Bikes Bikes Bikes (the kind you pedal)

[Roger Wilco]

I see you are in Napa.

For seven years I lived in peaceful, idyllic seclusion on a mountainside northeast of Napa, where I self-exiled after San Francisco transformed itself into an unrecognizable caricature of urban dystopia. Due to family matters I no longer live in that little wine-country cabin, but my airplane is still hangared at APC.

I was living in the Brown's Valley area, and riding my Traveler up Dry Creek Road, and down Oakville Grade and back. At the time, Robin Williams still had his house near the top of Oakville Grade and I'd seen him driving his convertible Porsche on that road a couple times. I still occasionally return there, leave the car at Alston Park, and ride the loop up Silverado Trail to Calistoga and back.ri

Beautiful, challenging rides. Cyclists (pedal or motor) who have not ridden northern California are truly missing out on many of America's greatest cycling experiences. And compared to many other areas of the country I have found that California drivers are generally bike-tolerant and accommodating. [2nd-thought edit] Or at least, less hostile and aggressive.

I agree other cyclists are some of the biggest problem. The only bad accident I've had was actually on the bike trail, when I slowed to make a left turn in to a rest stop, and a bone headed Lance Armstrong wanna be thought it would be a great idea to pass me on the left at full speed, never mind that I de-clipped, went to the center of the trail and signaled. Whammo, I went flying. I managed to ride home but still went to the ER for severe leg swelling, and had to take my bike to the ER for front rim straightening. These days I avoid the bike trails and mostly ride on the roads with nice bike lanes.

Glad you weren't seriously injured. I wish there were more of those nice bike lanes and regret that many of the best roads are narrow with little or no shoulder and lots of tight, blind curves.

I don't really do marathon rides anymore. I used to knock out eighty milers on a Saturday, and have chalked up a couple solo centuries, but mostly I keep it between 20 to 50 miles, more on the 20 end, with a burger stop to keep it reward based. I don't particularly like group rides, but I will occasionally ride with one or two other people. A group of us on the Purple Board use to meet up in Santa Rosa for the Tour De Fuzz, but I haven't done that in a while.

As much as I like to ride solo, I can't deny the safety and practical advantages of riding backroads with another cyclist.

I like riding in The City. Once I rode across the Golden Gate from the Marin County side and went all the way to Daly City. I did more climbing in that 40 mile ride than I did on 60 mile rides in the Sierras going from Auburn to Forest Hill.

San Francisco...fantastic on two wheels, so long as no one steals your bike.

 

[Hengelo]

After almost 15 years of riding and racing road bikes in New York City, and bike commuting to work you’d be hard pressed to get me off my gravel bike in this small town…

 

[TCABM]

Great concept. Route left some room for improvement.

 

[Bill]

Great concept. Route left some room for improvement.

Traffic?

 

[Hengelo]

Ha. I once declined a race in which riders were supposed to strap their bikes to a hot air balloon, fly some distance and race (back?).

 

[Sac Arrow]

Ha. I once declined a race in which riders were supposed to strap their bikes to a hot air balloon, fly some distance and race (back?).

You mean like this? I was sitting at a park in Napa getting my bike ready for a ride, and this happened...

 

[Hengelo]

"Hot air balloons kick ass. Are they safe? Not really. Can you stop if you don't like it? Think again. BUT can you steer? Listen don't bring that negative energy into this wicker basket ok I'm gonna light this flamethrower."

 

[TCABM]

Traffic?

Lotta left turns and crossing divided roadways. Really poor asphalt…like 2” deep cracks running all over the place.

Cut my rear tire and blew the tube, so I got to replace the tube and finish on a questionable tire.

 

[Hengelo]

40 degrees and rainy; looks like I'm moving to the kickr for a while...

 

[UngaWunga]

We have some very nice local rail trails

 

[Hengelo]

Very nice!

 

[Bill]

Starting to get my groove back some.

 

[Bill]

 

[Bill]

 

[NavAir]

I’m cheap. Zizzo Urbano folding bike that fits in the car or the plane. I used to own a Jamis hybrid, but the Zizzo is so comfortable that I ditched the hybrid and now just ride the folding bike. I wouldn’t do 100 miles on it, but my rides are generally around town or less than 30 miles.

Exactly what I do. I actually have 3 of them, one for me in TX, and two for my wife and me in FL. I used to do more running than biking, but have eased back from the running due to some hip bursitis that running aggravates, but biking doesn’t. I don’t participate in any bike races, just do it for the exercise and fun.

