It's been echoed throughout, but there's so much worth to learning to do some basic bike maintenance. The one thing I learned first is how to change a flat tire. Not only did it help me when I got a flat while out riding, it also meant I could get new tires and install them myself.

And, if I can send one more suggestion, start playing around with your tire pressure. It makes such a huge difference. Fast and comfortable is much more possible with the right tire pressure. The "Silca Pro Tire Pressure Calculator" is a great place to start!

And welcome to the commuting world! It's the best way to start and end the work day.

It is a great way to start the work day. When I drive to work and back home, I'm tired and angry from traffic and think everyone in the world is stupid or crazy. When I ride a motorcycle, my mind is singularly focused on everything around me in heavy traffic. It's the ultimate brain eraser, leaving me happy and ready for work in the morning or the family when I get home. I'm finding that when I ride my bike, I'm sort of pumped up and wired when I get to work. Now, it's the heat of summer, so riding to work is great, as it's still cool out. Riding home, I'm super heated and need to cool back down when I get home before I'm good for anything, but still a bit wired. Once I cooled off for a few minutes last night, I was good for a five mile hike with the wife.

- For reference, I'm in my mid-50s, weigh around 185, in "getting back in shape" mode and have a 12.5 mile commute by bike.

Bike mainenance is key. I've always worked on my own bikes since I was a kid, so fixing flats, adjusting gears, repacking bearings, etc is no great shakes for me. I'm using the Cyclemeter app to track my rides, and that 30-year-old steel Trek 930 is a bit faster than my new Trek FX3 that is lighter with narrower tires. When I put new Michelins on the 930, I stuck with a 1.95 width so I could do some light trail riding if I wanted to. I'm riding a paved river trail for a good part of my commute that goes under major cross streets and freeways, so there's some downhill and uphill spots along the way. I'm finding the 930 faster downhill and carries more speed back uphill than the FX3. I'm wondering if the rotational mass of the heavier tires is helping to do that a bit.

Also, I haven't touched the FX3 yet. The wide hand grips are comfy for resting my palms when cruising, but I don't have any options for hand positions, so maybe changing up the bars might be in order.

I want pics of the 930. I love mine, though I don't ride it often enough.

I need to take more pictures of it as it sits now. This is the only one I've taken since it's come out of hibernation.

Nice.

Here's mine, a '94. I think. '95, duh!



On the Hammond Trail Bridge

I'll have to take some updated pics of mine. Interesting that mine's glossy and has a different font on the graphics. I've seen pics of both versions, both '94 models. I remember buying mine new... and putting it on the trunk rack on my brand new '94 Saturn!

Also, I spent a few more days this week commuting on my new FX3. While I'm on paved bike trails for a majority of the ride, I'm playing around with the portion that is on city streets to see what's fastest and presents the fewest hazards in traffic.

My speed has averaged out to match the 930, but I really want to add some hand positions to the FX3. With the "Isozone" grips, I'd need adapters to put any kind of bar ends on it. I'd like to try bullhorn bars, but most I've seen are pretty narrow, around 440mm wide, which wouldn't leave much room for the shifter and brake levers.

I rode the 930 to work this morning and will leave it in my office for a while as "art". I'll take the FX3 home.
Since that older picture, I've put the new Michelins on it, which I do like, along with new brake pads and new pedals. The original pedals had plastic guts and after 30 years, fell apart within the first few rides. The new MKS pedals are the closest I could find to replicate the look of the originals in all aluminum.

My old bar-ends were a bit scraped up, so I put these on it recently, same style as what I put on it when it was new. She's a great rider, but there's a bit of vague shifting here and there, so I'll replace the old cables soon and fine-tune the derailleurs. It's still all original STX, but the shifter/brakes were switched out years ago with Alivio stuff.

The braking surfaces on the rims are pretty shabby, but are clean, and bring back some memories... I rode her in the L.A. Marathon for a few years back in the mid-90s (they let bikes run the route before the runners. Might still do, but I don't know). Both times it was rainy and sorta grimey, so the brakes got pretty roughed up.

That's because mine's a '95 (I confused myself) when the colors were "dry ice".

EDIT: Check out Velo-Orange; they have a few variations on the bullmoose bar.

