Fixit

Yes, it’s been awhile since I’ve last posted here. I feel guilty, Wiley’s been giving me irritated sideward glances, and I don’t even have anything interesting to say about working on your bike. Terrible!

I would like to share with you, however, a sublime joy of mine that does not often get shared with anyone else. No, it’s nothing like that. Get your mind out of the gutter.

Something that brings an immense amount of joy to me is…taking the long way home. There’s something about it that, on a bicycle, is more of an affirmation of one’s freedom than simply taking the scenic route home by car. When you take an hour to ride home after work, you get a more complete picture of the world around you. You can take back roads and alleys, singletrack and gravel paths, rail trails and dirt roads.

Go down that gravel road, cross the tracks, dodge some water-filled potholes and say “Hi” to the horses. Pass the old mill on the right, then trackstand for a second before darting across the busy road, go another quarter mile, hang a left and laugh at the private golf club, complacent in its sequestered subculture it creates.
Just a bit further and you pass the dog park, smiling as the canine exuberance for life infects you. Skirt the big puddle and pass the animal hospital. Hang a left and settle into a nice, consistent rhythm, pausing at the creek to wonder aloud at the presence of acres of Kentucky Bluegrass in Montana.
After a couple more miles hang a left into the park. Tolerate the washboard gravel road for fifty or so yards and smile at more horses before ducking into the gravel path on the left. From there it’s about a mile of twisty gravel paths, looping around with a few wooden bridges thrown in for good measure. Well, now it’s creeping past seven and a hunger for barbeque is now impossible to ignore. A quick stop in the grocery store for something to throw on the grill and it’s a quick ride home.

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

It is. And it’s something I’ve not experienced driving a car.
Am I preaching to the choir? Probably. Does it matter? Nah.

A few months ago I wrote an article about making useful tools from spokes. Finally, I’ve got those pictures I promised. Click on any of these shots for full-size images.

Chain Holder

This is possibly the easiest and most useful tool, a chain holder. Whether you’re removing or installing a chain, this little guy holds the chain right in place while you push the pin in or out.

While we’re on the subject of chains and utility, the SRAM Power Link is one of my favorite things in the entire world of bicycles. This modern master link eliminates the possibility of re-installing a chain pin incorrectly. It’s also easy to remove and is available for 6/7/8 and 9 speed chains. I use them on all my bikes and I have yet to have one break. I also carry one in my Camelback while mountain biking as a quick and easy way to repair a broken chain. They’re about $5 at most shops.

Pokey Tool

This tool requires the availability of a bench grinder (or a sharpening stone and persistence). The best spoke is 1.8mm (15ga) since it will fit inside derailleur cable housing. When you cut a new piece of cable housing the inner sheath always gets crushed. Use this tool to open it back up.

Hookey Tool

This little number is most useful for working on suspension forks- it’s easy to pull out springs and washers from long, skinny tubes. It’s also handy for cleaning out tubes like steerer tubes on forks and seat tubes. Just jam a rag down a dirty tube and use the hookey tool to pull it out. I’ve also used it extensively while working on my cars, especially when pulling wires through small spaces. I simply ground down the hook end to a point, but by creatively bending a spoke one can make a similar tool.

So there ya go. I’m currently working on an article on tires, hopefully that will be up at the end of the week.

Today I’m going to make a bit of a diversion from the normal maintenance discussion here. Don’t worry; this is important stuff, probably more important than any little detail about some brake or derailleur adjustment.

This is about coffee. This is serious business.

Dave Letterman once said something along the lines of “If it weren’t for coffee, I’d have no identifiable personality whatsoever”. Most of my fellow dirtbag cyclists consider coffee to be one of the twin liquid crutches needed to get through the day. And my morning pot of coffee is something I am nearly as passionate about as bikes.

Call me an addict, but for me a morning without some good, simple coffee is no different than a morning without the sun rising- without either nothing good can follow.

Like with bike maintenance the secrets to making good coffee are readily available to those that care enough to search for them. The equipment is simple: a vessel for boiling water, something to hold the ground coffee, something to separate the spent grounds and water, and something else to hold the finished product. A coffee grinder would be ideal as well.

Here’s what I use:

Most of the time I make a liter with an old Nissan stainless thermos and a filter holder that sits on top. This setup makes consistently delicious brew and is quite inexpensive. By not heating the finished coffee one avoids the scalded burnt flavor as the end of the pot is reached. This method results in a smooth and clear cup that is easily adjusted for strength by varying the amount and grind of the coffee.

