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[jakonovski]

Better living through science! I might just get one for Christmas, the 600W version is available on the German Amazon. Despite all the biking, I still eat all the horrible crap I always do, and it's probably holding me back.

In other news, first snow today! 10cm or so. Had to take the freshly serviced Savile back home on a train, then I went for a ride on the mtb. It was great and way more tractiony than I'd imagined. It also destroyed my legs in 40 minutes trying to ride at normal cadence on the usual gear.

 

[Norfair]

Makes me wish we got better weather here for biking. This 2°F weather when I wake up isn't really motivating me much.

 

[jts]

So I'm kind of a noob and I've had a mountain bike for roughly half a year. I ride it almost every day.

Here's the thing. One time, I removed the stem cap to take the headset off, but then I was dumb enough to screw the stem bolt BEFORE putting back the cap.

Problem is, by going in too deep, the bolt got stuck. Now it spins and spins but it doesn't come off.

But I've been riding the bike like that since, without the cap. The star nut inside developed some rust.

I just want to remove that star nut, but for a while I will be without an star nut inside the tube.

I must say, I really don't understand its importance. I've been reading a bunch and I just got more confused. I don't even understand what preloading the bearings mean. How does a star nut makes any difference if it's just a bit with a screw hole to keep a cap on the steerer tube.

Anyway, can I just try to remove the star nut and can I ride my bike without it? I've been riding without the cap, so would it make any difference?

The fork is a SR Suntour XCR.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Psychotext]

Preloading the bearings means that essentially you've got the fork in straight and there's even pressure on the bearings (allowing it to turn without notchyness / excessive movement). You can do it without the nut, but it's a fair bit harder. It's not "just a screw hole", it pulls the entire fork upwards towards the cap.

As long as you don't unbolt the stem, you should be fine to have it like this for a while... however, if you want to get the star nut out, you're going to have to either cut / drill it apart in place (far from easy), or take the fork off (meaning you'll probably want another star nut to put it back). This is because the star nut is designed to only go one way, which is what allows you to tighten it. You can punch it down the tube a bit, and put another one in on top of it should you want.

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/star-fangled-nut-installation
http://gearinches.com/blog/how-to/how-to-remove-a-star-nut

 

[jts]

Preloading the bearings means that essentially you've got the fork in straight and there's even pressure on the bearings (allowing it to turn without notchyness / excessive movement). You can do it without the nut, but it's a fair bit harder. It's not "just a screw hole", it pulls the entire fork upwards towards the cap.

As long as you don't unbolt the stem, you should be fine to have it like this for a while... however, if you want to get the star nut out, you're going to have to either cut / drill it apart in place (far from easy), or take the fork off (meaning you'll probably want another star nut to put it back). This is because the star nut is designed to only go one way, which is what allows you to tighten it. You can punch it down the tube a bit, and put another one in on top of it should you want.

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/star-fangled-nut-installation
http://gearinches.com/blog/how-to/how-to-remove-a-star-nut

Thanks!

In that case I'll order a new nut on ebay or something and keep the thing like that in the meanwhile.

During the whole operation I managed to ruin my front brake cable so I'll have to replace that seems fairly easy though. Part of the learning process, I guess.

 

[jakonovski]

Snow's all packed in now so it's easy riding again. Regular knobbly tyres are doing fine for now, but I think that I'll get Ice Spikers ASAP anyway. For peace of mind if nothing else.

 

[Psychotext]

I'd really like to try riding on snow... though realistically on a fat bike.

 

[Mascot]

Just... Thanks BikeGAF. I really appreciate you guys. I've been drinking.

 

[Psychotext]

Cheers.

 

[Mascot]

Guinness. Semi healthy.
Cracked the first Glenmorangie of the season though. It's all downhill from here. Legs are gonna burn tomorrow.

 

[Darth Pinche]

Gorgeous brisk ride today. Love the Fall in the Pacific Northwest!

 

[Psychotext]

Nice leaves. I have that very same fork.

 

[Mascot]

Yeah, the colours in the woods right now are amazing.

 

[thomaser]

Planned to get up early and go for a ride. Woke up at 15.30. Dammit, that's not how it was supposed to be.

 

[Psychotext]

Planned to get up early and go for a ride. Woke up at 15.30. Dammit, that's not how it was supposed to be.

Holy shit. Did someone drug you or something?

 

[thomaser]

Holy shit. Did someone drug you or something?

