The Bike Geek

Hope everyone had a Great 4th of July. Being bored, I decided to start and finish my latest project, a Single Speed for the Single Guy.

I recently got a great deal on a Liquid Metal Carbon MTB frame (I’ve never heard of this brand, since it was “Tested in Colcrado.” I don’t know where that is… Thanks, Lance for pointing that out. Anyways, it was one of those deals I could not pass up so I bought it and started to think about using it to build up a single speed bike since it seems like everyone is riding one at the Fullerton Loop these days. My current Fullerton ride was Orange Crush, a Nashbar 853 Steel frame that was built up as a 1×9.

So having the new frame for a few days I started making a build list. After a short list I realized this was not going to be cheap. So the project focus was now changed to build a “Single Speed for the Single Guy on the Cheap” and reuse any parts I could. So that meant I had to use as many parts as I could off my 1×9. BTW the weight of “Orange Crush” is right at 24lbs, not too bad for a steel frame.

So the build was completed today after a couple trips to the local bike shops.   Here is a picture of the completed Single Speed.

Weight as seen is 21.8lbs , again not too bad for not being a WeightWeenie build.  The frame itself is 3.95lb (1794 grams) and the parts list was all items that was the cheapest I could get my hands on at the time.

• Liquid Metal 16″ Carbon Frame
• Fox F100 RL Fork
• Cane Creek S3 Headset
• Mavic CrossRide UB Rear Wheel
• American Class 130 Front Hub laced to Mavic 717 / DT Revolution Spokes / Alloy Nipples
• Avid FR-5 Brake Levers - Rear Wheel
• Forte Team V-Brakes - Rear Wheel
• Hope Mono Mini Front Disc Brakes
• Forte Seat Collar
• Surly 19 Tooth Cog
• 15+ year old HG 8 Speed Chain
• Truvativ Stylo SS Cranks / BB
• Time Carbon Pedals
• Gusset Chain Tensioner (my favorite bike device ever, Darn, I should have thought of that….)
• Wheels Manufacturing Single Speed Conversion Kit
• American Classic Ti Seatpost
• Bontrager Ti Saddle
• Truvativ Stem
• Ritchey WCS Carbon Flat Handlebar
• Ritchey WCS Barends (b/c I’m old school)
• Foam Grips

Update:  I took it out for test ride at the Fullerton Loop yesterday and found out my first headache of a single speed.  CHAIN LINE!!!  Wow, it was pain having the chain drop at random times.

Even so I was able to ride the “short” loop and make it up to the top of “Gus” park.  As it being my first time on the loop on a single speed it didn’t feel too bad, I’m willing to try it again :).  Since yesterday, I’ve learned how to precisely adjust the chainline so hopefully, I’ll be able to head out for my second attempt of riding the Fully Loop on a single speed.

Here are some pictures of my various bike lights for comparison.

The back yard at 8:30 pm. All pictures were taken with a Canon XTi, 17-40 F4 Lens, ISO 100, Manual mode, and exposure for 2 seconds on a tripod. Focus was set at infinity. I was kind of lazy and didn’t use the best tripod and didn’t use a remote shutter release so the pictures are not that sharp.

Here is a point of reference.

Cutter LED modified light.

NiteRider Enduro HID

NiteRider 15Watt Halogen Wide Beam

NiteRider 15Watt Halogen StandardBeam

In case you’re interested in modifying your own lights, here’s the link to where I ordered them from: http://www.cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=41 Just be aware that LEDs get HOT and need cooling so if your housing isn’t aluminum I wouldn’t try this mod.

You can’t get geeker than this… I had an old Halogen Bike like I got Performance many years ago that I kept around as my loaner set of lights. It wasn’t the best but it got the job done. A few night rides ago the battery died so I started to see what I could do to bring it back to life.

I found this “kit” which included the lens, the LED’s, a heatsink, and a driver board from a reseller in Australia. The kit is design to be a drop-in replace for common halogen MR-11 bulbs found in bike lights. It’s similar in design to the Niterider TriNewts. It’s basically three Cree LEDs with a lens to focus the beam.

It wasn’t that easy as a drop in replacement, but if you’re handy with a soldering iron and know a little about electronics it can be completed in a few hours. Basic steps, remove the old MR-11 bulb, cut the wires, wire the power leads to the driver board, then attach wires to the LEDs. Sounds simple, but the parts are so small you need a really good soldering iron and steady hands.

