November hasn’t been a very prolific month for riding to work.  Looks like I’m on pace to top February, but that’s not saying much.  I was out the first 2 weeks of the month, and it’s already a shortened month due to the Thanksgiving holiday.  As a matter of fact, weather permitting, I may actually be able to ride more in December, which is saying something.

Still struggling with my fixed-gear bike trying to get it more comfortable.  I’ve been pretty happy with the Forté Classic saddle on my road bike, so I tested it with the fixed, and it seems pretty good.  So I think I’m going to swing by Performance and pick one up.  Then there’s the issue of seating position.  I suspect that with this bike, I’m going to be more comfortable with a more upright seating position.  To that end, I’m going to try raising the bars up a few inches.  To do that, I’ll need a steer tube extender, which can be had for around $20.  And at that point, I’ll probably want to swap out my bullhorn-style bars with a set that has a bit more drop.  I’m considering trying a set of mustache-style bars.  Soma Fabrications makes a nice-looking mustache bar that looks similar to the popular Nitto bar, for around $40 less.  The bike is also going to need a new chain and new tires soon.  It currently has Bontrager Race Lite 700c x 23s, and I’ve been happy with these.  However, considering this is my main winter bike, I’m thinking about switching to a set of Specialized Armadillos, and maybe going up to a 25.  Armadillos are about the most flat-resistant tire on the market.  They’re on the heavy side, but weight isn’t really a concern with me with this bike.  The only concern is whether a wider tire will create clearance issues with my fenders.

Got my old ’93 Rockhopper almost to the point where I’m ready to ride it.  To recap, I’ve replaced the fork, headset, stem, chain, brake shoes, and brake cables, and cleaned and adjusted the hubs, derailleurs and brakes.  I also put a rear rack on it.  This weekend I’m hoping to take it out for its maiden voyage, with the two-fold goal of testing the bike out and finding a quick way into the Patapsco State Park trail network from home.  According to the trail map, it looks like the Morning Choice Trail runs along the back edge of the Belmont property, so the initial plan is to ride into Belmont and try to find the trail.  My eventual goal is to plan a commuting route to UMBC that is mostly single track.  I also want to be able to use the bike for commuting in wet and/or snowy conditions.

Once I get a feel for the bike and re-acquaint myself with the local trails, I’ll add a set of fenders, swap out the platform pedals for SPDs, and possibly also swap out the tires.  I would like to find a set of tires that rides well on both road and dirt, although I’m not sure such a beast exists that doesn’t compromise one for the other.

In other news, I’m back to a weekly commuting routine, at least for the next week and a half, until Thanksgiving.  Today will be my first ride home in the dark, although it’s still early enough that it’ll be mainly dusk/twilight.  The headlight and flashers are ready.

Faithful readers (all 6 of you) may recall that I’m still trying to get the fit right on my fixed-gear commuter bike (a Masi Speciale Fixed).  The initial problem was that I was leaning too hard on my wrists, and they were falling asleep after about 1/2 hour of riding.  Raising the bars 1/4″ or so helped a bit, but not enough.  Next I tried angling the seat back a bit more, to keep me from sliding forward.  That actually helped quite a bit with the wrist numbness, but the stock Masi saddle was uncomfortable in the new position.  I tried swapping it out for a Selle Italia “gel” racing saddle I had lying around, and it was marginally more comfortable, but still not quite what I was looking for.  This morning I tried the saddle from my road bike, a cheap Forté (Performance house brand) “Classic” saddle which I’ve always found comfortable.  The jury is still out, but it seems like we’re getting closer with this one.

One thing to consider, is that the same saddle that’s comfortable on a freewheel bike might not be comfortable on a fixed gear, and vice versa.  With a freewheel, it’s easy to shift weight to the legs while coasting downhill, whereas with fixed gear, the legs spin rapidly downhill and more weight gets shifted to the saddle.  So if anything, saddle comfort is more important with fixed gear than with a freewheel.  I’ve often wondered whether a leather saddle, like a Brooks, might be the thing for fixed.  I’ve hesitated trying one because I’m not crazy about taking an expensive leather saddle out in the rain.

Still also working on the rebuild of my old ’93 Specialized Rockhopper.  It has Dia-Compe 987 cantilever brakes on it, and my initial thought was to swap these out for V-brakes.  However, after some consideration, I think I’m just going to stick with the cantis.  There’s nothing functionally wrong with them, and switching to V-brakes would have also required swapping out the levers.  However, my new fork didn’t have the cable stop needed to use standard cantilevers.  Some net surfing revealed that there are essentially 2 options:  A bolt-on stop that attaches to the brake hole in the fork crown, or a stop that clamps to the steerer tube.  I ended up going with the former, because it puts the stop in roughly the same spot as it was on my old suspension fork, so I should be able to use my existing brake cable housing.  The part is on order and I’ll give it a shot when it arrives.

