't that expensive i would love getting a good single speed bike for once and for all
Click to expand...

I thought about getting a TRAINER for indoor riding (while watching TV or movie)

Got any suggestion for a good one under $300?
On the road, I average around 19-22mph. Can go up to 30mph for brief bursts.
That's not even on a racing bicycle. I have a hybrid Cannondale.
 
If you're after a trainer you can use while watching TV, make sure you get either a magnetic resistance or better still a fluid resistance one. If you get a wind trainer (uses an air turbine for resistance) you'll need the TV volume up to 11. The neighbours may not thank you either. 🙂

Brand-wise, I have a CycleOps fluid one which I really like. It's a few years old now though, so no idea re: current price.
 
Great thread KT. I did the MS 150 last year (Frisco to Fort Worth), and I loved it. You ought to come out for the Hotter N Hell 100 this year. Mucho fun, about 12,000 riders last year.

Best of luck, and you can do it in 3 weeks!!!
 
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