Avoid This Cheap Chinese Speedometer

Every once in a while I come across an apparently smoking deal on a bike item. Knowing how expensive bike stuff is generally, I usually jump on these deals just to save a few bucks. Such was the case when I found out about this Speedometer from Meritline and/or Dealextreme.

I think I paid about $4 shipped (from Hong Kong, I think), for this speedo. Meritline/Dealextreme will often offer % off codes like SAVE10 or SAVE20 for an additional percentage off.

For 2-3 months or so, it worked well. It had an annoying habit of cycling through a variety of functions like cadence, distance, time etc. That was ok since all I care about is tracking of my mileage.

Then, the problems began. First, the display would fade when I left the bike out in hot sunny days. In addition, the rain would somehow penetrate the display and you could see water beading inside it. To dry it out, you had to leave it out in the sun (!). I bought 2 more units and I figured I could swap one out when one needed to dry out. With about $12 invested, I figured it was a fair tradeoff. Wrong. All the units developed the same problem. Pretty soon, they all stopped working. After a few months, I had no more reserve units.

Below is a link for this product (which may be defunct by the time you read this)

http://www.meritline.com/14-function-bicycle-lcd-odometer-speedometer---p-35788.aspx?source=s2010

I can’t believe how cheap it is to ship something from the Far East. I’m sure the cost for the labor and parts for this unit must run in the pennies with the rest of the balance being the cost for shipping. Welcome to the global economy!

Moral of the story: Get yourself a nice branded speedometer/trip computer like a Cateye from a bike shop. You won’t regret it.

Can A Folder Make It As An Everyday Commuter? Review of Downtube 8H

That is the question. The answer: we’ll see.

Ok, I’m transitioning to this Downtube 2009.5 8H as my everyday commuter. That means I’m selling the Novara, which is a great bike but it’s a little too big for me (sniff-sniff). Anyway, I bought this 8H for 3 reasons: it’s lightweight (26.5 lbs), has a front suspension fork and an IGH.

I’m intrigued by commuting on a light(er) bike and seeing if that makes any difference in my speed and tiredness (or lack of it). A lighter bike, and in this case a folder, may wear down quicker as it piles up the miles, though. We shall see.

In terms of the front supension fork, I sought out a bike with this type of fork because of my non traditional commute where I drop curbs, cut through parking lots and generally have more of an urban assault commute rather than a pastoral bike path ride through the countryside. You know my fondness for IGHs on bikes so I won’t go into that here. The 8H seems to have all these covered.

I’ve got about 50 miles on this bike and here are my likes and dislikes.

Agility: I guess I knew this from riding my Dahon Yeah and Brompton, but these small 20” wheeled bikes make a difference in making quick direction changes and avoiding obstacles on your ride. This is a definite plus. There are a couple of times on my commute where I have to cut in and out of this heavily trafficked street and the small wheels help as I dart in and out.

Fitability: Not sure if that is a word, but you can adjust this bike to fit you more than other folding bikes. The front stem slides up and down. I think you can invert the handlebars in if you are stretched out too much (I have not done this, but I know this could be helpful for some shorter people I know). The handlebars are adjustable so you can tilt them up for a more upright ride or down for a more MTB like position. I heard some people complain that they could not ride a Brompton because they felt somewhat cramped. A DT should be better in this regard.

Ride: Like my first Downtube full suspension, this bike provides a very stable ride. Not sure if the bike has a longer wheelbase and whether that has something to do with it, but the ride is not twitchy like the Brompton.

IGH: The Sturmey Archer 8FR is a solid IGH thus far. Not as good as the Alfine on the Novara, but still good. The Alfine allows you to downshift while pedaling, while this one does not, for example. The range is plenty adequate. In terms of the stock gearing, the bike is a little too high geared for me. I live in a hilly area so I try to have a bike with a low gear so I can tackle the hills here. I’m thinking of swapping out the front ring for a smaller one.

Front fork: This is my major dislike of the bike. I was expecting a more mushy front suspension fork (like on my other Downtube FS), but this one is different. It is a Zoom transarch adjustable fork. That means you can turn a screw in it and it should give you a cushy suspension or a stiffer one. The problem is that setting it at its cushy setting causes it to bottom out. I’ve played with the various settings and I still can’t get it to “give” the way I like it (and rebound back). Putting it at midrange or stiff gives a little bit of give, but not at what I would like (there’s no bottoming out at midrange or stiff). If the bike came with an identical preloaded Zoom fork like my first Downtube, I would not give this a negative.

I’ve already emailed Yan Lyansky (owner of Downtube) about this and he suggested that I send it in for warranty repair. I won’t do this, because I think that the fork works as intended and would probably be a waste and time and postage. I’m trying to see if anyone has an old Zoom preload fork that they can sell to me (Yan said they don’t have any more). If anyone out there has one, let me know. I’m also going to look into kids MTBs with suspensions to see if those would work for this bike.

