Snow Studded Commute

Thursday morning I was greeted with the fact that my car wasn't starting, probably ice in the fuel lines or similar.  I dashed back into the house, and changed my clothing entirely to wool, pulled out the Felt and rode into work, braving the ice and snow again.

This really got me interested in studded bicycle tires, particularly since some of the commute had me going down streets that consisted of nothing but compacted sheet ice, two inches thick. Scary.

I checked my LBSs prices on studded tires, then checked Amazon's. There was a not discountable difference, I could get them for half the price from Niagra Cycles. (before shipping).  But my LBS is 200 yards from my workplace, and I could get the tires and have them put on the bike over lunch.  That was just too convenient.

Local Bike Shop for the win. I rode up, and of course being the middle of winter, they had no shop backlog, had the tires, and were able to put them on in about 20 minutes -  the time it took for me to eat lunch at the McDonalds across the street.  (yech)

The 45North Polara tires immediately turned even the worst offending sheet ice into entirely manageable surfaces, and improved purchase in snow and mush additionally. When I would skid or break one of the wheels loose, the rate of slipping was consistent and easy to counter. It made a hilarious difference. So much so that rather than carpool on Friday, I biked to work again.  The rolling resistance is maybe 15-20% higher, but heck that's just exercise.

All of this also has me extremely enamored of my Felt Cafe 3 again.  Light, simple and versatile. What a great catch-all bike.

Snow Bike Lantern

snowy woods

This was actually my first time riding in the snow, but it was quite fine. I've been a little lazy in getting up early enough to commute by bike into work. I decided to course the trails on Christmas Eve. Temperatures was around 11F or so.  Merino thermals, denim overalls,  key shirt, wool sweater, amana wool scarf, wool earflap cap, wool gloves, and the waxed pointer chore coat.  Hiking boots, wool socks.  Stayed plenty warm.   

The Felt Cafe3 makes a pretty good snow bike. Nexus 3 IGH with coaster brake, keeps the drivetrain closed up and simple, no packing snow into derailleurs.  The other plus, is the aluminum frame sidesteps corrosion concerns.    One nice thing about living on the frigid plains, is that when we do get snow, it is dry and powdery, while you do get thick drifts, it generally is only lightly covering regular flat surfaces, and consequently does not get too deep.  With close fitting fenders, V brakes, and tight fits at the seat and chain-stays, this bike would not well tolerate a thick wet lake-effect snow.   Aluminum also makes it easy to portage over deep drifts. Cyclo-cross style.   This would be awkward with the Flying Pigeon, or all but impossible with the Kruisframe. 

Once I got off the streets and onto the trail, I turned off all the blinkies, Cygolight, and lit my dietz kerosine lantern. This is one of the cold-blast models and produces a suprising amount of light. It is easy to grip both the lamp and the handlebars with enough 'give' to prevent the lamp from being overly-jostled. 

I then cycled the upper length of the trail, making the rounds, lighting the snowy woods, and the crunch of snow underneath the tires.  Very fun!   Hopefully everyone is having a good holiday season! 

Carry and Portage / 3 Saddle Bags Poorly and Subjectively Reviewed

from left to right,  Sackville Saddlesack Small,  Carradice College, Zimbale 7 Liter

During my first few months as a new bike commuter, I carried my junk in a backpack, which while admittedly was a nice backpack (Osprey Halo) left alot to be desired as far as back-ventilation goes. Riding on warm summer days equaled sweaty results. Picking up some groceries on the way home? Plastic bags dangling from the handlebars or  haphazardly tied to the rear rack.

This continued on for half a year, until I had changed my Felt Cafe's stock saddle out for an easier-riding Selle An Atomica- and I noticed that it had bag loops. "Bag loops. Hmm. You can attatch a saddle bag to those,"  went my very slow mental process.  "Oh, maybe I should get a bag..."

