Introductions and Questions: Tech Tuesday
With the wild success of Motivational Monday, and a ton of “tech” questions rolling in to our email what is a better way than to have a tech clinic day each week?!?!
Starting next week we will be starting to have a tech article every Tuesday. This could be steps to changing a flat, how to tighten a stem, what tubeless means, etc etc. For this to work, I need to hear from you. What tech questions do you want answered?
Thanks to Livestrong.com for the use of their photo
Sea Otter Ladies Lounge
One of the things I am very excited about for the 2011 Sea Otter Classic is all the “ladies” focused events! On Sunday there is a full day of events scheduled to get women more active in the cycling lifestyle.
Sea Otter Ladies Lounge Sponsored by SRAM
Rebecca Rusch, pro athlete, endurance racer, and all around great person, has put together the SRAM Gold Rusch Tour for 2011. The first stop is the Sea Otter Classic where she is hosting the Sea Otter Ladies Lounge.
April 14-16th, 2011 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) from 2-4pm
Meet and mingle with pro-women cyclist like Rebecca Rusch, Team TIBCO, and the list goes on.
Mini-tech clinics, that’s where Bike Shop Girl comes in! I’ll be there everyday to help with maintenance, 2×10 MTB technology, trail side repair and so on.
Have questions or ideas of what we should talk about? Comment away!
New Steering Wheel on the Surly Sled
Tonight (Tuesday, March 21, 2011) is the first Dirt Diva’s group ride of the year. As this is the first season I’m not working retail I was very giddy to get back in the saddle with a large group of fellow women that love cycling. I also knew to keep my respected name in the area I would have to get my bike to stop creaking before the group ride.
Over the weekend when I was riding Fisher Farms my handlebar kept popping and my rear disc kept whining. Now, I couldn’t have that continue as it was driving me batty! After a long grocery shopping adventure last night I was ready to check over the bike and make needed changes. Until both lights in my garage popped. Did I mention it was 8:30pm and dark now outside? Even darker in my garage… Never fail, I pulled out my contractors lights and set them up.
Look into the light...
Next I loosened up my stem to clean out any dirt that may be causing the creaking. Oh yeah, my handlebar was cracked. Gotta love aluminum handlebars and Thomson stems…
Time to swap out the the carbon bar I’ve had laying in the corner and try out the Ergon GC3 grips with bar-ends I’ve been waiting to ride on a straight bar. Everything happens for a reason…
Then it was time to cut housing before I strangled myself or a passing by squirrel… and finally tuned up my brakes with the cleaner line of housing.
It was a quick 30 minute change of parts and rearranging on the Surly Sled. I do adore this bike, even though it is probably the most “heap” of parts bike I have ever owned but it also probably the one that has seen the most mileage, abuse and scenery.
Post Race Bicycle Clean Up
Bike prep is one of the most important things you can do prior to a race or any big ride. Most people will do a last minute check over before any race or big ride, but when was the last time you did a post race check over?
Road Wet and Hung Up to Dry
When your done with that big ride, the last thought in the back of your mind was to clean up your bike. Now, this could be the worst thing you are doing for your bike. If you let your bike sit after a hard ride for days, it doesn’t matter if its dry or very wet, your chain, bearings and others are aching for attention.
Steps to Post Ride Bike Check Over
Today, I’ll be walking you through what I did after my cyclocross race on Saturday. Some of these steps may differ depending on what type of riding or conditions your in.
- Gently hose off the muddy bike. Using a soft scrub brush or rag to clean down the frame and rims. As you are wiping off the frame check for any new scratches, dents or damages, especially if you crashed.
- Wipe down chain and drip on your favorite lube, leave it soaking in as you do the rest of the checkover
- Check the brake pads and braking surface
- Spin wheels and make sure wheels are true, while spinning make sure there aren’t any new cuts or missing rubber from your tires
- Check shifting and brake tension
- Wipe off chain lube
The above check over should take 15 minutes after you get used to the process. Depending on the ride, like my race in the mud on Saturday, I may leave my lube to soak into the chain overnight. If you don’t have full sealed bearings you may need to soak lube into those as well.