I’ll also use a press pot, or French press (Freedom press?) when I am willing to have a bit more ceremony and character in my morning cup. Press pots are a bit more finicky with respect to the grind and require cleaning afterward but result in a cup of coffee that is chewy and big.

Occasionally I’ll use the automatic coffee maker I got awhile ago. Usually the automatics make a positively mediocre cup BUT with one small modification you can dramatically improve the quality of joe it creates. The problem with automatic coffee makers is that the water tends to drain out of the filter basket too quickly. If your coffee maker is the type that has a valve so you can remove the carafe before it’s done brewing you can take advantage of this mod.

Under the lid on most automatics is the arm that the hot water squirts out of on its way to the coffee. There should be a little clip that holds it tight to the lid. Remove this clip, so that you can have the lid open while the coffeemaker is in operation.

When you make coffee, leave the carafe out so the basket fills with water. Gently stir the grounds and when it’s just about full, put the carafe back and let the finished coffee drain. Do this again if you want. Drink and savor. Yumm.

Get some good-quality coffee. Compared to buying foofy lattes at Starbucks a $10 bag of nice, flavorful, preferably fair-trade shade-grown coffee is a bargain. Choose your bean carefully keeping in mind that darker is not necessarily better. A darker coffee showcases the rich roastyness and strength of flavor resulting from the roasting process, but tends to obliterate the subtle flavors inherent in the bean. Lighter roasts taste less robust but have a depth of flavor imperceptible in a darker one. The lighter varieties also tend to have more caffeine, too. Currently I’ve got some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe that is an incredible coffee. I’m going to avoid using normal flavor descriptors (like “a subtle nose of tobacco and leather, with overtures of carnuba wax and rosemary”), but this stuff has such a deep, thick, layered aroma when grinding you can almost see it. When you buy some beans, resist the urge to get the Costco 5lb bag. Think of buying in small quantities a way to try different types more frequently. I’ll usually get mine in bulk and only get a half pound at a time. Keep it in a dark container that looks nice so you smile every time you pull it out of the cabinet, sort of like my Chris King coffee container.

Grind only enough for what you’re making (takes a little trial and error) and don’t over-grind it. French Press gets a fairly coarse grind, drip a medium-to medium fine, and only espresso, moka pot, and Turkish gets the super-fine powdery grind.

Today I’m a bit sleepy so I’m going to use my thermos to make a full liter. I’ve figured out that this setup makes the best brew when I use a quarter cup of beans ground fairly fine. My grinder of choice is a $9 Toastmaster I got at the hardware store. Purists scoff at the thought of using a chopper-style grinder but it works fine.

I put a liter of water on the stove and I wait until the water starts to boil. As boiling commences I grind the beans. Make sure you take a good heady whiff of the thick aroma right after grinding. Toss the ground beans in the filter and pour the hot water over them. Try to keep the filter basket full of water to allow the most contact betwixt beans and water.

Once done, pour yourself a nice, hot cup of personality. I like mine with a touch of half and half. Ahhhhhh….

Now with caffeine and derring-do coursing through your veins you’re ready to take charge of day!

For those of you who listed “I wanna learn to adjust my cantilever brakes” as one of your New Year’s resolutions, well, you certainly are in luck! Today I just so happen to have a bunch of pictures and words to describe the subtle nuances in adjusting this challenging piece of hardware. You ready? OK….here we go….

A cantilever brake on a bicycle is an elegant example of balanced forces. There are two arms, connected to each other only by a cable. Two springs return the brake arms to their rest position. The main cable pulls at about the center of the straddle cable which pulls the brakes in towards the rim. When the pads contact the rim is when you start to slow down.

There are also a whole lot of fine details that have an effect on brake performance, but I’ll save that for a future “39 Abstruse Things Real Bike Geeks Care About” blog. I’m interested in getting you to adjust your brakes yourself adequately right now. I’ll also note that for the sake of clarity in the following pictures, I’ve removed the tire from my wheel. Be sure to ride with a tire and tube.

The first thing to do (and this applies to linear-pull and caliper brakes, too) is to clean your brake pads. If they’re really nasty and worn you should probably just replace them.

Brake pad performance will be adversely affected by a few specific maladies. These are glazing, uneven wear, and excessive wear. Heat from hard, long braking will cause glazing. This is noticeable while riding when the brakes start to not work so well and make a loud scraping metallic noise. Uneven pad wear can happen from pebbles or metal embedded in the pad or from an uneven rim braking surface. When you get excessive wear ‘s easy to tell- the grooves are gone. In this case you just need to get new pads. Relax, they’re usually only about $8 a pair.