Fender: The bike came with this quarter fender for the rear and nothing for the front. Come on! The rear fender will not do enough to prevent road spray up your back and you get nothing up front(!) If you commute, you WILL ride in the rain (unless you live in Death Valley, CA). Get yourself some full coverage fenders. I will.

Tires: The bike comes with the basic Kenda Kwest tires. Ok, but you can probably get more zippiness by upgrading to some Marathon’s or another high quality tire. If I end up gashing one of these tires, I’ll upgrade asap. Until then, I’ll keep these on.

Rear rack: The included rack fits well, but sits too low if you want to do side panniers. I encountered a problem with heel strike (back of my heel hits my bag as I pedal) with the included rack. I have already installed a taller rack. With bag riding higher, I don’t have that problem anymore.

Saddle: The saddle is some sort of light “Velo” saddle. It is lightweight. That’s about all it’s got going for it. It doesn’t agree with my sit bones. Will upgrade to something different soon.

All in all, I’m pretty satisfied with this 8H. The problem with the fork can be overcome with a new one. I’ll be riding it hard the next few months and maybe it’ll soften up. Except for the fork, the fenders, tires, and rack are minor quibbles that I would usually have with any bike.

Pros: lightness, IGH, agility, stable ride, fitability

Cons: front suspension fork, fender, tires, saddle

Fenders When You Have No Clearance.

As I posted earlier, I bought these Big Apple tires to see if they really give you a full suspension ridehttp://utilitycyclist.blogspot.com/2009/09/big-apple-tires-do-not-give-full.html. Well, they didn’t, but I did leave them on my Dahon Yeah because they are way better than the stock Kendas it came with.

One problem: I was not able to refit the stock fenders that came with the Yeah. The Big Apples are so big/wide that the tires just clear the forks. Regular fenders won’t work with these Big Apples. You know I love fenders because they allow you to ride in the rain and keep your clothes dry.

I found these fenders sold here: http://www.suntekstore.com/black-plastic-bicycle-front-and-rear-mudguard-set.html. These items come and go so I also saved a .pdf of the page for reference http://mysite.verizon.net/vzet7ek9/suntek.pdf. The price was pretty good, too, around $5 shipped.

I actually bought two pairs of fenders. I used the 2 of the smaller mudguards to cover the front wheel. The larger one worked on the rear. I had a larger one left over. I cut a small hole in the back one so that the reflector post would fit through the fender and “lift” away from the tire. Again, it would have rubbed the tire if I had left as is. I thought about hack sawing that reflector post from the rear rack but I’m glad I didn’t.

I know the front one looks kinda funky. But this is for function not fashion.

Aside from turning the screws to go the other way, it was a fairly easy procedure. The screws pointed toward the tire and they rubbed the tire when it rotated. I can’t wait to try these out in rain conditions!

Shimano Alfine Review.

Here is my first impression (about 500 miles) review of the Shimano Alfine hub, which my Novarra has. It is the best internally geared hub that I’ve ridden. My comparisons to the Alfine are the 3 speed Sturmey Archer, which is on the Brompton, and the Shimano Nexus 7, on my old Fuji Kyoto.

First, it is possible to shift while pedaling. This is different from the Sturmey Archer, which requires you to stop pedaling, and the Nexus 7, which gave you a little bit of resistance if you tried to do this. Of course, it’s easier to downshift when pedaling. You feel a little more resistance if you upshift when pedaling.

Second, I did ride this IGH during the winter (even a couple of -32 degree commutes), and I encountered no problems in shifting. I had read that the grease in the hub tends to freeze up during cold commutes. Not so in my experience.

Third, it is quiet. The Sturmey Archer gives you significant clicks in the lower gears. A little less in the high one, but still audible. The Nexus was in between the Sturmey A and the Alfine in terms of noise.

Finally, the range is very adequate for a city commuter. The ratios are:
Gear Ratio 1 0.527 Gear Ratio 2 0.644 Gear Ratio 3 0.748 Gear Ratio 4 0.851 Gear Ratio 5 1.0 Gear Ratio 6 1.223 Gear Ratio 7 1.419 Gear Ratio 8 1.615.

I don’t have 3K miles by which to give you a fuller review of durability, but so far count me as impressed. Again, if you do a lot of stop and go riding in urban environments, you really should make the investment in an IGH equipped bike. It is more expensive than a derailleur equipped bike, but after getting used to downshifting in stops, you will not want to go back.

My alfine is the SGS-501 model (written on the hub).

Brompton Rolling Wheels Upgrade, Pt. 2

As you recall, I upgraded the original rolling wheels that come with the Brompton to roller blade wheels as covered here: http://utilitycyclist.blogspot.com/2009/03/roller-blade-wheels-upgrade-for.html In that post, I mentioned that I was looking for some larger diameter wheels because the roller blade wheels did not allow you to roll the bike. Well, I finally found some reasonably priced Razor Scooter http://www.razor.com/ 98mm wheels that I installed on the Brompton. I paid $3 for them. You can also get them at regular price at a toy store like Toys R Us for around $10.