It happens once in a while. Stress at work and general lack of sleep is the likely culprit.

I'm wishing for a gift card at a sports store for Christmas, so I can buy a trainer. That way I could still "ride" when it's dark out. Most of my bike-friends use Tacx-trainers with virtual reality capabilities and multiplayer. Anyone here familiar with the i-Vortex? I've read they can be really finicky and frustrating to set up correctly.

 

[Psychotext]

You don't really need anything like that these days what with "virtual power". hell, there's even a game which utilises the idea now: http://zwift.com/

 

[thomaser]

You don't really need anything like that these days what with "virtual power". hell, there's even a game which utilises the idea now: http://zwift.com/

That looks fun. But I'd most like to try some of those dvds with real footage of famous courses.

 

[Psychotext]

You can do that with trainerroad: http://www.trainerroad.com/third-party-video

 

[thomaser]

Thanks for the help!

My local stores only sell Tacx-trainers, but it seems I can use them with the Trainer Road software. Not with Zwift, though.

 

[Psychotext]

I think Zwift is still pretty early on in beta. If you want to read some more on trainers, this is a pretty good place to start: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/11/2014-winter-trainer-recommendations.html

 

[jakonovski]

Welp, now the snow melted and it's a world of mud. Rode to work and had to wash both myself and the bike.

 

[Mascot]

Welp, now the snow melted and it's a world of mud. Rode to work and had to wash both myself and the bike.

I had to hose myself (and the bike) down on the driveway after this afternoon's mud-fest. I don't normally mind but it was bloody freezing. Gorgeous day for it though, but the temperature took a steep nosedive when the sun went down.

Crappy sunset silhouette selfie from the ride home along the coastal path:

 

[Psychotext]

I was just introduced to the concept of microbursts on the trainer. Dear god, I'm not looking forward to ever doing those again. =/

 

[Psychotext]

Just got a set of Bontrager XR4 team issue. The 2.2s are massive... and I've left the 2.35 in its packaging for now as I think it might be TOO BIG.

 

[Mascot]

Just got a set of Bontrager XR4 team issue. The 2.2s are massive... and I've left the 2.35 in its packaging for now as I think it might be TOO BIG.

Let me know how you get on with them. I need to bin these Conti MK2s - I like the rolling resistance and mud grip but I'm having far too many hawthorn punctures.

 

[thomaser]

Bought a pair of winter wheels with studs. Suomi/Nokian Extreme 294. So many studs. Bet I can bike on an ice rink with these. Cost me around £100, so I expect a lot.

Just changed tires. The first time I've done it, spent well over an hour. The old ones were a bitch to get off.

Also got some mud guards (Topeak Defender), and will buy waterproof tights tomorrow. So now I'm all set for the winter. Have at me, nature!

 

[Mascot]

Also got some mud guards (Topeak Defender), and will buy waterproof tights tomorrow. So now I'm all set for the winter. Have at me, nature!

I'm also rocking mud guards this winter. The front Crud Catcher does an admirable job but I still get mud all up my back even though the one over the rear wheel hugs it tightly.

 

[Psychotext]

Just changed tires. The first time I've done it, spent well over an hour. The old ones were a bitch to get off.

Might want to practice that a bit. It's one thing at home in the warm but it's quite another trailside.

(Unless you only struggled with the second side... which would be quite unusual)

 

[jakonovski]

http://brokenridersuk.com is having a Black Friday sale, for those who like rad biking clothes. Use the code BF2014 for free shipping, which they for some reason don't tell you on the site.

 

[jts]

So a follow-up my previous post about the stuck bolt stem.

I took the fork apart to see what I could do about it (ended up not being able to do anything about it) and when I put it back I couldn't tighten it up properly. I don't know if I put back all the small parts in the wrong order or not, but I just couldn't do it. So know my bike had a loose fork/headset and a stuck stem bolt on a broken star nut. What a mess.

So well, I decided to go to a bike service shop. Here's the thing. I'm in a small Finnish town and I don't speak the language. That's extremely limitative regarding communication and options. But anyway, my bike is my main means of transportation here so I had to do it. Thankfully I found a small repair shop run by an old man who could speak english. I left my bike there and in 24h it was back good as new, star nut replaced and everything. 33€ but I'm happy about it.

Anyway, I was reading your interesting talk about spiked tires. I should look into it. Because here there's a lot of snow and a lot of ice (it is the country of Suomi/Nokian tires after all ).