Fortunately, there is an easy, cheap fix for the first two problems: a flat file (or sandpaper). Disconnect the brake and file the pad braking surface flat. This gets rid of the glaze and any unevenness present. Big chunks of foreign stuff should be pried out with something sharp. Sometimes you’ll get a ridge along the bottom of the pad from it coming off the bottom edge of the rim. If you’ve got this, just trim it with a knife.

The tricky thing with cantilever brakes is the number of related individual adjustments that can be made. You’ve got two cables. There are two pads that can move vertically and horizontally while having the freedom to rotate on two axes. And after all that, there is a spring tension adjustment for each arm. Check it out:

Oy! There’s so much! Trust me, it’s not that bad….I’ll walk ya through it.

First, locate the parts that you’re going to be turning with wrenches. For most brakes a 5mm allen holds the pad holder in place while a 10mm box wrench on the frame side of the arm tightens and loosens the pad holder. Some brakes mix this up a bit so your mileage may vary. For example, the Dia-Compe 986 on the front of my single speed mountain bike uses a 6mm allen on the outside for tightening duties and a 10mm open-wrench on the inside holds everything in place. Modern cantilever brakes like Avid Shortys are more like linear pull brakes, so I’ll cover them later.

Okay, probably the hardest part about this is holding the pad in place with one hand while tightening the nut. This takes a bit of practice. The setup theory is simple, however. Have the pad holder just about in the middle of the brake post. If your rim is especially wide or narrow you might have to move the arm in or out. We want the arm to be at about a 30 degree angle from vertical when the pad is a few millimeters from the rim. Looking at the pad from the side, it should follow the curvature of the rim (or as close as you can get if the pad’s not curved). Looking at the top of the pad the front should just contact the rim just slightly before the rear (toe-in). Above all, try to get everything symmetric. Also keep in mind the variations in brake design- these directions represent about 80 percent of what’s out there (early to mid 90’s parts). With older brakes the arms are going to have to stick out more. That’s ok. Actually, it’s better to have the arms sit wider than narrower.

Here are some shots of my dirty bike (and please disregard the junk on my floor):

(a picture is worth a dozen words)

So now we’ve got the pads where we want them, right? The brake looks nice and even on both sides and the arms are sitting at about the same angle? If something is uneven even after the pad adjustments are perfect mirror-images of each other then check the wheel centering. I’ve seen frames where the brake posts are welded or brazed on unevenly, if this is the case get the arms at the same angle and adjust the pads to compensate.

Now we’re ready to adjust the cables. Start with the yoke (or straddle-puller-thingie) and set it so that it’s two to three centimeters above the tire. More than this results in a firmer feel at the lever but a weaker brake. Less than this makes for a stronger but mushier-feeling brake that is more prone to rubbing on the rim. When you’ve got the yoke anchor bolt nice and tight (important!) feed the straddle cable through and to both arms. Feed the straddle cable through the anchor bolt. An easy way to get close to the proper tension is to back out the barrel adjuster one-third to one-half of the way out, pull the straddle cable tight with the pads contacting the rim while tightening the anchor bolt tight (important!). Fine-tune your lever feel with the barrel adjuster but be sure to leave enough to compensate for pad wear.

After you’ve got everything done, you might notice that one pad rubs slightly on the rim. This is easily remedied by fine-tuning spring tension on the brake arms. The adjustment is frequently a small (2 or 2.5mm) set screw on the side of one or both arms. Turn the screw in to tighten the spring and to pull the pad away from the rim. Back it out to weaken the spring and to allow the pad to get closer to the rim. Some brakes use a thin 13mm wrench (like a cone wrench) against the brake boss to adjust spring tension. For these, turn the wrench in the direction you want the brake to move. Be sure you tighten the main brake mounting bolt after (or while) you do this.

The last thing to do is to ensure that the pads are not hitting the tire or spokes. If they are, re-adjust.

Whew! How was that?

Don’t be dismayed if it didn’t turn out perfect the first time. Next to front derailleurs cantilever brakes are probably the trickiest things to adjust. Give it a shot, and above all make sure you’ve got everything tight. And feel free to leave a question in the comments if you’ve got one.

Happy stopping!

I didn’t write last week. Sorry.

So on to this week’s subject: Brake adjustment. The brake is the second most important piece of safety equipment on a bike (behind the rider’s brain) and also seems to be among the most mysterious and the most ill-adjusted.

A brake’s function is simple: Take forward kinetic energy and convert it to heat energy, stopping the bike and rider in the process. All brakes work this way, whether they’re caliper, cantilever, linear-pull, or disc. Paying attention to a few key adjustments determines how effectively the brake will work.

There’s a few things common to all brakes to keep in mind I’ll cover first.

