[newleaf150]

Still not my bike, but it's related: today I installed some new rubber on the trailer. It's now ready for a road test.

 

[maelochs]

I tightened up my front derailleur cable (I desperately need to replace it but I hate the labor involved) and tuned both derailleurs. My derailleur cables cross under the stem, and right after I got the rear perfectly indexed I grabbed the wrong barrel adjuster (trying to tune the front) and messed it all up.

Now both ends shift properly ..... but I still haven't done the road -test because huge thunderstorms rolled in as I was prepping to ride.

On the plus side, I have a good excuse for when my wife asks why I didn't cut the grass .....

 

[longjohn]

You guys seem to be prepared for most anything. All the riders I see have nothing or maybe a tiny seat bag. I don’t know what they carry in those tiny bags? Possibly a tube and CO2. I ride 99% of my miles by myself (that may be changing), I need to be prepared to get myself out of trouble. I have been running panniers on my gravel bike almost since day one. I have a difficult ride coming up and decided to take the panniers off and see what I could come up with instead. I still need to be prepared. I’m no longer carrying a lock. I never use the one I carried and it was heavy. I limited myself to two water bottles. I always carried extra in the panniers but very seldom needed the extra because I refilled the two mounted on the bike every chance I got. When you have all that room it’s easy to start carrying too much stuff. This is my new setup and I think I’ll stick with it unless I’m bike packing. (New girlfriend wants to do some four day trips with me).

 

[Dos_Ruedas]

THAT ^ looks like a fine setup.
If needed, you definitely have more space for additional baggage.


For me, i have a VERY tightly packed, small seat bag with tube, 2xCO2, patch kit, $$, bike tool & misc other essentials.
I have a CO2 pump attached to one of four bottle cages, mean dog/person spray attached to another.
In my Jersey i carry another tube, tire, small hand pump, edible carbs, and a phone. Sometimes I’ll carry a one use chamois butter.

Other than that, the number of bottles carried depends on how long i plan to be riding.

The goal is not to disturb my Bride, family or friends with a breakdown.

I’ve always wanted to do a long, multi day ride from WV to NC, but family/work obligations always get in the way.

If that happens eventually, i plan only to add a post seat bag similar to yours. Xela posted a review on the one i want, a few years ago.

Travel light and carry cash & debit card.

 

[longjohn]

I’m really limited as to who I can call if I break down and can’t fix it.my neighbors are Amish, my kids live in other states, I could probably call my brother. I also have one neighbor who isn’t Amish but he drives a hot shot truck and isn’t home very much.

 

[Dos_Ruedas]

That’s tough and something to consider.
Pushing a bike for miles in riding shoes would be challenging. I think I’d opt for hitchhiking.

 

[longjohn]

That’s tough and something to consider.
Pushing a bike for miles in riding shoes would be challenging. I think I’d opt for hitchhiking.

I wear riding sandals in the warm weather with SPD cleats recessed into the soles. They are comfortable to walk in, so are my winter cycling shoes. I still don’t want to walk, that’s why I carry more stuff than the average cyclist.

 

[i12ride]

Still not my bike, but it's related: today I installed some new rubber on the trailer. It's now ready for a road test.
View attachment 55172

ummmmmm, dunno.......looks to me like it's ready for an offroad test

 

[longjohn]

I took the old school computer off my Trek 520 and put a stem mount on it for my Garmin. I used it one day and it worked great. I put it on the charger when I got home and when I got to the ride today it was still on the charger at home. I rode naked today. No idea how fast/slow I was going, didn’t know how many miles I had done or how many I had left to go. I didn’t know how steep the grades were I was climbing, or what my heart rate was.
I don’t like riding that way. I keep an eye on my heart rate because I don’t want it getting out of hand. I did have my phone in my jersey pocket and had Strava running so when I finished the ride I found out all those details except the heart rate. I survived the ride so I guess I did ok.

 

[MilesR]

Riding naked! TMI!

 

[i12ride]

I thought the problem was with the computer at first.............🙃

 

[newleaf150]

Today I installed the missing sensors on my folding MTB and the recumbent. Both are now outfitted with a cadence and speed sensor each. I confirmed settings by riding around the back yard, but didn't make it out for a road test of either bike.

