garage sale GT

Oh, and try cleaning your rim braking surfaces with some windex or rubbing alcohol and flossing the pads with a rag.

dtrain

triley, how about some Tetkro brake calipers? I've got a new (take off) pair I'd sell cheap.

wphamilton

I remember going through that when I first put it together, and again a short time later. That front DR is indeed more finnicky to get set than other low end DRs - it was for me anyway - and mine came to me installed a good half inch too high.

What Homebrew says here is the key especially if you've never installed one, which is how I was. Loosen the clamp and set it initially a dime's width above the chain ring and aiming straight back. After messing with and determining where it doesn't shift right look at where it touches the chain on the upshift and visualize if you need to aim the cage slightly off. The problem is you've got 2 different things to adjust at the same time - height and angle - and how the DR cage ramps the chain depends on both of them.

You can eventually get it set to shift right, and it will stay that way (regardless of the complaining of some mechanics) until the grip shifter has problems.

I detest that left shifter BTW, although the right shifter is still going strong and shifts great, every time. It was very tempting to just replace it with a downtube shifter, or at least some more reliable mtb shifter.

Homebrew01

Park Tool Co. » ParkTool Blog » Front Derailleur Adjustments

Park disputes your "Dime's width" and suggests it should be a "penny's width"

10 Wheels

60 mile hill ride

wphamilton

You could probably adjust the cable to pull the pads in, and also make sure that the pads are in the right place and orientation and it would likely stop better. I don't discourage the brakes upgrade though. Nice brakes are worthwhile.

It's a personal thing. Because of the drive train, tire clearance, weight and a couple of other things I think of it as more hybrid than road bike so might as well put bigger tires on it. I have a 700cx32 on front and 28 on back, which is unusual but the late Sheldon Brown had the same idea so it can't be all that eccentric.

Performance Bikes has some very durable, very inexpensive tires in the Strada-K (kevlar). Get the 28's and they're slower rolling than most higher priced road tires (which are generally LESS durable) but in my opinion are a noticeable improvement over the stock Kenda tires. The Kenda's are fine as spares so you're not actually wasting anything by getting them.

That's normal - you'll get used to it and it won't be something you consciously have to think about.

10 Wheels

100 miles on The Indy 500 Mile Race Track.

wphamilton

What's 0.17 mm between friends? I'd go with the penny then - had to deviate from that anyway before all was done.

RPK79

Sounds like the most boring century ride possible.

10 Wheels

Beats the heck out of accounting.

Try it in 4 hours.

Team Nebo Ridge Tour de Cure 2012 - YouTube

LesterOfPuppets

Looks like they both went with the most important upgrades - tires and saddles, although that Bontrager saddle isn't much of an upgrade.

garage sale GT

I like the Nashbar Primas better than the Performance Forte' brand. They are a little more supple and easy rolling but wear quicker.As long as it spans your sit bones plus a little extra it's probably good.

wphamilton

No argument there, in fact I just put two of those on my "nice" bike.

My Bontrager saddle was my favorite of all until it wore out. But I actually like the Denali stock saddle also. That's another of those purely personal preferences.

LesterOfPuppets

Shape of the Bont. Fine by me but too soft for me. Stock denali saddle unbearable after 5 miles.

bres dad

check CL for parts that people are selling because they've upgraded their bikes. Great way to find good parts on the cheap. If you have a local co op or equiv. see what is available there parts wise. You may luck into finding a different bike as well.

banerjek

I wouldn't upgrade anything and would just fix/adjust things that need it. It will take very little for even minor upgrades to represent a substantial portion of your total investment in the bike possibly exceeding that value outright.

I agree with others that there are some safety issues. But so long as you stay mindful of the limits of your bike, that's not as bad as it sounds. I'd definitely recommend against any high speed descents on it. Between the braking, headset, tire, and probable skill issues, that would truly be dangerous.

This is a good time to learn to adjust things and fix other things as they break. Your Denali will need a lot of that, and it will help you develop skills that will be handy on your next bike. That will also help you see where the extra money in other bikes goes.

Clipless pedals might be worth considering them because you could move them to any future bike.

triley

Update:
I've adjusted the brakes and they are suitable for now(they're safe)
It took me about an hour but I got the shifting problems mostly worked out
So far I've put about 20 miles on it from short test rides and everything seems to be broken in now. I'll be putting in 30+ miles this week and the following weeks so I'll do another update then.