Incidentally, I had my first fall on ice today :/ It was nothing, but it was scary how quick it happened, even though I thought I was being careful enough on a left turn on asphalt.

My bike is a MTB with 26" wheels, it should be fairly easy to find spiked tires for it right? When searching for them, do I just need to know the 26" size or is any other reference I should be aware of? Sorry, once again, complete noob here who hadn't had a bike from since I was 15 until I was 30

Also, replacing the tires seems like a fairly easy job (I've replaced a tube while on the road once, thank god for smartphones). But to remove and put back the back wheel is something I also had to do and it's hell on earth.

 

[jakonovski]

Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pros are considered the best on Finnish bike forums, but a bit pricy. For a 26" mtb you have all sorts of less expensive choices though, so just go check your local bike store (I could look some up for you if you tell me your general area).

I have a 29er and it seems the only thing anyone sells are the ISPs.

 

[thomaser]

Might want to practice that a bit. It's one thing at home in the warm but it's quite another trailside.

(Unless you only struggled with the second side... which would be quite unusual)

I dread the day when I have to do it in the cold. My fingers were killing me.

Had to take one of the new tires off, and that was much easier. Maybe old tires "settle" after a while and get harder to loosen? These tires were 14 months old, and had never been changed. The second side was easy, by the way.

 

[jts]

Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pros are considered the best on Finnish bike forums, but a bit pricy. For a 26" mtb you have all sorts of less expensive choices though, so just go check your local bike store (I could look some up for you if you tell me your general area).

I have a 29er and it seems the only thing anyone sells are the ISPs.

Thanks.

I am located north in Ostrobothnia/Pohjanmaa. Mostly Pietersaari but once in a while I go to Kokkola.

Over here there's like one bike shop, and then there's sports shops and supermarkets.

Is this one a legit good deal or can I go much lower on not as good spike tires?

http://www.bikester.fi/schwalbe-ice-spiker-pro-evo-26-taitettava-355341.html

 

[jakonovski]

Thanks.

I am located north in Ostrobothnia/Pohjanmaa. Mostly Pietersaari but once in a while I go to Kokkola.

Over here there's like one bike shop, and then there's sports shops and supermarkets.

Is this one a legit good deal or can I go much lower on not as good spike tires?

http://www.bikester.fi/schwalbe-ice-spiker-pro-evo-26-taitettava-355341.html

That's out there a bit, but there's at least one proper bike store in Pietarsaari:

http://www.polkupyorat.fi/yritys-i-50.html

Several in Kokkola:

http://www.pyoraliikelyback.fi/sivut/
http://www.ylikorpi.fi/
http://www.pyorapojat.com/index.php

If you want Finnish mail order, my local bike store is excellent. Good prices and service in English:

http://www.hi5bikes.fi/~Y1QTx0000002/?Y999=MAI

That said, I don't think you can find anything cheaper than that Bikester offer, except maybe some other German site. Hi5 gets closest to it.

 

[waypoetic]

Yeah... Fixed gear isn't my thing. How am I supposed to "strap in"? This roadie can't hipster.

 

[jts]

That's out there a bit, but there's at least one proper bike store in Pietarsaari:

http://www.polkupyorat.fi/yritys-i-50.html

Several in Kokkola:

http://www.pyoraliikelyback.fi/sivut/
http://www.ylikorpi.fi/
http://www.pyorapojat.com/index.php

If you want Finnish mail order, my local bike store is excellent. Good prices and service in English:

http://www.hi5bikes.fi/~Y1QTx0000002/?Y999=MAI

That said, I don't think you can find anything cheaper than that Bikester offer, except maybe some other German site. Hi5 gets closest to it.

Yep, that's the shop I mean. And yeah, it is "out there" over here. I wanted a break from a busy a life and I guess I've found it.

As for the tires, I'm gonna wait a couple of days but will probably get them from Bikester. 99€ shipped seems pretty good. Loved what I saw from them in YT videos.

Thanks for the input mate.

 

[thomaser]

Tried out the winter tires today for the first time. Felt a bit different, but there was no ice or snow outside, so it's hard to say exactly how they were different. They sounded different, that's for sure. I'll take them for a real spin tomorrow, on very varied terrain.

