Ultimate Bike Thread....

[Racerbvd]

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by look 171

Nuts. I am always afraid it will comprise the integrity of the carbon rear triangle especially on the brake bridge. I'm interested in the long term reliability. Let us know.

Ha! Whaat??? This brake bridge isn't stable?




I'm planning on a two part process - One, insert a straw over the a dummy brake bolt which will preserve the brake hole, and pack the internals with CF. This will effectively give a new solid brake mount. After that cures, I reshape, and wrap the whole thing from the outside with good compression to give some real strength. sand and clear coat.



I planned on mixing CF today, but the epoxy is out in the garage and too cold to use.

[CurtEgerer]

^^^ I'm sure everything will work out. What could go wrong?



Realistically, carbon is repairable so, done correctly, it shouldn't be a problem.

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

Ha! Whaat??? This brake bridge isn't stable?




I'm planning on a two part process - One, insert a straw over the a dummy brake bolt which will preserve the brake hole, and pack the internals with CF. This will effectively give a new solid brake mount. After that cures, I reshape, and wrap the whole thing from the outside with good compression to give some real strength. sand and clear coat.



I planned on mixing CF today, but the epoxy is out in the garage and too cold to use.

There is a guy here in Florida who goes by The Frame Doctor, he does amazing work on damaged carbon fiber frames, he has also built a fair amount very nice Porsche parts, including for the Brumos race cars.
This was his personal 914-6, he built.






Back on topic, this was hard to beat as the coolest bike on the block (sadly, not one of mine)

[LEAKYSEALS951]

^ That's sick!
In tonight's news, part one of the Fondriest splice is done. I have rebuilt the brake holes. Solid as a rock. This weekend, I wrap the outside of the seatubes for good luck.

In another surprizzze announcement, my chinese drop bar gravel/mtb frame came in the mail right ahead of some potential sanctions! I have adequate parts to build right up. My local bike store tossed some dura ace 7800 brifters into their trash can, which I grabbed and rehabilitated, and my fugly praying mantis build will be built off of my laying around the house extrees!
This will create a light duty Fondreist / and heavy duty Xi express gravel bike. My Diverge will be medium duty.

[CurtEgerer]

[Baz]

https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=1419565989024076

[herr_oberst]

Front suspension? This is how they compete with the link suspension on the 'Krates? By calling a fork, fender and wheel "suspension"?

No wonder Huffy wasn't a real player. Were the executives so clueless to let copy like this actually make it to print?

[Jeff Higgins]

I've been following this thread since you guys started it, but have yet to chime in. You guys have some truly amazing bikes, and collections of bikes. Enough to make a guy like me feel pretty inadequate... you see, I only own two bikes. I wracked my memory and can only remember seven bikes I have ever owned in my entire life, including the two I own today.

That's not to say I was not an avid cyclist. Unfortunately, for too long now, the "was" part of that was all too true. But, now, at the ripe old age of 64, I've decided to get back into it. I know it's going to be a long road, and I'm prepared for that, I'm only hoping to be somewhat "ready" by summer. We'll see.

I decided I'm just too fat and out of shape to start on my road bike. So, just to get started, I put a set of Specialized "Nimbus" road tires on my mountain bike. It's an early '90's KHS, with mostly Sun Tour components, but lots of upgrades added. Avid brakes, Shimano Deore XT rear derailleur and 9 speed gear set, Rock Shock "Judy" front fork, and other little details. Pretty dated, pretty old, but it's what I'm starting with. Because, well, so am I.



The road bike that I hope to be slim enough to ride by summer is my 100th Anniversary Edition Schwinn Super Sport, dating from 1995. It's mostly "stock" with Shimano RX100 (which is no more than 105 without the powder coating, being polished aluminum instead). I did swap out to an Ultegra crankset and Mavic CXP14 wheels, but I really only wanted the wheels for their cross sectional strength, not really caring about anything "aero".



So, there they are. Two very dated mid 90's bikes. Lots of fond memories, though, over many, many miles on both (mostly the Schwinn). I'm really looking forward to getting some weight off and putting some miles on. I've spent the last ten years back in the gym, putting on a good deal of bulk again, but I think cycling is just better for me at my age. Oh, I'll stick with the gym as well, I want to keep all of these old creaky joints moving. My focus is just going to shift a bit (see what I did there?).

[herr_oberst]

Rock Shox Judy's. Sweet.