Should i inflate the tires to the max pressure of 85 psi? They're at 80 right now. Thanks

banerjek

Optimal tire pressure depends on a number of factors such as specific tire, weather, surfaces, etc. but you should never feel obligated to inflate to the max. Most road cyclists here use psimet's formula which I've copied and pasted below or a process that yields similar results.

Tire Width=20: Pressure(psi) = (0.33 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 63.33
Tire Width=23: Pressure(psi) = (0.33 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 53.33
Tire Width=25: Pressure(psi) = (0.33 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 43.33
Tire Width=28: Pressure(psi) = (0.33 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 33.33

Tire Width=32: Pressure(psi) = (0.17 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 41.67
Tire Width=37: Pressure(psi) = (0.17 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 26.67


Example: You are 150lbs running 28's

Pressure (psi) = (0.33*150) +33.33 = 82.83psi (rear)
Front Pressure = .9*Rear Pressure = .9*82.83psi = 74.55psi front

Blue_Bulldog

Some of this thread I find pretty awesome... that nobody was like "Eh that bike is dumb, toss it out" But at the same time, there's a little bit of "Uhh really?"

My roommate has a GMC Denali. He rode it with me last year on the first Hundred For Hope (hundredforhope.org) ride, 109mi to Nags Head, NC. His only modifications were a different treaded tire -- same general dimensions though -- and I think he may have either gotten a new saddle or learned how to quit complaining so much -- I forget. He rode that and I rode a Mongoose Ledge 2.1 that I swapped tires and some other things out to make it into a commuter bike. We did a century on those, and they were for the most part, off the department store floor. Moral of the story being, as long as everything is well maintained and not hanging off where it can endanger your life or the life of any orphans or puppies... you should be just fine. We got a ton of haterade from the local velo club like "you're gonna get hurt on department store bikes, you need an expensive bike with a horoscope or you'll never make it." Then we stood at the end of 109mi and said "Oh? You don't say? Thanks for your input"

After that, my Mongoose became my project bike and is still my go-to commuter bike. I bought a 2013 GTR 3 Series and I enjoy it a ton, but that's because I came into some money and I wanted a nice road bike since I rarely have nice things.

The point of this rambling... leave your Denali alone. It's a great bike and if anyone gives you static about it, ask them if they pay your bills. As long as you do basic maintenance... you just do you.

goenrdoug

I thought the same thing. Hey, kudos for making it, but WOW, it sounds utterly grueling to go round-and-round that flat track for that long.


Back on-topic, I'm with this guy -- ride the bike. Ride it into the ground. Keep it safely-maintained while you do so.

Beyond that, keep an eye on Craigslist in the mean time. I have now bought two bikes for $100-$150 off CL and fixed them up. It took some time and elbow grease, but the buy-in cost was low and I've gained lots of knowledge and built up a toolbox and spare-parts box along the way.

PiLigand

+1

Dan333SP

I suppose it'd be interesting because any century of that sort normally draws a few hundred starters at least, and the track is short enough that you'd be constantly lapping people or being lapped by people, so you'd always have carrots dangling in front of you to either latch on to or pick off. For some people, that might make it more interesting than riding a century on a single loop course and ending up spending half the ride totally alone. That said, I raced for an hour on the NASCAR track in my city recently and it was booooooring as far as race venues go. The Indy track is even worse because it has such long straights.

garage sale GT

Make sure you set the limit screws to prevent the derailleurs moving the chain too far to the right or left regardless of cable adjustment.

WK95

Think about it this way. Even though the bike is probably heavy as lead, training on it (assuming the gears have been tuned as well as possible) will force you to use more energy and effort. So when you finally upgrade to some nice alloy or carbon bike, you'll go far faster riding with many pounds less of bike under you.

Tusky

If you put the bike together the forks can be setup facing the rear putting the tires closer to the pedals. I have seen a few store assembled Denali's with forks set up wrong. I have seen the same with mountain bikes too.

25x700c tires will fit fine if you want to go a little faster (probably need new tubes too and rim adapters if you go with presta tubes). If you are going to just use it for commuting then 28x700c will be fine and you can keep the schrader tube.