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Watch Out For Pedal Wear!

06.09.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

Guest poster Jeff Hemmel says if you’re having trouble with your cleats — the trouble might not be with your cleats.

I’ve been having a little trouble clicking in and out of my pedals as of late. I thought the likely culprit was my cleats. Upon inspection, they were certainly quite worn, but what surprised me most was the condition of my pedals, a pair of Shimano road-style 540s. On both, the body cover plate — a replaceable piece of plastic (metal on higher-end models) that spans the width of the pedal — was completely worn away at the tips. Compounding matters was that where the tips were gone, my cleats had actually worn rather significantly into the aluminum, leaving a pronounced dip, especially on the outside of each pedal. The end result is that my foot was likely sitting quite canted in the pedals…and my pedals were permanently damaged.

The Shimano 540. (Click to embiggen.)

In hindsight, I spotted a clue in a recent photo. I had done one of the MS150 rides, and the event photographer had captured me at various times throughout the course. In several of the photos, I noticed a strange, inward angle to my foot. Now I know why.

I’ve seen plenty of coverage on when to replace your cleats, but very little on when to replace a pedal. If you ride Shimanos, look closely on the instructions. You’ll note that the cover in question is actually considered a “consumable” part, and that the cover should be replaced before “any part of the body cover becomes flush with the pedal.” Yikes — I was way past that stage. If I had kept a closer eye on things, I probably could have simply replaced a cheap (about $6) piece of plastic. Replacing them as they showed wear would have saved the more expensive pedal body from permanent damage.

A little more food for thought: In many ways, you do get what you pay for. When I first made the switch from a mountain bike and hybrid to a road bike, I reasoned that the cheaper products were good enough for me. Hence the 540s, which are Shimano’s entry-level road pedal. With time, however, I’ve come to appreciate the extra quality that can be found in some of the pricier equipment. The Shimano 105 pedals I’ve stepped up to certainly aren’t top of the line by any means. I found them new on eBay for only $55. The 105s, however, are far closer to the higher-end Ultegra pedals. The shape itself flares at the axle, giving the rider a wider, more solid platform underfoot. The 105s also feature a metal cover plate, secured with two small screws. It’s still considered consumable, but certainly it won’t wear at the rate of the 540’s plastic.

Shimano 105. (Click to make larger.)

 I doubt very many people have actually replaced the part in question. On this morning’s ride, I asked a friend if I could see his pedals, which are the same as my previous model. Unclipping one foot, he seemed surprised as he looked down to see the plastic cover almost completely gone…and a pronounced chunk worn out of the pedal’s aluminum body.

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Categories // Equipment, guest post, Maintenance Tags // guest post, Hemmel, pedal

Bonking on a Hot Day

06.07.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 8 Comments

John T. Cash

Bike Noob is pleased to present a guest post from John T. Cash. John T rides with the Noob occasionally, and he also comments here under the name “johnt.” He just took up biking last year. Over the weekend, he did an organized ride that he’d ridden in last year, and was looking forward to again. But this time, it didn’t turn out so well.

This year’s Atlas ride ( the first leg of the Texas 4000, which is a group of 50 University of Texas students who ride to Alaska to raise money for cancer), the 2nd I have participated in, started just like last year’s. But this year was a little more important to me as I had helped lead the initial training ride for the group back in September. I was riding the 54 mile route. I drove to the start at Cedar Park with my friend Hugo, who usually leads the  Jack and Adams bike shop weekly no drop ride. We hung out and made the usual small talk with those we knew and those we just met until the ride started. Hugo dropped me quickly as I am slow to warm up and usually struggle the first 10 miles until everything falls into place.

This ride though was different. Ten miles passed and the clouds burned off. By the first rest stop it was well over 90 degrees and I was drenched in sweat and still laboring. Lingering longer than I normally do at the rest stop I ate a lot of fruit and dropped a Nuun into my water bottle and drained it. Assured that the fruit and the Nuun would do the trick, I took off and waited for the lift that would renew my energy. At mile 20 and still struggling I had an epiphany. Although I had been riding regularly and had completed 59 miles at the Red Poppy ride six weeks before, I had ridden very little in the heat this year and I was in over my head.

Riding into the second rest stop again just drenched in sweat and feeling very depleted, I wolfed down an energy bar and grabbed several slices of watermelon and oranges and sat on the bridge to contemplate whether to SAG in right then and there. I must have looked pretty bad because a couple of Texas 4000 riders recognized me and asked if I was OK. “Yes, I’m fine,” I muttered — not too convincingly.

As I pondered whether to hang it up I realized I knew most of the SAG volunteers because of my relationship to Hugo. Ugh, how embarrassing. At age 53, the last thing I wanted to do is be another old man bonking in the heat, especially in front of folks I know. With my precious ego in jeopardy I chugged down another bottle of Nuun water, grabbed a couple of energy bars and decided to soldier on. As I slogged along with the sun beating down and the temperature well above 95 I made my plan. I had my heart rate monitor and tried to make sure it stayed around 120-125. I would drink water every two miles and nibble on my energy bars. While not terribly hilly, the route is not flat and I stayed in the lowest gear on any incline and coasted as much as I could. Each pedal stroke had a purpose, each shift a way to save energy. Each sip of water or bite of energy bar was the fuel to pedal up another long roller. A nice lady in her 40s rode up and tried to make small talk but I could only grunt or nod and she pedaled off probably thinking what an assh—. A sag driver driving the opposite way probably noticed how slow and wobbly I was yelled at me as he passed, “You OK?” I weakly waved and plowed on.

