A Spoke Too Soon Forgotten

This spoke break location is atypical. It usually breaks at the bend.

If you ride enough miles, you will break a spoke. Now if your wheel has 32 or 36 spokes, it’s no big deal. If you have one of those wheels with just 16 radial spokes, there is a greater chance of major wheel misalignment or sudden failure.

Recently I broke a rear spoke on the freewheel side, the location where spokes are more likely to break. They are under more tension to account for extra dish to accommodate a freewheel.

I didn’t realize it, but a freewheel puller for a standard freewheel works just fine, assuming you have the proper puller. There are many different pullers. This spoke broke on a modern freewheel , which is built into the hub. My freewheel puller was made for old hubs with detachable freewheels. It happens to have the same notch pattern as the new freewheel lock ring. The other tool you need is a chain whip.

Shimano Tiagra 32-spoke hubs have a lock ring that keeps the 10 sprockets in place.  Be sure to keep these sprockets in exactly the same alignment when removing them. Preferably, remove all the sprockets at once to keep their alignment.

Lock rings have a right-hand thread. The bad news: that’s the direction of freewheel movement, so you need a chain whip to counteract movement. Use a wrench to engage the freewheel puller. Once the lock ring is unthreaded, remove the sprockets. Shimano shows how it’s done.

Next, remove the broken spoke. If you are replacing a similar gauge spoke you can unthread the spoke from the nipple without having to let air out of the tire. If you use a different gauge of spoke, you have to replace the nipple as well, otherwise the spoke will not thread onto the nipple. Replace the sprockets and then thread the lock ring and tighten.

I have a ton of spokes, so it was easy to find one that fit. A bike shop will have spares and can size the spoke so you get the right length. Insert the new spoke and follow the same cross pattern. Make sure the spoke end is flush with the hub. Rethread the spoke into the nipple and tighten with a spoke wrench. True the wheel.

Shimano drawing showing freewheel removal procedure

GM Architect of Light Rail’s Dismantling

Light rail tracks on The Alameda in 1984 near Santa Clara University

As GM gets its multi-billion-dollar government bailout using taxpayer dollars, let’s take a look back in time and see what this goliath did to assure its climb to power at the cost of public transportation.

GM began by funding a company called National City Lines (NCL), which by 1946 controlled streetcar operations in 80 American cities, including San Francisco.

“Despite public opinion polls that showed 88 percent of the public favoring expansion of the rail lines after World War II, NCL systematically closed its streetcars down until, by 1955, only a few remained,” writes author Jim Motavalli in his 2001 book, Forward Drive.

They went on to back a powerful lobby for an interstate highway system. The money we poured into building freeways could have gone toward bullet trains crisscrossing the country.

The freeway-building madness finally ground to a halt in the late 1960s when the cost became too high and the environmental movement got underway. Let’s not forget:

Freeways were slated for Highway 84 from Woodside to San Gregorio, Highway 17, San Francisco (several), Highway 1, Highway 29 Napa Valley, Highway 121 Sonoma Valley, Highway 35 Skyline Boulevard, San Tomas Expressway, Lawrence Expressway, Capitol Expressway, and that’s not all.

Nasty Reservoir Bypass Now a Memory

After an endless closure, the Lexington Reservoir paved trail is open again.

After two years of being denied the use of the paved Los Gatos Creek Trail up the face of Lexington Reservoir (14 percent), it is now open! I can’t tell you what a pain it was having to ride up (and down) the trail alongside the Lenihan Dam spillway. The gravel road has a steady grade of at least 20 percent. That test of lungs and legs is no fun, even for the young and strong.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District, whose website is seemingly always down, explains why the trail had to be closed for construction of a water diversion tunnel. Let’s hope we’ve seen the end of Los Gatos Creek trail closures.

While I enjoy riding on the trail, there’s one nasty steep spot remaining. Clearly, the South Pacific Coast route followed a gentler grade as it climbed through the canyon.  It crossed the creek on a trestle about where the steep spot is located.

Where was Rails to Trails when we needed them? If we had that route to Santa Cruz today, it would be one of the most spectacular trails in all of California. I mapped the route and have photos of the tunnel entrances, blasted shut by the U.S. Army in 1942.

Happy Trails.

Frozen Freewheel Fun

Freewheel ready for disassembly; Interior showing pawls; bad bearing

One day while riding home from work I started experiencing “chain suck” of the worst kind. When I coasted my chain wrapped around the freewheel and I had no choice but to keep pedaling. I knew what was wrong. The freewheel no longer turned.

It was worse than riding in a fixed gear because not only could I not coast, I had to keep turning the pedals or the chain would jam up on the chainwheel as well.  I made it home without stopping.

I decided to disassemble the freewheel and see what caused the failure. It had been knocking ever since I installed it, so I figured it would fail eventually.

Disassembling a freewheel is not recommended. It’s not worth the hassle. In my case, I wasn’t trying to make a repair. I was just curious. This was an old 6-speed  freewheel that nobody uses anymore. The main benefit of newer freewheels is that the axle has more hub support, so is less likely to fail. That has never been much of a problem for me so I’ll keep using the old-fashioned 6-speed until it’s no longer available. That might be in my lifetime.

The advantage of a thread-on freewheel is that if the freewheel fails, you don’t have to buy a new hub, an expensive proposition.

The key to disassembly is having the right tools and knowing that the lock ring with the two recessed holes (that might take some kind of tool) is a left-hand thread. The late Sheldon Brown wrote about freewheel disassembly.

