Slave

Thanks JB. You really are quite the fundi. I find your posts techinically good with generally easy-to-understand language / terminology and this helps a newby like myself. One reason I mentioned the experimental phase of the project is that it will give me a bit more experience, as well as time to build up some knowledge, and a good foundation to attack my time limit for next years 94.7. I did mention that I wanted to get under 3 hrs and to me that means I will be happy with 2 hr 59. So, I plan to try out a few options (if possible) while I hunt for a reasonably bike to ride with more up-to-date tech.

JB. Thanks that was quite enlightning. The current system I have is a six speed cassette. One on those that screws onto the hub. To change that, I assume I would have to change the hub, which probably means that I will have to change the rim as well. I guess you see right through me. I have been holding my hat on my hand. However, the idea is that if the modification can be done sucessfuly, then, yes,I will spend the cash and go with it as a permanent mod and buy a new hub, casette and rim. I just don't want to throw good money at something that could become a major disaster. In other words, the mod fails and I end up having to buy a new bike anyway. I know that the current gearing is about 23 / 13 with its six speed casette. It was kindly donated by my neighbour and the wheel is older than the one I had which has a 24 14 casette. Even though the wheel I have is older, the gearing helps get a bit more speed and the teeth are at least in good nick. I kind of wore out the smallest of my cogs on the 24 14 cluster and the wear is very evident, to the extent that sometimes the chain would slip on that gear if I applied any big pressure on pull away or to get speed up an incline. AS regards chain wear. I will have to look into the links (no pun intended) and find out how to measure this. I guess it would not be a bad idea given that I have done a fair amount of mileage on the current one. Sure won't hurt to put a new one on.

Why drink and drive when you can snort and fly? Those lines of white are way cool man! Life is too short to go without some good humour, date ugly women and drink light beer. But I really need to snort out my bike so it's a bit more fun to ride.

Hi fellow bike Fundi's. (Especially JB) So now, thanks to some clever recommendations by some of you, I have snorted my handling problem with my Peugeot Rapport. As an experiment, I want to change the rear wheel hub and gear cluster. Without serious mods to the frame, what can I reasonably put in as a hub and gear cluster? (How many gears?) How much would an 11 tooth gear help my top end from a 52 chain ring? (The two I have in front are 52/42.) Will I need to change my chain and chain ring? Where would be a reasonably good place to source the bits I need at a reasonable price? Is it important to go for the latest technology or does someone have any "older tech" that is just gathering dust and needs a good home for it? How often should one change / renew a chain? I guess I have done pretty close to 4000 km on the bike since I got it about 6 years ago. What it did before that is anyone's guess.

The full test run of 28.5 km went off well enough. The bike behaved well in corners and felt more stable than it ever has before. I even managed to shave some of my time of my previous best for the course. All that remains now is to find some second-hand cluster, hub and STI so that I can fit it all and get the bike faster on downhills and the flat sections and I will be sorted. Can anyone tell me if it os possible to do this? Where would be a good place to source parts? What sort of frame mods are required to fit an 8 speed hub and cluster? At this stage, this is all kind of experimental and if it all works out, helps improve my riding speed and increases my enjoyment, I will put the plans into motion to find a more decent ride.

So wat maak dit my - ek het 'n oefen fiets' date=' 'n "racing" fiets, 'n TT fiets en 'n bergfiets. O ja, daar l? nog 'n raam en 2 stelle wiele ?rens op 'n kas... Ek word nie gesponsor nie...[/quote'] At a guestimate, Sias, I would say a very serious cylcist with a much bigger budget and more time available for cycling than many. My post was intended to be funny and not offensive. If you were offended, I appologise. I was quite shocked the other day to see that some wheelsets cost around R20,000 and I'm guessing that this is probably not the most expensive wheelset around. Considering that I do not even have that kind of budget for a bike, jealousy made me NASTY. Just a question. What sort of positions do you come in when you race? In my not at all humble opinion, if we are not making prize money, then it just becomes a matter of pride that we come in in say the top 100 or top 200 or whatever we achieve. Nothing wrong with the achievement at all, I just dont see myself ever achieveing that sort of level and I would be very happy if I can get to do the 94.7 in 2 hrs 59 min. I just can't see myself throwing big budget at the task to try and achieve it. If I can't do it on my 18 year old peugot, then I can't do it at all. No amount of money can replace good solid training and effort. Giving me Dura Ace (or whatever) hi-tech is like feeding your caviar to the pigs. In other words, I am a Philistine on which such technology would be wasted. A little tech would help, but training and racing wheels would be a serious waste on the like of me.

Er. Did I stumble into the research and development section at NASA or did those marketing dudes do a number on all o' ya? Airline this and aero that. Are we flying on junk here, having a discussion about bikes or the loacal airways part shop? Only the sponsored dudes and the ones with wallets bigger than their brains have training wheels and racing wheels. Unless you're racing for first second or third place, then one good set of wheels is good enough. On our roads, racing and training pretty much amounts to riding over all the discarded glass and friday nights party beer bottles left in the road. Therefore racing and training takes place on the same roads with the same hazards. Training wheels are for the neighbours kid bike. (You know the ones that make a four wheeler out of a bicylcle.).

