SonicChicken blog

I’ve been having trouble with my knees ever since I started commuting by bicycle. I tried adjusting my bike fit on my own, but some of the measurements really require a trained eye. (Said eye being in the skull of somebody other than the cyclist sitting on the bike.) So I took a ride to City Bikes after work a few weeks ago to see if they could help me adjust my touring bike for less painful riding.

The guys at the shop did their best not to laugh when I wheeled in my 20-year-old bike. They decried the overly large frame, fixed-length stem, and old-school drop bars. But keep in mind–The conventional wisdom back in the mid-80’s was to buy the biggest frame you could just barely stand over. The only adjustment one could make to the stem was to raise or lower it. If you wanted more “reach” you had to buy a longer stem, which is precisely what I did when I first bought the bike. And drop bars only came in one style back in the day. They went ahead and fitted me, but I guess I had already done a pretty good job myself–they weren’t able to find anything that could be adjusted that needed it. Thus, no charge for the fitting, but they did strongly suggest that I buy a new, modern bike with a smaller frame. They showed me a bunch of bikes, but the only one that caught my eye was a Specialized Sequoia Elite for about $1100.

So now I’m in a quandary–do I put money in my old bike or buy a new one? $1100 sounds like a fair bit of money for a bicycle, but it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than a car! Instead I decided to see what I could do with my existing bike first. I spent about $300 at Peak Adventures and replaced nearly the entire drive train with pretty nice components: Xpedo RF-L3 clipless pedals, FSA Gossamer triple chainring (53/39/30T) with 172.5 mm cranks and megaexo bottom bracket, Shimano Tiagra rear derailleur, and a new chain. The only original drive train components now are my 6-speed casette (28, 24, 21, 18, 16, 14T) and the wheels. I wouldn’t mind replacing the casette sometime, especially since I now have a 9-speed derailleur, but if I have to replace the wheels I’m going to be thinking very hard about just buying a new bike. (Decent wheels can be pretty expensive!)

If I do spring for a new bike, I’m not fixated on the Specialized Sequoia. I’d be looking for a touring bike–something with a rugged frame, drop bars, fittings for panniers (preferably front and rear), triple chainring or possibly a compact double, clipless pedals, and those very cool integrated shifters/brake levers (my favorite feature of the Sequoia)!

But before I drop that much cash I’m going to see how I do on some long-distance rides with my old Tribute. I’ve got a nice flat 100-mile ride this Saturday: Bike Around the Buttes. I haven’t done a ride this long for many years, so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes.

Semper fidelis, the Marine’s motto, means “always faithful”. I thought it was appropriate for this post. Read on…

Waaay back circa 1985, I was forced to buy a new bicycle when somebody stole my then-current bike. I didn’t own a vehicle, so every trip I made was by foot, public transit, or bike, with the vast majority of my trips being via bicycle. In addition to commuting and errands, I also did quite a bit of riding for pleasure. In fact, I would often ride the entire American River Bike Trail, (approximately 100 km/62 miles round trip), several times per week during the summer. So it was pretty important to me that I buy a bike suited to riding long distances. I went to my LBS, then known as the Mountain Wolf Co-op but now Peak Adventures. I told them what I was interested in, and they suggested that I get a touring bike. Here she is, still ride-worthy after 20 years:

Back in the 80’s, a Japanese toy company named Takara was re-branding and selling inexpensive bicycles, and this was the brand that the Moutain Wolf Co-op was carrying at that time. Tribute was the model name for their touring bike. My bike above is almost stock–the only changes I’ve made are leather bar grips (the best!) and a longer (120 mm) stem, both of which were done almost the day I got the bike.

I put thousands of kilometers on this bike when I first bought it. (Remember, it was my primary mode of transportation!) But then in the summer of 1987 I got a professional job, and about a month later I bought my first motor vehicle. I still rode for pleasure, but not nearly as much as I had been. In the spring of 1992 my wife, daughter, and I left Sacramento (and the American River Bike Trail), and we moved about 35 miles south to Galt. This is a fairly rural area with relatively low traffic, but the roads are brutal on skinny 120 psi tires! My poor Tribute spent about five years gathering dust in the garage, while I braved the local farm roads (and ornery cowboy kids playing “chicken”, pickup truck versus bicycle) on a more suitable bike.

Things began looking up for my Tribute in the summer of 1997. I was laid off, along with 90% of my coworkers, from my job in Manteca. The very next day, I landed my current job at CSUS. One of the first things I did was rent a bike locker on campus. I dusted off my faithful, neglected Tribute, brought it into the LBS on campus for some maintenance, and resumed riding the American River Bike Trail, right across the Guy West Bridge from campus, woo hoo! Last May (2005), the situation improved further when we moved from Galt back up to Sacramento. I’m now doing most of my commuting (3 to 5 days per week, unless it’s raining) on my 20-year-old Tribute.

I’m getting ready to do some long distance (≥100 km) rides again this summer, but I’m way out of shape compared to 20 years ago. There’s no way I’ll be able to climb a hill with the current gearing on this bike, so I’ll be replacing the stock double chainring (42- and 52 teeth) with a triple chainring (30/39/53). The chainring comes with a new external-bearing bottom bracket as well as 172.5 mm cranks. (My current cranks are 170 mm.) The parts just arrived today, so hopefully they will be installed tomorrow! I’m also thinking about changing to clipless pedals, mostly so that my knees won’t be “twisted” by the cleats, but that will probably have to wait until my birthday. (Barb, are you reading this? Hint, hint…)