stapfam

Yesterday I spent the morning sorting out bikes for riding. The New FCR had to have a few things sorted for winter so Off with the OM wheels and on with the Aksiums. Not a bad wheel but have been used as the winter wheels for rides. Had to change the cassette over aswell, as the FCR is 9 speed. So gearing on that is now 50/34 and a 12/25 cassette. Ross-The son-in-law- will use this as a commuter so took the bike for a spin and it is comfortable. With the Aksiums it accelerates well too but that could be down to having a 23 tyre on it instead of a 26. Also lost 1 lb off the rotating weight with just the change of tyres and wheels so that might help aswell.

Then down to the TCR-C. I recently put a triple on this and I have been finding that the 12/27 cassette was not being used fully so another 12/25 gone on that again. Beginning to enjoy this bike now so might be riding that one tomorrow. Boreas is my main ride but nothing needed doing to it so just sat there with plenty of rag and degreaser for an hour or so. Wasted my time as just as I started on a check out ride- the rain came down so it needs cleaning again.

The OCR got pulled off the rafters and checked over and put back up again. Don’t ride that much nowadays.

Funny thing about the FCR- Boreas and the TCR- is that they all feel comfortable. But decided to check out measurements, as they are all set up for me now. Seat post to bar length is the same on each. Fore and aft on the saddle in relationship to the pedals is the same and pedal to seat rail height is the same. But each bike has a different saddle height. Couldn't work it out but the FCR has a higher bottom bracket. The TCR and Boreas both have different length cranks on them so there is a reason for the saddle height differences.

So why are the bars on each bike at different heights to the saddle? Each bike feels fine to ride but have to admit that I have yet to ride the FCR in anger. That bar height on the FCR might change but currently feels good. About 1" higher than the TCR but I have been thinking about taking the TCR bars down a fraction. But it is Boreas that gets me. Those bars are still 4” below the saddle. It is the most comfortable bike I ride but I cannot understand why. I know it is a Race geometry frame but that does not explain why if I raise the bars- my back aches after about 20 miles.

B12..jpg This shows the FCR at the back but you can see the difference in height on the bars.

So all I have to do is sort the MTB's and Tandem for the winter. I think I will be putting this off for a while- The tandem does need a complete strip and rebuild this year so will be expensive. The MTB's are no longer my rides of choice and as such will only have to be reliable for when conditions are not suitable for road riding.

So I'll wait till the F1 in Korea gets started or cancelled and get the TCR out for a ride.

Retro Grouch 

I've got some of that to do too.

I've got at least two bikes, a Specialized Crossroads Pro and a Raleigh Technium fixed gear conversion that I'd like to sell. I've got a couple of spare wheel sets that I'd like to turn over too.

The Santana tandem needs to be cleaned up, loaned parts restored, retuned and shipped to my son's house. That last part is going to be the hardest. He and his wife both say that they want the bike but they don't think they have a place to store it. They're having a baby in around 2 months so they probably won't be able to ride it for another year anyway.

The Screaming Yellow Zonker just needs a cleaning and a new home in the Santana's nitch.

My beater got Magura hydraulic rim brakes that need to be set up and blead. I love that bike so it's staying even though it doesn't get much use anymore.

The same is pretty much true of my Bridgestone road bike. I actually don't think that it needs any service. It's vision was to be low maintenance and that's proving to be true.

I need to acquire a couple of spare 305 Schrader tubes for the wife's Greenspeed trike. The spares that I have now have Presta valves so they'll work in a pinch but I'd rather have tubes that match her rims. I also need to figure a better way of storing it. I'm thinking that if I clear out some of the unneeded junk in my shop it can hang by the rear wheel. Still takes up a lot of space.

I'm thinking that the Red Rover recumbent will get a new drive train by spring. It's rideable the way that it is and I've not yet decided exactly what gears I want so that, while the most fun, will probably be a back burner project.

The Porsche frame has about equal chances of going to the recyclers or becoming an art project. It'll only bring about $4.00 as scrap aluminum so I'm thinking "art project". It's still a Porsche.

My parts cleaner, which I only use about once a year if that, takes up too much space so it has negative value. If I can't find somebody who wants to trade it for bike parts, it's going in the dumpster.

Oh - and the mural on the garage wall of a happy couple on a tandem. It's getting redone as a happy couple on a recumbent tandem. I started working on the design last night.

fietsbob

Have to Move, need another 2BR, 1 for bikes, a Garage substitute.