Loving the Schwinn. Don't change anything on that; it's so badass the way it is, and the wheels are perfect.
Okay, on second thought, you might want to think about a different cassette. That looks like a 12/28, and you'd love a 32 or even a 34. No need to blow out your knees at this stage.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Rock Shox Judy's. Sweet.

Loving the Schwinn. Don't change anything on that; it's so badass the way it is, and the wheels are perfect.
Okay, on second thought, you might want to think about a different cassette. That looks like a 12/28, and you'd love a 32 or even a 34. No need to blow out your knees at this stage.

I have actually already replaced the cassette. It's now a 12/26, where it was originally something like 11/23. Unfortunately, the derailleur will only support a 26 tooth cog, so that's as big as I can go. The chain rings are pretty standard at 39/52, so it is what it is. Part of the reason I need to be much lighter and in much better shape before I get back on it.

The mountain bike has 24/36/46 chain rings and an 11/34 cassette, so that's why I'm starting on it. I never use the small chain ring on the road, since I've yet to meet any hill that I cannot climb with the 36/34 gearing. I did treat myself to a short ride today on the road bike, but its 39/23 as the lowest option left me struggling up some hills that are much easier on the mountain bike.

But, well, a large part of the road bike is a kind of an "ethos" thing. I remember when they first started putting that third chain ring on road bikes. The reaction in my then somewhat "dedicated" (to be polite) riding group was open disdain for anyone seen riding such a contrivance.

So, I dunno, maybe I'm "too old" to push the gearing on that bike in the Puget Sound area. It's anything but flat around here. I used to do it no problem, but that was some 15 years ago and more. We'll see. My knees and hips are in pretty good shape - I'm still repping out with 225 in squats at the gym - so I'm not that worried about injuring myself. That, and I'm taking this very, very slowly. Like I tell guys in the gym, at my age my only goal is not to get hurt. I just have to make it look heavy...

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

But, well, a large part of the road bike is a kind of an "ethos" thing. I remember when they first started putting that third chain ring on road bikes. The reaction in my then somewhat "dedicated" (to be polite) riding group was open disdain for anyone seen riding such a contrivance.

look heavy...

We still do

Good on ya for getting out to do some cardio. It will take a couple months to get use to the saddle again and the different muscles to hold yourself up on the bike again. After that, the first 5 rides is the hardest, you will get back into the groove of things again. The trick is going out consistently be it once a week or twice. Within the first two months of struggling you will be able to get up those hills again with ease. I know a bunch of older guys in their late 60s are still out doing it around the foothills of Pasadena (or Altadena rather) humping up those hills.

[Jeff Higgins]

Fortunately, I have one of those old Novara "squirrel cage" style "wind trainers", the kind where we remove the front wheel on the bike and clamp the forks and the bottom bracket to the stand. The rear wheel drives those two little "squirrel cage" fans. I've been on that thing since early fall. So, all of the saddle soreness, tendon and joint pain, and that kind of thing are all behind me. The only problem was that the scenery never changes... But, well, I make the most of it by putting a CD on and listening to some tunes. Even so, I'm just ready to get outside and on the open road.

[CurtEgerer]

I had not seen this before. Probably from the 90s. A well done execution of an incredibly dumb design. I mean, just how much is messed up with this? Geometry is a nightmare. Stress on the seatstays and brake bosses is assbackwards. Weight/balance.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Just unwrapped the carbon fiber project. Turned out great (well.. for my needs) . I'll hit it with some fine sanding/clear/ and call er' done!

[CurtEgerer]

^^^ looks pretty good to me!

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Thanks. I wasn't able to get the weave perfectly oriented around the complex shape, but it's so overfilled it will never crack. I was more concentrating on getting the fiber compressed. Stuff is a lot harder to work with than fiberglass. A biat$$H really. This is a bike I use on a trainer, which puts a lot of stress on the seatstays.

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

Thanks. I wasn't able to get the weave perfectly oriented around the complex shape, but it's so overfilled it will never crack. I was more concentrating on getting the fiber compressed. Stuff is a lot harder to work with than fiberglass. A biat$$H really. This is a bike I use on a trainer, which puts a lot of stress on the seatstays.

Still, looks like you did a great job on the repairs.

[CurtEgerer]

First good sweat of the year. It's been chilly here. Mid-70 yesterday.

[CurtEgerer]