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Tighten Your Cleats!

02.10.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

On a recent ride, I turned into the parking lot of one of those stand-alone Walgreen’s drug stores that seem to have cropped up on every other corner, when something didn’t feel right.  My right foot was looser than it usually is.

I stopped at the edge of the lot, used the opportunity to drink from my water bottle, and then I sat on the curb to take a look at my shoes.

The cleat on the right shoe had come loose.  Not catastrophically – I could move it a little with my hand – but the constant pressure in the pedal had loosened it up.  A few quick turns of the screws with my 4 mm Allen wrench, and it was solidly back in place.

I hadn’t been experiencing the same feeling on the left shoe, but decided to take a look anyway.  Sure enough, I could tighten those screws about a half-turn each as well.

I do periodic checks of the bike between rides, making sure the tires are in good shape, that everything moves smoothly.  I guess I’ll have to add a non-bike equipment check, too, and look at those cleats every couple of months.  It could save some headaches down the road.

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Categories // Equipment Tags // cleats, shoes

How Do Bike Trainers Generate Resistance?

01.27.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

Bike Noob took a look at trainers at about this time last year, and is revisiting the topic with a guest post from Ron Fritzke.  Ron describes himself as a “cycling product reviewer with a passion for ‘all things cycling’.”  A former 2:17 marathoner, he now directs his competitive efforts toward racing his bike…and looking for good cycling products.

It doesn’t take too much time wading through the bike trainer world to get a good feel for the various features and benefits that a perspective buyer should keep their eye open for.  I’ve spent hours and hours writing indoor bike trainer reviews and have come to conclude that several factors are on most cyclist’s minds when they’re looking for a bike trainer.

Is It Quiet Enough?

Although the level of sound coming from the trainer doesn’t directly effect the workout, it sure effects the riders enthusiasm for getting onto it to begin with.  And that’s saying nothing about the lack of enthusiasm, or even open hostility the rider will face from members of the family who are subjected to a howling wind trainer.  It can get so loud that even residents living in the same apartment complex stop saying ‘Hello’ in the hallway, replacing the greeting with a scowl.

In general terms, the fluid trainers are the quietest, the magnetic (mag) trainers come in second place, and the wind trainers can create a sound similar to a living room hurricane.

Where’s The Resistance Coming From?

It’s not too hard to figure out where the resistance comes from in each of the three main trainer types.  The wind trainer creates resistance by spinning an impeller through the air, the fluid trainer does something similar by spinning an impeller through fluid (typically silicone), and the mag trainer creates resistance by spinning repelling magnets past each other as the flywheel spins.

Moving Air

Starting with the simplistic wind trainers, there isn’t too much mystery as to what’s going on with this type.  After all, everything’s exposed.  In case the word impeller isn’t in your knowledge base, it’s nothing more than a propeller with the blades safely inside the flywheel rather than pointing outward.  A true propeller might be interesting except for the possibility of the manufacturer’s legal department  having to  field a lot of ‘missing fingers and toes’ complaints.

An interesting version of wind trainer design is CycleOps’ vortex shaped impeller.  The claim is that it increases resistance while reducing noise.  That sounds like the best of both worlds in the wind trainer world.

Magnets That Hate Each Other

Heralding back to the days of primitive elementary school science experiments, mag trainers use the repelling force of similar poles of magnets to create resistance.  These trainers work by spinning the magnets on one part of the trainer past the magnets on another part of the mag trainer.  The repulsion as they get close to each other creates the resistance.

The big issue with mag trainers centers around how they increase or decrease the resistance levels.  On the least sophisticated models, the rider dismounts (getting a welcome relief from the tyranny of the workout) and changes the setting directly on the trainer.  The next level of complexity requires the rider  to merely change the setting using a lever that’s been attached to the handlebars.

A recent development in mag trainers is the system on the CycleOps Magneto.  It’s called progressive resistance and uses the power of centrifugal force to spin the magnets further and further away from center as the rider increases their intensity.  The engineering in this model is such that there’s more resistance the further the magnets move outward.

Fluid Trainers And Leakage

Fluid trainers have long been at the top of the heap when it comes to resistance.  On these trainers the harder you pedal, the more the trainer resists.  While that may seem obvious, what I mean is that the resistance increases exponentially.  If you were to look at the level of resistance as it relates to the speed of the turning wheel you wouldn’t see a straight line.  Instead you’d see an intimidating upward swooping line that almost approaches vertical at the upper end.  This type of resistance is particularly valuable for strength type workouts and may not be as necessary for trainer riding at a steady state.

In the past, it was almost certain that fluid trainers would begin leaking due to the friction and extreme heat generated during a workout.  The whole leakage problem was confronted head-on when the Kurt Kinetic company developed a design that is today featured in all of their fluid trainers, with the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine being the foundation of the line.