This morning’s ride featured rain and leaves..  an autumn institution in the Mid-Atlantic.  Seems like every time I ride in these conditions, I end up getting a leaf stuck in one of my fenders.  Initially, the leaf will stick to the tire, and I’ll get a periodic squeak-squeak noise as the leaf brushes the fender.  The pitch varies with speed.  Then eventually, the leaf will either wash off the tire (riding through puddles helps), or it’ll get lodged in the fender, usually near the clip that secures the fender to the brake bridge.  When that happens, the noise changes to a constant irritating whistle-squeak.  The only way to get rid of it is to stop, locate the offending leaf, and remove it, sometimes with the help of a stick or other handy object.  Then, hop back on the bike and wait for it to happen again.  The fun never ends.

Still working a bit on my old Rockhopper.  I’ve decided I’m going to get it to where I can ride it, then swap out parts as the need arises.  Initially, all I should need are a chain, a couple of tubes, and possibly a pair of pedals and toe clips.  I’m thinking about converting the bike to single speed, but before I do that, I want to make sure a single speed setup will be practical for single-track commuting through Patapsco State Park.  There are some pretty serious hills on some of those trails.

Just hit 7000 miles on my road bike computer this morning.  I was on Selford Rd. heading west, just before the I-95 overpass.  Looks like I’m doing 1000 miles every 6 months or so.  Multiplied by 2 bikes, that comes to roughly 4000 miles per year, 2000 per bike.  That’s a lot of wear and tear on the bikes.  One of my bikes is about due for a new chain, and could probably stand a new set of tires too.  I am going to try to stagger things out so I’m not replacing parts on all of my bikes at the same time, because tires, chains and brake pads do start to add up.  But I have no problem spending the money, knowing how much I’m saving on gas and other car-related expenses.

Been doing a little bit of hill work lately.  It started out as a way to stay out of morning rush-hour traffic.  A lot of the less traveled roads in this area just happen to be hilly.  Last week I did a climb up Ilchester Rd. and followed it up by going up Gun Rd.  Today I did Landing Rd. followed by College Ave.  I figure the more I ride on the really steep hills, the easier the less-steep hills will seem.  Time will tell I guess!

A sure sign of Fall:  I nearly flattened a squirrel on my ride in to work this morning.  Squirrels have this infuriating habit of darting in front of you and suddenly reversing direction just when you least expect it.  I also had to brake for some deer in the park.  Good times.

Did some more work on the Rockhopper yesterday evening.  I cut the fork steerer down to size, installed the star nut, and put the headset together.  To cut the steerer, I started the cut with a tubing cutter, and finished it with a hacksaw.  The notch left by the tubing cutter helped guide the saw, and I also put a couple of hose clamps on either side of the cut.  The result was a pretty straight cut, which is saying something, because I’m really, really bad at making good cuts with a hand saw.  After cutting, I used a file to clean up the rough edges, and proceeded to attempt to install the star nut.  The first attempt went badly.  I threaded the bolt in a few turns, and used a mallet to bang the nut into the steerer.  It went in really crooked, and I couldn’t get it straightened out, so I decided to start over.  I scrounged up a 15″ length of old ground rod, and used it to bang the nut the rest of the way through the steerer until it came out the bottom of the fork crown.  Then I hit the Internet for ideas for how I might do this without a special tool.  I came up with the following, adapted from an old post I found on mtbr.com:

Start with a 11/16″ socket, or whatever size will fit inside the steerer tube with a little bit of clearance.  The longer the socket, the better.  Drop a small washer through the end of the socket, so it sits against the square hole where the driver normally goes.  Then, drop the star nut’s bolt through the washer so that it sticks out the square hole.  Add a few washers as spacers, and then thread the star nut tightly onto the bolt.  You want enough washers to keep the star nut’s prongs from touching the socket.  Then, drive the star nut into the steerer tube by tapping on the socket with a rubber mallet.  Hold the socket securely to keep the nut straight until the socket enters the tube.  Drive the nut into the tube around 1″ (2cm).

Using this method, I was able to get the nut into the steerer tube perfectly straight.  With that done, I was able to install the fork and stem.  Now I just need a new chain and some tubes, and I can put the bike together and see how it rides.