First up, the Rivendell Sackville SaddleSack (Small)

It is hard to find anything wrong with this bag- out of the three of them, it is the easiest to open, load and close. The bag hangs on the level from  the saddle loops which are located halfway along its length, unlike the 'British' style bags, which lean and tip backwards.  The bag flap is secured by a single strap, that is routed through a integral wooden dowel, this applies closing pressure over the entire flap. There is also an inner cargo flap that further secures your contents. 

SaddleSack open, cargo cover flap pulled back, exposing corroplast load floor. 

The single main compartment is big enough for some carry-out food, cable lock, and my tool kit which is in a klein pouch. The overall volume is enough and no more.  

 The strap leather seems a little raggy, but it after a spring and summer of use, they aren't any worse for wear and holding fast.  The construction of the bag itself is fantastic-superb- the flap's reflective strip adds extra visibility, while looking integrated into the design, which is more than I can say for the diamond and triangle reflective patches on the other two bags.  Metal hardware is brass, the buckles are finished with smooth edges. 

The Sackville is my favorite bag to deal with on a commuting basis.  It gets compliments from the LBS folks, from Lycra-types, from recumbent tricycle riders, - pretty much everyone.  

  

Carradice College

Next up, Carradice College. 

The Carradice is paired with my Azor/Workcycles Kruisframe bike.  I had been reading up on Brit-Dutch cycling before I made the order,  and a Carradice seemed to be the way to go, as far as keeping the theme rolling. I snagged this College bag from VeloFred.com for a modestly discounted price. (particularly compared to the cost of the Carradice Camper)  The College is simply the Camper, without the Long-flap or the side-pouches.  The interior of this bag is huge. I did bring home a complete rotissere chicken dinner for two in it at one point, and this maybe half filled the bag. On a single day of Ragbrai-  It held 6 liters of bottled water and assorted sundries.  Other riders kept offering me water, (no visible bottle cages) but I'd point at the bag and said that I had all I needed.   

Construction is waterproof cotton duck, hangs from the saddle  bag loops with chrome-white leather straps that are in turn secured to a dowell.  There is a cargo drawstring, and a nylon rain-cover.  The flap has slotted leather points for securing a rain-tarp or poncho. (Additional straps sold separately)  I use this as intended for keeping my waxed-cotton chore coat. Build quality is described as serviceable. I felt a little let down actually, many of the straps had incompletely punched buckle holes, requiring further reaming, some of the leather rivets were only half-engaged and the stitching wandered in spots (but always secure). Buckle hardware is stamped metal, rough-edged. The chromed leather itself is good.    The flap has an attachment loop for securing a bicycle tail-lamp but it sits so high, that I am finding it pretty much useless.  There is also an extraneous metal and leather Carradice name-plate which I removed. Too gaudy. 

I'd call my interaction with this bag 'unremarkable' . I'll frequently only deal with one of the buckles, reaching in under the flap and pulling out what I need, based on touch.  It gets the job done. 

Zimbale 7 Liter

Finally, Zimbale 7 liter.
Zimbale is a South Korean shop that has come up with a line of traditional bicycle bags on the English pattern, and a competitor to Carradice.  Seeing as I already had a Carradice, I decided to try the Zimbale. I ordered the 7 liter, which would complement my Raleigh-Roadster-Ripoff Flying Pigeon PA-02.

Wow. The build and material quality should be called "Luxury". Straight stitching, great leather, loops for a shoulder strap, metal poncho/tarp lashdown loops, and a nice plaid flap liner, not a single loose thread anywhere. The buckle hardware is either bronze or antiqued-brass, and smoothly finished.

I've spent the least time using this bag. Unlike the other two bags, it uses quick-release slot and post tabs, which are further adjusted by conventional buckles. These are holding securely, although it is a little bit of a pain in the rear to separately adjust these buckles if your cargo is a little larger than normal. Just adds another step to what would be a normal strap and buckle workflow. I might replace these closures with some curb-strap derived belt and buckle- when I can work up the energy.   There is a tail-light attachment loop that works well with a Blackburn Flea blinkie.

