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Bicycle-Fi!
Nov 27, 2012 at 11:23 PM Post #2,056 of 4,419
We had the final race at the local Cyclocross series this Sunday. It was bellow freezing, so many people did not finish the race because their cables froze up and they could not change gears anymore. One person even broke his derailleur somehow. The whole thing got caught in the chain and bent all the way back up over the cog. It was ugly looking.
 
I commute all year round, and I honestly can't wait for a better drive system to be available. I have to oil my chain weekly, and adjust my derailleur monthly. Already, my cables and derailleur get frozen every time I lock my bike up. I learned to park my bike in 3rd gear, so that I can pull on the cable to 1st gear when I get on my bike. This way it loosen everything, and I can shift up. If I don't, it won't shift up. I have to loosen the cables, then get off my bike and manually loosen the derailleur. Current bikes simply are not designed to be used bellow freezing. When I shop for a bike and I say I will need the bike to work in winter, I get funny looks. One sales person even went as far as saying he doubted the bike would still be under warranty if I used it in winter.
 
In extreme low temperatures, I even had my chain freeze. The links got stuck together, and did not rotate as they should. That's an efficient way to destroy a derailleur. I doubt in these conditions a belt would freeze too, this is why I'm not interested in belts either.
 
Last winter destroyed the brand new SR Suntour fork that came with my bike. The plastic bearings froze so hard they scratched the chrome off the shafts.
 
Nov 28, 2012 at 2:53 AM Post #2,057 of 4,419
Quote:
kimlaroux said:
We had the final race at the local Cyclocross series this Sunday. It was bellow freezing, so many people did not finish the race because their cables froze up and they could not change gears anymore. One person even broke his derailleur somehow. The whole thing got caught in the chain and bent all the way back up over the cog. It was ugly looking.
 
I commute all year round, and I honestly can't wait for a better drive system to be available. I have to oil my chain weekly, and adjust my derailleur monthly. Already, my cables and derailleur get frozen every time I lock my bike up. I learned to park my bike in 3rd gear, so that I can pull on the cable to 1st gear when I get on my bike. This way it loosen everything, and I can shift up. If I don't, it won't shift up. I have to loosen the cables, then get off my bike and manually loosen the derailleur. Current bikes simply are not designed to be used bellow freezing. When I shop for a bike and I say I will need the bike to work in winter, I get funny looks. One sales person even went as far as saying he doubted the bike would still be under warranty if I used it in winter.
 
In extreme low temperatures, I even had my chain freeze. The links got stuck together, and did not rotate as they should. That's an efficient way to destroy a derailleur. I doubt in these conditions a belt would freeze too, this is why I'm not interested in belts either.
 
Last winter destroyed the brand new SR Suntour fork that came with my bike. The plastic bearings froze so hard they scratched the chrome off the shafts.
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sounds like some pretty hardcore conditions to be riding in 0.o I live in New Zealand, nothing freezes here, if the temperature drops below 7 or 8 degrees celcius, people think that it's 'freezing' and it's nothing really.  I guess that's why I've never had a problem with freezing, even riding in England through icy ground wasn't a problem, with the air temp being 0 degrees celcius.  must get seriously cold where you are to have the problems you're describing.
Also Mad respect for riding in a bike in such crazy conditions.
 
Nov 28, 2012 at 11:21 AM Post #2,058 of 4,419
Has anyone seen those new Dux Helm Helmets w/drop down lenses?  This might be the answer for me since I wear Rx glasses!  Good bike Rx glasses are about $400+ if you go Oakley.
 
Nov 28, 2012 at 9:58 PM Post #2,059 of 4,419
How cold is the weather where you live?  I ride all year round as well and several times during blizzards at night and temperature as low as -23C and my derrailleurs never froze up although my Camelback did freeze solid.  Do you grease your cables before installing them, if there was any water I could see how it might freeze.  
 
I have seen those helmets and they look interesting but are a little pricey, you could always get contacts and then buy all the cheap sunglasses you want, that's what I did anyway.
 
Nov 30, 2012 at 10:36 PM Post #2,063 of 4,419
Dec 1, 2012 at 6:39 AM Post #2,064 of 4,419
Quote:
bravo4588 said:
We have dedicated bike paths & more are being built in the Île-de-France region. We don't have to pay extra or need permission to bring bikes on regional trains(except in Metro lines).
Most of the cyclists obey road rules & we seldom get harassed by motorists. The public cycle renting program Velib is a huge success.
 
So what exectly made you LOL?
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Well, last time I biked in France (which admittedly is over half a decade ago) it seemed that pretty much every driver on the road was trying to murder me.... And I obey the rules. 
So let's just say my experiences with biking in France are slightly different...
 
 
 

micrors4 said:
I personally prefer a chain driven bike, but for some people they don't want to take 30 seconds to grease a chain every other week or have to deal with the mess.  Belts are nice because you never have to think about them and they always just work, however what I don't like about them is that because you can not break one in half like a chain the bike frame must have a break in the seat and chain stays to replace the belt which creates a weak point.
 
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There are some really good dry-lubes for bikechains out there. I don't ride as much as I used to, but I only have to re-lube 4-5 times a year (it was 6-7 times a year before).
 
Dec 1, 2012 at 9:17 PM Post #2,067 of 4,419
I have looked before but I can't seem to find any because it is still too new.  As long as you aren't doing any mountain biking with it you can use industrial velcro attached to a cheap case and connect it to a flashlight or some sort of mount to put it on your handlebars, that's what I do for my GPS and it works perfectly and I even left it on my bike when it was on the back of my car and never fell off despite driving on the highway.
 
Dec 2, 2012 at 5:37 AM Post #2,068 of 4,419
Quote:
vpivinylspinner said:
Upgraded my road bike today.
 

 
With the heavy Fulcrum Racing wheels on.
 
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Very nice cervelo! Congratulations, I've always wanted to get a hold of one, but for some reason, 64cm cervelos are hard to come by
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Dec 2, 2012 at 12:32 PM Post #2,069 of 4,419
Quote:
micrors4 said:
I was unsure about belt drives and internal hubs but after seeing this video I think they are comparable to chains if not stronger
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/White-Balance-video-2012.html
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Thanks for posting, beautiful video.
 
Quote:
coop said:
 
it seemed that pretty much every driver on the road was trying to murder me.... And I obey the rules. 
 
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To everyone here:
 
what do you think of this bike?
 
http://www.baseurban.com/
 
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