 

[Sac Arrow]

I'm out of commission for a while due to a knee injury, but the WX looks to be so bad the next couple weeks it almost doesn't matter.

 

[Bill]

 

[Bill]

 

[Bill]

 

[Bill]

 

[FastEddieB]

Saturday I went for my first road ride post cardiac surgery. About 4 months since my last ride - 3 months on blood thinners where the risk of even a small get off could have been bad, then waiting for decent weather, which has arrived in spades in E.TN.

I rode my Aventon ebike and with the inevitable fitness loss used a fair amount more “boost” over the 14+ miles and 781’ of climbing. I got the impression my new pacemaker is along for the ride “just in case”, and that my heart is overall healthy - probably healthier now that it’s got new valves. Still felt great to be back in the saddle, and looking forward to dragging my fitness level back to at least where it was before.

 

[Bill]

Saturday I went for my first road ride post cardiac surgery. About 4 months since my last ride - 3 months on blood thinners where the risk of even a small get off could have been bad, then waiting for decent weather, which has arrived in spades in E.TN.

I rode my Aventon ebike and with the inevitable fitness loss used a fair amount more “boost” over the 14+ miles and 781’ of climbing. I got the impression my new pacemaker is along for the ride “just in case”, and that my heart is overall healthy - probably healthier now that it’s got new valves. Still felt great to be back in the saddle, and looking forward to dragging my fitness level back to at least where it was before.

Great to see you back out on the road. Enjoy!

 

[FastEddieB]

If anyone is interested in chain waxing as an option, Silca is having sale on their products right now.

SILCA - Manufacturers of the finest accessories for bicycles

The world leader in premium bicycle accessories with a relentless pursuit of perfection. Now offering chain lube, pumps, tools, and more for cyclists.

silca.cc

I had been meaning to try it out - lots of YouTube videos on the alleged advantages - and this seemed like a good time to spring for it.

 

[Tarrow]

Give this a try with your fold up bike. https://rovingbits.com/FlyBike/FlyBike.html
Fly and bike

 

[Bill]

If anyone is interested in chain waxing as an option, Silca is having sale on their products right now.

SILCA - Manufacturers of the finest accessories for bicycles

The world leader in premium bicycle accessories with a relentless pursuit of perfection. Now offering chain lube, pumps, tools, and more for cyclists.

silca.cc

I had been meaning to try it out - lots of YouTube videos on the alleged advantages - and this seemed like a good time to spring for it.

I just switched to the Silca system, so far it’s very good! I refreshed the drivetrain with new chainrings, cassette, and chain, they had a little over 12,500mi on them and stuff was starting to look a bit rough. I figured with all clean new stuff it was a good time to switch to hot wax. Everything stays sooo cleeean! Their strip chip is the bomb for starting a new chain!

Edit: i’m going to strip and wax two more chains, and have three chains in rotation.

 

[Hengelo]

Parafin and and old coffee tin

 

[Sac Arrow]

As much as I like the idea of chain waxing, it's waaaaaay more work than I want to do. A Park Tool shop grade cassette chain cleaner and Teflon dry lube has been working out for me pretty well. I used to get 6K out of those cheapie SRAM Apex chains, but I'm at about 13K on the chain that came with the bike, and it seems to be doing fine. Ultegra.

 

[Flyhound]

The TDF started today, and boy has the media coverage changed over the years. I used to record the race on a VHS tape and watch it as soon as I got up. In those days, the coverage was focused on the race, and there was little to no filler. Now the broadcast is delayed and you have to watch an hour of talking heads before the race begins. Oh, and you have to buy a subscription to Peacock to see the coverage. AND, if you don't pay for a premium plus subscription, you can't fast forward through commercials. No wonder bike racing has declined in this country. Kids aren't exposed to it unless their parents subscribe to a streaming service with coverage. It might be time for me to find another interest to get my heart rate up...

 

[Roger Wilco]

If anyone is interested in chain waxing as an option, Silca is having sale on their products right now.

SILCA - Manufacturers of the finest accessories for bicycles

The world leader in premium bicycle accessories with a relentless pursuit of perfection. Now offering chain lube, pumps, tools, and more for cyclists.

silca.cc

I had been meaning to try it out - lots of YouTube videos on the alleged advantages - and this seemed like a good time to spring for it.

The appeal of a waxed chain seems to be that it doesn't attract and retain dirt, which is good. But there is a downside: as each link of the chain undergoes repetitive cycles of tension and slackness, the wax is squeezed out of the space between the plates, and between the rivet and roller, eventually resulting in metal-to-metal contact.

