Quale
- Spring, 2000 For those that have been following the events in this
web site, you noticed that RePete suspended Quest Tours! What
happened? Well…RePete caught a bad bug. The doctors became
extremely concerned after finding a "mass" on the lung.
This was followed by a series of test. The final determination
was pneumonia! Perhaps better than first believed but still
serious. Cycling regrettably had to wait for the chest congestion
to clear. This took several more weeks. Quest Tours returned with
the Piney Hallow held in May. The next tour will be the Atlantic
Highland's at the end of June. This article
marks the return of Quibbles. I thank all of you that volunteered these suggestions.
Now for an extra special announcement…to my daughter who
graduated from Stockton
College in May. This is a proud moment. You
has persevered and demonstrated much dedication in achieving a
Bachelor of Arts in Computer Information Science. I can only
trust that what you has learned will provide the skills needed to
succeed in life. Congratulation Danielle, may your dreams be
fulfilled and your lifetime be happy and healthy. The sea of life
will challenge you with storms. I am sure you will meet these
with the same strength you have already shown…again
congratulation and good luck! Now for the next chapter in Riding Techniques… RePete 6/1/00
This does not indicate that RePete did not address any cycling
issues. In fact, prior to becoming ill, he had just returned from
an extensive journey. He traveled far to find the best method to
clean the chain and cogs. We all know that this job is difficult
and dirty. RePete has tried many methods over the years. None
were very good on reducing the difficulty and eliminating the
dirt. He ventured into the land of the Internet. Here are the
various efforts used by other cyclists near and far:
worst looking bike in about five minutes that way. Just
coat all oily parts
and then brush the degreaser in and wait a few minutes
and then hose it off
and your done. No more spending hours to clean a bike.
Danny Resnik
pulling the chain, crank & cogs and cleaning each one
separately. For
quickies, I use a Bibox chain cleaner.
Mark Gunther
degreaser and a brush. I use the machine for a more
thorough cleaning of
the chain.
I have wondered about this. The engine degreaser sounds
like a good idea for
cleaning chains but I have not heard of many others who
do. What do others
think? Is there some reason that this should not be used?
Bill Mezami
cans with snap on lids. I put the chain in one of the
containers that is
one quarter full of paint thinner. I snap on the lid,
shake it up a bit,
and then let it sit for a while. Then I take it out and
put in a second
container with clean paint thinner and go through the
same process. If it
is really dirty, I'll scrub it in the paint thinner with
a brush. Then I
let the chain dry overnight.
Finally, I soak the chain in a third coffee can partially
filled with
chainsaw oil, hang it overhead and let it drip back into
the coffee can of
oil for a few hours. I wipe it off and it is ready to be
used again. IMO,
chainsaw oil is very similar to PhiI Wood Tenacious Oil
but cost about $2 a
quart instead of $2 an ounce. I also rotate between two
chains so that I
always have a clean one ready (which is why I can let it
drip for a few
hours). I go approximately 600-900 miles between cleaning
(road only,
Dura-Ace 9sp chains). I have about 9,700 miles on these
two chains and I
am ready to put on a new cassette with two new chains.
I have tried other lubes (waxes, Teflon, etc). but have
found this to work
best for my kind of riding.
Another resource for chain cleaning is Sheldon Brown's
website:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html
Mike Pormink
chain and cogs:
Tools Required: Chain whip and cassette removal tool (and
a chain tool
if you don't have a power-link, new chain pin if you're
running a
Shimano Chain)
1) remove power link from chain and remove chain.
1b) measure chain for wear and discard if significantly
worn (see
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html
for
info on how to measure chain
wear)
2) put dirty chain into old salsa jar (mayonaise jars
work too, but I
have more salsa jars lying around), add kerosene (or
other solvent of
choice) until chain is immersed. Put lid on bottle and
shake well.
3) While chain is soaking, removing cogset from
freehub--usually the
outer 2-3 cogs are loose. The inner cogs are normally
held together as
a set (Shimano 105 cogset or better) by three small
(1.5mm) allen head
screws. Remove these screws and dissasemble cassette.
4) Spray dissassembled cogset with "Simple
Green" (or cleaner of
choice) and wipe clean with a rag.
5) reassemble cogset. NOTE: on most cogsets/cassettes,
there is one
spline which is wider than the others, make sure that the
splines are
properly aligned when reassembling the cassette. Also
make sure that the
cogs have the proper side facing out--this is fairly
obvious as the side
facing out is usually stamped with the number of teeth on
the cog.
6) Put cogset back on freehub--remember to tighten
lockring
appropriately
7) pull chain out of cleaner and wipe dry. Reassemble
cleaned chain on
bike and add lubricant of choice. (NOTE: with solvent
carrier based
lubes, it is best to lube your chain *after* a ride. The
solvent base
will evaporate leaving the lube on the chain without a
lot of extra
'stuff' which will fling off and decorate your wheel and
rear triangle
if you ride right after lubricating.
7(alternate)rotate two chains--pull the "clean"
chain out of the solvent
it's been soaking in for the last month and put in on
your bike, while
you dump the dirty chain into the jar of solvent to soak
for a month.
This may seem like a lot of work compared to slapping a
chain cleaning
gizmo on your bike and pedalling, however I've yet to
find a chain
cleaning gizmo that does an adequate job. And the above
7-step
drivechain cleaning really isn't that hard to do. As an
addendum, I'd
suggest that you also take the time to clean the gunk off
of the rear
derailleur idler wheels while you've got the chain off.
