Back in the Drops

Well, here we are, the SUB has her drop bars back on. Aesthetically, I like the look of the drop bars on the bike much better than the ftat bars.

What's different now than before? I did a little cable re-routing, plus replaced the generic cable housings with Jagwire cable housings. The cable pull feels a bit smoother (of course, that could be the pyschology of buying something new, so it must be better syndrome - haha).

You can see that I have rotated the thumb shifters quite a bit forward, so shifting is an up and down motion rather than the original fore and aft movement.

Rotating the shifters eliminated routing the brake cables along the front of the bars, so I routed them along the bottom of the bars. I used the shifter clamp area as a cable guide and to try and keep the cables as close to the bars as possible.

Once I had all the cables routed and back on, I took a quick spin up and down the street, just to make sure braking was good and I could shift through the gears.

I readjusted the brake arm angles and position of the center pull hangar. I did some internet research and found information on adjusting the right mechanical advantage. Braking feels much better than before. I guess I took the long way around, should have researched first, might have saved me the interim bar swap.<shrug, oh well>.

After all the major adjustments and cable routing testing, it was time to re-wrap the bars. Wrapping around the shifter clamps was a little tricky and while the bumps look a bit dorky, the cushioning is better than hanging on to bare metal.

I like the unobstructed top part of the bars, which is where most the pressure is anyway when my hands are there. I can comfortably reach and shift through the gears.

The cables routed nicely, and as if by design, wrap nicely around my headlight. I did another test spin up and down the street really pulling hard on the brakes from the tops, or at least attempting to stop quickly. Definitely feels like it has more stopping power now with less effort than before. Will know on Monday when I am back to commuting.

I hope the SUB does not feel too bad with all the tweaks, mods and adjustments. It just means I care.

Too Many Flats!!!!!

Wow, no sooner do I get back on the SUB, ride with Evan to his school, then ride to work, then I check on the bike in the afternoon and what do I find?

The front tire is flat! The only saving grace is the fact it is sitting in the nice, warm bike storage room. I think that means the last 4 times I've ridden the SUB, I have  had a total of 6 flats.

Time to buy new tires, for sure. So, the SUB is sportin' Serfas, 26 x 1.5. Funny, the Michellin Kenda 26 x 1.5's I took off are actually wider and taller. Bad as buying clothing, each tire manufacturer interprets a relatively standard size differently.

One funny thing about these tires is they remind me of the 70's and 80's muscle cars and their raised, white lettering on the sidewalls (haha - vroom, vroom).

Oh, I suppose you noticed that the SUB now has its original flat handlebar back on. The reason I did this is because I was not highly happy with the amount of braking effort that was required with the Tektro drop-bar levers. I felt a little at risk, so I put my original bars and the original MTB brake levers back on. Much better braking feel and response.

I figure my wrists will be okay since any longer rides I'll likely use the road bike. I do need to put a longer stem on though. When I stand to pedal, the handling on the front is a bit weird to me.

Seems like quite a few more bike commuters out these days. Again, a guy passed and said, "Wow, those are some awesome lights!" Go Dinotte! Yay for my B&M headlight.

So, how's my hip/back pain? PITA! Apparently my whole pelvis is out of whack, high on the left side, forward on the right. My awesome chiropractor/accupuncturist got things moving back, but I'm going to need a few sessions. Still pinches a nerve when sitting, including driving.

It was kind of a fun excursion getting to my chiro doc. Left home with Evan by bike and we rode to his school. Then from there I decided to go ahead and ride to work. Then I walked across the street from work and hopped on our light rail, MAX, heading back east out to 102nd Avenue. From there I walked a few blocks to the doctor's office. Then I reversed the MAX ride back to work.

Looking forward to being mostly back to physical okayness, hate this current hip pain stuff, for sure.