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Building Your Own Comfort Road Bike

06.15.2010 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

From time to time, we’ve talked about comfort on bikes. What kind of saddle to get, how important a pro fitting is, switching to wider tires. But some cyclists take an entirely different path to comfort. They modify their bikes to suit their purpose.

B.J. Ondo of Colorado Springs, Colorado, is one such rider. He and his wife, Jo, plan to do some bicycle touring. B.J. had a mountain bike, and instead of buying a road bike to go with it, he decided to modify it instead. This is what he came up with.

Click the picture for a larger view.

It started life as a 2009 Jamis Trail-X 3.0 hardtail mountain bike, at a cost of $500.00. But B.J. has modified it enough that he now calls it his “Frankenbrid.”  He says it gets odd looks from other cyclists, but he’s happy with it, because his riding interests are different than a lot of people’s.

“I wanted a ‘tough’ bicycle, since speed is my bottom priority,” B.J. told me. “I didn’t want a lightweight, the bike needed to be able to handle a dirt or fire road. We’re not hardcore singletrack riders, mind you, but we didn’t want to ‘fear’ the dirt.”

B.J. ticked off a list of modifications he made to the bike to get what he was after.

“I changed out the handlebars to the ‘butterfly’ or ‘trekking’ bars, added full fenders and the more upright 120mm/40 degree stem, racks etc. I had the more agressive Deore MTB cranks installed by the shop. I liked the larger big ring (44 teeth instead of 42 on the OEM crank) and the longer arms (175 mm instead of 170) and the overall level of stiffness. I worked an adaptor to make two waterbottle cages fit (the old photo shows the velcro bottle holder). I did a lot of searching on the net for examples of what I like to call ‘Adventure Tourers’ and asked a few questions on sites like Bike Forums too, to get ideas.”

B.J. and Jo are members of a local bike club, and they take part in the occasional group ride, but he’s not out to hammer with the peloton.

“I’m a pure ‘Smell The Roses’ type of rider,” B.J. said.  “Mellow group or social rides are my cup of tea. Fitness is something I don’t actually strive for as I ride as much or more for ‘mental’ fitness and happily accept that the riding helps the physical side too. I like all surfaces — paved trails, bike lanes, hardpack dirt trails and just standard paved roads too. I’m working on miles as I work my way to becoming a touring rider, instead of just a recreational road rider.”

So, after a modification like this, what’s the best thing about the bike?

“I like the feeling that, if I had the money, I could tour to the ends of the earth on this bicycle, with no fear of taking it anywhere,” he said. “I can ride just about any road surface and never give it a second thought. It’s also just really FUN to ride. I like that although I’m the slowest climber, I can usually get to the top of the most ugly hills when others are pushing more expensive bikes! And this bike can really BOMB down a massive grade and take on the bumps and ruts of a semi-crummy paved road and just laugh it off!”

But you’ve got to pay a price in weight with that kind of bike.

“Yep it’s heavy, although I think the stuff I carry in my rack pack is actually heavier than the bike,” he said.

But on the plus side, he got the kind of bike he wanted, and had the satisfaction of building it up his way. He says it’s not that hard. Although he has some experience as an apprentice bike mechanic, he doesn’t consider himself a super wrench. “I’m really good at replacing or changing parts, but I suck at the fine tuning adjustments so most of the adjusting is done by my LBS,” he said.

And he encourages anyone else who wants to customize their bike to meet their own riding needs to follow his example. “Check out some examples and just figure out what you want out of your ‘Frankenbrid,'” he said. “But mainly have fun. I really enjoyed building a bike to fit my purpose instead of just pulling out the credit card and buying something.”

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Renting a bike

08.13.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

Although lots of bikers pack their bikes and take them along on trips, we decided against the hassle for our recent vacation. Instead, I contacted a local bike shop to see about rentals. If you’re ever planning to rent bikes in a distant city, my experiences may be of some use to you.

Traverse City, Michigan, has a couple of good bike shops for a city this size (14,000). I got in touch with McLain Cycle and Fitness, since they were the first to come up in a Google search. McLain’s has an online rental system, and I decided to use that.

They offer road bikes, “comfort” bikes, cruisers, tandems. My wife, Pat (she prefers I don’t call her Mrs. Noob), rides a hybrid at home, but wanted to rent a flat bar road bike for the trip. No luck. The road bikes are all drop bar bikes, and the “comfort” bikes are hybrids. I ordered a comfort bike in large size for her, and a road bike in 56 cm for me.

I placed the order six days before our arrival. When I received no confirmation, I called the shop on Friday — the day before we got to Traverse City. They had no record of our order. I repeated the order over the phone, and asked for clarification about the comfort bike/hybrid bike issue, and whether any flat bar road bikes would be available. No, said the clerk, only a hybrid. OK.

