Comments for Bicycles & Bicycling

Comment on Al 7005 and Al 7046 Aluminum Alloy – What’s In the High-End Bicycle Frame Mix? by Glenn Reeves

Glenn Reeves — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 14:11:59 +0000

No, there’s no way to tell. Some bikes frames will have stickers eg. 7005 T6. Ultimately you have to trust the vendor on this.

Comment on Al 7005 and Al 7046 Aluminum Alloy – What’s In the High-End Bicycle Frame Mix? by Edward Camuffo

Edward Camuffo — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:09:46 +0000

In shopping for an aluminum alloy bicycle frame, is there any way of determining the alloy and heat treating process? Could it be marked on the frame or does one have to trust that the vendor is correctly representing the frame he is selling?

Comment on Rim Manufacturing-Visit to Kinlin by Glenn Reeves

Glenn Reeves — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:48:06 +0000

No, never had an issue with that. Kinlin are extremely reliable.

Comment on Rim Manufacturing-Visit to Kinlin by greg

greg — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:49:24 +0000

Im a long time customer of kinlin about 2000pcs over 7 years

want to ask you if you have problems with kinlin rims either through cracking or uneven rim width

Cheers greg

Comment on Cycling’s Downside – Dehydration, Insulin, Free Radicals and Antioxidants by Glenn Reeves

Glenn Reeves — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 05:25:38 +0000

Thanks for those points Jean. Yes, one great thing about cycling is that there’s much more about it than exercise even though this is the greatest benefit.

Comment on Cycling’s Downside – Dehydration, Insulin, Free Radicals and Antioxidants by Jean

Jean — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 20:56:05 +0000

I think if the focus is on racing and cycling in more difficult terrain, then there is a risk. As for cycling’s lack of ie. strengthening upper body muscles, etc. : we know that and need to complement it with other exercises.

It still is the healthy form of transport, fitness and travel that makes you forget..quite often, about “exercising”. It’s just moving and liberating yourself to see stuff along the way on your speed and on the routes you choose.

Comment on Premium Rush – Fixed Gear, Steel Frame, No Brakes by Glenn Reeves

Glenn Reeves — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 01:07:50 +0000

Nicely observed

Comment on Premium Rush – Fixed Gear, Steel Frame, No Brakes by Joed tan

Joed tan — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 00:54:19 +0000

Nothing against the movie, but if you can see on one of the pictures Wilee’s bike has a hidden brake just right below the stem. Locate his hand and you can see a black brake lever. You can also see the brake cable running down his bike frame. Hehe.

Comment on Fall He Huan Shan (Mountain) Climbing Classic – Iron Ass (鐵屁股) II Celebration of the Cycling Spirit by Glenn Reeves

Glenn Reeves — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 08:35:24 +0000

It is not out of the question to cycle the route at that time. You really have to pick the day. The Taiwan weather bureau has fairly accurate forecasts (www.cwb.gov.tw) to help plan your run. It can get iced over, and February is the most likely time for that. So, plan your run with a careful eye to the forecast, and make sure you carry cold weather gear as in Goretex or North Face sort of thing. The weather can actually be fairly mild at say, 2600m and by the time you get to 2,800m or so, you can find yourself plunged into awful conditions. It does not take much to reverse your way out of that, on the other hand. Retreat back down the mountain and give it a shot another day, maybe from the other side of the island. Let us know how you get on .

Comment on Fall He Huan Shan (Mountain) Climbing Classic – Iron Ass (鐵屁股) II Celebration of the Cycling Spirit by wey

wey — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 08:22:16 +0000

Great post. I have been searching for a post that can give me an idea of the route. Do you think it is advisable to cycle this route in February? Will it be too cold? We are planning a round Taiwan Island trip. Your input would help greatly. Tks

Comment on Premium Rush – Fixed Gear, Steel Frame, No Brakes by Glenn Reeves

Glenn Reeves — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 05:11:46 +0000

Good points. Thanks for that Elijah.

Comment on Premium Rush – Fixed Gear, Steel Frame, No Brakes by Elijah Beale

Elijah Beale — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 00:28:20 +0000

“Brakes are Death”…”Wilee is actually trying to impress his love-interest with this without success.”

Umm…seemed to me that Wilee was actually just explaining his philosophy on riding and his life choice.

Proof:

1) The way that Wilee rides actually causes contention between the two (discussion of “no brakes; Wilee is done with that “trick stuff”)

2) What’s the reason to impress? They are already together…just in a minor rough patch.

3) Wilee won three major Alley Cats in a row, presumably riding the way that he does in the movie’s current time period. Was he “trying” to impress her for 3 years straight?

