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Pull It Down

08.18.2013 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

On our Sunday club ride, we were joined by our friend Jerry, whose bad crash and broken leg I detailed in a post earlier this year.

Although Jerry has done some riding on the tandem he shares with his wife, this was his first ride on the roads with the club since his crash. Jerry has always been one of the more cautious riders I know, which is funny, because he’s also one of the faster riders in the club. But to ease back in, he decided to ride with the B’s today. He had decked himself out in a new kit, all in hi-visibility green — including his new helmet. He would be hard to miss.

Our ride was more like an A- group. A lot of folks decided the planned A ride wasn’t to their liking. Jordan came up with a good route, so some of us scrapped our plans in order to go with him. We had some strong riders, several who just wanted to take it easy after a grueling ride Saturday.

The ride got off to an inauspicious start. Just miles in, Maggie called out that she was abandoning. She had gotten a new crankset Saturday, and it wasn’t working out well. A clicking sound that started almost immediately got worse and worse. She decided to head home, and run her bike back to the bike shop for an adjustment.

After a quick run out to the zoo area, which features a nice, fast, twisty downhill, we had to turn around and head back up the hill. The group stayed together, which helped to negotiate the traffic, that was heavier than normal this morning.

Kenny was the next one to go. He had done one of the tough rides the day before, so he peeled off to head home after about 12 miles. Six of us were left to head east, and take a leisurely ride through a nice neighborhood on its ring road — a wide, smooth thorofare with almost no traffic.

It was after we left that spot, and were headed back to the start, that we regrouped at a stop light. Laura turned around to make sure we were all there, and noticed Jerry at the back.

Not Jerry.
Not Jerry.

“What’s with your helmet, Jerry?” she asked.

We all turned around to look.

Jerry’s lime green new helmet was sitting funny, way back on his head. He wears an orange cycling cap under his helmet, but his forehead was now mostly unprotected.

“Pull it down, Jerry!” exclaimed Laura. “You look like an amateur!”

I’ve never had a problem with wearing my helmet too far back on my head. I’ve caught my wife doing it, and gently had her pull it down. If your forehead isn’t covered, an important part of your head isn’t getting the protection it needs.

Kids seem to have the biggest problem with this. Maybe it’s because their helmets are too big off the shelf anyway. Maybe they think it’s more comfortable to wear the helmet back.

Be sure to do your kids — and your riding companions — a favor if you see this problem. Just tell them to pull it down.

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Categories // Equipment Tags // clubs, helmets

My New Wheel

08.04.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.

It took longer than I was hoping for, but I got my new wheel last Tuesday, and have had a chance to ride it several times since then. I must say I’m very pleased.

My choice was a Mavic Open Sport. Now, this wheel has been around for awhile. It’s one of Mavic’s “Open” series of wheels, with the Open Pro probably the better-known one among cyclists. The Open Sport, like the Open Pro, is a box styled rim — old school, a lot of cyclists would say, in this day of carbon fiber and deep dish wheels. But I made the choice for several reasons.

First, I was fed up with the long wait for the wheel I had originally ordered, a Mavic Aksium. Second, since I was making the purchase from a Performance gift card, I felt obligated to buy from Performance, so I was limited to what they had in stock. Third, the Open Sport has some features I like: 32 spokes, which gives me confidence that the wheel will hold up under my Clydesdale body type, and a low profile, which makes it somewhat easier to mount tires. Finally, it’s a popular rim with a good reputation.

One side benefit was that it was less expensive than the Aksium, so I’ve got some more money on the gift card for future purchases, if I want.

So, how is it?

Smooth. I mentioned in the last post that my bike is utterly silent now. In fact, on our Sunday club ride, several members mentioned in passing that they weren’t hearing any odd noises coming from the bike. When other cyclists comment on your noisy bike, you know you’ve got problems.

We headed out on a round trip to Creedmoor, about a 35-mile jaunt. The day was warm and very humid. I set the pace from time to time, and felt (imagined?) that there was less drag on the rear wheel. When we reached our turnaround point, I had averaged 15.1 mph for the16-miles. Not bad.

Two weeks ago, on that same trip, I had been left far behind by my co-riders. I thought it might have been because I had ridden hard the day before, but now I’m not so sure. I rode hard yesterday, too, but felt that I could keep up with other B-level riders today. I think that lack of drag may have something to do with how I felt.

On the other hand, just as a clean car always run better, my new wheel and cassette could also have teamed up to make my bike run better (or is it all in my head?).

As it stands now, I have mismatched wheels on my bike, since I only bought the rear. My front is fine. But it’s one of those deep dish wheels, and looks a little odd paired with the old school rim. That’s okay. I’ve ridden mismatched wheels before, and I can’t see replacing a perfectly good wheel just so my bike is cosmetically sound.

Things are back to normal now in Bike Noob land.

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Categories // Equipment Tags // wheels

Why Does a Bicycle Hub/Freewheel Make Noise?

07.30.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 15 Comments

Just as they promised, the bike shop called today to say my new cassette had come in. I took the bike over, and they mounted it right away. And they mounted it for free, “Because we like you,” said one of the clerks (They have no idea I write a blog — I’m just another customer to them). Well, I like them, too, and I think I’ll try to throw more of my business their way.

I couldn’t wait to try out the bike with its new cassette and new wheel — even though the temp outside in mid-afternoon was in the high 90s (37C), and the humidity has been higher lately than is typical around here. I told my wife I wouldn’t be gone long, and took off.

Glorious! Not that I had a new wheel and cassette on the bike, but something else entirely. It was my first ride in several months without noise coming from my rear hub. And that got me to thinking about a common noise I hear when riding with a group.

Our club peloton rolls up a short hill in unison from our starting point, but we then hit a longish, gentle downhill on the other side. As soon as we start rolling down, the group puts up a racket. As they coast downhill, about half the bikes emit a buzzing/clicking noise from their rear hubs. The others are quiet.

rearhub

The noise comes from the freewheel’s spring-loaded pawls moving over the ratchet teeth, which are moving in relation to the fixed position pawls, according to one forum I checked. I thought the higher-end hubs were the source of the noise, although it appears that any price level hub can buzz. It all depends on the design. The more pawls a hub has, the louder its sound.

One Bike Noob reader, Bill in Colorado, hates that noise. He describes it as “cheap” and “tinny.” Other cyclists like it.

Depending upon your tastes, you can look to the make of wheel — and especially the hubs — the next time you’re thinking of replacing them. Some brands, like Shimano or American Classic, are known for spinning quietly. Others — notably Chris King, DT Swiss, and others — are reputed to have a louder buzz than most.

What’s the advantage of the noisy hubs? The ones with more pawls are usually designed to give more engagement points.  With more engagement points, the pedals need to be rotated a shorter distance before they initially engage the drive and start to propel the wheel forward. There is some debate over energy loss. Since there is friction between the pawls and ratchets, some riders contend that the noisy hubs are energy wasters. Others say the energy loss is negligible, if any.

So, what’s your preference? Do you like the buzz from your hub, or would you prefer to ride in silence?

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Categories // Equipment Tags // hubs, wheels

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