Jesus. 2 weeks of riding in this stuff and my bottom bracket is going all crunchy :(

You gotta get into the weekly/bi-weekly overhaul. Get some thick rubber gloves, a bucket, some tools, and lube and work it out :P In all seriousness, this weather is dissolving chains, cables, rims, etc... I only hope you're not stuck with a loose bearing BB.

You can service sealed bearing BBs? I assumed you just rode them until they were dead...

I'm guessing take it off and clean all the dirt on the cartridge surfaces and wherever else, yeah?

My previous comment was wrong. Both cartridge and loose bearing types can be sealed, you cannot service a cartridge bearing.

No worries man. I woulda felt a bit stupid riding BBs into the ground if I coulda been working on them all along ;)

Yeah. My bike needs a tune-up. Brake isn't working, chain makes weird noises, headset slightly loose, bike full of salt stains... But it's too cold to do a proper job...

So did you guys heard about this Montrealer who crossed Canada by bike this winter?
http://www.leaderpost.com/story_prin...82146&sponsor=
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/loc...ss_canada.html
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/Ottawa...83956-sun.html
http://www.sudburystar.com/ArticleDi...aspx?e=1376594

Anyone watch Obama? It was a pretty amazing speech, IMHO.

That's a pretty amazing ride. A lot of the roads in the Rockies appeared like they would be closed in the winter. I'd hate to do the North of Superior route with cold wind blasting you.

Agreed! I definitely really like him and have very high hopes for him but I went into watching the speech thinking "what else could he possibly say better than he has already" but I think he managed to deliver a really impressive speech. I don't think I actually watched Bush's speech but I'd wager to say that this was a fair sight better.

I'm glad that he included us non-believers in the religious portion of his speech, we always get left out. ;)

What helmets are you chaps using? I've been going without one for ~3 months now but i think i want to start using one again. Will this one suffice? Don't want to spend too much money.

I felt that this was pretty significant too, I bet it pissed off a bunch of the fundies though. Biden's wife is hawt.

I use a giro atmos

It's expensive though

I've had cheaper helmets and ended up not wearing them because they tend to look silly. So I spent some dough on a higher end one because I knew I would actually wear it.

i know im late to the party, but Orange20 bikes in LA actually has 2 that they got from la carrerra.

infact, thats the only way they know of canada!

i'm sure that one will suffice.

on road i wear a catlike kompact... $250 (although i certainly didn't pay that)

off road i wear a pro-tec hardshell... $60 (give or take)

i find i rarely wear any helmet at all, at least in part because i don't want to carry it around when i get where i'm going... sounds ridiculous, i'm aware, the truth is almost any justification for not wearing a helmet is ridiculous, yet i'll still use about any justification because i rarely use a helmet.

i've got a vintage cinelli hairnet on the way in the mail but i'm not sure if it'll fit so it may end up as wall decoration... in fact, it may actually be more useful as wall decoration anyway. :) with that said, if it fits i'll probably use it; as much as it won't provide much impact absorption at all it would probably be better than nothing at all.

all helmets pass the same safety standards. more ventilation is nice, but otherwise safety wise they are all pretty good.

Thanks for the info. The atmos sure looks sexy though. And matt it's the same reason i ditched mine, couldn't be bothered to carry it around with me (and the fact that i've lost the pads and the tightening thing on the back was broken). I'll get that one from mec and use it at least in the winter when there is a greater chance of slipping.

i like how the monza fits me, but this site gave me some food for thought for helmet purchases:

(repost) http://www.helmets.org/helmet09.htm

I have a new in the box Bell helmet left over from my old stock. Red universal fit. You can have it for a 20 if ya want.

It looks retro and you won't get road rash on your head if it hits the ground....thats about it.

Good deal, what model and size is it?

Came out last night/this morning to get my bike and ride home to find that my driveside eggbeater spring had broken (it wasn't broke when I parked, so I suspect me trying to clip-in while it was cold (brittle?) snapped it.

Bit of a piss off, back to my Forte Campus pedals until the replacement arrives. Ho hum!

Those guys are so good about warranty stuff, I wouldn't be worried at all.

Question - when pulling up to a light with cyclist in front of you, is it not proper etiquette to line up behind? This is what I normally do, and it causes me rage when someone just pulls alongside the first person lined up or pulls in front. >:(

If I am in a hurry or the cyclist is slow, I will pull up alongside them in order to get ahead of them. But yeah, if it is just a "me first" kinda thing, it sucks. I must look slow because people pull up alongside of me all the time and it bugs me because 95% of the time, they are the ones going slow and I have to go into traffic to pass them.....

Near as I can tell I'm allowed the whole lane at any given moment, so it makes no sense to me to pull in behind another cyclist. I'll generally pull to the left side of the curb lane and then hook right-ish as I cross the intersection.

Not only do I not like being on the right at the corner, but I loath being behind another cyclist at the light and then having to find space to pass them in the curb lane off the light at rush hour, I feel that's just not safe for anyone concerned. I'll pass them ASAP. Granted if I so much as see a cyclist several blocks ahead, then ....... it's on anyway!!!! :lol:

I usually line up behind them, and it's not like i have a choice if there is a car on his left side already. I also always try to pass any cyclist i see and i succeed every time thanks to my fixie skillz.