When we got to the shop the next day, the clerk I had talked to wasn’t there, and the one on duty was confused. We finally found that a 56 cm Specialized Allez had been set aside for me. They put on SPD-SL pedals, and I was ready to go.

It was less easy for Pat. The shop had no large size hybrids. We confirmed that no flat bar road bikes were available, then she tried out an XL Specialized Crossroads and one in a medium size. The bike mechanic insisted that with a seat post change, the XL would fit Pat fine. He made the change, she rode it around the parking lot, and said OK.

The shop threw in two helmets and two water bottles, and charged us the weekly rate, although we would keep the bikes for eight days.

As it turned out, I was pretty happy with the Allez. It came with Sora components, which I’d never used before, but which gave me no trouble. The saddle was a different model than the one on my bike, but it was close enough, and by the end of the week, I felt quite at home on the Allez.

The rented Specialized Allez fitted me fine.

For Pat, the experience was not as good. Her own bike is a hybrid, with a high stem that puts her in a very upright position. The Crossroads was very upright, too — which she likes — but the XL size made her feel as though she were riding a tall horse. Its handlebars were almost a foot higher than the ones on my bike. She quickly dubbed it “The Beast” — a name that stuck.

Pat aboard The Beast.

They fitted it with Look pedals, and although they were the same kind she uses at home, she never really adjusted to them. She unclipped from them too easily, which made uphills hard, since she couldn’t pull up on the pedal. I adjusted the tension, and then she felt permanently attached to the tall machine, which made her uneasy, especially one day when we spent most of the ride along a somewhat busy highway.

She did one hilly ride of 23 miles with us, but beyond that, didn’t feel comfortable enough with the bike to ride it for more than six or seven miles — on flat roads.

When we returned the bikes to the shop, checkin was almost too easy. We gave our names, they took the bikes, and said, “Thank you. Have a nice day.” I was surprised they didn’t ask about any problems, and mentioned that the Allez worked out great, but the hybrid, not so much. They didn’t seem interested, and went about their work. We left the store.

What did we learn from our renting experience? First, shop around. There is another bike shop in Traverse right next to McLain’s. If we had bothered to check, we might have found something more in line with Pat’s needs. Second, get confirmation. If the shop’s web site doesn’t indicate that the order has been received, follow up with a phone call. And on the call, be sure they have all the necessary information. I was more than a little miffed that they didn’t have a bike in Pat’s size. Third, make sure it’s right. One quick turn around the parking lot isn’t enough, especially if you’re going to keep the bike for more than a few days.

Will we rent again? Sure, probably. It’s too convenient not to. But next time, we’ll do it with our eyes open.

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Categories // Bikes Tags // Bikes, rentals

My bikes

02.19.2008 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

I’ve got two bikes. The one I ride most often is a Raleigh Super Record from 1981. My wife gave it to me for my 30th birthday. Through the years, I rode it off and on, sometimes for as much as 40 miles at a time. But biking was not something we ever really got serious about.

The Raleigh is a 10-speed all steel road bike. It has stem-mounted friction shifters (you feel what gear you’re in–it’s easier than it sounds). The bike’s finish is scratched quite a bit, especially on the seat tube, where I used to mount a U-lock. It’s a heavy bike, which is great on downhills. It really flies. Uphills are another story. It slows fast.

Since starting to ride it seriously last summer, I have made a few modifications to the bike. First, I got clipless pedals. They’re a great addition for anyone planning to do a lot of road riding–even something less than a lot. I replaced the gel seat with a cutout model from Performance Bike. Although its front tire has a tan sidewall, I got an all black tire for the back, because of its name brand. For looks, I replaced the torn cloth bar tape with black, gray and white cork tape.

The Raleigh

The Raleigh with the clipless pedals, black rear tire, and splash tape.

One of these days, I might get really brave and make some extensive modifications to the bike. That would involve stripping it to the bare frame, repainting it, and replacing most components. I’d like to lose the stem mounted shifters and get the kind known as “brifters,” or shifter/brake lever combinations. I’d get new wheels, the current 700C size to replace the 27-inch heavy steel wheels, and new brakes. But that won’t happen anytime soon.

My other bike is an entry-level mountain bike, a Trek 4900. It was also a birthday present from my wife, from only about five years ago. I never really took to it. The fat knobby tires put up a lot of road resistance, which scrubs off a lot of speed. I have no interest in riding off-road, so the bike is only used as a backup, if the Raleigh is temporary out of commission. I haven’t decided if I’ll keep it or get rid of it.

Since starting to ride a lot last summer, I’ve been researching bikes, and have come to the conclusion that I need something new. I’ll continue to research, but I have a feeling that that something is just around the corner. When I get it, you’ll be the first to know.

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