It’s raining or I would take some beam shots, but I will say that’s it’s almost as bright as my Niterider Enduro HID light. The beam on the HID is narrower, but I wanted this to be my handlebar light so a wide beam was actually what I wanted. My little light project turned out a lot better than I expected. The best part is that I can use any type of battery between 6 to 11 volts and get the exact same brightness do to the “boost” abilities of the driver board. The picture is of my 6 AA batteries in an old water bottle. I also have another bottle wired up that will accept 7.2 - 8.4 volt RC/AirSoft batteries. No more paying high prices for replacement bike light batteries.

I’ll post more about the light as soon as the weather gets better and I can actually do a night ride.

 This speaker rocks!  This is a really cool iPod speaker system.  I’ve been wanting to get something like this for a while for listening to the iPod without headphones.  I have currently have the JBL On Stage speaker for my desk but not something that is portable and runs on batteries.

My first impression about it was that it was made very well and shouldn’t have a problem withstanding a MTB bike ride.  It’s a single speaker, but it still sounds great.  The speaker system itself is pretty simple, a speaker, some batteries to power the speaker, and the iPod link.  The remote is like a small hockey puck and has some great range, I was able to control the speaker from about 50 feet away in my house.

I wish the speaker housing had some controls on it so I don’t have to have the remote puck to control to volume and song selection but I can live with that.  I just don’t feel like having another device on my handlebars, so on the first ride it ended up in my pocket.  The only issue I had with it is with my bike’s frame size,  I ride a 16″ frame so the speaker can barely fit inside the main triangle.  As you can see from the picture it has adapters to fit my 30Gb iPod Video and my 1st Gen iPod Nano, it has another adapter for an iPod mini, I think. (I don’t own one of those.)  Not shown, it also comes with a cage to mount on your bike, but any water bottle cage should also work.  It also has an AC adapter that when plugged in will also charge the iPod.

It’s called the Cycler but I think I will get some great use out of it as a great portable iPod speaker.  I used it this weekend outside while I was washing my car. 

The Nashbar 1×9 build has finally been completed.

I completed the build a couple weeks ago and finally had time to do a new write up.  So far, I love it!  Steel is Real!  I’ve only have a chance to ride it once at the Fullerton loop and around the neighborhood, but it felt great.  It didn’t feel harsh at all coming from a full suspension bike and was a perfect fit.  In the corners and during acceration I felt like I was going faster and somehow it felt like I had better traction.

When I went to Demo Days at InterBike, every single demo bike I rode had SRAM X.0 or X.9, so I figured maybe I would give SRAM at try.  Well, I’m sold, it performs just as well as Shimano XT.  The shifter, shifts really well and has a nice snap to it.  The rear derailleur also has a little cleaner cable routing.  The push-push of the shifter took a few minutes to get used to but I like it now.

One day when I grow up I would like to make it into a single speed, but for now my legs and lungs needs the 34 tooth cog.

 Here’s the build list and costs.  Grand total was a little over $1,000 with tax and shipping costs.  That was without a seat and wheelset.  My orginal budget was well under that, but I went crazy with the parts order, oh well Christmas came early for me.

• Bike Nashbar 853 Signature Frame (15.5″) - $232
• Nashbar Deluxe Seatpost Collar 31.8 - $8
• 2006 FOX Float 100 RL OEM Fork - $ 230 (used)
• Cane Creek S-3 Headset (1 1/8″) - $30
• Truvativ XR Mtn/Road Stem, Black, 100mm, 82/95 Deg, 11/8″ - $17
• Truvativ XC-XR 31.8 Flat Bar, Black, 5 Degree - $20
• SRAM PC-991 9 Speed Chain - $ 32
• Hope Mono Mini Disc Brake (Front 51mm mount) - $170 (used set)
• Hope Mono Mini Disc Brake (Rear 51mm mount)
• SRAM X.9 Front Shifter - $140
• SRAM X.9 Rear Derailleur (price included w/Shifters)
• Truvativ Stylo Single Speed Cranks with BB 175MM - $ 115
• 11-34T Shimano XT Casette - taken from the Slayer 70 
• Wheels (Mavic 717, Hope Hubs, DT Swiss Spoke, & Alloy nipple) - taken from the Slayer 70
• Race Face Next Carbon Seatpost - taken from the Slayer 70
• WTB Rocket V Saddle Ni-Cro Rails - taken from the Slayer 70
• Time ATAC Carbons - (spare set)

Weight….. Drum roll please…. 24.4lbs  A little more than I hoped for but I can live with that, for now…..