-The pads must hit the braking surface correctly (either flush or toed in slightly)

-The cable tension should be set properly: Not too tight, not too loose. Brake pads should touch the rim when the lever is about halfway through its travel.

-Braking surfaces should be cleaned periodically. What ‘cleaning’ entails and how frequent ‘periodically’ is changes depending on riding conditions, brake design, and riding style. Just wipe ‘em down once in awhile. If they’re glazed just rub them lightly with a bit of fine sandpaper.

Those are the basics. Now let’s get our hands dirty!

This week we’ll cover the simplest kind of brake, usually only found on road bikes: the caliper. Caliper (or sidepull) brakes have a single point of attachment on the fork or frame and the cable attaches on the side- hence, sidepull.

All there is with this brake is to first ensure the pads hit the rim properly. Looking at the front of the pad it should be flush.

Looking at the top it should be slightly toed in, meaning that the front of the pad needs to touch the rim just before the rear. On most brakes, this helps to keep the brake quiet and not squeal.

On most caliper brakes, there is one bolt that holds the pad on and takes care of rotational and vertical adjustment. To adjust for toe in on brakes more than about five years old you simply bend the arm slightly with a crescent wrench. On newer or higher-end brakes the pad has a few spherical washers, allowing three axes of adjustment. With these brakes don’t bend the arm, just hold the pad where you need it as you tighten the bolt.

After the pads are set, the cable needs to be adjusted. This is easily done by squeezing the pads against the rim, fingers either around the tire or through the spokes. Loosen the cable fixing bolt, pull the cable snug, and tighten the bolt. Sometimes I like to back out the barrel adjuster out a few turns while pulling the cable tight, followed by turning the adjuster back in.

Give the lever a squeeze, the pads should contact the rim when the lever is about halfway through its travel. If the cable is set so that the lever stops with little pull the pads will sit too closely to the rim, making the pads rub if you get the slightest wobble in the wheel. Make sure that the lever has a nice firm feel, a mushy feel typically means that a pad is not contacting the rim properly. This will result in less braking control.

Finally, rotate the entire caliper so that the space between pad and rim is equal on both sides. You can do this with either a wrench on the flats against the frame or fork by simply grasping the whole brake and turning it.

So, follow these simple guidelines and you’ll be able to get your brakes dialed in without a problem- and without having to pay someone else to do it. That being said, if you’ve got any doubts about your handiwork, it’s best to have it checked with a professional. And don’t forget to use that front brake- it’s your friend.

Writing these blog posts I usually follow this pattern:

1. Go to a bar.
2. Wait for an idea.
3. Write.
4. Write something better Wednesday morning.

For today’s however, things worked out a bit differently. Surely a sign of something (not sure what) I heard “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins twice on Monday.

So why is this significant? Well, besides making me think about “Top Gun” it also reminds me of Lucas Brunell’s popular alleycat movies, especially the one in Baltimore. And it makes me think of riding in winter.

I’ve covered the accessories needed for fun winter commuting, now I’m going to share my thoughts on riding a bicycle, on snowy streets, with cars…and I’ll try to make it relate to F-14’s somehow.

I’m a believer that while riding in traffic, defensive riding is not enough. To get respect from motorists, or at least a bit of space and a safe riding experience you need to ride assertively.

OK, sit back, take a deep breath…you can do it.

Assertive riding is tough for most cyclists. We’re a marginalized form of transportation and despite a few carrots we’re occasionally handed in the form of bike lanes what we need to be safe, especially in the winter, is an air of confidence when on the road. It’s okay, in this country the law is on your side, even if motorists, cops, and other cyclists don’t know it.

Here’s the basics: You are entitled to a safe transportation experience while on the road, regardless of what kind of legal vehicle you are on/in (remember, in all 50 states bicycles are vehicles). The laws on the books- those laws about speed limits, rights-of-way, turn lanes, bike lanes, etc. are there to primarily to ensure road users’ safety, not to save some motorist the indignity of lifting his right foot. Remember this the next time an impatient-sounding Tahoe is behind you and you’re thinking of acquiescing and rolling quietly into the ditch.
More succinctly, remember this:

The lane is yours.

That’s right, if there is no room to ride where cars can safely pass(i.e. without going into oncoming traffic or forcing you off the road), you have a legal right to ride in the middle of the lane, if that is the safest. I understand that it feels wrong, that you’re creating an awful, terrible inconvenience for others (tough!) but your safety is what you need to be looking out for. Worry about inconvenience some other time. By choosing to ride a bike, you need to substitute moxie for a metal box you sit in comfortably.

