Bike Project Part V

Next, I removed the other old components:

First the rear derailleur:

Notice that the dropout axle position screws are bent (they must have got damaged whilst the bike was in transit). I'll see if I can find replacements for those.

Then the front derailleur:



Notice that I've also removed the chainrings.

Finally the gear shifters:



If I ever get around to respraying the frame, I'll grind off the old gear lever bosses.

Bike Project Part IV

The next step is to remove all the components that I don't need.

My cassette fits on an old style Shimano Uniglide hub. The freewheel hub has equal spaced splines where the first five cogs slide on, then the smallest cog screws onto the hub to lock the whole thing in position.

I figured that to remove the cassette I'd need two chain whips. One to hold the cassette and one to turn the smallest cog. Rather than buy these - I decided to make them out of a couple of pieces of old angle bracket that I found lying around and some pieces of my old chain.

Here's what they look like:

And in action:

And the final result:

You can see the external thread on the hub.

Bike Project Part III

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I hadn't considered this bike to commute to work on due to the uncomfortable riding position with the drop bars.

So the first part of the project is to address that. Again, a little bit of reading identified a process called 'Chop n Flop'. That's basically to chop the drop bars on the curve and flop them over.

Here's the result:

I just need to clean up the bars and put on new bar tape. I'll wait until I've finished the whole thing before I do that so I don't damage the tape.

Bike Project Part II

So here's a picture of the bike as I just pulled it out of storage:

It's very dirty, got two flat tires, loads of rust spots on the frame and chrome fittings.

I've done some reading on the subject and one of the key issues is the orientation of the rear dropouts (where the rear wheel fixes into the frame). With a vertical dropout, there's no room to move the rear wheel to adjust the chain tension. In my case, the dropouts are more horizontal than vertical:

So hopefully there should be enough room for adjustment - otherwise I might get away with a half size chain link. I really want to avoid a chain tensioner because they just look ugly!

Bike Project Part I

After finishing City to Surf with what I think is a respectable time, I was keen to get back into cycling to work. I reckon the cycling did make a contribution to my fitness level for C2S.

So I've had an idea to bring a bit more interest and variation into my cycling, by hopping onto a bit of a craze that seems to have hit the cycling world. I've decided to Single Speed my old Raleigh Strada!

I bought that bike in about 1988. It had a lot of good use when I was in the UK, but basically hadn't been used since I went to Hong Kong in 1995. It's been hanging in my basement since we arrived in Australia in 2002 - gathering dust and slowly rusting.

I can't bring myself to sell it - too much sentimental value / not enough actual value, and I can't imagine using it as a road bike - not enough time and too uncomfortable to commute to work. But I've had some inspiration from seeing various articles on Single Speed Bike conversions.

More to follow...

City to Surf 2009 Review

Wow! My offical time of 1:17:01 was a pleasant surprise.

My target of 90 minutes was smashed (and clearly very conservative).

There are a few factors worth noting that I think contributed to the success:

• Starting from the Green group enabled me to get up to pace (but not too quick) straight away.
• Carrying a water bottle the whole way meant that I didn't get held up at drink stations.
• Being more aware of where the uphills and downhills are so that I could be prepared to adjust pace accordingly.

But one thing I think I have to work on if I'm going to do this again is to adjust my posture. I always suffer with a sore neck after any run longer than about 40 minutes, which generally turns into a bad headache later in the day. So perhaps some problem with my head leaning forward too much...?

So based on that - perhaps next year I should have a crack at my all time record of 1:11:48 set in 1991. I just need to train properly with some solid hill work.

For the moment, I'm just waiting for the weather to get a bit warmer in the mornings so that I can get back on the bike.

City to Surf 2009 Preview

The plan was to take a break from cycling to work, partly to avoid the cold mornings, but also so that I could focus on training for this year's City to Surf.

Well the break from cycling was easy(!) but I've only managed to get in about 2 x 5km runs per week with a couple of weekend 'longer' runs since the end of May.

In theory, running at lunchtime is a great option... the temperature's close to perfect, the route is fantastic around the Pyrmont waterfront, there's a couple of guys in the office who are keen too. In practice... there are lunchtimes at the pub and work distractions to get in the way.

However, I feel as though I have enough base fitness to get me around in less than 90 minutes - which is no great shakes but it will keep me in the Green group for next year - and maybe a chance to train properly then!!!

So... we'll see how we go with this year's and next year's targets.