I've had BB's work loose. Just loose enough that the cups wriggle around in the threaded shell. Remove and re-install, problem's mysteriously gone.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
basscyclist thread picture thread
- Thread starter Nobody
- Start date
With my recent fat bike acquisition, I’ve been experimenting with tire pressures. I had my compressor fired up and my tire filler tool hooked up. Gauge goes to about 150PSI, so not a terribly fine gauge. I got the pressure to something thet works for both road and trail (I ride about 500m on road to the trailhead). On my tire filler gauge, I inflated to 20PSI. Which I’ve learned is kind of high for a fat bike.
I received my low pressure gauge yesterday and took a reading: 8PSI!
More in line with the recommended pressures but I think I’ll need a more accurate filler tool.
I received my low pressure gauge yesterday and took a reading: 8PSI!
More in line with the recommended pressures but I think I’ll need a more accurate filler tool.
Whelp, I was planning on going bike packing this week.
Unfortunately, for a few reasons I'm unable to do so this week. I did recently throw out my back at the squat rack last week, I went a little too hard and should have focused more on technique than weight. C'est la vie, but it does push this proposed trip back to, "whenever I can do it" and I'll be going to a hike sans weighted bag instead later this week. I might pick the same trail, it might be a different one, whatever, I'll pack a pop can alcohol stove and some ramen and Jerky or something andget some time outdoors on my own a bit. There's some other stuff that would have otherwise adjusted my plans a bit, but that's kinda the killer.
Great to hear @DirtDog about that fatbike, she's pretty sweet.
Unfortunately, for a few reasons I'm unable to do so this week. I did recently throw out my back at the squat rack last week, I went a little too hard and should have focused more on technique than weight. C'est la vie, but it does push this proposed trip back to, "whenever I can do it" and I'll be going to a hike sans weighted bag instead later this week. I might pick the same trail, it might be a different one, whatever, I'll pack a pop can alcohol stove and some ramen and Jerky or something andget some time outdoors on my own a bit. There's some other stuff that would have otherwise adjusted my plans a bit, but that's kinda the killer.
Great to hear @DirtDog about that fatbike, she's pretty sweet.
Last edited:
Good weather for it right now as long as the trails aren’t muddy….
Hope your back lends itself quickly!
Well, you've got to torque the bejeezus out of those. And if they've come loose they may have wallowed out the threads and made it hard to ever secure them reliably. It may be that some gap-filling Loctite will be called for.
It'll be fine, I'm sure, it's the first time I've ever really hurt my back so I'm going super easy on myself and just stretching out my lower back and core to recover. Working out like that is all about technique, I think I'll be talking to PSP about setting up a plan to ease myself into weight training, probably focusing on core strength and proper technique for a time. As an ex-boxer and ex-infantier, I've got solid general health and fitness, but weights were never a strong point, I just tank out reps in bodyweight exercises and do reasonably well in cardio.
Back on topic, my bike is great for short trips, it's good for a cheap commuter bike, but dear God a local shop has a couple of surly frames and I'm tempted. I hate their marketing, it seems a bit kitschy. But they seem like nice frames that'll stick around for a while, and I can't help but think that my current bike frame is either too big or too small because no matter how I adjust it, I get lower back pain on longer rides than about 20km.
Last edited:
Surlies are darn good bikes. I've put thousands of miles on my Cross-Check.
Thing is, today it's marketed as a "long wheelbase relaxed geometry suitable for cyclocross commuting or general riding including light touring" - but the geometry is almost identical to my old Raleigh Professional and Mercian Olympic racing bikes of 1980 or so. It'll also be in service long after you're dead, being made of steel, unless you let it rust away. The Cross Check frame is about a pound heavier than the typical plasto-bike frame; I can go take a dump before I ride and compensate for that. I'm not real keen on putting my life on a fork made of notch-sensitive plastic, either. Given that I'm sitting on a leather Brooks saddle with springs, carrying a full tool kit, and I'm at least 15 pounds over where I really ought to be, the little extra weight of the steel frame vs. plastic is a total non-issue.
Honestly, I can't think of a single functional element of the Cross Check I'd change, except maybe a pump peg under the top tube for those super long hot rides where you want to carry two bottles. Oh yes, I also had to file the lawyer lips off the fork dropouts, took me 15 minutes and one of those little bottles of Testor's model paint to touch up.
That's a pretty glowing review, I'll take that. I think if I go that route I'll look into assembling one from the frame up. @DirtDog gave me some really nice old MTB parts in turn for a donation, so I'll have a leg up in terms of parts, assuming they all fit, I'd just need some wheels and cranks I think.
I'm tracking the "steel is real" phrase that probe throw around. I'm inclined to think they any bike, used as it's supposed to, will last a long time with some parts being replaced and maintained as necessary. But it'd be cool to see a chromoly frame instead of the high-tensile one I've been riding.
Last edited:
Well, what'll nickel and dime you to death will be all the little parts that don't fit. There are no standards in bicycle equipment. There are probably 15 different seat post diameters. Brake reach has to be correct. Bottom brackets - don't get me started. Headsets. Handlebars have 5 or 6 different diameters where the clamp fits. Pedals have mostly settled down now, there used to be French thread and English thread but now they seem all to be English. Rear hub width. Getting the chainline so you can use both ends of the rear cluster. Rear changer with the right amount of chain takeup, not too much or too little.
I'm sure to learn a lot, I'll work it out when I get there. I've kept my current bike running for going into the third year now, and it's taken some work, I'm ready to learn some more lessons.
Get ready to buy some tools, too. If you're going to install a bottom bracket yourself have the shop chase the threads and face the faces. I'd recommend having them install the headset cups. The Park headset/BB/pedal set has what you need for BB and pedal installation. If you need a pedal wrench there's not really anything else that'll work. Same with the BB tools. You can kinda sorta get the job done with a pipe wrench and drift punch, but you'll bugger up a lot of surfaces and potentially crack the B lock ring in the process. Beyond that, a full set long and short arm Allens (metric), three-way socket wrench, spoke wrench, crank installation/removal tools specific to yours, freehub removal tool, chain wrench, chain tool.
Which frames are they? I've been riding the Long Haul Trucker since 2008 and love it. I take it everywhere and it takes a beating. 2.0 tires helps.
I was actually thinking about the long haul trucker, more specifically the disc trucker - the price is kinda hard to argue with, but tbh @turf3 's assessment of his cross-check is also pretty glowing.
They are both great frames, the LHT has a little more relaxed geometry, longer wheel base ( 1051mm vs 1019mm ) but a shorter reach, a longer head tube for stability and is designed for loaded touring. I have heard the CC can feel sketchy loaded in the front. But, really both are excellent steel frames. It really depends what you will be doing most for the small geometry things to matter.
I've put a few pounds on the front rack on my CC - say, a six pack of beer (hmmm...) and it did about what I expected it to. Handles differently, but not what I'd call "bad". Don't know if I'd want to ride 500 miles like that, but I have no touring experience. And I'm the guy who used to bring groceries home in a pair of front panniers mounted on a Raleigh track bike, so maybe I'm not the guy to ask.
I’ve been riding this a good bit lately.
Kind of weird, but it works for me.
Kind of weird, but it works for me.
Yeah, geometry is certainly not a point of expertise for me. This stuff is mostly news, I can talk about differences I noticed between riding a mountain bike I rode in October and the bike I've got. Couldn't explain the reason why though - other than the handlebar was wider and the wheels were bigger.
Last edited:
