MFP Cycling Club

tipusnr

Got my bike back finally. Problem wasn't in the crank but in the front deraileur. Had another small problem with shifter during tryout but we'll see how she behaves on the ride tomorrow.

skywalker

Glad you got your bike back, tipusnr! Mine is overdue for service, but I'm trying to hold off for a bit, though it's getting a bit noisy. :ohwell:

robbienjill

Sooo I am taking my new ladies Trek back to the bike shop 2morrow to switch it out for the men's bike. The guy stated that he would put a ladies saddle and ladies handlebars on for me and anything else I may need. It is sooo much easier buying a bike than buying a car lol. I will not tell Rob that though as he is in the car industry :noway: . Anyway, we r going to ride tomorrow after I up grade in Wilmington around the city and parks. Not sure how far yet, but I am super excited. Today was my run day (3 miles) so I am ready to cycle 2morrow. Bring on the sunshine:):flowerforyou:

StuAblett

I am 55 years old women and broke my neck about 8 years ago in a car accident - I am now walking without pain, I can't do much excercise, but I found I can ride my bike without pain.

I LOVE CYCLING!!! Best thing ever!! I just got a trek 7000 last month - I've been riding 5 days a week and ride 25 - 30 miles a day - It's been helping me with my weight lose. My goal is to reach 50 miles a day - YEAH!!!!

Quite the comeback! :bigsmile: I'm glad you found us and can share in the cycling thing!

Lisa, I hope your saddle is so good, that in a week or so you basically completely forget about it while on the bike! :happy:

Tip, good to know it was not a major problem, I bet you are happy to have your bike back!

Dinos, great place to vacation, on my short list of places I want to go, and good job keeping up the workout, I go on vacation (maybe once every five years) and I often just say "Screw it" and deal with it later, sounds like you are at least getting the exercise thing in!

Shari, good for you, going to a place with paved trails is a good way to ease yourself in!

Jill, have a great first day on your new bike!

Cheers!

skywalker

Hello all,

I have a rusty, saddle wobbling mountain bike with full mountain bike tyres but I am still commuting to work by road 3 days a week on it. Averaging about 3.2 miles (5.14km) each way. To work is all downhill and back home is uphill. So far since choosing the bike to get to work I have done 19.50 miles (31.38kms)

Next payday I am hoping to buy a proper hybrid bike with road tyres and start going out for rides for a long time and distance.

Will check back again soon

Welcome! Glad to have you aboard! :drinker:

StuAblett

Hey Sky, in you ticker is that your next hill climb....... I mean ride :bigsmile:

I had a close one today, I was riding with the trailer in tow, about 50lbs of stuff on it, making a delivery, I ride on the sidewalks in areas that have nice wide sidewalks, but sometimes I have to ride on the road, usually this is not a big deal, but sometimes it is tight and I really do hate holding up traffic, cagers can get so POed and it gives cyclists a bad image.

Today I was riding along, not fast, not slow, maybe 20kph/12mph on the road, there were parked cars etc at the side of the road, one pulled out, just as I was beside it, but I knew he was going to pull out and I had moved over, so he missed me, scared the peanuts out of him for sure. How did I know?

Did he use his blinker to show he was pulling out?

Nope...

Did he stick his hand out the window, or look back over his shoulder?

Nope......

So, how did I know?

Well, I learned this trick from a buddy in Vancouver many years ago, maybe you all know it too, but I thought I'd pass it along just the same.

As you approach parked cars, always give them room so it they swing a door open you do not get collected by it, also, watch their front tire, if they are going to turn out, they will almost 99% of the time turn the front wheels first, then turn out, so if you see the front wheel turning out, hit the brakes and give the cager some space, they are about to try to hit you and then say "I never saw the nut on the bicycle" :huh:

I hope this helps in you daily ride, and if anyone else have these kinds of tips, please share them!

Cheers!

megamom

Only got a 5 mile ride in yesterday, my wrists were just bothering me too much. Hope to ride longer today if the rain stops. Then back to work tonight. I work 12.5 hour night shifts and sleep all day so won't get any riding in for a couple of days, but plenty of running if we are busy.

Stu. I forgot to look at what brand of grips they are but they look like what you have. Just not as comfortable as the one Trek had on originally. I am one of those people who don't use biking clothes, well on long rides over 25 miles I have some padded undershort I wear, and normally don't wear gloves, so this is weird to have to wear them now. I know I should probably wear a helmet but my head sweats sooooooo bad I would be blinded.

StuAblett

Only got a 5 mile ride in yesterday, my wrists were just bothering me too much. Hope to ride longer today if the rain stops. Then back to work tonight. I work 12.5 hour night shifts and sleep all day so won't get any riding in for a couple of days, but plenty of running if we are busy.