Side pockets hold spare tubes, and the inside can accommodate a modest amount of supplies, probably not a rotisserie chicken, but two cans of lager, tool kit, a bag lunch, cable lock, extra socks, etc.  I can lash my chore coat on top.  It lacks the broad uninterrupted shelf of the Sackville, or the super-capacity of the Carradice,  but for a light day-outing - Good Enough.



In Review:
As a light commuter:  Sackville SaddleSack all the way- it is just so dang effortless.   Supplies for a 60 mile day? Carradice College.   Zimbale? A few essentials, somewhat difficult.  

Pigeon Parts, Cafe Flowers

Flying Pigeon in its box

I really can't say that I was in a bit of a lull- nearly every day for the past two weeks I have commuted by bicycle, probably averaging 13 miles or so a day. Nothing special, but isn't that what we strive for? Incorporating cycling as a basic part of our lives?   Hey hardware, that is always easy to write about!

My Flying Pigeon PA-02 arrived on Monday after its trip from Flying Pigeon LA. Thankfully double boxed- well packed.  The box did however exude that un-wonderful eau de 'Guangdong Industrial' also known to people as 'That Harbor Freight' smell. Seems to be a mixture of vinyl plasticizers and some sort of anti-corrosion solvent.  The bike was quickly unpacked and the stinky packing materials were banished to the garage.

pigeon strewn about

I purchased this bicycle for a few reasons, one of which was to have a cheap project bike, preferably something with very basic or old technology. Something that I could assemble, disassemble, and basically not freak about if I scattered parts across the floor and had to spend an hour or two at Sheldon Brown's website, learning how to put said parts back together. Tonight I learned about adjusting the bearing cones on a rear hub. What? I could've done that with the rear wheel mounted?   I've always had reasonable amount of mechanical aptitude, but no in-depth experience with bicycles. Basically, this is my erstwhile tutor.

Actually on review, the wheels don't seem particularly warped. The only thing that slightly bothers me about the construction are the rear drop-outs, basically they're just the chainstay tubing, stamped flat, and with I think another sheet of steel in there, and tacked with a few spot welds, then the slot is milled out.  Forged dropouts would've been nice, particularly when the rest of the bike's structure seems otherwise competent.  That being said, I know from other engineering examples, that formed sheet steel can be stunningly resilient, and I see photos of Pigeons being used day in and day out in China. 

- Update: Upon further examination, I can't find any visual evidence that classic Raleighs were any different in the construction of the rear drop-outs. Indeed on photographic inspection, several vintage bikes seemed to use a system where the chainstay tubes were flattened, and welded, potentially with another piece of thick sheet or thin billet to hold things fast.  I think with the additional reinforcement of the heavy kick-stand attachment plates, that the rear-dropouts are absolutely fine for intended use.

I'm going to build the Pigeon up to stock specs, and ride it around a little. It can be a bike for the low-traffic trail, and for biking up to the Dairy-Queen. All nice and flat routes.  Then maybe I can experiment some. The Sturmey Archer S2C kickshift hub seems like it might be a nice upgrade.

Closing out with a photo of my Felt Cafe3 pausing amidst some flowers.  Having more than one bike is great. The big WorkCycles Kruisframe is smooth and leisurely, but when I'm on the Felt, I approach something that might be called swift and speedy!

ShadowPandas

Shadow Pandashot

As I was bicycling home today, I took particular note of my shadow-self, pedaling away in exaggerated perspective. As soon as I reached a particularly vacant section of cul-de-sac out came the camera.

Everything is 100% good with Zwartehond. The Ritchey liquid torque worked great, and the Brooks single rail seatpost clamp, flipped around and backwards allowed me to use the lovely sprung B.67 again. The classic style seatpost and clamp, allow for about a 40mm drop over the stock kalloy micro-adjust.  I spent Saturday morning going back and forth on the local crushed limestone trail, dialing everything in. I stayed off the big dutch-belgian beast until today, and when I climbed into the saddle this morning, it was like an old friend. Perfect fit, perfect reach.  As I commuted to work, the phrase
that came into my mind to describe my impression of the bike:  'The Big Easy'.