Good morning Everyone,

Thank you for all of your replies. It's good to know what everyone out there in the community is doing and recommends.

Just an updated from my end. I've been riding in to work fairly regularly over the past few months and it's been going pretty well. But I am still at the crossroads of either putting money into my 1995 ish Specialized Hard Rock or getting a different bike. My Hard Rock will need new shifters, probably new wheels, etc...

A recent (this past week) setback was two flat tires. Riding in to work last week, I arrived without an issue (I thought), but when I was ready to head out, I noticed my rear tire was flat. There was a small screw or nail in the tire. I got that repaired over the weekend and even put on a more puncture resistant tire. Halfway in I got another tire. Bigger screw/nail this time. Very upsetting. There is some construction on my route in, but the road looked fairly clear. I probably should change my route? Or just an unfortunate coincidence?

Either way, that got me to thinking about getting a bike with even stronger tires. My colleague has what I think can be classified as a fat tire bike. It looks super heavy, but I rode with him and he was pretty fast. I'm not the fastest biker in the world though. My preconception of a fat tire bike is that they are slow and involve a lot of effort to get up hills and things.

Maybe not a fat tire bike, but perhaps something like mountain bike tires would make sense for me?

I've been looking at Surly bikes lately and kind of like them. I thought that my bike "knew" I was looking and that's why I got the flat tires ...

Thanks again for all of your feedback. I appreciate it.

Hmm… ya know, I really haven’t given a lot of thought to flat repairs for my commuting. And I should, as I ride on city streets for part of it, and through a swath of homeless camps in another part along side a trail, and who knows what they can drop along the way.

I’m going to keep a few extra tubes and a pair of tire spoons at the office. Wouldn’t take but a few minutes to fix a flat if I had those and found a flat tire when I was ready to leave.

Been looking at the Velo Postino bars for an Electra Ticino I’m restoring. I wouldn’t mind a pair of bullhorn bars for my FX3, but everything I’m finding is pretty narrow, aimed at the fixie crowd, and pretty tight for space for brake levers, shifter, and my large hands.

If you want a truly flat-resistant wheel, look into solid rubber tires. Ride like a tank, but they can't flat.

Snarking aside, carry a spare tube, patch kit, and pump. Replace the tube on the first flat, and you'll have the patch kit if you get another flat. After you accumulate a half-dozen leaky tubes, have a patching day.

And take the flats you've already had as an indication you may want to watch the road a bit more carefully to avoid the trash that'll puncture your tire and tube.

I want to learn how to repair a flat, but especially for the rear tire it looks involved and something that I might not be able to do. How involved is changed a rear flat?

Also (and perhaps dumb question), if a nail goes through the tire, the tire should still be ok? Just the tube would either need to be patched and/or replaced?

Rear flat is just like a front flat, with one added complication -- getting the derailer out of the way and the chain off the cassette. (And the reverse when re-assembling.)

Small nail, no biggy. It's worth carrying a tire boot or a piece of Tyvek in case you run over a 3/8" self-tapping screw, or run a 16d nail through a sidewall.

Park Tool has a bunch of how-to articles (many with videos) on their website. Here are the ones describing tire/tube replacement and repairs.

https://www.parktool.com/en-us/blog/...&area%5B%5D=60

With most bikes, it's not that difficult. Easily done with a couple of tools.


It'll depend where that nail went in. As with car tires, damage (holes) at some spots can impact the tire's structural integrity.

On my own bike, a smaller nail or screw through the "bottom" of the tire will require tube repair or replacement. But it's been a long time since I bothered attempting to repair a tire. Most holes are so puny that it won't matter (except for having punctured the tube). Anything larger, and I just replace the tire.

Car tire shops have a repair method on the inside of the tire surface. DiscountTire (America's Tire), for example, uses a good-sized patch and a "glue" that essentially slightly welds together the patch and tire. I haven't looked, but I would be surprised if there aren't similar products for bike tires. Or perhaps a car tire shop would be willing to sell a half dozen of them to a bike owner.

Rear wheels are a PITA and where you'll get 99% of your flats (after all, that's where most of the weight is). I got tired of a string of flats, so I put a tire liner in my rear wheel. I carry a pair of nitrile gloves and a bandana (bandanas are mini towels and, as we all know, towels are the most massively useful things in the universe) because the process is unbelievably messy.

