35 Day Hiatus Ends!

Because of all of the snow (we had over 50 inches of snow in February alone) I have not ridden the Raleigh in 35 days. February 2010 was the first month since I have been riding (June 2007 start) that I had no mileage at all.


Today I rode 15.6 miles to test out the Raleigh after I completed the 3 year maintenance. The Raleigh rode smoothly. I do need to tweak in the front derailleur, so I will do that later--- I just wanted to ride.

I really like the Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tires. They ride very smoothly. The rolling resistance seemed low as I felt like I had too much speed going down some of the hills. You can definitely tell that it is a quality tire.

Recall that on September 06, 2008 I swore of cheap tires. I had purchased 2 IRC Red Storm tires for $25. One had a kink, the other started to fall apart after 300 miles. On the other hand, I got nearly 4000 miles on the Vittoria Zaffiro and I could have still used them. The Vittoria Zaffiro Pro are only $20 each. From now on I am only buying Vittoria Tires.

4066 Miles 3 Year Maintenance

Today I started the 3 year maintenance on the Raleigh Grand Prix. This is what I did:

1. Stripped all of the accessories off the bike.

2. Removed the pedals and lubed them.

3. Checked the chain for stretch using my Nashbar chain tool. It checks if there is 1% or greater stretch, indicating it should be changed. My chain is OK.

4. Removed the chain and degreased it.

5. I inspected both tires. I have about 4000 miles on these tires and can probably get more out of them. There are some sidewall cracks. Sheldon Brown says the sidewall cracks are harmless and you only need to replace the tires when you see the threads of the tire through the rubber.

I am going to play it safe and replace them. I ordered 2 Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tires from PricePoint at $19.99 each. The tires I have now are the Vittoria Zaffiro. They have performed well so I am sticking with Vittoria. The Pro is a little lighter at 240 grams and has 60 TPI (threads per inch) which should be a better ride.

6. Removed the chain rings and cleaned them.

7. I removed the cassette and cleaned it. I used a piece of long cloth to "floss" the cassette.

Before

Flossing

After

8. I also cleaned and regreased the front and rear wheel bearings.

Each side of the axle has 9 ball bearings, so you have to be careful and make sure you get them back in properly.

9. I also thoroughly cleaned the rear derailleur wheels. No grease is needed as they are ceramic.

10. I took apart and greased the brake cable mechanism. They were stuck.

11. I am also replacing the brake pads. They are $3.98 a set at PricePoint. These pads are still good but I like to play it safe. A new pad has 3.0 mm of material. The front was worn down to 1-1.5 mm and the rear had 2.0 mm left.








I changed the tires, reinstalled the chain and lubed it, reinstalled all of the accessories. I will give it a test run tomorrow, the weather is going to be good finally!

2009 Riding Recap

I keep a cycling log of my rides using a form from Suburban Cyclist Unlimited.

Total 2009 miles on Raleigh Grand Prix: 1610 miles.
Total number of 2098 rides: 119
Average ride: 13.5 miles
Longest Ride: 25.5 miles August 01, 2009
Most miles in a month: 228 miles June and November
Least miles in a month: 22 miles January
Most miles in a week: 81.5 miles November 22 to 28

4000 Miles !!!!

Today I completed 4000 miles on my Raleigh Grand Prix

I reached 400 miles on Rt 282 at Springton Road.

It was pretty cold-- about 25 degrees F but very sunny.

I really wanted to get 4000 miles by the end of the year. I started thinking about it in the beginning of November. I rode 228 miles in November which was tied with June for the most miles. December was a challenge because we had 22 inches of snow on December 19 so I didn't ride for a week until the snow melted and the roads were good.

I have been doing my 20 mile ride to Downingtown where I head on down Rt 282.



Then down the Struble Trail.

Then into Downingtown a bit. This is Downingtown National Bank.




This is a Mexican restaurant. I will have to give it a try.

Then I return the same way.

3402 miles Front Derailleur Replacement

Today I replaced the front derailleur. It was actually pretty easy with the included detailed directions. I received the Shimano Tiagra derailleur from JensonUSA today. It only took 5 days from the order.

First I removed and cleaned the chain.

I have a quick link on this chain so it is easy to remove.

Then I removed the old derailleur. The spring retainer broke off so the spring did not function. The retainer is a small piece of metal so I am wondering if the tiagra derailleur is susceptible to this failure. If this one fails, I will upgrade next time.

Old derailleur with broken spring retainer.

New derailleur with alignment block pre-installed.

The derailleur has an alignment block installed and a marker tape to get the proper alignment when you attach the derailleur to the bike frame.

You use the cable adjustment barrel to adjust the cable tension to tweak in the settings when the chain is on the intermediate chain ring.

In no time I had the derailleur properly adjusted.

3359 Miles: Front Derailleur Failure

Today I noticed that my front derailleur wasn't shifting. When I got the bike home I noticed that the spring retainer was broken so the spring wasn't working at all.



I ordered a replacement at JensonUSA for $42.99 plus $6.95 shipping. It is a Shimano Tiagra FD-4503. I decided not to upgrade because I felt the derailleur worked well. The 105 was $60 and the Ultegra was about $80 and I did not feel it was worth the difference.

I am still able to ride the bike using the middle chain ring, which is where I normally ride.

3000 Miles !!!

Today I hit 3000 miles on the Raleigh Grand Prix. I reached this milestone right in front of the pond on Bollinger Road near the house with the curved front porch.

This house is at the corner of Little Conestoga and Adams Road.

I thought this patch of day lilies was interesting next to the garage.

The roads near my house are great for bike riding. Many bike event markings are on the roads. This marking is from the 2009 French Creek Iron Tour .