Kinetic trainers have a sealed chamber housing the impeller and the silicone.  Outside of the chamber is a flywheel with six strong magnets imbedded into it.  These are matched to six magnets in the impeller.  In this case, rather than repelling each other, these magnets are configured to form a magnetic bond to each other.  The result is a magnetic coupling with the impeller and the flywheel spinning in tandem without the sanctity of the fluid chamber being breached.

Not to be left behind by this design, the Cycleops Fluid 2 Trainer is the result of efforts on the part of CycleOps to beef up their fluid trainer products.  It’s not clear how they accomplished the improvement, but it’s very evident that something’s been done since customer dissatisfaction is markedly reduced among the ever present complainers on the internet.

Summing It Up

It’s been my intention to expose the reader to the implications of how each of the trainers generates resistance.  Each of the styles has its strengths and weakness…no one type suits every rider.  Casual riders may do well with the relative simplicity of a wind trainer, while more intense riders would be best suited to a fluid bike trainer.  There’s plenty of information on the internet, and my intention is that this short article will get you asking the right questions in your quest for a good bicycle trainer.

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Categories // Equipment, training Tags // guest post, trainer

A New Year, a New Bout of Noobishness

01.01.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 11 Comments

The new year kicked off with a smorgasbord of different rides.  It seemed everyone wanted to get out on their bikes on January 1.  Mrs. Noob and I decided to do the “Resolution Ride,” sponsored by Bicycle Sports Shop and Austin Cycling Camp.  The 9 a.m. start didn’t faze us, since we have long since stopped going out on New Year’s Eve and braving the highways on “amateur night.”

Anyhow, got there in plenty of time, and the first two people I run into are two of my favorite Twitter pals, Torsten (@twtx61) and Tim (@T_Starry).

Torsten and Tim. TNT? They're dynamite bikers.

They were both doing the 50-mile option, but Pat and I decided to do the 25-mile distance.  The plan was for me to go out at my own pace, then wait for her at the end.  Since there was beer and tacos at the end, that wouldn’t be too much of a problem.

But I sensed a problem several miles into the ride.  My left foot felt like it was rocking on the pedal.  I’ve felt that sensation before, and it turned out to be a bad cleat.  However, I know that cleat is in pretty good shape, so I was trying to figure out the cause of the rocking.

My left heel felt a bump.  I looked down, and saw that my heel was hitting my left chainstay.  Wow, I thought, that cleat must be coming loose!  Since I carry a multi-tool with me, I decided to stop at the top of the next hill and tighten the cleat.

I never got there.  Suddenly, I heard a “clank,” and my foot fell into thin air.  I looked down at a horrifying sight – no left crankarm or pedal!

I stopped the bike, got off and looked back down the road.  There it was – about 20 yards back.  Some cyclists coming up behind me were pointing at it, and wondering who the poor sap was who — oh, it must be this guy, as they saw me walk toward the crank and pedal lying in the middle of the shoulder.

“Hey, ya need anything?” came the familiar call, as each cyclist passed me.  This time, I said something other than, “Nope, I’m good.”

“You got an 8 mm Allen wrench?” I called out.  Lots of sheepish looks as they pedaled by.  One guy thought he did, but it was the same Park Tools multi-tool I have, that only goes up to 6 mm.  I plunked down on the guardrail at the side of the road.  Although this was a non-supported ride, Bicycle Sports Shop did have a van on the route, helping with more than routine repair jobs.

One guy had a novel idea.  “Use my car key,” he said.  I’ll be darned – it worked, up to a point.  At least I got the pedal bolt screwed in about halfway.  I didn’t want to risk more than that.  “Thanks, but I don’t want to bend your key,” I told him.  “I’ll wait for the van.”

Pat caught up to me, and told me the van was helping with a flat tire a little ways back.  I told her to keep going.  I would either get fixed and catch her, or I would be a while, and meet her back at the shop later on.

One of the Austin Cycle Camp riders pulled up, and he had a super-deluxe spiffed-out multi-tool that had an 8 mm.

In no time, the bolt was tightened, and the pedal was securely back on the bike.  I hopped back on, and caught Pat about a mile down the road.  We had a great ride, with the wind mostly at our back on the return leg.

Pat is glad to be at the top of yet another hill.

So, why the heck did the crank come off?  It’s not the first time it’s loosened up.  I had the bike tuned last fall, and the mechanic mentioned that he tightened it.  I do the ABC Quick Check before each ride (except this one), but the day before it was tight.

The 8 mm wrench is sticking up from the set.

It’s an easy fix.  I’ve got an 8 mm Allen wrench, but it’s part of a set I keep in the garage.  Clearly, I couldn’t get at it when I was 30 miles from home.  This afternoon, that wrench came off the set, and is now ensconced in my seat bag.

I think I’m also going to have to be more attuned to the tiny variations in my bike’s feel.  If I know the cleat doesn’t seem right, for example, I’m going to stop right away and check it out – not wait until I get to the top of the next hill.

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Categories // Equipment, Maintenance, Rides Tags // cranksets, repair

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