The installation was pretty simple. Each of the Razor wheels come with two bearings. You simply remove one of the bearings since the Brompton screw is not long enough to encompass both bearings. I did not tighten the screw too much.

How did the upgrade work? Good. I am now able to roll the bike via the fully extended saddle seatpost, but only by pushing it forward. I had visions of pulling the bike like upright luggage with pull-out handles, but that doesn’t work. Pushing it forward also has its quirks as the bike wants to lean one way as the load is not evenly balanced. It helps to hold the saddle with two hands as you push forward so you can control it from tipping to the right. As with the other roller blade wheels, there is no interference with heel strike.

Overall, I’m satisfied with the new wheels. Pushing the bike forward saves you from lifting the bike say across a lobby or tight spaces where you can’t or shouldn’t ride. Looking at the wheels takes some getting used to since they are bigger and a lighter color than the old ones. Maybe I’m not used to them being on the Brompton. They just look huge.

Here’s the bottom line with this upgrade:

Pros:
1) Able to roll the bike (only by pushing forward, though)
2) No heel strike issues
3) Low cost
4) Wheels can be found most everywhere

Cons:
1) Bike wants to lean one way as you’re pushing forward

Dumped! By Snow, That Is.

Ugh! As I type this, I am seeing some snow flurries out my window. The forecasters have predicted 1-2 inches for today in the immediate Washington DC metro area. In years past, such a snowfall would have generated much excitement. This year, it’s just a nuisance. You see, we’ve gotten around 56 inches of snow this season.

I read somewhere that we’ve gotten more snow than Buffalo or Cleveland this year. Even more, it has not warmed up enough to melt some of the snow that has fallen. It hardens by the sides of the road or in mounds of ice on the street. These mounds are very dangerous to maneuver by bike so I’ve been relying on public transit to get to work. Only the major thoroughfares have been plowed/cleared and I mostly take the side streets to avoid cars breathing down my rear tire. Maybe I’ll consider studded tires next year if we have another winter like this. I’m sure if I order studded tires tonight, it won’t snow again this season.

This is what your typical residential street looks like 3 days after the last major storm. Only one lane is somewhat paved and it's only good for one car.

Miscellaneous Bike Stuff For Sale.

Ah, this bike hobby of mine. Pros: great fun, exercise, wind in your face. A definite con: buying a lot of bike stuff that you end up never using. Hence the purpose of this post.

I’m selling the following bike stuff that I need to unload. Most of the stuff is either new or used once. Email me to arrange payment. I take paypal, money order, personal check (must clear before I mail), cash. Prices include shipping in the continental U.S. If I need to ship to Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico or the territories, email me before hand and I’ll tell you how much extra to send me to cover the additional shipping charges.


Downtube 8H front suspension fork $40 ***SOLD***


I took this off my 2009.5 Downtube 8H, 1 1/8" diameter, threaded, for a 20" wheel, 100mm wide, can accomodate disc brakes as well. Nothing wrong with it, I just felt it didn't have the bounciness of the older DT forks. I rode this fork for about 200 miles. Actual weight of the fork is 3lbs 4oz (for the weight weenies out there). Some further specs are shown in the pix.

NEW Bern Muse Helmet size Large $40 ***SOLD***

Brand new helmet. Never worn it. Still has original tags. A little too big for my melon. Color is brown. A small Bern logo in front is pink, which suggests it is for women, but if you scrape that off (Presto!) it’s a man’s helmet. Bern helmets look really cool; not like traditional bike helmets.

NEW Ergon GX3 Bar Ends $65 ***SOLD***

Never got a suitable bike to install these on. Still in original packaging. From the description on the package: New for 2009 the GX3 introduces a longer full size race bar end. Featuring rubberized anti-slip inlays, the lightweight ergonomic shape provides enough room for the whole hand. The use of advanced materials keeps weight to a minimum, while the user benefits from an additional hand position, and increased leverage when climbing. Glass fiber Composite Bar end. MSRP=$84.99.

Terry Fly Titanium White Men's Bike Saddle, $75 ***SOLD***

Got this for a roadbike that I still haven’t bought yet. Still in original packaging and haven’t installed it to any of my bikes. From the box: Terry Precision Fly men's bike saddles feature a textured leather cover and a center cutaway to reduce pressure. Flat across top. High-density support foam in rear. Color: White. Weight: 255 grams.


NEW Schwinn 12 function bike computer $12

Never opened. Everyone needs one of these.









Specialized Dolce Leather Saddle $25

Has the ergonomic center cutout. Cromoly hollow rails. 6 1/2” width at it’s widest part, 10 ¼” length. Black leather. Tried this saddle on my Brompton and did not work for me.