I rode the Felt Cafe3 quite a bit last week, and on Sunday as well, biking up the 12 miles from downtown in the 95F heat.  Not too bad.  This was the first time I had done this stretch of trail on the Felt, and it was suprising, just how swiftly the light Aluminum 3 speed took me. I stayed at least at 15mph. Zoom. Maybe I overdid it just a tad, as I had consumed a large lunch, as I ended up feeling slightly ill, even though I was hydrated. Ahwells.  Sometimes fast is good, sometimes it is good to take it easy.

3 Speeds are also right for me

I think Velouria is right. I rode in a short event ride this past weekend, with maybe thirty or forty other riders.  This was only my second event/group ride, and the first I did not hold back on. (I played tail-end charlie on the Iowa City Tweed Ride and held rear guard for some slower riders, having turned on my tail-lights and blinkies to be nice and visible on that grey April day).

The ride was an easy 18 miles down and back on one of the local trails.  I started towards the rear of the stream, and just kept pace and passed other riders when I felt comfortable.

Now I was riding the only bike I have, my Felt Cafe 3.  It has a Shimano Nexus 3 speed internal geared hub, and big 700C tyres.  It has a generic mountain bike stem, and some Wald cruiser handlebars, set up backwards and high. Much more comfortable to ride than stock. There is no getting around the fact that I’m sitting bolt upright and not at all aerodynamic.

The ride out was mostly a long shallow climb, and the people I passed were all the folks on knobby-tyred mountain and what passed for ‘comfort bikes’  8 years ago. Then I passed a few others, and some more riders, a club I guess, pulled off for recreational libations at a park pavillion. There were no other riders in front of me, and I relaxed just a little and went at a comfortable pace as my metabolism and aerobics got situated.  About the fastest speed I got on the level with the headwind, was 21mph, in third gear.

There was a series of stops, as the trail crossed some county roads, and I waited on some traffic. At this point, a recumbent had pulled up behind me, and some other bicyclists further back.  I just kept on, and finished the remaining few miles with the recumbent close behind. I wasn’t pushing, just going swift and smooth and enjoying myself.

The recumbent cyclist and I pulled into the trail-head parking lot, which was the turn around point - and we were the first two there.  We confirmed to each other that we were both riding in the event (we had declined to wear the sponsor T-shirt), and as he looks over the Felt he goes “Wow, that’s a three speed. You were going fast.”  At this point the rest of the cyclists behind us pull in- they all knew each other, and he announces to all of them “Hey guys, it’s a three speed!”   At which point these six or seven other riders are all going. “Wow, that’s alot of work,  nice biking. How much do you do in a year?”   Talk about ego stroking.  Two of the nice lady bikers were both enamored and weirded out about my Sackville seat-bag. 
  “It is like something- It looks like it belongs in a movie!”   So Grant, I guess that is a positive comment.

Everyone snacked and made polite conversation,  I fueled up on gatorade cut with water and baklava from my extra special favourite local Russian Cafe.
We all rode back together, and I came up in the rear.  It was interesting to watch these riders. They were on average road bikes, or 28” wheeled hybrids. They shifted so much.

One of them remarked again, how much work I had to be doing with three speeds.
“Not really!”  And seriously, I wasn’t.  Three speeds. I pick whichever of the gears lets me keep a fast easy 70-80 rpm cadence, and I go down the road as fast as that rpm will comfortably let me. If it is a bit of a climb, of course I’ll end up slower than that, but otherwise that is how it is.

I stopped for a bit to switch out of my cotton dress shirt and wicking sport shirt to put on my wool high collar sweater, as it had started to rain.  This was still a bit bracing. (I really need to get a shell-garment)   We all went our specific ways at the end of the ride.   It was fun, and I learned some things.