 

[newleaf150]

I have an event coming up this weekend, and am in the middle of transitioning to more modern cycling computer hardware. Today I set out to install cadence and speed sensors on my touring bike, but it's a sad thing to install a nice new sensor on a gunky, dirty wheel hub. So, the washing gear came out and the bike got scrubbed before the sensors were installed. I thought it was rough installing the speed sensor on my recumbent's 20" rear wheel, but that wasn't crap next to the touring bike's plate sized 12-46 cogset on the one side and brake disc on the other. It took more effort and perhaps a bit more colorful language than it should have, but I eventually got it done.

I have been using a handheld Garmin GPS unit for as long as I've had my touring bike. It isn't cycling specific, but kept track of speed, mileage, and altitude as well as providing the 'bread crumb trail' I've used to find my way home more than once. I've mapped countless routes on it and am frankly thrilled with its performance. But it pre-dates my return to cycling. After 15 years in my possession and some 20k mi on the bike, it's at the 'really tired' stage.

I recently found a couple of used Edge 500s and grabbed them plus enough sensors to set up all three of my bikes. For the touring bike, I ordered an Edge 530, but it won't arrive in time for the event. As a result, today found me dismounting the old handheld GPS and installing one of the 500s on the touring bike. When the 530 arrives, I'll swap them and have on-bike map capacity again. On the event side, I have ridden this one several times and am familiar with the route. Because I'm me, I also left the base for the hand held unit's handlebar mount in place and will be bringing it with me in case there's a problem with the 500.

I understand that I technically only need a single head unit to swap amongst my 3 bikes, but I'm persnickety and occasionally loan a bike to a guest. Thus I prefer a separate head unit for each bike.

All cleaned up.

It's likely a faux pas to have the logos reversed like this. Oh well. The position and mount are not permanent, but work well enough for now.

The sensor was way too much effort to install. I hope the battery lasts a long time.

Cadence sensor. Note the Lezyne pump featured in a recent post on the 'most recent purchase' thread.

Now all I need to do is pack my bags and head out. Tomorrow.

 

[maelochs]

Good Lunar luck or at least, may you make the best of whatever the Moon gives to you.

 

[newleaf150]

Good Lunar luck or at least, may you make the best of whatever the Moon gives to you.

Thank you, I shall seek to. I drive out later today. Sadly, Chip will be staying home with Mrs. Newleaf, who had a prior engagement. I shall miss them both but look forward to the ride.

 

[newleaf150]

I forgot to mention that I adjusted the touring bike's brakes yesterday, all the better to tackle the big descent during tomorrow's event. That's likely a bit more important the futzing with sensors, but I forgot to mention it.

Today, I connected my Ride With GPS app to the sensors via Bluetooth. I hope to get a chance to test that out this evening after I arrive in town, but we'll see. They are supposed to be good to broadcast both simultaneously, but I understand that has led to problems for some.

 

[longjohn]

Thank you, I shall seek to. I drive out later today. Sadly, Chip will be staying home with Mrs. Newleaf, who had a prior engagement. I shall miss them both but look forward to the ride.

Why didn’t you just put the speed sensor on the front wheel like everyone else? Are you planning on putting the bike on the trainer?

 

[newleaf150]

Why didn’t you just put the speed sensor on the front wheel like everyone else? Are you planning on putting the bike on the trainer?

I didn't just put it on the front wheel because it honestly never occurred to me. I defaulted to the rear wheel on the other two bikes, did the same on the touring bike without once thinking about the fact that my bikes each have two wheels. Been a minute since I pulled a proper <facepalm> moment .

 

[longjohn]

Lol, I put a wired sensor on the back wheel of the bike I have on the trainer because I wanted to see my speed and miles. It just has a simple bike computer, no Garmin or anything.

 

[newleaf150]

Today's work was all about GPS: I installed my new Garmin Edge 530 on my touring bike. I also took the opportunity to update the mount for my recumbent's Edge 500. Finally, I updated the folding MTB's mount to conform with the manual's recommendations which I'd previously misread.

Quite a change from the old unit, which was much larger and featured a far more beefy mounting system. I might have saved as much as a pound there, lol.

Edge 500 in its original mounting position. I actually rather like this, but it's too far down for a quick glance.

In its new position. I think this will be much better. Road test to come. Note that I have yet to remove the wired cycle computer at the base of the handlebars. It was something of a PITA to mount and will remain in place until I'm sure I'm happy with the new setup.

The change to the Montague's mount is invisible in the shot; amounted to crossing the retention bands in an 'x' pattern for a slightly firmer grip.