JNorm

Thats sorta still up in the air. My buddy who would be driving down with me rides a Shogun steel chromium frame with all the original components. This bike is old man. It's actually older than he is. The problem is his derailleur is starting to kick the bucket and he can't put any real torque on the pedals without slipping a gear. This usually isn't too much of a problem for our casual rides but if this is going to be a real hilly ride, it'll probably be an issue for him. I think he was going to try to either buy a new derailleur or get the shop guys to fix his sometime this week.

Long story short, I don't really feel like driving all the way down there by myself, so if his bike is out of commission, I don't think I'll be coming. I'll try to keep you guys posted though

GuitarWizard

It's only like a 2 hour drive

JNorm

True, but its a long boring 2 hours when its just me

Homebrew01

I feel your pain .... My kids aren't babies, but I still have the same problem, even though I probably spend as much time with them during the week. She's already gone to work, and I have to get them up, make breakfast, pack their lunch & get them off to day camp ......... How selfish of me to abandon my family for a 2 hour bike ride Saturday morning !!

Homebrew01

Sounds more like a chain - cassette issue. Time for a new cassette (or freewheel) and chain. Do them both together. New chains on old cogs almost always skip.

No matter how bad the derailleur, if the cable is tight, it shouldn't slip. The only derailleur thing I can think of is that the pulley bushings are really worn or broken so that they are flapping around and not guiding the chain properly. Not likely, but at least new pulleys would be pretty cheap. Either way, doesn't sound too complicated

eippo1

I wish I could, but that weekend sucks for me. Too much going on.

JNorm

Hmm... ok, I'll talk to him about that Brew. I bet a chain+cassette is loads cheaper than a new derailleur

Homebrew01

Neither one should be that expensive. If it's an old friction shifter setup, then basically any derailleur will work. An old Shimano or Suntour hanging around the shop should be fine. It probably has a 6-speed freewheel, and I would think that most shops have some kicking around that would work. It's pretty easy to mix and match the older stuff.

Ryleeryno

Tell him I've got a nice, 1 year used, Ultegra 9spd gruppo for him.

GuitarWizard

There's always the following weekend too

golfduke

anyone want to drag a newbie to the road cycling world around these parts? It would be a privelage for me to get dropped by a group of BF'ers haha.

Seriously though, while I am not sure I can hang on the mountains, I would love to at least try. I'll be commuting from the manchester, NH area if anyone wants to carpool.

Thanks a lot,
Paul

GuitarWizard

It's ok, there's no mountains on this ride. Only hills .

It will be a fairly social/relaxed pace.

JNorm

Thats what BDG said too...

Hey Paul, I'm from Manch too, maybe we could work something out?

golfduke

Sure... I can drive if you like, it makes no difference to me. I live in Weare, so it would be best to maybe meet in your area and go from there.

JNorm

Cool cool. Do you have a bike rack? Also, would you be able to accomodate a friend of mine who was planning to drive down with me? I have a rack but it attaches to a trailer hitch.

fprintf

If there are other newbies going to be there I might be in... I was planning on doing 100 miles on Sunday but this sounds like a good ride. Question - is there any way *around* the really big hill section (10 - 12%)? If not, how badly will I get ribbed if I need to get off and walk it? I only have a 300 - 400 hundred miles under my belt and definitely have a tough time with steep grades in my 39/25 lowest gear. I am getting better but I am specifically skipping the Tour of Litchfield Hills because of the last 25 miles of killer hills (or so I am told).

JNorm

Lol no worries fprintf, I'm not much of a climber myself.

golfduke

I have a hitch rack, although it is a bit old it gets the job done... no problem with your other friend, I can fit up to 5. want to meet somewhere neutral or just at your house (pm with directions)?

JNorm

I'll PM you

GuitarWizard

Feel free to walk if it's that bad....there will be constant regrouping on the climbs, I am sure. Go at a pace that you're comfortable with, not what other people are doing. I also have sort of an alternate route as a backup that gains 800 less vertical feet overall (and 53 miles versus 55) if some people are really having issues. It splits off just before the Rte. 244 route (which is pretty hilly), so if people are totally wiped, we can do the flatter route home. There still will be climbing, particularly getting back up to UCONN....but not quite as bad.

Or you can get a nice compact crankset between now and then from your local shop, along with a 12-27 cassette

GuitarWizard

Bummer - ever ridden on Block Island? It's not too bad....hard to get into a rythym though with all the small hills, and you can ride around it in a fairly short amount of time. Gotta go parasailing though while you're there....that was pretty cool.

GuitarWizard

There's another ride the weekend of the 11th too

Ryleeryno

So what's the tally for Sunday so far?

JNorm

You mean saturday

GuitarWizard

Saturday, dude.....I'll be at the Tour of the Litchfield Hills on Sunday.