At mile 38 I started to really lose it and more than a little dizzy stopped and got off the bike. With only a few miles to the next rest stop I decided to pour the remainder of one of my water bottles over my head and soak my bandana. I dropped another Nuun in my other bottle and chugged the tepid mixture dry. “You OK?” sang the chorus as a peloton of 20 somethings zipped past. After a few more minutes, the dizziness passed and I wobbled to the last rest stop. Inhaling a bunch of watermelon and oranges, I lingered for at least 20 minutes and then took off a bit refreshed. A young couple fell in with me and I chatted with them. They were thinking about having a baby (amazing what people confide to strangers on a bike) and I started to perk up a bit as the terrain ran downhill. Once we hit a couple of long rollers I let them go and went back to struggling.

Somehow the miles went by and as luck would have it the last 4 miles were uphill in a headwind but I somehow made it to the finish at 1:30 p.m., 5 1/2 hours and a full hour over my time the year before. I saw Hugo right off the bat and he quickly pointed out the time, how bad I looked and how he had been worried about me. I brushed past, muttered an obscenity and downed a couple of cold water bottles and demolished a bbq plate with all the fixings.

In the shade my head quit pounding, the dizziness left and I realized that I had just completed my most successful and fulfilling ride. It took all of what little I know about the bike, my body and what I didn’t know about what I was made of to complete this ride. Whether it was some misguided attempt at protecting my ego or a stubbornness or tenacity I didn’t know I had, I don’t know. I do know now why I decided to start riding a bike at age 52.

Before you ask — John T. tells me he was well fueled:  “I had a pasta dinner, I had a good breakfast, and ate a big free bagel at the school before the start,” he said. But he’s been riding only 40-50 miles a week, and that at times of day when the heat isn’t so intense. “In hindsight, maybe not such a good idea,” he told me.

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Categories // guest post, Heat, Rides Tags // guest post, heat, Rides

One Reader’s Rivendell – Guest Post

05.15.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

Mel Hughes

Back in March, I wrote about Rivendell Bicycle Works, and their different approach to building bikes. Bike Noob reader Mel Hughes, who comments here occasionally, recently pulled the trigger and ordered one. He went for the A. Homer Hilsen model, their top-of-the-line bike. In this guest post, Mel gives his impressions of owning and riding a Rivendell.

When I started thinking about doing more with my bicycling than just training, I started looking for a bike that would be comfortable to ride but versatile. I wanted a more upright position, more braze-ons for accessories, and wheel and tire combinations that did more than just roll fast. I wanted a bike I could use as a daily commuter for my 20 mile round trip to work. But I also wanted a bike that would also work well for long weekend rides. The more I looked around and read, the more I kept coming back to Rivendell.

Rivendell’s approach to frame sizing is a bit different. They use pubic bone height (PBH) as a starting place. Using this measurement generally puts people on a bike an inch or more taller than they had been riding before. The stand-over clearance is narrower. But the increased height allows an overall more upright position (if desired.) The frame is also built to easily allow using wider, fatter tires, fenders, racks, and even a kickstand. The frames are steel, joined with brazed lugs. The front forks are traditional, lugged crown forks.

If this sounds like a formula for a touring bike of the late 1970’s or early 1980’s, it does have that lineage. But a closer look at the head tube and some of the other frame conventions will show that Grant Petersen has taken those ideas and used the best of them only as a starting point. Rivendell frames are currently made by Waterford for Rivendell, here in the U.S.

Mel’s A. Homer Hilsen. Click to enlarge.

I ordered a Rivendell A. Homer Hilsen this past January. The bike was delivered mid-April. I have had some good opportunities to ride in between the crazy weather we have had this spring in Tennessee. The 33mm tires run at 85psi smooth out the harshest cracked pavement we have. I placed my handlebars just above the seat height and have to report that my lower back pain has almost completely disappeared. The Dura-Ace bar-end shifters run the 9-speed cassette and triple ring crank flawlessly using a Campy front derailleur and a Shimano Deore XT rear. While the 36 spoke Velocity Synergy rims will never win a weight contest, they are extremely durable. The rear rim is off-set so that there is a minimal amount of dish on the cassette side. This allows spoke tensions on either side to be much closer to each other, making for a stronger wheel. The Phil Woods hubs are more than bike jewelry. Their bearings are like silk!

I have been riding using MKS touring pedals. They allow me to wear sneakers when commuting to work. They also remove any question about clearing my foot from the pedal in an emergency. My knees have also been very happy with them. In truth, I haven’t missed my clipless pedals. It also promotes just hopping on the bike for a quick run up the road anytime.

All in all, I love this bike! It is beautifully made, reminding me of bikes I used to dream about years ago. It is very well thought out, classically designed, and wonderfully executed. It rides like a dream. I am a couple of miles an hour slower than on the more race/speed oriented Litespeed. But I find I am much more comfortable. I have had more fun than should be allowed dressing it up a bit with racks, bells, leather bar tape and other things. Rivendells aren’t everyones’ cup of tea. But if you are looking for a bicycle that can do many, many things very well, they might just have a model that has your name on it.

For more pictures of Mel’s bike, go to his Flickr page.

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Categories // Bikes, guest post Tags // Bikes, guest post, steel

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