Stu. I forgot to look at what brand of grips they are but they look like what you have. Just not as comfortable as the one Trek had on originally. I am one of those people who don't use biking clothes, well on long rides over 25 miles I have some padded undershort I wear, and normally don't wear gloves, so this is weird to have to wear them now. I know I should probably wear a helmet but my head sweats sooooooo bad I would be blinded.

Wow, that is hard work!

About the grips, do they have a collar on them that locks them to the bars? I first bought a cheap pair similar to the pic I showed, no collar, so in time, they just swiveled down and were useless, the ones I show have a locking collar that locks them in place. I found I had to carry an allen wrench with me for a while as I tried them flat, then down, and finally found that I like them slightly up, it supports the palm of my hand, and make my elbow stick out a bit. That is good, as I have a bad habit of locking my elbows, which is BAD for them.

Your choice not to wear a helmet, I hear you on the sweating thing, I leave trails of sweat behind me as I ride, some people think I'm leaking, but my helmets, over the years have saved my life at least once, and possibly more times than that, but you are an adult and it is your choice to make, so I'll never mention it again. :flowerforyou:

I hope your wrist is better soon, wrist injuries can take a stupid long time to heal, I know, I've busted my right wrist once, and it took a LONG time to heal! One thing I found when I injured a wrist, not a break, was to wear one of these things........



Neoprene, if nothing else to remind myself that my wrist hurts :bigsmile: so I'd not try to pick something heavy up, for example.

Cheers!

skywalker

Stu. I forgot to look at what brand of grips they are but they look like what you have. Just not as comfortable as the one Trek had on originally. I am one of those people who don't use biking clothes, well on long rides over 25 miles I have some padded undershort I wear, and normally don't wear gloves, so this is weird to have to wear them now. I know I should probably wear a helmet but my head sweats sooooooo bad I would be blinded.

I can't stress enough the importance of a helmet. Believe me, I sweat too, but I'd rather have sweat dripping down my face than blood. I don't know if you read the earlier posts in this thread, but I had a crash 2 years ago which resulted in a broken helmet and a trip to the emergency room. My head was fine, but would not have been without my helmet. Please wear one. Don't find out later that you should have. Be safe. :flowerforyou:

skywalker

Hey Sky, in you ticker is that your next hill climb....... I mean ride :bigsmile:

Actually, Stu that's a century ride in mid September that I'm considering. :laugh:

RebelRenny

:drinker: Good Morning!! I have not been riding since last Wednesday. We've had a heatwave here. Hope to hop back into the saddle tomorrow. So looking forward to it.

I try to keep up with your posts, since I learn so much from them.

Have a great day everyone!! :drinker: :drinker:

Rebel

tipusnr

I didn't want to hijack this thread so started another one for some further sharing. Check out "Most Embarrassing (Humorous) Exercise Moment " for the story of my falling while standing still and add your own.

I'll check in again after my ride tonight.

mookiemoo

Well, I learned this trick from a buddy in Vancouver many years ago, maybe you all know it too, but I thought I'd pass it along just the same.

As you approach parked cars, always give them room so it they swing a door open you do not get collected by it, also, watch their front tire, if they are going to turn out, they will almost 99% of the time turn the front wheels first, then turn out, so if you see the front wheel turning out, hit the brakes and give the cager some space, they are about to try to hit you and then say "I never saw the nut on the bicycle" :huh:

I hope this helps in you daily ride, and if anyone else have these kinds of tips, please share them!

Cheers!

I will keep that in mind as I'm always nervous when I ride on roads - great tip!!

LisaKC

@megamom, Please reconsider wearing a helmet. I sweat like crazy, and I wear a HALO headband and a helmet. The HALO has kind of a rubber gasket (for lack of a better description) that channels perspiration away from your eyes. It doesn't interfere with the helmet. I've been more comfortable riding with the HALO than with other solutions I've tried. At the risk of sounding inappropriate, you can also put a panty liner in your helmet across where your forehead goes, and that will also help with perspiration.

@dino, your vacation sounds wonderful! Too much rain where I am.

I'm going to find tip's new embarrassing exercise thread now.

tipusnr

Ride went great. Rode with a fast strong group and only fell back once when I tried to climb the second steep hill in the set in the wrong gear. 31.45 miles at an average speed of 16.9 mph. My cycling computer does show one anomoly though. The fastest speed recorded is showing as 58.6 mph. Every other computer on the ride showed 35 mph which I can believe as I don't remember screaming in fear of my life during the ride. All the other data matches so I don't understand what is going on with the computer.

