General Cycling Discussion - Maneuvers Today

Hey everyone,

I just got back from a 42.48 mile ride today. It's only the third time (second real ride, one was just a 7 mile loop) I've been on the new Fuji and averaged only .5 mph less than when I went on a much flatter 20.2 mile ride last weekend. We started at the LBS where I had a small front derailleur adjustment and then headed out through Westport, Easton, Redding and on to Bethel if any of you are familar with those small CT towns. The ride back from Bethel I swear is the most beautiful place I've ever seen (though I've been back there before), and I'll be sure to take the digital camera next time I head that way to show you guys.

Anyways, on to what I started the topic for, a couple of maneuvers I had to pull today to keep out of harm's way.

The first occured when I was heading towards the end of a road where it then forked in to two roads. Keep in mind before the end of this road is a very long descent. Anyways, I'm heading down and I really couldn't brake fast enough. We were taking a left at the fork, but I almost veered out in to traffic and in to an oncoming Escalade ESV, which is kind of funny because it has such an imposing grill and lights, and is HUGE. I had to make a sharp right and head down the right road for a ways before making a U-turn to head back down the left road. Not a crazy maneuver, but at least I didn't get hit by a car!

The next one was heading in to Bethel, which is virtually entirely uphill. I was heading up on the longest ascent I'd been on at over half a mile long, probably near 3,000 feet or so. It's really a series of 5 or so twisting hills of varying steepness (though they're all quite steep) with no downhills in between. I was on the second leg, when I was downshifting from 3rd to 2nd on my front chainring. My chain fell off entirely, but I managed to pull it back on miraculously by holding down the upshift lever. However, I started swerving and when it was back on it was in 3rd gear, so I had to quickly downshift to 2nd and push to keep on going, but I did and made it up the entire ascent! That was definitely one of my prouder biking moments.

Another one which wasn't really a maneuver was when I passed by our lunch destination and did a nice U-turn to get back in, but that was easy and shouldn't really be called a real maneuver.

Well, that's about it for today's ride and maneuvers, any of you guys been in situations like these?

Thanks for reading,
Shane

Hi,
we did a 25 mile ride today, pretty hilly. I was following a SUV on a downhill stetch on a narrow road. We doing roughly 30, and he decided to stop (it was his driveway, but I didn't know that). I managed to stop, but I had hit the front brake hard enough that the schrader valve screw loosened up to the point that air started hissing out of the front tire. Bizarre. Fortunately, the guy with the SUV had a pump, it's early in the season; and I hadn't gotten around to throwing the pump and patch kit in the panniers yet.
Was a nice day, bought a wrought iron chaise lounge in a yard sale, gotta go back in the car manana and pick it up.

Originally posted by FFinestTrekie
I was downshifting from 3rd to 2nd on my front chainring. My chain fell off entirely, but I managed to pull it back on miraculously by holding down the upshift lever.

Sounds like a great ride! I've had my chain fall off before when dumping out of the outer ring to the inner ring (I have a double) with the rear on one of the larger cogs while trying to get up a hill. All that tension combined with short chainstays means you have a large deflection on the chain if you're in or close to the big-big combination. When you derail the front chainring, that tension's going to whip the chain to the left and oftentimes will fling past your intended chainring. I too have sometimes managed to get the chain back on by lightly pedalling and gently massaging an upshift on the front derailleur. This does cause me to end up back in the big chainring again too. It's really hard to attempt this while going uphill. I now try to shift a little earlier and spin faster before things start pointing skywards or if I really have to do a radical dumping of the chainring, I'll try and shift the rear to near the middle of the cassette first to decrease the initial deflection.

Originally posted by late
I managed to stop, but I had hit the front brake hard enough that the schrader valve screw loosened up to the point that air started hissing out of the front tire. Bizarre.

I'm confused. Did you mean presta?

Khuon, I've always been downshifting before I really get on to the hill because of the pressure the torque puts on the chain, but I didn't want to at the base of this ascent because it was so long and I knew it was going to get tough. I thought I might run out of gear options if I downshifted too early, though I ended up not even going down to 1st gear on the front chainring (which I haven't done at all on this new bike :)).

Hi,
perhaps, I have 700 wheels, with the usual valve/stem for a road bike. Prob got the names backwards.

FF you should take a ride along the shoreline in CT from Guilford to Old saybrook. Probably one of nicer parts of the state. The "gold coast" is nice, but Guildford, Madison, Clinton, and Old Saybrook has 1/4 of the traffic you experience south of Bridgeport.