 

[thomaser]

Back from today's ride. Here's my bike in its winter-kit:

Swampy area. It has hardened pretty well, and was much easier to ride than two weeks ago. But I managed to somehow fall over and lose my back tire (!) right after taking this photo. Must have been careless when tightening the bolt after changing tires. Won't do THAT mistake again, it could have gone so much worse if it happened five minutes later.

This road is a bitch to go up. But fun to go down, as I did today!

Edit: the new tires were really good. But the best thing was my new waterproof tights. They made the ride so much more comfortable than I'm used to. It started snowing up there, but I didn't feel it at all.

 

[waypoetic]

"Ding ding get out of the way moose!"

 

[thomaser]

No moose (meese?) today, but I did see an ermine or something like that. And many joggers, an animal that can be particularly troublesome. The bell seems to pacify them a bit, though.

 

[Psychotext]

Did one of the Wiggle MTB Events this weekend (Wight Winter) and it was a total disaster. At one point the mud was literally up to knee height (I know because I put my leg down and had to fight to get it back) and much of the route was completely unrideable. To make things worse, unusually for Wiggle, the route marking was awful. Numerous times people got lost, and at one point it took about 15 of us scouring in different directions to work out where we were supposed to be going.

Supposedly 2 people managed gold times, but I'm highly sceptical. I'd love to see their GPS data as the only people I could see managing that sort of feat are the pros (admittedly there were a couple of pros there).

Hung around another day to see the island (Isle of Wight) and got to see a number of the roadies doing their thing today (road rides are usually the day after the MTB rides). The ferry back was hilarious, it took about 10 minutes for all of them to wheel their bikes onto the ship and the corridors were a sea of lycra. I should have taken a photo.

Wouldn't do the MTB event on the island again (at least not outside of the summer), but I might consider doing the road event. I'm actually thinking of doing both of them one weekend. MTB on the Saturday, Road ride on the Sunday. Probably wouldn't push quite as hard on the first ride as I usually do though.

 

[thomaser]

Did one of the Wiggle MTB Events this weekend (Wight Winter) and it was a total disaster.

Too bad. But it's at least nice that rides are still being organized where you are. Here, the ride season is only from May to September, except a few cyclocross-events in October and November.

 

[Psychotext]

Had to travel 5 hours to get to that one... so not quite where I am.

I live in mountain biking country though, and have two all weather trail centres near by, so access thankfully isn't an issue.

 

[Psychotext]

Unrelated, I can't remember which poster it is... but whoever it is in the GAF Strava club that did 20,000ft of climbing last week, I doff my cap to you. Chapeu!

You must have legs of granite.

 

[Mascot]

Unrelated, I can't remember which poster it is... but whoever it is in the GAF Strava club that did 20,000ft of climbing last week, I doff my cap to you. Chapeu!

You must have legs of granite.

Wasn't me, but I am currently nursing a steaming pint of tea in front of the fire after an epic afternoon cycling to, from and between three different sets of woods and doing several circuits in all of them. Mate I went with had bad cramp after two but battled on like a champ. Glorious fun. Shattered now.

Also, took this shot yesterday as the morning fog was clearing on the bluff overlooking the estuary:

Edit: seems Google has auto-stiched a bunch of shots together without even asking me. Clever shit indeed, if a little unsettling.

 

[Jobiensis]

Unrelated, I can't remember which poster it is... but whoever it is in the GAF Strava club that did 20,000ft of climbing last week, I doff my cap to you. Chapeu!

Thanks!

You must have legs of granite.

It certainly felt like I was hauling granite by the end of the week.

 

[thomaser]

It certainly felt like I was hauling granite by the end of the week.

You seem like someone who could do an Everest. If we ever had a battle to become the first GAF-Everester, I'd give up at once and put my money on you.

 

[Jobiensis]

You seem like someone who could do an Everest. If we ever had a battle to become the first GAF-Everester, I'd give up at once and put my money on you.

Do you mean the stage race or doing 30k in a day?

2015 will have lots more climbing and be road/stage race focused. Getting sick of losing 10 places in the last 100 yards by 200lb sprinters at crits. Also, not very fond of crashing and having people run over me.

I'm not a very good climber, at least if you consider speed. I'm more of a climb survivor.

 

[thomaser]

Do you mean the stage race or doing 30k in a day?

Doing 8848 vertical meters in one ride, by climbing one hill over and over and over (and over) again. Like these guys. Here are the rules. Should help with your climbing skills. If you survive.