I'd practice taking wheels off and on, starting with flipping your bike; you may have a stand at home but not on the side of the road. After shifting into the smallest ring in the back and the biggest in the front, move or remove anything on the handlebars that could get mashed, bend over the bike and grab the seat stay and a fork blade, and flip it upside down. It does get easier with practice. Put something between your saddle and the ground to prevent scuffs, like your bandana. See? Already useful. I'm very lucky, in that my Maxxis DTH tires are supple enough that I can get them off and on with my hands.

This is only my opinion, but keep the HardRock. It's simple enough that you can learn to do pretty much any repair (and cheaper if you have a mechanic do it), and if you take care of it it will never fail you. You can mix and match parts, too, unlike modern bikes where everything is proprietary.

You might check out the Left Bank Bar; it's similar to one of the popular Nitto bars. Or maybe the Granola Bar.

Thanks but on the Ticino looking for something flat without too much pull-back. Going for a sporty vibe with it. For the FX3, if I were to replace the bars rather than get adapters for the Isozone dealios and bar ends, I’d want a bullhorn bar with forward-pointing ends. The widest I’ve found are around 450mm with a long taper down from the 31.8mm center that doesn’t leave much room for brakes, shifters and hands before they curve forward.

As far as debris on the road, it’s interesting that while lots of roads around me are frequently traveled by contractors and handymen who have screws and nails bouncing off their trucks, the specific streets on my commute are not and are relatively free of them. More likely a flat would come from a pothole or something someone dropped on the walk/bike trail portion of my route.

Tubes are cheap. I’d rather replace one and inspect the inside of the tire for something sharp than patch unless I was on the side of the road and stuck.

Understood. As for fixing flats, absolutely; swap tubes and repair at home.

Hi. I'm new here and I have recently acquired a Fuji Crosstown (serial number CF3E05067)
Can anyone tell me where I can learn what year this is? And how this bike is regarded?
Thanks! Sorry if this is the wrong place to post but I could find an appropriate thread for this question.
Marc Bossiere

You should take your time in making such life decisions and build a bond with your bike .My bike is my best friend!!!!

Look through the years until you find a match.
https://www.bicyclebluebook.com/valu...uji/Crosstown/

[QUOTE=curbtender;23328776]Look through the years until you find a match.


Thanks again for all of your replies.

Both of my flats were caused by nails. The first one was with a "regular" tire and the one a day later was with a more puncture resistant tire ($60 ish). I can see the screw in the tire. Are Maxxis tires pretty sturdy?

So, as I mentioned, I'm at a crossroads. Put may $500 into my Hard Rock or buy new/used new. If new/ used new, I am sort of interested in these fat tire/mountain bikes. Would those be tough ride up hills as compared to my Hard Rock?


Best regards,

Steph

As much as it pains me to say it, you need not dump $500 into your Hard Rock all at once. There probably isn't anything fundamentally wrong with it that steady incremental replacement with quality components wouldn't address at an as needed basis.

You will need basically everything eventually. Why not get your monies worth and learn some new skills while you are at it? The $500 you mention is probably to have a shop do the work. Just about every task on a bike can be done at home with very few tools and any special tools needed tend to be fairly in expensive.

You can re-cable a bike with housing for under $30-40. Brake pads will set you back -$25. A bottom bracket is ~$25 & the tool to do the job is around $12. Axle sets with cones and balls are ~$20 or so. The cone wrenches and axle vice to make the job easy are about the same...Boom! A new bike!

If it were me & I simply had to invent a reason to spend money on a commuter, it's be on a tubeless capable wheel set. Pull out the nail, shove in a DynaPlug if it didn't seal automatically and carry on as if nothing happened. I'd tell myself that all the times I avoided being late to work pencils out.

If you can make pancakes or bake bread, you can build a wheel. It is little more than following instructions. Once you have it laced, take it to a shop for a tune & true if you are unsure if your abilities.

Bike shops entire service model is to do what customers believe they can't or have no interest in learning. Customers are willing to pay dearly to remain ignorant. Learn a thing or two and there is simply no reason to justify a $500 spend on a Hard Rock...or any bike service for that matter.