New Road Bicycle

[timwhit]

I finally bit the bullet and bought a road bike. I've been wanting one for a while now. I ended up getting a 2006 Giant OCR C3. I haven't ridden it much yet, but I have a 65 mile ride planned for Saturday. Should be a lot of fun.

I was previously on a decent, but old mountain bike with slicks on it, but this new bike is just so much faster, it's amazing.

 

[jtr1962]

Nice! It's got a 10-speed rear cluster, integrated brake-shift levers, and a triple crank in front so it can conquer hills as well as flats. Yes, it's amazing how much faster a decent road bike is. I rode my friend's MTB a few times. It was a stuggle to even hit 20 mph, never mind maintaining it for any length of time. My Raleigh takes me from a dead stop to 20 mph in 5 seconds flat (when I feel good and shift properly). I can cruise at 21-24 mph, and hit about 35 mph on the level if I go flat out in a good aero tuck. I'm currently upgrading it with a 10-speed 11-26 rear cluster and STI shifters, as well as new wheels/airless tires. It'll probably be marginally faster when I'm done.

BTW, a rear disk wheel cover like I have (see below) helps an already fast road bike by maybe 2 mph or so. A front cover added another 3 mph or so on top of that, but it made the bike too unstable in crosswinds, so I took it off.

Proof that the thing flies (this was admittedly on a downgrade):

 

[timwhit]

JTR, you should get some clipless pedals and shoes for your bike. You can find the pedals pretty cheap on eBay. I really like my Look Keo Classics. I'm pretty happy with my Specialized shoes as well. I find that riding in traffic I actually feel more comfortable with my feet clipped in now. I never would have thought so before, but I have trouble riding with regular pedals.

These were on my old bike, and as soon as I can get the damn pedals loose from my old bike they will replace the Shimano pedals that came with the bike. I think some 300lbs professional arm wrestler must have put the pedals on my bike. Or maybe just someone with a 4 foot wrench.

 

[jtr1962]

I'll look into those as soon as my budget allows. I just spent ~$500 on parts for both my bikes. Neither one was really rideable any more so I had no choice. Are the clipless pedals easy to disengage? I need to stop fairly frequently for lights so that's a requirement.

 

[timwhit]

Not hard at all. Much easier than regular clips. Just turn your foot to the right for your right foot and left for you left foot. Though I generally leave my left foot clipped in at lights for a faster start. Some pedals are definitely easier to get in and out of than others. If you can find a store that will let you try them first that's ideal, but most stores I have been to won't let you try clipless pedals before buying.

 

[Wavemaker]

...Proof that the thing flies (this was admittedly on a downgrade)

Mine will do 100 -- uphill or downhill.

 

[paugie]

Tim, my son and I were looking at the bike you purchased. He said to look at the larger pic and I noticed it didn't have a whole lot of spokes. He sez, it's for the road that's why.

Congratulations on that purchase. I'm 100% sure you are thoroughly enjoying it. As for us, we'll be sticking to our single speed MTB's. Lot's more huffin' and puffin' keep the calories at bay...

Who'm I kidding. It has been a losing battle with the weight for the last 30 years.

This is my bike:

This one's his

 

[Howell]

I think some 300lbs professional arm wrestler must have put the pedals on my bike. Or maybe just someone with a 4 foot wrench.

An easy way to do it is to stand on the opposite arm and the wrench. Don't forget one of holes for the pedal is left-hand threaded. I think I remember it is the right arm.

 

[timwhit]

An easy way to do it is to stand on the opposite arm and the wrench. Don't forget one of holes for the pedal is left-hand threaded. I think I remember it is the right arm.

I brought the two bikes to the store where I got the new one and they did it for free.

 

[jtr1962]

An easy way to do it is to stand on the opposite arm and the wrench. Don't forget one of holes for the pedal is left-hand threaded. I think I remember it is the right arm.

Actually it's the left arm. It's counterintuitive because the ball bearings exert torque in the opposite direction a regular bearing would. I installed a sealed bearing bottom bracket adaptor on my other bike in order to get rid of the high-maintenance one-piece crank. I didn't notice that they had marked the left and right sides on the adaptor, so I installed it the other way. I put the reverse thread on the left side, figuring that the bearing torque when riding would tighten it. It loosed up a few miles into the first ride. I put it the other way and it's just fine. Had it been a sleeve bearing instead of a ball bearing I would have been correct. However, by analyzing how a ball bearing works it's easy to see that the balls turning in the cage will exert opposite torque on the outer bearing cup.

 

[Howell]

Ah yes. What tripped me up is that although the right crank-arm rotates clockwise the pedal rotates counter-clockwise relative to the spindle. Thus the pedal bearings rotate clockwise.