Bicycle thread

[pierce]

Originally Posted by ducnut

^^^ +1

If you were really hard on your stuff, then, I can see frequent servicing. But, based on how I think you ride, that you have nice stuff and assume you take care of it, I would ride it until you start to see seal seapage or have some sort of internal failure.

for an air shock like a Fox, get it serviced when it won't hold pressure long enough that its become annoying... my threshold was a few days when I was riding a boingy-bike, and this took a couple years of light riding, but I being a fatty, had to run that shock around 220PSI which probably accelerated the leakage.

by all means keep it clean, any dirt on the seal area will hugely accelerate said wear. I remember seeing nylon 'shock socks' you could put over your rear shock, seemed like a great idea for mud riders.

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by azcycle

Born and raised in Flag. Stop, you're making me homesick!

Holy shit! Its a local. Not too many of y'all.

I did an easy hour on the FTB on a MUT. Good thing it was the middle of the day... On a serious note, I passed maybe a dozen people all told. Cross County Trail in Fairfax, VA and I rode from Pickett Rd to the tennis courts over in Wakefield Park and back.

I rode out of Wakefield Park with 11 tennis balls from either 'around the courts' or in the trash can. I have a dog that likes to eat em, leave em in the yard for the mower to run over, etc. so I need tennis balls on a semi-regular basis. Cheap SOBs are us means doing some 'cleanup.'

M

[Aurelius]

Originally Posted by pierce

for an air shock like a Fox, get it serviced when it won't hold pressure long enough that its become annoying... my threshold was a few days when I was riding a boingy-bike, and this took a couple years of light riding, but I being a fatty, had to run that shock around 220PSI which probably accelerated the leakage.

by all means keep it clean, any dirt on the seal area will hugely accelerate said wear. I remember seeing nylon 'shock socks' you could put over your rear shock, seemed like a great idea for mud riders.

I find a lot more accumulated dust on my fork sliders than I do on the rear shock, even when riding in dry conditions. I wouldn't mind putting gaitors over them if I could find a way to do it. Cannondale forks come with them.

[BigEasy]

Originally Posted by Mr Head

Until the seal blows.









"...honest it's ice cream!"

Classic right there

[mud]

Originally Posted by Aurelius

There seems to be a disagreement as to how literally to follow the recommended service interval on bicycle shocks, which the manufacturer (Fox) lists as every 100 hours. Half the people I've spoken with say that all you really need to do is check the pressure every few weeks, keep the shock body clean, and check for signs of oil leakage. Others say that the shocks need to be disassembled and carefully checked for signs of component failure. Actual examples of mechanical failure are hard to find; so far I've only heard of two instances in which a shock needed repairs, and this comes from mechanics at one of the largest local dealerships.

So, what do y'all all think?

Minnesota winters are LOOOOOONG. I rebuild it (4 forks and two shocks) every winter. Usually it is just a fluid change, sometimes some tweaking.

I don't know what I would do if I rode all year around. I suppose I would go until I have a problem.... If I raced I would do it sooner.

[Gummee!]

In the 'everywhere but here' file:

Swiss velodrome to open in April

Is this why you picked up the idea?
The Renaissance of the idea came about because I saw that nations like England and Australia were having international success with their road racing cyclists who, in large part, came from a background of racing on the track. The most immediate example is this year’s Tour de France winner, Bradley Wiggins, an Englishman who had focused on track racing up until the 2004 Olympic games.

Gee. Ya think?! USAC should be paying attention. More tracks = more, better racers = more medals (which drives positive media attention) = more of everything. What do we get? Nada. Zip. Zero. Nuthin.

M

[zouch]

[k7]

two comments -

1. Damn - that looked painful
2. At least he moved out of the way when he went down.

[rbrsddn]

Originally Posted by k7

two comments -

1. Damn - that looked painful
2. At least he moved out of the way when he went down.

I cringe when I see people take diggers like that... But I get out there and ride with the same lack of gear- on the bicycle. That's why we celebrate the end of each ride with beer, and if one of us goes down, that means... more beer!

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by zouch

That right there is why the USCF made salutes illegal. Do it in a pack and get relegated if I'm not mistaken. I get that the pros get to do it. They spend WAY more time on a bike than any 3 of the rest of us. Speaking of which... 4:01 just now. Here to almost Washington, VA and back. How is it you can do a loop and have a headwind 90% of the time? M

[Gummee!]

FYI: chain lube test

M

[Mr Head]

My training life in Colorado. Constant headwind and uphill in all directions. made a climber out of me.

Originally Posted by Gummee!

That right there is why the USCF made salutes illegal. Do it in a pack and get relegated if I'm not mistaken. I get that the pros get to do it. They spend WAY more time on a bike than any 3 of the rest of us. Speaking of which... 4:01 just now. Here to almost Washington, VA and back. How is it you can do a loop and have a headwind 90% of the time? M

[ducnut]

This looks cool!

[melville]

Originally Posted by Gummee!

That right there is why the USCF made salutes illegal. Do it in a pack and get relegated if I'm not mistaken. I get that the pros get to do it. They spend WAY more time on a bike than any 3 of the rest of us. Speaking of which... 4:01 just now. Here to almost Washington, VA and back. How is it you can do a loop and have a headwind 90% of the time? M

Do you think his headset might be just a bit Brinnelled?

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by melville

Do you think his headset might be just a bit Brinnelled?

There was something of a crosswind too. Don't know about the HS.

M