An oil, however, will be squeezed out when the link is under tension (a very thin layer of lubricating molecules will remain on the metal surfaces). Then when the tension is released on the link, the oil is pulled (or weeps) back into the spaces that it had been forced out of, re-lubricating them. But dirt and grit tend to adhere to an oiled chain, which accelerates wear.

Regardless of what you lubricate the chain with, the only real way to minimize wear is to clean and re-lube frequently. I find this operation to be much easier and less time-consuming using oil instead of wax.

For anyone truly interested, there is a book titled Everything You Need To Know About Bicycle Chains by Johan Bornman, which provides a deep dive into the subject.

 

[FastEddieB]

The appeal of a waxed chain seems to be that it doesn't attract and retain dirt, which is good. But there is a downside: as each link of the chain undergoes repetitive cycles of tension and slackness, the wax is squeezed out of the space between the plates, and between the rivet and roller, eventually resulting in metal-to-metal contact.

I think Silca’s solution is their “Super Secret Chain Lube”. It’s an emulsified wax that can be dripped onto the chain between hot wax applications. I’ve been using it on my Canyon’s chain once a month, though up to now it’s never been thoroughly degreased. I’ve ordered a second chain to start fresh, my plan being to wait until 1,000 miles (I’m at about 700 now) and to start rotating the two chains at that point, degreasing and hot waxing each.

I know it all seems rather anal, but everybody needs a hobby!

 

[Hang 4]

I switched to wax a couple years ago. It's really not that much work once you have a good heater and hanging spot. Once every 500 miles seems to work for me. I've seen no chain wear and it's scary quiet. Not sure I agree with the wax "squeezing out", hasn't been my observation.

 

[Bill]

I agree with @Hang 4 on scary quiet. NO drivetrain noise at all, just silent pedaling, and so clean. No more chain tattoos, you can grab the chain with bare hands and not get dirty.

And rotating three chains means I wax every six weeks or so. Not so terrible to spend an hour or two waxing every six weeks.

 

[Lindberg]

So what horrible damage am I doing to my bike by cleaning my chain once a year, lubing it with WD40, and never changing it for thousands of miles?

 

[FastEddieB]

So what horrible damage am I doing to my bike by cleaning my chain once a year, lubing it with WD40, and never changing it for thousands of miles?

You’ll be fine. At worst, your cassette and chainrings will wear out more rapidly. On a top line bike these can be quite expensive. On more pedestrian bikes, not so much.

As an aside, WD40 is a poor lubricant. If you’re going to the trouble to oil your chain, there are far better options out there, designed for the purpose and not very expensive.

 

[Lindberg]

You’ll be fine. At worst, your cassette and chainrings will wear out more rapidly. On a top line bike these can be quite expensive. On more pedestrian bikes, not so much.

As an aside, WD40 is a poor lubricant. If you’re going to the trouble to oil your chain, there are far better options out there, designed for the purpose and not very expensive.

I exaggerated a little bit. It's WD-40 brand chain lube.

 

[Bill]

Squirt is a pretty good liquid based wax lubricant, I use it on my travel/gravel/rain bike.

 

[Bill]

Squirt Chain Lube 500ml (16oz)

✺ Fast ✺ Clean ✺ Biodegradable The 500ml (16 oz) large size bottle is an economical size for daily use in workshops. It is also the size that tech zones on events should not be without. Squirt ® is what every cyclist wants, a long lasting dry lube that does not gather dirt. The first successful...

squirtcycling.us

 

[Hang 4]

So what horrible damage am I doing to my bike by cleaning my chain once a year, lubing it with WD40, and never changing it for thousands of miles?

A lot depends on the bike/components. If it's a basic bike, no worries, carry on. If your sprockets and chainrings are expensive alloys and cost a lot, then use something better. Back in my racing days, having the small cog start to skip in a sprint from wear was not a good time. Today, I'm lucky to sprint period. Bikers love to obsess about pretty much everything.

 

[Bill]

Bikers love to obsess about pretty much everything.

We’re all watt weanies when it all comes down to it.

 

[Lindberg]

A lot depends on the bike/components. If it's a basic bike, no worries, carry on. If your sprockets and chainrings are expensive alloys and cost a lot, then use something better. Back in my racing days, having the small cog start to skip in a sprint from wear was not a good time. Today, I'm lucky to sprint period. Bikers love to obsess about pretty much everything.

It's the sprocket and chainrings that came on the bike. A low-end Giant. What benefit do expensive alloy sprockets provide?