Winter Cycling - Critique this winter warrior!

Just got the fenders and rack on, theyre planetbike cascadia, apparently for 2.2" tires, the tires on now are 1.95 and dont have much clearance..

but ive used it 4 times so far, so far so good, i might be looking at new brake pads though.

And the right shifter needs to be replaced, should be done by monday.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/aaron_simkovich/IMGP2709.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/aaron_simkovich/IMGP2708.jpg

Looks good.

I think if you adjusted the front fender so that the area behind the fork is closer to the tire you could get a little extra clearance at the front of the fender.

Just one critisicm; there's no snow on the ground!

That picture is taken outside your garage, right? Has winter not started in Ontario yet? Once it does, you might find that some BMX pedals with set screws grip your boots better than the pedals you have now.

Well, since you asked.. you need to re-align your fenders.

Take a long strip of something like a stack of some old tubes or some leather belts, rest them on top of the tire and then slide them under the loose fender. Push the fenders down onto the spacers and then tighten up all your nuts. Now you should have an appropriate gap and your fenders will look like semi-circles not ovals :p

Well, since you asked.. you need to re-align your fenders.

Take a long strip of something like a stack of some old tubes or some leather belts, rest them on top of the tire and then slide them under the loose fender. Push the fenders down onto the spacers and then tighten up all your nuts. Now you should have an appropriate gap and your fenders will look like semi-circles not ovals :p

Great tip !

I have to say getting fenders on with an even gap, especially side to side, is not something I find easy or enjoyable.

Just one critisicm; there's no snow on the ground!

That picture is taken outside your garage, right? Has winter not started in Ontario yet? Once it does, you might find that some BMX pedals with set screws grip your boots better than the pedals you have now.
Silver_ghost is right; I bought these from an LBS in London for $44. Sealed bearings, replaceable studs, and smooth as silk.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2533/4174048711_b7889dc5fd.jpg


Well, since you asked.. you need to re-align your fenders.

Take a long strip of something like a stack of some old tubes or some leather belts, rest them on top of the tire and then slide them under the loose fender. Push the fenders down onto the spacers and then tighten up all your nuts. Now you should have an appropriate gap and your fenders will look like semi-circles not ovals :p

I second that; it's a very good tip! I'll have to try it out sometime. Is your fender touching the V-brake? I had that problem so I bought some longer Tektro levers that gave me the clearance I needed. They cost about 20 bucks and came with new pads. I don't mind adjusting the fenders - it's a lot easier than truing a wheel! (For me, anyway.) I have the PB Cascadia fenders, too and they're great. Of course mine are the hybrid variety but so far I love them.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2586/4174048511_921a669dcc.jpg

BTW I like your bike! I really like Rocky Mountain products, and the fact that they're Canadian. I hope my next bike is a RM, Norco, or Brodie. Where do you live in SW Ontario? We've got snow in London.

Im in London also (masonville area), what shop had those pedals?

I found aligning the fenders to me a major PITA, but i like that stack trick, i found that the fenders were hitting my Vbrake levers, so i would like to get the longer levers also!

I dont know what part of town your in irclean, but we had 1/2" for a bit, but it melted pretty quickly, this is infront of my garage after my ride home.

I'm not too far from you (Oxford and Highbury area). These pics are from last Wednesday, Dec. 9th. While I've visited all of the LBSs here in London at one time or another I deal almost exclusively with First Cycleworks on First St. The owner of the store, Martin, is also the head mechanic and he's been in business there for almost 15 years. He really knows his stuff. I try to make sure to deal with him directly and he almost always cuts me a deal on parts. He got me my pair of studded tires for about $50 less than I would have paid anywhere else, and that includes ordering them from the States. If First Cycleworks doesn't carry what I need and I don't want to wait for him to order in what I need I usually order stuff from MEC (http://www.mec.ca/Main/home.jsp;jsessionid=1nwvK4kHWdX68Q4LzyQpG1y1vTl4FfQ78y2DfLDkrtc78Mm42yvn!-825556489?bmUID=1257776295146). They've got a good selection of quality bicycle parts; that's where I got my PB fenders from. For some products their prices can't be beat. If you place an order of $75 or more the shipping is free. I don't know about you but that's not hard for me to do. ;) They also carry some nice-looking bikes that I'd like to check out sometime but the closest store that carries their bike line is in Toronto. :notamused: Road trip someday maybe? Ride safe! :ride:

Funny, I bought my fenders from the TO MEC!
Ive dealt with marty before, i really liked all seasons, but since they are out ive really only gone to reynolds. I guess i will go talk to marty and look for those longer brakes, is that where you got yours?

Critique this winter warrior!


Okay.

Why is there a tube(?) extending the entire aft length of the seatpost?

Storage? Protection? Aerodynamics?

From:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?129304-saddle-lock-chain-thoughts

just a bit of an old chain, and innertube around it so my frame doesnt get scratched up, then zip ties for the finishing touch. I dont have anytyhing to get rid of the quick release right now, so this will work for a bit.

Funny, I bought my fenders from the TO MEC!
Ive dealt with marty before, i really liked all seasons, but since they are out ive really only gone to reynolds. I guess i will go talk to marty and look for those longer brakes, is that where you got yours?