The shin splints are definitely from running and not cycling. I had them once form running and was one of the reasons I changed to cycling. The only real cure for them is rest. (Yes, that dreaded four letter word that is worseto any athlete than any other.) Rest boet, Rest. (NowI shall go and wash my mouth with soap.

Yeah, all sorts of technocal stuff comes into the equation. Maybe there s someone out there who has an "old" back wheel with an 8 speed cluster that has an 11 tooth smallest gear and some sti's to match. This would be someone who maybe has a better frame than I do and recently upgraded their own technology. See with an oldbike frame, one can still run the risk of bending the fram to accomodate a wider hub and changing to STI's cannot be that difficult that I can't do it. Anything would be an upgrade on my current six speed and what I am really after is a smaller gear ratio so that I can get along flats and downhills faster. If, in all of this, I break the frame, no BIG loss, then it just leaves me no option but to get another bike. (Budget at the mo' is very limited though so I am trying to prolong the agony of making the move. My last 94.7 I came on at 4 hr 33 min, a whole hour longer than my first one back in about '03. I was hopelessly undertrained and not nearly fit enough, so this year, I am putting in the miles to build a good foundation, ride well into winter and have only a short mid winter break, before starting up and earlier training program to try for that magical three hour barrier. The course was also a lot tougher than the first time I did the 94.7 so hill training is also part of what I am doing to build a good platform. (all this is just theory and I will know in just over a year whether or not it works.)

18 years ago, companies made stuff to last, unlike our modern society where everything (YES, EVERYTHING) is disposable. When something breaks, it is made to be replaced, not repaired. The capitalist system is all about profit and if we can make more profit replacing, make it to be replaced. Disposable lighters, pedals, frames, wheels, gear clusters and all sorts of other things, including human life. The bike is so Old it still has Rigida wheels and as far as I know, most of the stuff is original. Paintwork has chipped and this is why it needs some paint, but otherwise still in very good nick. Part of the reason for deciding to keep it is that the chances of being bike-jacked are much smaller than if it was one of these new hi-tech, hi-price jobs. All I need to know is how do I go about changing the gearing? I will probably need a new rear wheel with more modern gear casette and probably change to STI's (the gear shift lever still sits on the frame.) So, anyone got some Older tech that they want to unload and might fit my bike? What about those old STI's collecting dust? Then I will strip it down, flat it and respray it. Silver and black. I also need to change the crank bearing cups and they are not the "standard size" that one gets at the LBS today. I purchased two sets already and they are just about a mm the small. My current bearing cups are rather worn and pitted. In all of the above, please bear in mind I am just the other fella, not Rockerfeller. I am also trying to do my bit for local currency protection and keeping the balance of payments and trade deficit accounts on balance by not importing new stuff. Let's go green and recycle.

When I mentioned some handling problems with my bike on this forum, someone suggested it was the headset bearings / cups that may be pitted. Thanks, for the princely sum of ZAR30.00, I changed them and this has sorted the problem. I got it second hand so I never thought to change them before. The bike behaves very dofferently now and it will get a full road test later this afternoon when I go out for a decent ride. The short test yesterday though, was enough to convince me the bike is handling better and I can now also ride without hands on the handle bars all the time. Now I just need to sort out the gearing, respray it and it will be good for another 10 years.

Nah, it's the legs boet, the legs. The frame, gearing and wheels help, but why do you need Carbon? Lance Armstrong says it's not about the bike and I think he's probably right.

You only end up in a few wards of the local hospital when one of the big truck drive over you after you fall. The thing that scares me about falling are the roasties (or tar burn if you like.) Tar is amazingly abrasive and removes great quantities of skin. My SO keeps on at me about how I will look if I fall of on Camaro and I keep saying that I hope that I know nothing about it if this does happen. I'm a big sissy and don't like pain. Jeeeeesh, 102 down the steps is pretty fast. My current speed record there is about 65. This is why it is such an issue for me to get a new bike. I want to go faster downhill than I can at the mo'. I can go faster on flats as well although I am happy with my uphill speed. Handling becomes an imperative at these higher speeds.

I'm with you there Swissvan. What a relief. Adjusting the magnet is the easy bit. It's moving the sensor that turns me into a jibbering nervous wreck. That magnet goes past the sensor quite a few times a minute when you get to go some of the hills around my area. One such mine shaft is called Camaro and my best speed down Camaro is around 94. Now Metro have put up a permanent Camera to catch the speedsters. Wonder if the bike will trigger the camera. Plan on doing a 50k cycle later today and will try to see what speed I can get on Camaro. Problem is I dare not turn around and smile for the camera at that speed. What are some of the max speeds you guys have "clocked"?