I also don't understand the noise in the bike. It is back loud as ever and now does sound as if it is coming from the front deraileur. I can't duplicate the noise when I'm off the bike so I'm going to have to look for scratches or other clues when I have time. I can't take it back to the shop until I get through, at least, this weekend's training. It doesn't appear to be a safety issue so I'm going to work it little by little.

robbienjill

So I traded out my ladies Trek 7.1 today for the men's 7.3. The salesman did change out the saddle and handle bars to the ladies and he PROMISED me that I will be able to be faster and that the gears will change more smoothly. Tomorrow is my running day and I also have to go to the ortho. to see why my left hip is bothering me, but I will def. be on my bike on Thursday. I can not wait!! Great job everyone:happy:

StuAblett

Jill, congrats on the new bike!
would love to see some pics :bigsmile:

Tip, wow that is a great ride, what a great pace too, you guys are screaming!

The noise, can you describe it?

Does the noise happen only when you are pedaling, or if you are not pedaling and coasting?

If you are hearing the noise when you are NOT pedaling, when you are coasting then it most likely has nothing to do with the front derailleur.

If you only hear the noise when you are pedaling then it has something to do with the drive line of the bike, that is the front and rear derailleurs, the chain, the pedals, cranks, bottom bracket, front chainrings, rear cassette, or rear hub and axle.

Stupid question time :happy:

I have no idea how much you know about bikes and maintaining them, so please understand I'm not trying to be an *kitten* :blushing:

Does this sound happen when you are just pedaling along, or when you are really kicking hard?

Could it be that your rear tire is rubbing the frame of the bike, the chain stays or seat stays? I've seen this happen with bigger guys on steel bikes as they tend to flex a lot.

Is if possible that one of the front chainrings is loose? You can easily check that with an allen wrench, if one is loose, it can squeak a bit each time you pedal, and speaking of pedals, is it possible one of them is loose or squeaking? I replaced a set of pedals on my bike once because one squeaked, we tried everything we could think of, rebuilt it and re-greased everything, put anti lock grease on the threads but no matter what I did the darn thing squeaked all the time, drove me nuts until I replaced it!

I'll do my best to help you narrow the problem down, just give me some info and maybe we can get you headed in the right direction!

Cheers!

gwynh

I am looking forward to my next ride. Can't ride on Thursday. Too busy during daylight time being a taxi mom for the kids. But, on Thursday, I will have made that big 500 mile total. Woooooo hoooooo!!!!!! :drinker: :laugh: :happy: I am pre-celebrating. I thought that 500 miles would be WAAAAAY down the road for me when I first started back at the begining of July.

I have to say, I have not lost much weight, but my legs are hard as rocks! Clothes are looser.
Glad to read about everyone's rides. I just am getting ready for school to start and find I have almost no time to post. But I am still here and chugging away at the pedals.

I sweat a ton too. I used to wear a sweatband, but that added about a pound to my head when my ride was done. lol. But I carry a sweat rag on my bike I use all the time. Also, I purchased a pair of ladies gloves. The thumb portion is made of terry cloth. That makes them ideal for wiping my eyes and face. I am just adding my 2 cents worth. I do have that helmet on all the time.

StuAblett

I only got in about 10Km today on the bike, I was supposed to do a C25K run too, but today started busy and just simply got busier and busier.:grumble:

I might sneak the run in tonight, but it depends, if not, tomorrow I guess.

One of my delivery runs today, I had a mountain of stuff on the trailer, and the delivery was a few miles away, up one long slope on the way back, not enough to call a hill, but certainly above level With all the weight on the trailer, I was really burning up the legs getting up that slope. Later, I had to make a run to the bank, just the bike, no trailer, after the slope run, just the bike felt like I was turbo charged or something :bigsmile:

At least I'm on track with the eating, the biggest problem is I have trouble eating enough:noway:

I'm building a basic flat bench for doing some weight lifting, I have a decent set of dumbbells, and I did a lot of weight lifting in my youth, so I'll add some strength exercises to the mix

Hope you are all having a good day!

tipusnr

The noise is a part of the drive train and happens in every gear now as long as I am pedaling. The chain has been lubed and the pedals removed and greased. Using the micro-adjuster on the front deraileur did quiet it a little so I thing the issue is there but have to take it easy as the bike shifts great and don't want to mess that up.

I can't reproduced the sound on the rack as it only happens with weight on the wheels and power to the pedals. I appreciate your help Stu. Now that I know it's not in the crank, I'm sure I'll find it. There are a few mechanics in my ride group tonight and I hope to get one of them to look at it as well.