Another weather rant - It's brutal here and it is interfering with my riding.

[danfoz]

Multi-quote time:

Originally Posted by limerickman

Being the curmudgeon that I am, I still manage to get out for the 2-3 hour spin every second or third day, despite the weather.

You sir, are a hero.

Originally Posted by Volnix
Not saying that she looks like 50kg of chewed bubblegum but...

I had to put my reading glasses on for this one. Liz Hurley is still so fine.

Young guys don't understand this yet, but while the spring chiks are nice to look at and may be fun to hang with when the booze is flowing and the music's loud, they bore us to tears the morning after when we are conversing over the eggs I've so generously prepared for them...

 

[urge2kill]

Originally Posted by danfoz
This.

I didn't actually ride. I'm still replacing and fixing things because I finally have the time to learn how to do it.

• The pieces that lock my saddle in place are rusty as all hell. My crankset is rusty as all hell. I just got a rain cover, and I plan to start using it!
• Metal is exposed on my aluminum and chromoly parts.
• I'm considering a new fork and a threadless stem. She came with a quill stem.
• My current fork couldn't accept the recessed nut on my new calipers, so I had to acquire my first drill and a large enough titanium drill bit.
• The brake bridge of my aluminum frame will need this modification too, but I'm starting to worry that modifying it will make it unstable because aluminum isn't elastic.

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

This is becoming a nice thread about nothing - I like it. EH still looks pretty good to me. Hard to believe she is a month older than I am.

 

[Volnix]

Quote:
Originally Posted by danfoz .
Young guys don't understand this yet, but while the spring chiks are nice to look at and may be fun to hang with when the booze is flowing and the music's loud, they bore us to tears the morning after when we are conversing over the eggs I've so generously prepared for them...


Yeah, keep saying that to your self when in the next day the 50yo beauty applies her make up with a putty-knife and attempts to stab you because you lit a cigarette next to her clothes...

I bet it would be looots of fun to be with one of those...

Would still "do" Bebe though...

One thing is for sure, she is not a hobbit! (She might be hairy but it doesn't mean she's a hobbit...)

Quote:
Originally Posted by urge2kill .

• My current fork couldn't accept the recessed nut on my new calipers, so I had to acquire my first drill and a large enough titanium drill bit.

A drill? You used a drill on the fork? Like they aren't dangerous enough allready...

 

[limerickman]

Originally Posted by danfoz
Multi-quote time:

You sir, are a hero.

This.




I had to put my reading glasses on for this one. Liz Hurley is still so fine.

Young guys don't understand this yet, but while the spring chiks are nice to look at and may be fun to hang with when the booze is flowing and the music's loud, they bore us to tears the morning after when we are conversing over the eggs I've so generously prepared for them...

You flatter me, Dan

 

[urge2kill]

Originally Posted by Volnix

A drill? You used a drill on the fork? Like they aren't dangerous enough allready...

Is the smiley to express sarcasm?

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by urge2kill

Is the smiley to express sarcasm?

You prefer a graph?

Seriously though, it might be a bad idea to drill the fork with a lazer, never mind the handheld drill bit...

 

[urge2kill]

Where did you find the graph?

I'm under 150 Ibs (68 kg), and my bag is usually around 15 Ibs (6.8 kg), rarely exceeding 30 Ibs (13.6 kg).

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by urge2kill
Where did you find the graph?

I'm under 150 Ibs (68 kg), and my bag is usually around 15 Ibs (6.8 kg), rarely exceeding 30 Ibs (13.6 kg).

I just googled for a "FEM analysis of bicycle fork". It just shows that the most stressed part of the fork is near where the brake block is secured with the bolt.

It's probably better to find a brake block that is fastened using a different bolt that fits your fork, or just use another fork for the brake block you are using or something. Making alterations to the fork might weaken it.

Doesnt really matter how much you weigh as long as you are within the design specifications of the bike manufacturer. Some manufactures just require different brake pads for comforming with the quality standards for heavier loads, but:

Basically what happens is that the quality control for bikes, at least here in the EU just requires a bike to go through 100,000 cycles of loads, less then the plastic deformation loads that are needed to provide a catastrophic failure, in order to get an EN-xxxx comformity mark. This is not realistic as this value is kinda the ammount of 2 days cycling.

So the manufacturers can design bikes pretty much as unsafe as they like and still get an EN-xxxx quality certification.

Racing bicycles - Safety requirements and test methods:
http://rousebicycles.com/pdfs/EN14781.pdf

I suspect that something similar is happening with BS standards and the CPSC standards...

If you drill a component, you might or may not weaken it. In fact some hollow circular hollow sections actually have better bending strength over some solid circular sections. But:

If you used a hand held drill then you might have created some tiny cracks that would be the start of a fatigue related catastrophic failure. Aluminium is especially prone to such failures on it's own allready.

Drills on such stuff is usually made when the components are in clamps and usually not by commercial grade drills - drill bits.


So basically in order to summarize it:

THIS IS WHATS GONNA HAPPEN!!!

 

[jhuskey]

Molto bello, Spring training begins. Well at least I had a couple of good days on the road.

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

26 degrees F here. With a windchill of about 10. And this is the warmest day of the week - highs about 10-12 end of the week.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

14° for a low tonight and it might get up to 25° tomorrow.

@ Volnix: Nice shop! DOOM! Knee Deep in the Death Forks or The Shores of Hell's Tuning Forks!

 

[urge2kill]

Wear a coat/jacket (or two), a balaclava under your helmet, a few layers of gloves/mittens, and 1-2 wool socks. It might get uncomfortable if you sweat, but it's enough for riding in temperatures down to 10 F. Note: I have never worn wool socks under cycling shoes. I have normal pedals.

If you don't have a balaclava, you can make one from a beanie with thread-cutting scissors.
Shift the balaclava toward one side, toward the direction you turn to glance behind yourself. A larger hole for the eyes is better.
There's also a problem with the balaclava collecting the moisture from your breath, which can facilitate rapid cooling that, ironically, must be countered with a constant supply of more warm breath. I haven't experimented with larger/smaller/absent mouth/nose-hole, but larger hole is probably the way to go since your primary concern is your ears.

Put wider tires on for more traction.
Most importantly, don't try to ride over any stretch of ice, no matter how small. You WON'T make it across right side up.

 

[urge2kill]

caffeine withdrawal headache

 

[jhuskey]

I have caffeine withdrawal from 1978.

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

I should give it up, it's my only vice. The artificial sweeteners are the worst. I would be better off just to pop vivarin or nodoze instead of drinking diet pop.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Quote by JH:
"I have caffeine withdrawal from 1978."

I suggest Dunkin through an IV hookup. It only got down to 19° last night, thar be arctic air blowing into the midwest!

Frost line here is about 28". Doing some digging yesterday it appears that even after this cold winter the ground is frozen only about 12".

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

Yeah, the ground can't freeze too deep due to the heavy insulating snowpack. We had snow cover in Nov, a brief thaw first week of Dec, and since then no melting to speak of. Definitely one of the most persistent snow packs in years here.

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

I guess I could try freebasing Vivarin.

 

[urge2kill]

Originally Posted by MotownBikeBoy

I should give it up, it's my only vice. The artificial sweeteners are the worst. I would be better off just to pop vivarin or nodoze instead of drinking diet pop.

Caffeine is healthy in moderation. Get it from plain coffee or tea. Coffee has more caffeine, but tea has more antioxidants and it keeps your immune system on its toes.

All fueled up!