Training Log Archive: veinbuster

I did a tuneup yesterday, but the rain came before I could do a proper test ride. I attempted to fix the planetary gear in the mid position (with somewhat less overdrive). The internal mechanism is not nearly as easy to shift as it was before the shift pin broke and may be seized.

The ride felt like the internal might still be in the big gear. I'll have to measure it to find out what the real gear ratios are.

EDIT: added photo of low tech internal gear holder

C • Bike Repair 1

Day 3 soloflex

It was meant to be a few errands on foot. The rain wasn't supposed to start here until 6pm, so I opted to pretend the dark clouds weren't looming in sight. They got darker and lightening started flashing at the edge of the cloud line, so shortcuts and a brisker pace seemed in order. The first few drops made quarter sized spots on the sidewalk so I went faster, getting to the front door just as the hail started.

And then the rain pretty much stopped - still plenty of thunder and lightening.
Time is ballpark.

Attempting a rest day for my joints. Took a nice guitar break. I have four bikes to clean and prep, but that will probably lead to riding.

Did a fairly comprehensive comparison of Cruz geometry to what I have. Key elements include:
- seats 10-12cm closer to the ground than the Bacchetta (seat height being its primary weakness in traffic)
- bottom bracket height relative to seat about 5cm less than the Bacchetta - still noticeably above the seat - I'll have to do some sketches to get a better handle on how that impacts my thigh to torso angle, which is far to closed on the BikeE and perfect of the Greenspeed (haven't settled on the final Bacchetta seat angle for outside)

At $995 a T50 seems like a pretty cheap experiment.

Day 2 soloflex and free weights

Fast But Smooth - borrowed from Paul via Flight
http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_11408/p...

5 min warmup
Set 1: I used 91 gi versus 90 - I overshot power on the first surge to about 650, then settled in just over target, but drifted down a bit by the last couple of intervals. Tough set for me.

Set 2: I used 97 gi versus 91 - overshot the first surge by more in this bigger gear. With the longer rests I didn't drift and managed to stick around 500.

Set 3: I used 113/97/85 (no 13 or 15 cog on the Bacchetta) versus 104/96/90. This set was well suited to my power delivery. Overshot to 800 on the first one with the 113gi, but noticed my power surged nicely with the downshift. In the gear up intervals my power also peaked with the shift to the 97. On the last interval I continued to push with the second upshift to hit my max power for the session.

Paul is a bit evil, but I really liked this workout.

Power: avg-170, max-840

A rare log worthy snow shovel. One other person on the street opted to push the snow rather than wait for it to melt.

The snow was heavy everywhere, but the street end was extreme because it was saturated with the rain water that didn't make it to the sewer before the snow. The 11/2 meters at the end were too heavy to push so it had to be carried to the lawn for deposit. Drifts were knee high.

Day 1 soloflex and free weights
Bonus round of tire (mounted snows) toting.

Right hand is much better - I can feel the normal arthritic nuisance again.

C • Tire wrangling 2

A short outing after rescuing my summer tires from a trailer in a muck hole.

I noticed that this bike is unquestionably my least efficient drive train. I'll try to lock the internal into its middle position one day soon. Currently the gears match the seven smaller cogs on the Greenspeed when it is on the big chain ring. It won't make the bike more efficient, but it should be a more usable range for around here.

I also noticed that the torso to upper leg angle on the BikeE isn't much different than on my road bike. Without the option to stand once in a while to open up the blood flow it might be a bit worse to ride from a leg point of view. I think that definitely answers the question of whether or not I should spend the money to put a nicer drive train on it.