Also: Spell check.

Comment on Freestyle bikes & BMX Bike Culture 40 Years On by Glenn Reeves

Glenn Reeves — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 02:32:14 +0000

Bikes were indestructible back then. We used to get around on generic Malvern Star steel frames, bolted together that just would not break. The only place I ever put oil was into the BB…the more the better, or so I thought . You just had to tighten the chain by resetting the back wheel every now and again and it would take whatever was dished out, rain hail and shine, literally.

Comment on Freestyle bikes & BMX Bike Culture 40 Years On by Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 22:32:46 +0000

Ah! One of the bikes I wish my mom had not given away was a 1979 Mongoose Motomag. That was a great little bike. Indestructible.

Comment on Fall He Huan Shan (Mountain) Climbing Classic – Iron Ass (鐵屁股) II Celebration of the Cycling Spirit by Glenn

Glenn — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 02:42:44 +0000

Summer is the best time to do this, for sure Patrick. If you are early enough, before the cloud comes in, you can see north and south along the central mountain range including Taiwan’s highest mountain, Yu Shan. A great ride that finishes off with some great views. Just be sure to pick your day.

Comment on Fall He Huan Shan (Mountain) Climbing Classic – Iron Ass (鐵屁股) II Celebration of the Cycling Spirit by patrick

patrick — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 21:13:21 +0000

Lots of good info and photos; thanks. Looks like a ride I must try. I was in Taiwan this summer and did a few local (Taipei) climbing rides and a 2-day tour along the east coast. Had I known about HeHuanShan, I definitely would have tackled it. Hope to return soon and try it. -Patrick

Comment on Mounting Tight Bicycle Tire to Wheel Rim Without Tire Levers by Glenn

Glenn — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 01:16:55 +0000

Fair enough, that’s interesting advice. Thanks George.

Comment on Mounting Tight Bicycle Tire to Wheel Rim Without Tire Levers by George

George — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:24:11 +0000

I definitely agree that it is better not to use tyre levers to re-mount the tyre, just trying to save you a little sweat and your hands a little stress.

My method would be much the same as yours except to make sure that the bead you are fitting is right in the centre of the rim (directly over the spoke holes not the bead seats) as you put it on, and push the wheel down against a bit of old carpet as you go so that you are carrying the slack with you to the other side. Keep pushing that bead all the way into the middle of the rim section as you go.

With luck, by the time you get to the last bit you will have plenty of slack to work the bead over the sidewall with virtually zero effort…

Comment on Mounting Tight Bicycle Tire to Wheel Rim Without Tire Levers by Glenn

Glenn — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:31:41 +0000

Thanks for your comment. Not wishing to be rude either, but the tire is duly mounted lol with the tube tucked away nicely, ready to be pressurized; one of thousands I’ve done in a similar way. I guess it comes down to how we define “understanding”. Theory and “drop centre” jargon is fine but the point is to get an extremely tight tire onto the rim quickly without tire levers. This method simply works. I think we both agree that cyclists have an over-reliance on levers and that you can get the job done without them, especially on tires that are not impossibly tight. Anyhow, the “key” to tire fitting is to get the tire onto the rim without damaging the rim, the tire or, very importantly, the tube. What would be your step-by-step method for achieving this?

Comment on Mounting Tight Bicycle Tire to Wheel Rim Without Tire Levers by George

George — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 23:55:00 +0000

Not wishing to be rude, but from reading that I don’t think you understand how to mount a tyre or how it “works”. It may be that you do, and these tyres really are super tight, or maybe the rims are a bad design, but you don’t make any reference to the “drop centre” of the rim, which makes me think this.
You should never need a tyre lever or to use lots of force to mount a tyre, the bead should be considered “un-stretchable” for the purposes of tyre fitting.
The key to tyre fitting is to develop slack by working the bead down into the drop centre of the rim for as much of the circumference as possible. By getting the bead right into the middle of the rim where the diameter is smaller you should be able to get all the slack you need to easily pop the bead over that last section of rim sidewall…

This is a much neglected piece of information and one that I find very hard to educate people about. Most cyclists will simply refuse to believe that they don’t know how to fit a tyre and wont listen, but the popularity of the tyre lever is testament to how scarce this titbit of info has become…

Sometimes people “fill up” the drop centre with excessive layers of rim tape but I have never found a tyre that was a problem… Even Tubeless UST mountainbike tyres on UST rims are easy enough to get over the sidewall of the rim with this method… even if the subsequent trip to the bead seat is somewhat fraught…