Went out for Vietnamese for lunch with friends then went for a 26km fixie ride. Stopped for coffee in the middle and then got soaked when a thunderstorm hit about 10 minutes from home. Riding in hail hurts.

Today I'm being stalked on the internet.

It's really creepy, so much so that I'll have to take a nap soon.


-Tim-

Today I got my 1988 Trek 400 in the mail that I bought off ebay. Can't wait for this build to kick off. Gonna convert it from the downtube shifters to a 105 groupset.

Downtubes are awesome. Who doesn't want to take their hands off the bars and eyes of the road ahead to shift??? I mean sure it is no Cambio Course (a complex system that shifted from the rear stays) but it is still pretty good ; )

Though I do admit my old Cilo is a fun ride. Something magical about something older like that when your low gear was 42 in the front and you shifted off the bars.

You don't have to take your eyes off the road once you get used to it.

I used to have an 88 400 Triple. Kinda whippy frame in the BB area for me back then. I'd probably like it now that I've developed a taste for squishy frames.

My favorite part was that it fit CX tires no problem

I guess not so much but I still tend to do it sometimes, then again I don't ride downtubies often and the Cilo has been hanging in the shop for over a month because I haven't had the time to work on it.

Haven't taken it out on the road yet, but I want to ride it around for sometime before I make the switch. I've seen some videos on YouTube of people riding them through the city and shifting through the gears. Looks like fun!

When pedaling the bike with my hand to 'cycle' through the gears, I noticed the big chainring isn't completely round. Almost like those osymetric chainrings just not as noticeable. Was this kind of thing commonplace on the bikes of this era?

Yep. Biopace et al were big in the mid-late 80s. IIRC my 400T had SR Sakae Ovaltech rings on it.

Ugh, Biopace everywhere. My Shogun had Biopace rings before I SS'ed it.

Today I had fun at the track, but on the ride to and from I encountered three drivers going in reverse in bike lanes. Who lets these people off their leashes?

Oh man, that stuff sends me into rabid vigilante mode. I'm usually the most mild-mannered person you could meet, but people who are willing to severely burden/endanger others to bring even a tiny bit of benefit to themselves just explode my sense of restraint.

Your memory is right - Trek 400's (including the T model) of the time were specced with SR Oval-Tech cranksets & models higher up the line were Biopace

While we are on the subject...
Fun Fact: Sugino also offered its own elliptical crankset around the same time called Cycloid

Today I rode 30 miles at night.

Slightly chilly - needed arm warmers and gilet. Hardly a car on the road. Light died just as I was pulling into the neighborhood.

Sublime.


-Tim-

Finished up a successful project, had lunch with some old friends, then relaxed in a nearby park.

Today I replaced the 42T chainring on my Salsa Casseroll 7-speed IGH townie with a 38T, lowering my gearing by about 10%. So, my gear range changed from 37.7-92.2 to 34.1-83.5. I rarely used the 92.2 top gear and there are a few short but very steep hills where I can definitely use a lower first gear. Since I ride this bike with platform pedals and no foot retention, I cannot pull up on the pedals when climbing, so lower gearing is required.

Neato! The Casseroll was a cool frame very versatile frame.

That doesn't look like a single speed neighborhood.

What's the matter bro--don't you lift?

Guys that climb for entertainment trip me out. I mean, I get it that they enjoy the workout. I just get along better with hills when I'm descending.

Today I took my trek 400 for a little whip around town, about 7 miles total. Learned a little about it, shes a bit squirrelly, and sometimes shifting from the 3rd ring to the 4th, nothing happens. I have to go up two then back down one. It could probably be fixed in 5 min with some adjustment to the rear derailleur but I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to geared bikes. So I'll just leave it how it is until something breaks.

Today I led a social group ride of around 30 riders and had a hotshot in a Miata try to cut the group in half and damn near run folks off the road.

Patience is a virtue, as is not pulling drivers from cars...

biked around trying to diagnose cog sound :/

Today I stumbled across a funny article.




https://bedrocksandals.com/blogs/adv...ois-no-problem

I think those sandals (and Rivendell bikes, for that matter) are cool. Really there isn't any form or mode of cycling that I don't think is cool. What I don't get is the beratement of competitive cyclists. Is it a marketing thing? Like, why bother?

I could potentially be a patron of Riv' and the like - but the negativity turns me off. Not all of my bikes are plastic rockets.