You should call that wheel "the proselytizer" for all of the conversions it has led to

Hoping I can make it out for a DSR (road) ride one of these weeks -- what's the usual start time?

6:30 meet; 6:45 start

awesome ride to hamilton, kinda cold but worked great with the workout, little traffic (one old lady started honking at me for riding on the road, and was very startled when i gave her the finger and told her to, and i quote, "SUCKIT"). some beautiful paved roads out side of toronto, butter smooth and perfect for doing 35km/h on... then it happen a flat... not just a flat, a shredded tire, it had a good life, 2 years in Toronto (same tube) never got a flat, survived the countless rides with less then perfect psi, dropping curbs, the odd 2 set (rolling down, of course)... but not 100m into Burlington i get a flat, 1 big slash (like 1cm long and big enough for the tube to pop through) and one hole straight through, and countless small holes, some through the kevlar belt...
While im fixing my flat (minor problem, i forgot my tire lever +wire bead *dumbass*) a group of roadies rocks by, not one asked if i needed help, kinda lame, i always try and give a hand when i see a bike in need...

but apart from the flat... it was a KICKASS ride, so much fun i overshot the city by like 10km because there mutiuse path kicks ass




and yea, what they say, convert for your first fixie... cheap and you get to do it yourself

duude, that makes me want to ride to hamilton now =(.

Group rides are done for the season, methinks. Wednesdays are back to being sprints at the Ex. Tuesdays are dirt rides.

Brad: I'll likely be in there again on Thursday evening.

I just saw this on the Kingston CL, a Soma Rush with BB and headset for a pretty good price (I think it is a good price---is it?). Maybe it will suit someone's needs...

https://kingston.en.craigslist.ca/bik/638394008.html

i need to tune my MTB up and get out to DSR dirt

I'm with Wes... really fun ride and it was great to see portions of the trail I haven't ridden in a while. It was especially fun to "beta test" some freshly cut trail that's not yet ready for prime time.

Thurs will be good for me.

Man that sucks a lot, nerdsgirth - any idea what street(s)? I'll keep an eye out.

I took Dufferin down (well, and up for a nice burn) from my buddy near St. Clair again, man that's a great hill - this time it didn't scare the hell out of me with the cadence

I rode in the Taylor Creek a few times the past few days, once to get into East York from the DVP (I may or may not have ridden on the highway while it was closed *cough*) and another to cut through to the cookie factory - I had trouble the second time, getting out of the valley up the rough hills, but even with ~71GI I got up there - *just* (threw the chain shortly after, my tension got all ****ed up somewhere in there ) which brings me to my question of the moment...

How often do you guys alter/adjust your fixed/SS chain tension? Mine seems to be slacking off after around 400 miles - am I not tightening properly, or is this 'normal'? I was/am scared of overtightening, to be honest.

Are there any plans for the group rides to be held on another night? I love the sprints, but enjoyed having the roll around town, too - it'd be nice to have it still as well as the sprints.

Also I just checked ol' Facebook...

Happy Birthday TJ!

Yeah TJ!!!! Happy Birthday!

About sprints, we won't be having them every week this year. We are going to mix things up a little just to keep it fresh. We will call it from week to week but tonight and next week sprints are on based on the weather cooperating.

Thanks homie. I rode straight from edit: Cycle Therapy up Carlaw or another side street to Dundas, West to Broadview, north to Bloor and west to UofT. I was meaning to put up some "have you seen me" signs enroute lasnight but was too tired. Too bad, that route is so heavily traveled.

I just check the tension whenever I lube/clean my chain (which I basically do every week of riding, assuming normal weather conditions), or if it feels loose enough that it annoys me while track-standing. You're afraid of over tightening the nuts? Or the chain? Either way, I check mine far more regularly than every 400 miles.

Speaking of lube AND 400 miles, I just used this stuff on the Roger last night: https://www.pedros.com/products_bikecare.htm. Seems pretty nice. Hopefully it'll attract less dust from the trails than a wet lube.

Cycle Solutions? Or Cycle Therapy?

Muh ... *blows nose* ... *wobbles*

you can go it pretty cheap if you're handy with a spoke wrench; strip all the parts off it (derailleurs etc) take off the freewheel and screw on a track cog and redish the rear wheel. voila! total out of pocket cost would be about $30. you've got most of the parts already.

+1 on the DIY conversion.
However you do need to know a bit about bikes. Checking chainline and either dishing a wheel or swapping BBs can be tricky of you do it for the first time. Bike are simple overall but full of idiosyncrasies.

i used to use that pedros stuff all the time. no complaints really but it still prefer triflow of finish line for it's stay-on-ability...

how do you guys clean your chains anyway? do you all own one of those little chain cleaning deelies, or what?

no matter how much i clean mine it always rains the next day =(. Ive spent twenty minutes on it and can still hear the toronto grit in there.

I was worried about over tightening the wheel bolts in the dropouts.

I'm due for a clean and lube anyway, last weekend thrashed it hard with all that lovely rain gunk. Good to know re: milage, maybe I need to clean/lube each week as well - I wasn't that diligent with my roadie, perhaps I ought to be.

I have the MEC chain cleaning thing and their bio-cleaner stuff, for the fixie I'll remove the chain and pop it into an old bottle with the chain cleaning fluid, then go at it with a toothbrush. When I leave the chain on a bike, it usually gets a dose of soap and water after the chain cleaner as well. I use Triflow for lube, too. I've found this cleaner and fluid works really well for me, bear in mind I pretty much only stay on the streets, there's rarely any offroad grime for me to deal with.

nope - the chain on a fixie (fixie) doesn't have enough slack in it to run it through one of those cleaners. just wipe it down and add some fresh lube.

I bought a giant container of bio-degreaser and put it into a spray bottle. A lot of the time I'll do what J does and just wipe it down, add fresh lube, work it in/let it sit, and then wipe it again. If it's particularly nasty I spray the drivetrain with some degreaser first, let it sit for a few minutes and then wipe it down (or spray it down with the hose if I'm doing a full-bike clean) and let it dry off before applying lube.

I also picked up a great thing for when there isn't a hose handy (eg. at races):

Keith turned me on to that RockNRoll stuff, but I don't know who carries it now. I wipe and occasionally spray it all clean at the car wash. Thanks for all the birthday greetings!!!

cool, ive never bothered investing in one of those chain cleaners, so thats what ive been doing. I think its likely time for a new chain as well, the one I have on the bike now is years old, and not very quiet anymore..

To clean my chain I spray some WD-40 (I have the biodegreaser too but the spray is more convenient), wipe the chain with a rag, wipe it again, and add a drop of oil on each link spin the chain a bit, and wipe it again carefully.

I tried the trick where you remove the chain then shake it in a bottle w. degreaser. I found the chain to squeak more after that. I think that cleans it too well and it's difficult to put the lubricant back between the rollers and pins. Plus I'm sloppy with a chain tool.

Oh and fenders/muflaps help a lot to keep the chain cleaner after a ride on wet roads. I could tell/hear the difference after I installed fenders.