There’s a handy analogy here, courtesy of Jim Harrison. In his book “The Raw and the Cooked” he mentions a specific attribute of French attitude as pertains to cooking but it also applies handily to a healthy cycling attitude: “…the French appear much less stressed by the daily impedimenta that haunt us all because they presume they’re always right.” As a cyclist on an American road, you are right (I’m assuming you’re abiding by general traffic laws. If you’re riding like an idiot, and you get hit, you get no sympathy from me). Have this attitude with you whenever you ride, and through your actions communicate to motorists, “I belong, I have the right.”

Now I’m neither a Francophile nor a Francophobe- the French are, well, French, but I have made use of this approach to my advantage for a number of years sharing roads with cars, and I encourage all cyclists to do the same. Don’t be mean, don’t be a pain, just be what you have a right to be: Traffic.

This post is not about bike maintenance. It’s not about fixing your bike. It’s not about some nifty MacGyver-esque method of crafting replacement spokes out of materials found on the roadside (I can rebuild this wheel, but I’ll need a lighter, a stick of margarine, some cat fur, and a turkey baster). Nope. None of that.

I’m writing about my ride today, along the theme of my post a few days ago about winter cycling. This morning I rode to the Western Cafe (the last connection Bozeman has to the Real Montana….that and I-90) in a chilly 5 degrees F. My gloves were a bit thin, since I lost one of my nice hardware store gloves a few days ago during a midday Xtracycle Photo session. I also should have had some thicker socks on, but neither of these kept me from having one of the best winter cycling experiences I’ve yet had. The snow was hard-packed, my studded tires making a consistent zipper sound. Traction was plentiful, allowing me to handily get the holeshot at traffic lights on Main Street. Bozeman’s lack of plowing prowess kept the roads slick, helping to keep responsible drivers from going too fast, and keeping me on more equal terms with cars.

What’s the point? If I driven it would have taken me just as long to get there,  I would have waited at least 5 minutes for the car to warm up, I’d have needed to search for a parking space, My toes would still have been cold, and my eggs, bacon, hash browns, biscuit and gravy would not have tasted as good as they did.

Bikes make transportation fun, even in winter.

Making the commitment to go car-free means that there are time when you have to carry more cargo than will fit in a messenger bag or backpack. I’ll be covering a few methods of how to do this from the low-budget DIY milk crate to accessories available for purchase. Here’s the first installment:
The Ubiquitous Milk Crate
The cheapest method of extending your bike’s carrying capacity is by simply tossing a milk crate on the rack of your bike.

First, obtain a rack. Decent racks start at $20 or so. Make sure you get one that has more than one set of vertical supports, not the kind with the spring-loaded clamp, as these racks are not durable enough for dedicated grocery hauling. A full expedition-style rack is not necessary, but generally the more you spend, the better the quality they tend to be. Old Man Mountain makes them better than most, at $45 and up. For those using their fancy-pants full suspension mountain bikes for commuting they also make a version that installs on bikes without rack braze-ons.
Next,  take your trusty milk crate and some bungie cords or, even better, some old tubes. Stick the crate on the rack and put bungies/tubes on all four sides for security. Make sure they’re nice and snug, you don’t want your quiche or Pomeranian falling out in traffic!
That’s about it. If this is going to stay on all the time, put your blinky taillight on the rack or crate, not on the seatpost.
Even though I have a BOB trailer, an Xtracycle, and a huge messenger bag I still used this method to bring stuffing and mashed rutabaga to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving last week. The icy roads (I’ve got studded tires on this bike and not on my Xtracycle) and need to keep the sensitive, delicate cargo upright necessitated the quick crate installation.
Here’s how I installed mine:

I first hooked the bungies on the sides of the crate so that it’s balanced side-to-side.  Next, I looped an old road tube through the handle in the front and wrapped it around the seat tube a few times before tying it off. Last, I looped another old tube through the rear handle and onto the bit of rear axle sticking out. If I were keeping this on all the time, I’d probably tie the rear tube directly on the frame, between the dropouts and brake bosses. The bowls of yummy fat-laden food were then stacked, wrapped with a towel, and placed in a canvas grocery bag before being placed in the crate. It worked great!

And that’s it. Easy, huh?

Cycling in winter can be fun or it can be miserable, depending on ones attitude and a few key items. Here’s a brief and entirely incomplete primer on how to go without your car during the cold months- written by a guy who doesn’t own a car and lives in Montana.

Sometimes, inspiration comes unexpectedly. While mulling over just how to write a lengthy dissertation on Chater Lea bottom bracket threading inspiration came this morning in the form of nice, fresh, snow.

So I decided to write about the winter cycling essentials (namely, a fun attitude) and things you can get away with (produce bags).