Many people neglect their bike after a race. I’ve seen chains frozen solid or someone taking a bike for a ride after a race and not having any brake pads! Make this check over a normal part of your routine and you’re bike maintenance bill will go down and your parts will last longer. In additional you’ll be happier on the bike with a well maintained machine!
How To Lube Your Bicycle Chain
Proper technique in lubing your chain will help prolong the life of your drive train also a clean bike is a happy bike!! More…
Bicycle Suspension Service
As more and more folks are realizing the benefit of a well set up full suspension you see less hardtails on the trail and more full squish. What I see a lot in the shop is people completely ignoring their suspension until it is to the point of needing a costly replacement. Remember the happier your bike is the better it will ride.
Bicycle Storage Idea
A reader sent photos of her $10 bike storage concept utilizing closest rod brackets x 2 per bike. A great idea and simple to do, but make sure you are screwing into a wall stud!
SRAM Force Brakes, Breaking?
It seems that there are still batches of SRAM Force recalled brakes out there. Cozy Beehive recalls a recent story of a mechanic installing SRAM Force brakes to a customers bike and they broke under his touch.
Before you buy any SRAM Force brakesets, for your sake, go check the date stamp on the brake. If your brake is within the date range below, SRAM will replace the brakes under warranty.
Video : Unboxing the Raleigh Clubman
We recently took delivery of a 2010 Raleigh Clubman. In this 6 minute clip we go through the basics of unboxing a bicycle. A full review will be available on http://www.CommuteByBike.com soon.
A walk through building a bicycle up from the boxed form. This is how most bikes show up to a bike shop, except for those boutique, build from scratch variety. We skim through some sections in order to get you through the whole unboxing, which normally takes 45 minutes to an hour.
Unboxing
Tools
The basic tools are used were :
Feedback Sports – Sport Repair Stand
Photos of the Build Day
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- Cane Creek Headset
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- Not a woman friendly saddle
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- Vittoria Zaffiro Tires
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- Tiagra Shifters
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- National Bike Registry
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- Made in China
Make sure to follow me on Twitter @BikeShopGirlcom
How To Video : Change a Flat Tire
We’ve asked you what you would like to learn how to do, techniques and, in general, more knowledge. The first in our How To video podcast is How to Change a Flat Tire
Top 5 Online Resources for Women
When I created Bike Shop Girl a few months back it was mainly out of frustration for the lack of information that is readily available for women. The basics are out there, but you have to be a Google Jedi Master to find the right answers, and often you are left with half-assed ones that only confuse you more. My goal for this site has always been to be a resource, and maybe a place I have a rant or two but that isn’t the point.
Though limited, here are some of my favorite online resources. Some of these resources are targeted towards women, others are targeted towards cyclist in general but have great knowledge within their .com walls.
Forums
- Team Estrogen – A full range of forums for women. The forums aren’t very strict so often guys will be able to search/post if they need. Keep private information just that, private.
- Bike Forums - The moderators will keep tabs on you, and after a few months of them knowing you are “female” they will allow you in their private “women only” section of the site. This is my used forum online for resources, I used to post often but now use it mainly for its search function.
- RideMonkey - A mountain bike oriented forum and online community. This is another forum that you’ll have to request to become part of their “women only” section.
How To Advice
- Blue Collar MTB – One of the original sites I wrote for online. It is no longer active, but a great resource for how to do things on the cheap. Long term if there is interest in this type of maintenance I maybe persuaded to start writing for it again.
- Park Tool - The leader in bike specific tools, this company also has invested in teaching others. Check out their how to’s broken down by bike part.
Your Turn
What sites do you frequent or recommend? Turn us on to other blogs or sites that have helped you become a stronger cyclist. Better yet, how can Bike Shop Girl become a better resource for you