Yep, Marty had them in stock at the time, but I grabbed the last pair. Hopefully they've restocked but if not he's usually pretty quick to get common stuff in. I wondered about All Seasons - I bought a bike from them years ago but it got stolen. :notamused: I'm sorry to hear they're out of business.


From:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?129304-saddle-lock-chain-thoughts

just a bit of an old chain, and innertube around it so my frame doesnt get scratched up, then zip ties for the finishing touch. I dont have anytyhing to get rid of the quick release right now, so this will work for a bit.
I got rid of the QR seatpost clamp on my bike and installed one of these:

http://www.axiomgear.com/img/prod/trekk-seat-collar-1-full.jpg

My bike doesn't have braze-ons to mount a rack and I didn't want to use p-clamps. Marty showed me this and I was sold. Unfortunately the only one he had in stock was the wrong size for my bike. He ordered one in for me and it worked out great!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2565/4195873448_6d43038f9b_o.jpg

My last exam is tomorrow, so i guess i will have to wait until tuesday to get ahold of marty, i will definately order that ring to get rid of the QR! Last time i called 1stcycle, the guy on the phone (one of the other mechanics), told me they had roadrunner fenders, i did a quick read on this board and found mostly complaints about them,so i havent really gone there since. I will definately look for that clamp and some pedals, do you remember what models your pedals were?

My last exam is tomorrow, so i guess i will have to wait until tuesday to get ahold of marty, i will definately order that ring to get rid of the QR! Last time i called 1stcycle, the guy on the phone (one of the other mechanics), told me they had roadrunner fenders, i did a quick read on this board and found mostly complaints about them,so i havent really gone there since. I will definately look for that clamp and some pedals, do you remember what models your pedals were?
Unfortunately I don't remember the make or model of my pedals but Marty told me they were made by Wellgo regardless of the brand name on the box. He also showed me a pair of pedals from the display case; the only difference I could see was that the ones on display had the brand name (Shimano?) stamped on the pedal body and also the price tag - about twice as much as I paid for mine.

The seat post clamp is an Axiom Trekking. It was under $10 and it works as good as it looks. I have a set of those Roadrunner fenders hanging in my garage; I had them on my bike but decided that I wanted mudflaps so I ordered the Cascadias.

Where are you going to school? I'm at Fanshawe.

Im in London also (masonville area), what shop had those pedals?

I found aligning the fenders to me a major PITA, but i like that stack trick, i found that the fenders were hitting my Vbrake levers, so i would like to get the longer levers also!

I dont know what part of town your in irclean, but we had 1/2" for a bit, but it melted pretty quickly, this is infront of my garage after my ride home.

Depending on your v-brake pad type you can shuffle around the washers and spacers to move the pads closer to the rim, thus moving the arms out further which helps to prevent them crushing the fender. Just re-tension the brake cable and you should be good.

Depending on your v-brake pad type you can shuffle around the washers and spacers to move the pads closer to the rim, thus moving the arms out further which helps to prevent them crushing the fender. Just re-tension the brake cable and you should be good.
On my application the problem wasn't crushing the fender - the problem was that the cable, boot and arm link were resting on top of the fender, effectively squashing in down toward the tire. Not as severely as the OP's bike in the above pics, but bad enough. It still worked but what really bugged me was that every time that I applied the front brake the front of the fender would flex to the left, exposing the tire, thereby letting any water fly straight up into my face. The longer brake arms solved the problem and were also better quality than the OE parts so it was a good upgrade.

"he problem was that the cable, boot and arm link were resting on top of the fender, effectively squashing in down toward the tire." this is whats happening, but only on the re ar wheel.

What's wrong with your shifter? If it's just not "catching," that can usually be resolved by flushing and lubing it. WD-40 or Clean Streak would be good for flushing, and an oil like Tri-Flow for lubing. Wear face and eye protection, because sometimes the spray will backfire (and guess how I know that ;)).

Other than that... I'm looking for some lights on there.

Just got the fenders and rack on, theyre planetbike cascadia, apparently for 2.2" tires, the tires on now are 1.95 and dont have much clearance..

but ive used it 4 times so far, so far so good, i might be looking at new brake pads though.

And the right shifter needs to be replaced, should be done by monday.



You'd do better with fenders that have more clearance. You can move yours around a little but you are still going to be tight. A little snow and you might as well just walk:rolleyes: Here's my solution to the mountain bike fender problem.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/IMG_0174.jpg(The Planet Bike was swapped for a SKS Shockblade)

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/IMG_0281.jpg
I added a splash guard to the downtube to cut the spray down and increase coverage

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/IMG_0278draw.jpg
The rear is protected by a clip on fender with a short bit of another fender grafted onto it to extend it downward to protect the derailer. The fender is routed up and over the brake to increase clearance in that area. The fender does need to be cut around the rack support to move it away from the tire and there is an ziptie to hold up the very end of the fender to keep it from hitting the tire.

With this set up, I never have to worry about clearance.

irclean (or anyone): Where can I find one of those seat post clamps?

^^Try here (http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=30466&category=3536). It may be cheaper elsewhere if you shop around; this was my first hit when I Googled it. Just make sure you order the right size! Mine is 31.8mm.

Thanks for the fender tip, i will look into some better ideas... i plan on switching to a rigid fork up front, so i will still look for smoething similar to that, or just make my own... i looked at some nokian tires last week, and they were ~2.2" if im not mistaken.