The absolute first thing you need is a healthy attitude and a sense of humor. Yes, you are embarking on a path that, to most people, lies somewhere between foolish and idiotic. However, you get rewarded with a cycling experience that even most cyclists don’t get to encounter: the rising sun, the brisk air clearing sinuses and cobwebs, the crunchy sound of ice beneath your tires, the feeling of skiing powder on your way to work, the sense of achievement because you stayed committed to staying out of a box with wheels.

Body
There are a few tangible things that will make the difference between an invigorating commute and a tolerable one. Don’t take this as gospel, though. I’m only intending this to be a guide, and improvise wherever finances and preferences allow.

Feet
This one’s actually pretty easy. For wintertime, I use a simple pair of hiking boots. A higher shoe allows some overlap, and if the boots are waterproof then things are that much cozier. Without waterproof shoes, all is not lost- you just need a couple of pairs of socks (preferably not cotton) and a pair of plastic bags. I prefer produce bags as they’re thinner and less obtrusive. Put on your thin socks (cycling socks work well), followed by the bags, then another pair of socks. I’ve got a pair of wool cycling socks I use for this. You’ll make a crinkling sound as you walk, but your feet will stay warm and mostly dry, except from a bit of sweat on longer rides. I once used a variation of this for a frigid and soggy mountain bike race in upstate New York a few years ago. As the rain and snow was falling en route to the race, I stopped at a convenience store and purchased a couple big bags of potato chips, the kind that are shiny (bags, not the chips). I donned them the way I’ve described, and while I was nearly hypothermic my feet were at least warm. Later, when the race was over I chowed down on the best tasting chips I’ve ever had.

Hands
I work at a bike shop, something I’ve done for half my life. I get good deals on bike stuff. Do you want to know what kind of gloves I use for commuting? Not bike gloves. For the most durable and most versatile gloves you can get, get thee hence to a hardware store. I’m on my third winter with my $20 lined deerskin gloves. The palms, knuckles, and fingertips are covered with deerskin and a polarfleece lining keeps them toasty. I find that they’re good for down to about 15 degrees. For colder conditions I picked up a set of Smartwool glove liners, available at many sporting goods stores, bike shops, and ski shops.

Legs
Long johns are a fantastic accessory to have, especially if they’re wool. I’ll use them on really cold days, or I’ll wear my Carhartt flannel lined pants. I’m a fan of them and some Carhartt double-paneled pants, but I’m not happy with how the seat wears out quickly. Until that happens, they’re great. Don’t forget the pants-leg strap. Rolling a leg up doesn’t cut it when the snow flies!

Head
This one’s pretty simple too. A thin beanie that fits under the helmet is sufficient for most winter conditions. When it gets really cold, a balaclava keeps your face and neck warm as well as your head. For glasses wearers, try this trick to keep fog from obscuring your vision: a small drop of shampoo or liquid hand soap rubbed on the inside of the lenses until sticky. Buff out with a soft cloth (never paper!). I’ve used this for years on my glasses and ski goggles, and no fancy-pants product I’ve bought has worked as well.

Body
Remember that you’re riding, not standing. Probably the worst mistake you can make here is to overdress. Riding in winter is harder work and you’ll be generating more heat than in milder weather. The old recommendations of layering and avoiding cotton apply. I’ve got a mid-weight fleecy jacket I wear over a shirt (thin long-sleeve if really cold, short sleeve if not so cold) and a water-resistant shell with armpit zips over that. This combo is good from 40ish down to 15ish, depending on wind. When it’s colder I add another long sleeve shirt. Colder yet? at that point I’ll wear either my ski jacket or a Carhartt work jacket I got a few years ago, still layering underneath. One rule of thumb to keep in mind: if you’re comfortable outside before you ride, you’ll get too hot when you’re pedaling. Aim for being just a bit chilly when you start, and you’re much less likely to get overheated and sweaty once underway.

Bike

If winter bike commuting is something you might be committed to one of the best ways to treat yourself is to get (or better yet-build) a bike that will be dedicated to commuting, at least in winter. I’ll describe what I have and why I like it, but with a few additions and a bit of maintenance just about all bikes will work well.