This logic of 1 rpm is indisputable, no matter how far from the centre the magnet is placed. However, the magnet has to travel a greater distance around the outside of the wheel than it does closer to the centre. Therefore the magnet speed is higher as it passes the sensor (At the outside of the wheel) and it is possible that it may effect the accuracy. My previous cateye was one of the older models that had a magnetic strip around the very base of the spokes at the hub. I still have no idea how much better that system was from an accuracy point of view, but it left little doubt as to setup as there was only one possible setting.

Thanks TNT1. The equipment is obviously designed to read the speed of the magnet where ever it is placed on the spoke. It just seems to me that the speed of the magnet closer to the outside will be faster than closer to the inside of the wheel. Do you have any idea of how accurate these things are. I know it depends on tyre size, rim diameter and setup, but I have mine set for 700 by 23 c which is the correct setting formy rims and tyres. I am interested to know how close to true speed it reads.

I have cateye velo 8. According the the FM (Manual) they do not specify the distance of the magnet from the centre f the hub but the pic shows about three-quaters distance from the hub. The question I have is would I get a different reading if I placed the magnet and pickup closer to the hub? How would this effect the accuracy of the instrument? I have seen various placings of the magnet and sensor and believe that it should be closer to the centre of the wheel.

My best offer is 50 cents a kilo.

That means some pretty hectic cadence if my rithmetic is fair. High cadence = high heart rate. Very basic logic applied. Ahh yes, the good old GPS. Don't ahve one but I need to chat to my boet. He does. Maybe it can tell me what the gradients are. Bellaires is another hill I do a lot of training on and I get up there between 13 and 17 depending on wind direction, at low cadence. I have tired lower gearing for higher cadence, but it just makes me tired and I still turn the legs over at the same speed, so my road speed goes down. I will spend some time trying to get up the same hills at higher cadence and improve my level of fitness.

I have some Panda cycling gear and it is super comfy. If their gloves are anything as comfy, they should be great. The web is www.pandasport.co.za Speak to Anto or Roberto.

Dude. My maths at school sucked and to be honest, I have no idea of gradients that I ride. I live in the south of JHB (Actually Alberton, and I train on some fairly heavy hills. I weigh around 100 kg and Butchers hill is quite steep. (Unknown gradient.) I tackle that oneon my big chain ring (52) and the 19 tooth cog when I am battling but get to the 17 tooth as I get fitter. Suffice to say, that unless I am doing Fileds Hill in KZN, I cannot see myself using anything bigger that the 17 on any hill in and around the city of Gold and that's off the bigger chain ring. Agree that doesn't make me superman, a helicopter pilot or anything fantastic, I just cannot "spin" uphill. I prefer heavier gears. So even though my own frame and the frame of my bike are heavy, I still prefer to power uphill than spin. Downhill of course, I run out of speed and gear very quickly and because I have no speed. I get frustrated. If you know The Lido hill (between Mondeor and the Lido Hotel) or butchers, can you give me an incling of gradient? What sort of speed do you get up such a hill in the gearing you use? I am very interested to know.

My current bike, which I have only recently discovered is about 18 years old, has a 52 chainring up front. Not sure what size the smaller of the two is, but I have never used the smaller one. As in never ever. Doesn't it defeat the object if you replace an 11 23 with a 12 25 and then put on a bigger chain ring?. In my limited knowledge, you have smaller back gearing to increase top end, coupled with a bigger chain ring. Correct me if I am wrong here, (for I am stil learning), but that seems like an exercise in futility. Put bigger cogs on the back, and then put bigger cogs on the front, because we have lost the top-end speed we used to have on the smaller one. I understand that increasing the front by one tooth is not going to have as dramatic an effect as decreasing the back by one. The combination would be significant, but surely the 11 23 had sufficient gears for you to run on a twelve anyway. Older bikes like mine are 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 and 23. The newer bike will have 9 rear cogs starting at 11 and probably only have tooth incriments of one tooth per cog for the high speed gears and then probably two teeth in the low spped cogs. This is just my simple logic applied to a situation and as I said, I may have to stand corrected. Just seems crazy to change a back cluster and then change the front as well because you lost some top end. Shoot me down gently if you must.

Thanks Felty. Whatever bike I get, I might be intersted in getting my hands on that 11. 23 cluster / casette, if you still have it, unless of course you live so far away from JHB that it is more worthwhile to just go and buy myself one. I have never ridden on a gear cluster of that size, but given that I run out of steam on my 13 25 and only use the smallest 4 cogs, I don't see a problem adapting to an 11 23.

Dunno. I have not seen the bike yet so the colour is unknown. If it is orange, I can see a respray coming before I even ride it. The process is open to many alternatives right now, but we have taken the first few baby steps to moving up from last place in the race to second last. Spidey, is there a basic problem with the Monac frame that would require backup. Are there structural weaknesses that should make me change my mind and rather opt for the raleigh? How often do frames break and what are the chances of this happening? I have heard of carbon frames breaking but not ally composite frames, unless they are seriously abused.