Using a punch and hammer, I tapped off the lock ring and looked inside. I saw about 100 1/8-inch bearings, minus cages. Sure enough, a ball bearing on the upper race disintegrated and over time the pieces migrated, causing a jam-up.

So much for my $25 freewheel. Cogs wear out on freewheels, which is the main reason they get tossed. What’s especially frustrating is when you have a new chain and a old freewheel or an old chain and a new freewheel. The chain skips on the freewheel and makes life miserable. You know it’s time for new cogs, a new chain, or both.

Sometimes you can get away with changing only a cog or two. Typically, the smaller cogs wear out first, although if you ride around in the same cog all the time, that’s the one that will wear out.

Bikes and Dogs Don’t Mix

City of Chico gets it. They flag 10 dangerous riding situations.

I get really uncomfortable when I see someone riding a bike, dog in tow on a leash. Beverly Head felt that way too as she took her morning walk. She worried about dogs on Los Alamitos Creek Trail in south San Jose.

What happened next may be a fluke, but avoidable. On a fairly long leash, two Siberian Huskies strayed away from the cyclist on a mountain bike. Beverly got entangled in the leash and fell backwards onto her head. She died two days later.

I read this article in the San Jose Mercury News. It went on about how a law might be needed. A law is not needed. What people need is common sense. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough to go around, apparently.

I take a dim view of people who ride a bike with a dog loping along on a leash, people who talk on cell phones while cycling, people who listen to music with ear plugs in both ears while riding. I could go on.

A recent study by Stanford University researchers demonstrated that multi-tasking isn’t something people do well, although to hear it from people who do multi-task, they think they’re doing great.

Next time you see someone riding a bike with dog in tow, give him a wide berth and watch your back.

Can You Take the Heat?

Already fried at the Mt. Hamilton summit in 1987. Ted Mock, Jim Westby, Joanne Klebe.

As we finish the last hot days of the year, I’m reminded of a Mt. Hamilton ride during the 1980s when a little heat didn’t slow us down. We rode in 105 degree temperatures, all day. Our route took us to the back side of Mt. Hamilton, Livermore, and back to our start in Milpitas via Calaveras Road — 102 miles.

I’m amazed we did it as I look back on it. We could just as easily have turned back at the summit.

It occurred to me that I could use our Misty Mate on hot rides. These hand-operated water pumps put out a satisfying mist spray. They would be perfect for a bike ride. I’ve used them on hot days around the house, but never on a bike ride. I’ll try it out and let you know how it works − next year. We’ve probably seen the last of the hot days in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Land Speed Records Broken

As I was listening to the radio, a report came over about a land speed record by bike – 82.4 mph. It took a while for that to sink in. I wrote about the record in the SF Chronicle, when it was set by Fred Markham in 1986. Speed: 65.4 mph.

The Sunday Post has an article about Sam Whittingham. What struck me is that he needed five miles to get up to speed!

It came at the World Human Powered Speed Challenge, Sep. 14-19 at Battle Mountain, Nevada, a desolate, flat stretch of highway 200 miles northeast of Reno.

Barbara Bautois set the women’s record of 72.5 mph.

The video posted here is available on YouTube and shows the 2008 event, not 2009. You get the idea.

I Stop for Silver

Not bad for a day's ride.

Our city streets may not be lined with gold, but there’s plenty of coinage, if you’re willing to keep your eyes open.  Today I found $2.16. The coins were scattered in a small area on San Tomas Expressway.

I have two rules about stopping for coins. 1) I don’t stop for pennies. Sure, I’ll bend over and pick it up if I’m stopped at a light. 2) I don’t risk my life. If a coin is out in traffic, I leave it alone.

It was early on a Sunday morning, so I helped myself to a coin bonanza. I don’t know how it got there. It already looked like road kill, so it was most likely out there more than a day. I even left some coins behind since I would have violated rule #2.

In 2006, I tracked how much money I found in a year. It came to $6.30. That will buy a new tube, or 20 patches. This year I’m keeping track again, and I’m now at $3.50 with nine months to go.

This is the most change I’ve found at once. I have found other goodies, mostly work gloves, tools, hats, and a couple of cell phones (both returned to owner). I’ve only found a few bills. They don’t last long before someone nabs them.

If you see change on the road, feel free to stop and pick it up. We need to keep money in circulation. If it’s scuffed up that’s fine. We want to recycle old coins, which are melted down to make more coins.

Happy hunting.

Mt. Hamilton Road An Engineering Marvel

As I was riding up Mt. Hamilton last week, I checked out the number of feet climbed per mile in the last several miles. Amazingly, the road climbs almost exactly 300 feet per mile. I say amazing because the road was built in the day of horse, mule, and wagon, finished in 1876.

As you may know, the road was built for the express purpose of providing access to Lick Observatory, which started operations in 1889. Santa Clara County built the road for $70,000. Such a deal.

Check out these links to see what the road looked like when built. It would be a hard ride even with a mountain bike!

Smith Creek construction site

Road near summit?

Color post card – muddy

Mt. Hamilton Road when built. Bring your mountain bike.

 

Mt. Hamilton Road today. Carbon-fiber approved.

Bike Shop Ads for Traffic Jams

Would Burma-Shave ads get their attention?

A thought while passing a traffic jam on 101: If you’re a student of advertising, you’ll know of the Burma-Shave ads.  It was a series of six small signs posted at intervals along the road with expressions about shaving. The last sign was the product name – Burma-Shave.

Find a busy stretch of freeway with regular backups. That won’t be hard. Post the signs, something like this:

Daily exercise

No traffic jams

Gas bill zero

Fresh air

Cheap transportation

NAME OF BIKE SHOP