Lights
I mention this first, because of you’re not safe and you get hit by a car you won’t be able to ride, and that’s no fun. Lights are the single most important thing you need to put on your bike in the winter. In the last few years there’s been an incredible selection of bright, durable, and efficient lights on the market. For shorter in-town commutes most of the new LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights are sufficient. The goal here is to make yourself visible to motorists more than to help you see, and I’ve found that the slightly bluish tinge of LED light seems to stand out a bit more in a sea of yellowish-tinted halogen car headlights. These guys also have incredible battery life, allowing you to ride for a couple months without needing to replace batteries and are often waterproof. Diodes are more resistant to abuse, just about eliminating the possibility of burned-out bulbs. Don’t forget the rear light, also cheap and effective. Rear lights often have blinky modes, of which I’ve heard people say (this is entirely anecdotal) that cars get closer to when on. I keep mine on steady for this reason, but either is safer than not having anything. Reflectors are useful, but are not to be treated as a substitute for proper lighting. I do like how my bag (Crumpler Bee’s Knees) has a big reflective spot on it, and is worthwhile to consider when choosing gear.

Fenders
For a long time I rode with plastic clip-on fenders, a rear that strapped or clamped onto the seatpost and a front that was held on to the fork with a single bolt. I felt this was sufficient and treated the spray on my lower legs and feet to be part of riding in nasty conditions. Then last year I got myself a pair of real fenders, a set of Planet Bike full coverage jobs. You know, there’s a reason why all those old English bikes have ‘em: they work! My feet get a bit of light spray but other than that I stay dry, and staying dry is the golden path to eternal warmth. I think they look cool, especially after I put racing stripes on.

Tires
This depends a bit on location. Here in Montana we don’t get much ice falling from the sky or freezing rain, but we do have a city with a lackluster attitude towards plowing. Like my feelings on fenders, I thought that I could live without studded tires. I managed to, and I also accepted the occasional fall as part of the deal. Last year I also invested in some good quality studded tires (after a dismal attempt at siping some old mountain bike tires), and Ive found something else I refuse to go another winter with. They’re not cheap, at about $60 each but if you compare that to the cost of cracking your elbow on the ground it’s not too bad. To make the cost even more manageable, amortize that $120 over five or six years and the cost is minimal. I love how on my bicycle I have more control than most folks driving cars, and I no longer have any trepidation when approaching a frozen puddle with a truck on my left and a parked car on my right. If, on the other hand, if ice is not too much of a big deal just about any tire can work well. In snow (on roads, not trails) a thinner tire is best, slicing right on through with a minimum of effort. I’ve gotten impressive traction in a few inches of snow with some Panaracer Paselas in 35mm widths. Pure slicks won’t work, but you’d be surprised at how little tread is needed for traction.

Drivetrain
As far as maintenance and reliability is concerned, this is going to be where you put the most attention. I believe that the best winter bike is the simplest, and for that reason I’m riding a fixed-gear bike I built up a few years ago. With no gears and no freewheel I know that I can still regulate my speed. It’s geared lower in winter than summer, which keeps me from going too fast (something I’m apt to do) and also allows me to ride without any foot-retention device. On my bike with 26″ wheels, my summer setup is 26×1.25 slicks and 42×15 (68.5 gear inches) and in winter 42×18 and 26×2.1 Kenda studded tires (60.5 gear inches). I have a front brake, an XT cantilever which does get more use since I don’t have toe clips or clipless pedals in winter. Good chain lube is crucial- I usually use Pedro’s Synlube. If you have gears, it’s even more important to keep your chain and cables lubed, and don’t be surprised if your shifting is rendered inoperable after a snowstorm or nightfall when temperatures drop. It’s a good idea to park your bike in a middle gear in case things do freeze up.

Now you’re ready! Here’s a shot of my bike in its winter trim. Fixed gear for control and low maintenance, flat pedals for shoe versatility, front and rear LED lights for safety, and fenders to keep clean and dry.

So next time it snows for your morning commute, don’t take the easy way out and drive. Make a good cup of coffee (my current favorite is Ethiopian Harrar, made in a press pot), put on your long skivvies, bags on your feet, beanie under your helmet, a couple of layers and hardware store gloves and make your commute a memorable experience, not just another drive in bad weather.

There are many proponents of Internal gear hubs out there for practical, everyday bikes. Most of them cite reduced maintenance and general worry-free use. Although I have a soft spot in my heart for old Sturmey Archer parts I personally think that IGH’s are heavy, inefficient, and a pain in the butt when the rear wheel has to come off. So instead of yet another boring article on the differences in drivetrains, I’ll just show you the easy way to adjust a rear derailleur.

Unless you’re a fixie-riding hipster like this guy:

…you probably already have a bike with gears. Now most folks I know have bikes with derailleurs, and as I’ve stated previously I’m a fan. They’re light, reliable, more efficient than any other kind of gear system, and for someone who knows how to adjust ‘em, easy to work on. Most derailleur problems are limited to three root causes: Basic adjustment, Derailleur hanger misalignment, and excess wear. Of these three the majority of shifting woes come from a need of simple adjustment. So let’s get started!