One reason disc brakes squeal is because they are ditry.  Here’s a quick tip on cleaning Disc Brake Pads.

1. Get some Brakeleen (or any Brake cleaning product) from your favorite automotive parts store
2. Take the pads out of the brake calipers
3. Spray the brake pads with Brakleen
4. Wait for the pads to dry (2-3 mintues)
5. Reassemble
6. Spray some brake cleaner on a clean rag or paper towel
7. Wipe the rotors with the rag
8. Go for a short ride and test the brakes

Do NOT use a citrus degreaser instead of brake cleaner.  Brakleen is made for using on disc brake parts and air dries almost instantly and leaves no residue.

Inspired by Moe’s KHS Alite… Here’s my newest toy. A Nashbar Reynolds 853 Signature Frame, 90% complete. After riding a full suspension ‘05 Rocky Mountain Slayer 70 for the last 2 years I felt like I needed to go “retro.” I wanted a good ole’ steel frame. After some research, I found the Nashbar Signature frame. From what I read, it’s made in the same Taiwan factory as the Rocky Mountain Blizzard and is pretty much identical. So I waited for a 20% off coupon and ordered it.

The frame is pretty darn nice for mail-order bike. I got the 15.5 inch and on my fish scale it’s 5.0 lbs. A cool feature is that the dropouts are Tom Ritchey dropouts.

Here’s the buildlist so far.

• Bike Nashbar 853 Signature Frame (15.5″)
• Nashbar Deluxe Seatpost Collar 31.8
• 2006 FOX Float 100 RL OEM Fork
• Cane Creek S-3 Headset (1 1/8″)
• Truvativ XR Mtn/Road Stem, Black, 100mm, 82/95 Deg, 11/8″
• Truvativ XC-XR 31.8 Flat Bar, Black, 5 Degree
• SRAM PC-991 9 Speed Chain
• Hope Mono Mini Disc Brake (Front 51mm mount)
• Hope Mono Mini Disc Brake (Rear 51mm mount)
• SRAM X.9 Front Shifter
• SRAM X.9 Rear Derailleur
• Truvativ Stylo Single Speed Cranks with BB 175MM
• Wheels (Mavic 717, Hope Hubs, DT Swiss Spoke, & Alloy nipple) taken from the Slayer.

So far as pictured the bike weighs in a 20.7 lbs. I’m “Hope”ing once completed it will weigh in at a hair over 24 lbs. I just have to be wait until the cranks arrive and it’s ready to hit the trails.

I get this question a lot: ‘What kind of tires are those? are they home made?’ There’s this uber cool company called SweetSkinz, they are the ones that make the tires. What’s really cool about these tires is that they have reflective properties, check it out:

Their tires also come in different designs and in different sizes, check out my cyclocross bike with the ‘DiamondBack’ tire design:

The people at SweetSkinz are mega cool too, we met them at the Sea Otter Classic as they gave away some of their tires.

Check out SweetSkinz.com for more designs and to purchase some tires.

we have posted some great reviews at www.bikecommuters.com:

Jack Posted his review of the SealLine Commuter Backpack. Check it out here.

He also posted a review of the Dynamic Crosstown 7, what makes this bike different is that is Shaft Driven! Click here to read his review.

RL posted his RedLine 9-2-5 long term review, this bike has proven to be popular amongst commuters.

Freshly off the web presses is my KHS Green review, a great short commute commuter bike. Click here to read my review.

I love reading cycling magazines and books so when I got an advanced reading copy of “Cycling greatest misadventures” to review, I was really looking forward to it.

What I liked: The book has a compilation of stories of all sorts of riding; mountain biking, adventure cycling, commuting and road racing. Most of the stories are very entertaining, some are really inspirational and some are down right hilarious. The bike messenger stories were my favorite, this part of the cycling subculture is really intriguing.

What I didn’t like: Some of the stories were rather long and sometimes a little boring. There were not many of them so it wasn’t too bad.

Recommendation: I recommend this book to all the bike geeks out there, this book sells for $13.22 at Amazon.com, it’s a great way to pass the time when not riding your bike.