Dukester said:"David L. Johnson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:What
else about these wheels is "not the greatest"?
Looks like they were painted black originally, and the paint is coming off
in spotty sections, particularly from th e brakes but even on the flat part
where the spokes meet the hub. I guess it's not a mechanical thing, more
"looks nasty" kind of thing. They are 700c wheels btw, "Maillard"? hubs.
Don't worry about them unless:
-They are out of true or not tight enough. If so, fix up according to
instructions in "The Bicycle Wheel".
-The sidewalls are worn out from braking, i.e. so that they are worn so
thin they are about to fail. Generally that's less than 0.5mm wall
thickness. Basically, worry if the brakes seem to have made the
sidewalls concave.
-They are cracking, especially around the spoke holes. The black colour
may very well be anodizing, which will tend to cause the rims to crack.
Quoted message said:One thing I'm not crazy about is a "Shimano Biopace" chainring, - it's
eccentricly shaped.
Easily changed for a round one. At your bike shop, Nashbar or look on
eBay- presumably yours uses a 130mm bolt circle diameter ring. They are
fairly expensive (about $30?) unless you get one on eBay.
Quoted message said:Another thing is the shifters have these
lockring things on them to tighten the cable, which never seems to get
tight, and slips. Not sure if the threads are worn out, haven't looked that
close.
I think you mean the little wire C or D-clips on the sides of the shift
levers that are used to tighten the pivot of the shift levers, not the
cable. Possible solutions:
-Lubricate (grease) the cables at the bend where they go around the
bottom bracket. I know, that seems to have nothing to do with it, but
in fact, if those cable guides are not lubricated, then pedalling
motion which slightly bends the frame makes those guides act like a
ratchet, which pulls the cable and shifts for you. Look up
"autoshifting" on sheldonbrown.com.
-Either remove the lubrication that they (the shift levers) have or add
a little bit of the lubrication (ordinary gear oil if you don't
disassemble them, grease if you do) that they don't have. Some work
best with, some without. After many shifts they may loosen a little and
need a little tightening again, but not too often and that's why the
adjustment is so easy to make.
Quoted message said:It needs a pretty good overhaul, new cables, all the grease in the hubs
repacked etc. While I've replaced things like th is before, I'm not *that*
mechanically savvy to know whether a derailler should be replaced or a
better mechanic adjusting it!
Unless the derailleur has been bent/twisted in an accident, then it
just needs adjustment. Read the FAQ for this newsgroup for suggestions
as to how to do it, and look to <www.sheldonbrown.com>, where you will
also find a copy of the FAQ.
Quoted message said:It's a 60cm from the best measurement I can take. My Atlantis is a 61 so
yeah, it could be a little larger. Here is a pic (so much for anonymity!)
of me on the bike showing fit (or lack th ereof).
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a6/dukes909/MVC-005F.jpg
This new photograph clearly shows that the bicycle was in a head-on
collision which bent back the front forks. Likely this is why you got
it for free.You are a big and heavy rider and so it seems imprudent to
use them as is, since if they fail during hard riding, game over.
Replacement forks are easy to find, typically all-chromed, to match any
colour paint job. Or, for more you could more easily find a carbon
replacement fork (about $100), which will save you some weight, but you
have to be careful about abrading or scratching it or having it suffer
damage in any way. They are very strong but not very hard. Only a few
people have died from their unexpected failure, out of the very many
that are using them.
Quoted message said:I guess I wanted an inex pensive roady for trying my legs in some races.
After buying the Atlantis my wife thinks it should be the end all be all of
bikes forever more for me. Ha!
Your wife has a point. However, for fun racing, the bicycle you have is
plenty, although no one races now without shift levers integrated into
the brake levers. Nevertheless the best change would be the tires,
which appear a little slow for even fun racing. Apart from bargain
sales, some of the best tires at some of the best (relatively speaking
for the class) prices are the Avocet slicks, for someone of your weight
perhaps the "Road" model (25mm), no Kevlar, or perhaps the similar 23mm
version, both available for I think $25 from Harris Cyclery,
<www.harriscyclery.com>. Or, more widely available and almost the same
thing and cheaper, IRC Triathlon. I think that one is only available
now with a Kevlar belt. They've been on sale at Nashbar for a while.
Oh, one more thing: before racing with that bike, learn the bike
handling skills you will need. And replace the fork or have it repaired
by a local framebuilder.