Arno Granados
cord
(assuming you have someone around who no longer DOES
macrame - - does
ANYONE
still DO macrame ? (-: )
Reg
to use much less white lightning than normal oil. my
recumbent takes white
lightning on the chain only every 300 miles or so.
Ann Morrill
I use on of the commercial chain cleaning tools. The ones
with the little
brushes and solvent. It's still a mess, but it's not bad.
Alexandr Bogdanov
a brush then hose down. Apply WD-40 after washing down,
then coat the chain
with a heavier oil later.
Dennis Symons
degreaser and a brush. I use the machine for a more
thorough cleaning of
the chain.
Ann Morrill
A bicycle is a highly maneuverable machine, but that
maneuverability makes it quite tippable. You have to take extra
care to stay upright and read the road for the special hazards
that can cause a bike to fall.
Beware of any slippery or loose surface: grave, snow, ice,
leaves, oil patches, wet manhole covers and crosswalks markings.
Avoid these or ride over them slowly. Don't turn, brake or
accelerate. Be ready to put a foot down to balance.
Be especially careful of diagonal railroad crossing, trolley
tracks, a row of raised lane line dots or a step between the
shoulder and the travel lane. When you can't avoid them, cross
them as nearly as possible at right angles.
Beware of steel-grid bridge decks which, especially when wet,
will steer you bike parallel to the grids, making balancing
difficult. Walk or use the bridge sidewalk if necessary.
Any bump, rock or pothole more than an inch high can squash your
bicycle tires flat against the rims, damaging the wheels.
Now for the good news, thanks to your cycle's small size and
quick steering, you can prepare yourself for situations like this
on. It's a pleasant, two-lane country road, just wide enough for
cars to pass you in your lane. You look up at the scenery and
then down at the road. There's a rock directly in front of you
and a car just behind you. You can't swerve left into the traffic
and you don't want to swerve to the right, into the gravel and
dirt. What do you do?
Make your wheels weave around the rock while riding in a straight
line - the rock dodge maneuver. Just as you reach the rock, steer
quickly left, then right to correct your balance, then straight
again. Because you correct the balance quickly, your body doesn't
have time to follow the bike's weave. You continue nearly in a
straight line.
Picture yourself in another pinch. You're riding along a street,
approaching an intersection and a car on your left suddenly
begins a right turn. The side on the car is headed straight for
you! You have to turn quickly alongside the car to get out of
trouble.
To begin a turn quickly, you have to lean your bike over quickly.
But how do you maneuver? Your bicycle balances the same way you
balance a yardstick on the palm of your hand. If you want to move
the yardstick to the right, you move your hand to the left. Then,
the yardstick leans to the right, and you follow it with your
hand.
Just the same way, if you steer your bicycle out from under you
to the left for a moment, then you can turn to the right. You
must first steer momentarily toward the car you're trying to
avoid.
The instant turn is useful in many situations. If a car coming
toward you begins a left turn, turn right into the side street
with it. If a car pulls out of a side street from the right,
swerve into the side street. It's best to turn to the right,
behind the car…but if it's too late for that, turn left with
the car. Even if you hit the car, the nearer you're going in the
same direction, the lighter the impact.
Sooner or later, you may find yourself going around a downhill
curve too fast. A variation on the instant turn can get you
through this situation in one piece.
The usual, panic reaction is to steer straight and brake. But
then you're likely to go headfirst off the road before you can
stop. Instead, steer with the curve. Don't brake. Straighten the
handlebars momentarily, as in the instant turn, to drop your bike
into a deeper lean. Usually, you'll make it around the curve…your
tires have more traction than you normally use. If you do skid
out, you'll fall on your side and slide to a stop. If you're
about to ride into a wall or over a cliff, you may decide to
deliberately skid out. Lean into a turn, then hit the brakes. The
fall may hurt, but not as much as the alternative.
There is a pothole straight ahead, and no time for even a rock
dodge. You were to so busy looking up at the traffic that you
didn't see the pothole ahead, and now you're about to trash your
wheels. If only you could fly.
Unfortunately, you can't fly your bike like the kid in E.T., but
you can jump your bike. Holding the pedals horizontal, squat down
and pull up on the handlebars. Then jump up and yank your legs up
under you. You'll be past the pothole faster than reading
"squat-pull-jump-yank." Jumping is the quickest
last-resort way to avoid a pothole or other road surface hazard.
Once you know your emergency maneuvers, you'll gain a much
expanded sense of security, confidence and style. You'll be able
to "ride loose," to use the language of California
all-terrain riders. It's a sigh of an experienced rider, and it
saves your bike a lot of wear and tear.
Safe Cycling and a good July 4th!
Click here to read Part 1 - Where to Ride on the Road.
Click here to read Part 2 - Riding Though Intersections
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
H E L P !! Are there any editors out there that are interested to
help with this site? RePete needs your help! If you know some
HTML coding, or simple can provide articles of interest to us
cyclist...then email me and volunteer you services. Your name
will become forever a part of this ever growing web site as a
guest editor. You can submit most anything...just ensure there is
a cycling tie-in. Don’t be shy...email me now!!
Safe Cycling!!!
RePete
6/1/00
You can now visit Freewheel’n.
These are also submitted and published in the South Jersey
Wheelmen’s monthly newsletter. You can read my latest
release by visiting this site after the middle of each month.
Then there are the Quale sites where topics are varied, like the
highly imaginative Tales of Pauline.
Also visit the Quote site that contain your comments. Here you
will find submissions on Bicyclist Against Helmets and many other
issues and links. Additionally, don’t forget to visit the South Jersey
Wheelmen and the Outdoor Club of
South Jersey web sites.