The very first thing to check before you start turning knobs and screws is how well aligned the derailleur hanger is. On bikes that have been abused or those that have aluminum hangers this can be off by quite a bit. Here’s how you check:

· Look at the back of the derailleur.

· If it looks like this, it’s bent.

Ok, so you won’t have the convenient red and yellow lines. It is fairly easy to tell when things are a bit off. The pulleys and the cogs are supposed to be in a straight line. If they’re not, something’s bent. If it’s the hanger (usually the case and obvious in the above example) it needs to be straightened before any other work is done. This can be done well with a crescent wrench and a keen eye, or better at a shop with the right tool. If the derailleur itself is bent it’s best to start with a new one

Once the frame is straight, it’s time to adjust the derailleur. There are three main adjustments (and one minor that we won’t worry about now): cable tension, high limit screw, and low limit screw.

Let’s start by loosening the cable.

The limits seem to be the most confusing, but once you get the logic behind them, you’ll see that it actually makes a lot of sense. Both screws, when turned in, restrict the range of the derailleur. This means that by turning the high screw in, you make the derailleur stop further from the outside of the frame. By turning the low screw in, you make the derailleur stop on the low end further from the wheel. So if the chain falls off the big cog and into the spokes, you want to turn the low screw in. If the chain wedges nicely between the small cog and the frame, you want to turn the high screw in. Here’s a little pic (also note the H and L next to the screws):

(click for a full-size picture)

The opposite has, you guessed it, the opposite effect. By backing the screws out you allow the derailleur to move over a greater range. So if the derailleur does not move far enough to reach the high or low cog, you need to back out the H or L screw, respectively.

Remember to make small adjustments, on the order of a quarter turn at a time.

After these are done it’s time to fine-tune the cable tension. It’s always a good idea to start with a new cable and housing, but if you’re not into spoiling your bike like this, at least throw a bit of grease on the cable where it goes into the housing.
Start with the shifter in the highest gear and the chain on the smallest cog. Loosen the cable anchor nut or bolt, and snugly pull the cable, about as hard as one would perform a friendly yet mischievous bra snap. Tighten the cable anchor.

Pedal the bike, and shift into the second highest gear. For Grip Shift, this is rotating the shifter back. Rapidfire and SRAM trigger shifters; pressing the lower lever. Campagnolo and Shimano road Shifters; pressing the entire lever. If you have those loathsome Rapid Rise derailleurs (or “Low Normal”) that Shimano periodically foists upon us everything starts from the low gear. Thanks, Shimano! Opposite is not always an improvement, unless you’re into Kriss Kross and their backwards apparel.

Anyway, personal preferences aside, if upon that first click and pedal rotation the chain does not jump onto the second smallest gear, turn the barrel adjuster (the part the cable housing goes in) in the direction of the blue arrow while still turning the pedals. Expect a fair bit of noise and jumping around until it goes up and is happy. Do this until the chain jumps to the second gear or the barrel adjuster falls out. In the case of the latter, put it back, retighten the cable, and start over.

If the chain goes too far, then you’ve got the cable too tight, and you need to turn the barrel adjuster in the direction of the orange arrow. Again, if it won’t go, start over with adjusting the tension at the anchor bolt.

So, now we’ve got it to shift two gears ok. Assuming that everything else is lined up it should shift to the others accurately. Keep going through the gears, allowing yourself to become mesmerized by the synchronized beauty of such a simple and effective device. At some point shift it to the lowest gear, making sure that it does shift properly without falling off into the spokes (real bad). Fine tune the limit screws as needed.

The one last thing I should mention is the B Adjustment screw. This is the other little screw on the back of the derailleur next to the mounting bolt. Its job is to adjust the spring tension on the main pivot, controlling the amount of chain wrapping around the cogs. Don’t worry a whole lot about this one (hence the minor adjustment noted above) as the derailleur will shift well if this one’s off by a bit. If you’ve got multiple chainrings on the crankset, shift into the smallest ring. Then shift the rear into the biggest (lowest) cog. If there is a rumbling noise from the upper pulley contacting the big cog, turn the B screw in until the noise stops. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.

And that’s all there is to it. Barring any catastrophe (derailleur getting bent, run over, seized with quick-set concrete) you won’t need to pay any attention to your rear derailleur for awhile. I’ve got a cheap Alivio derailleur on my Xtracycle that I’ve touched once in two years. Learn to do it right, and you’ll see that you really don’t need an internal gear hub.

Now go have a beer, preferably a nice fresh hop beer. ‘Tis the season!