ThermionicScott 

Today I said "Bye Felicia" to winter and installed the Naches Passes on the fixed-gear:



42mm of cushy goodness!

@SquidPuppet

SquidPuppet

Details dude.

phobus

Today I told my wife I was going for a 2 hour ride, and came back 3.5 hours later. She wasn't even mad.

ThermionicScott 

First off, it always makes me happy to see tan sidewalls on my bike again. Secondly, cushy tires mess with my head every time! The Nokian Mount & Grounds that I spent about 650 miles on this year are the complete opposite of supple, and add a ton of "buzz" due to the studs. So the NPs felt a little draggy at first, with the instinctual look down to make sure they hadn't gone flat. The fact that I switched from winter gearing (59") to summer gearing (71") at the same time is probably part of it. But as I did my 27-mile ride yesterday, I gradually stopped noticing them, and had no trouble keeping up with anyone in the group.

I did notice that my NDS crank was glancing off the chainstay, which was odd. This set of Sugino GLPs on a 104mm bottom bracket has always had minimal clearance, but I'm not sure what changed. Maybe I knocked the bike over to the left side some time ago, and didn't notice until I had smooth tires? A few swipes with a flat file, and I've bought myself a little more time until I have to figure out a solution that won't throw off my chainline...

ThermionicScott 

Today I got to try an Alenax:

bmwjoe

This weekend I completed the 2018 PA Fleche on the "Sinister Nuts" team. It was 5 guys on fixed gear bikes. Four of us are around 60 and the kid was 47.

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/22366990

Great time riding through the night.

Ride Safe,
Joe

SquidPuppet

Verdict? Awkward? Fun?

TimothyH

Jobst Brandt said, "The Alenax is a great example of an outsider inventing a solution to a perceived problem, creating something that is useless for the intended user. Much money was thrown into the design and manufacture of the Alenax, and several years of bicycle-show attendance with many models. As soon as you ride it, you'll realize why it doesn't work."

So, how did it work for you? What was your impression?
And where was this thing that you got to ride it?

ThermionicScott 

My brother picked it up at a local garage sale for $20! It had apparently spent most of its life hanging up in a bike shop as a curio. A very low-miles bike.

Yes, and yes! The first time I put a leg over it, I chickened out and had to think about it a little more, because I was sure I'd crash before I figured out the motion. Once I got a few more treadle-strokes in, it started to make sense and I took longer and longer excursions up and down the block.

Shifting is interesting -- there are four speeds, and you use a friction shifter to adjust where the ends of the chain catch on the levers. If the shift cables aren't perfectly adjusted, it's easy to end up in a situation where one treadle is one gear higher than the other.

Although he didn't say it outright, I wonder if some of Jobst's vehement opposition was due to concern that riding one of these things would get in the way of learning how to ride a regular bike if the person was new to it, or if spending time on the Alenax would "de-train" someone from regular bike muscle memory, at their peril.

I thought it was fun by the end -- I want my brother to bring it on club rides to mess with people.

SquidPuppet

Now that would be funky.

ThermionicScott 

It's a weird feeling. This bike was "almost" perfectly adjusted, but each shift was a "clunk-clunk" where the resistance was temporarily different for each leg. Supposedly, the fact that the two treadles could be set to different resistances was billed as a feature for folks with physical impairments. [citation needed]

phobus

That's not a bug, that's a feature!™

Broctoon

Wait, this contraption was invented by Microsoft?

WesleeC

Get to ride to work in perfect weather.

bonsai171

Today I figured out the creaking noise while pedaling my fixed gear. Turns out it was slightly loose pedals, not the crank. It is usually something other than the crank. Had the bb tool, crank puller, and torque wrench all ready to go.. Fixed in 2 seconds with an Allen wrench

TimothyH

Today I hit 2000 miles and about 87,000 feet climbing for the year.

seau grateau

Nice. I'm almost to 1000 miles and just over 54k feet of climbing so far. I intended on being a lot further along but life had other plans.

UltraManDan

Nicely done Tim! I am just over 1100 for the year, but only 21,000 ft of elevation Thanks Florida

bonsai171

You can have some of the Atlanta hills if you want.. There's a 30% climb I want to try!

50voltphantom

I'm happy because I eliminated the BB creak on my Steamroller.

UltraManDan

I would love to ride in Georgia! My sister lives just outside of Atlanta, but I never find time to bring the bike when I visit.

Quiet riding is so much nicer! My stem creak is gone as well and it is a lot better riding.

50voltphantom

By an order of magnitude.

SquidPuppet

I know that was driving you nuts for a long time and you tried a lot of things to fix it. So I'm curious, what was the magic bullet?

50voltphantom

Swapped out the Phil BB I had originally used on my last Steamroller for a generic one. I never had problems with it in my previous 'roller but every since I took it out of that frame I've haven't been able to get it to run quiet. My previous Steamroller had a different Phil BB in it when it was stolen and that one had no issues. The one I took out yesterday made noise in both of my new bikes I've tried it in. The crank tapers showed some slight gouging from the end of the spindle but it's working well now. Not sure what was going on.

bonsai171

If you are near northwest Georgia, you could come ride with Tim and myself on the Silver Comet Trail. It's 62 miles, and 2% grade. Great for riding fixed:

Silver Comet Trail Georgia - Welcome