Rolling in Boston

Spring Bicycling Celebration Today: Come Ride in Critical Mass This Afternoon

Jonathan — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:38:00 +0000

Spring is finally here. For those of us that have been riding through the winter, it is refreshing to begin to feel comfortable leaving (some of) the layers at home.

There is nothing quite like riding through the city, noticing all the birds and flowers that are returning.

So get on your bike this afternoon (Friday March 29) and come to Copley Sq at 5:45pm for a bicycling celebration.

See you there.

The Resurrection of an Old (Bridgestone RB-T) Friend

Jonathan — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 23:58:00 +0000

Resurrected 1994 Bridgestone RB-T

In the spring of 1994 my parents bought me a Bridgestone RB-T for a cross-country (Seattle to Portsmouth, NH) ride that I was preparing to do that summer. The previous summer I had my first experience with extended bicycle touring when I participated in a month-long 700 mile bike tour around the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. While that trip was van supported, my cross-country trip was not and therefore the road bike I borrowed from my cousin (a Nishiki, probably 14-speed) would not suffice. I needed a bike that could be loaded with front and rear panniers and that had proper gearing for crossing the Rockies. My father and I went to a number of bike shops in the greater Boston area, and we happened upon a bizarre bike shop that neither of us had even been to, and I don't know if I've been there since we purchased the bike: Farina's on Galen Street in Watertown, MA. I say "bizarre" because not only do they sell bicycles, but they also sell lawnmowers, snowblowers and various other assorted gas-powered yard equipment. The whole experience was markedly unremarkable in that I don't really recall much about buying the bike. Little did my father or I know that we were to come home with a bit of a cult icon in the bike world: a Bridgestone RB-T ("T" for touring). For those that don't know, Bridgestone was then run by Grant Petersen who currently runs Rivendell Bicycle Works, and 1994 was the last year that Bridgestone sold bicycles in America. Considering that I grew up in Newton, we should have gone to Harris Cyclery, home of Sheldon Brown, but we lived in a different part of the city, and I guess that Harris wasn't really on our radar. Sheldon has a whole section on his site devoted to Bridgestone, including all of the catalogs up to 1994 when they ceased operations in the US. Here is the page from the brochure depicting what my bike looked like when I got it.

1994 Bridgestone Catalog Page (from Sheldonbrown.com)

I went off to college in Portland, Oregon and chose to bring my father's old beater Specialized Rock Hopper rather than the RB-T, which stayed in my parents' basement. I put slicks on the Rock Hopper and it served its purpose as a college bike admirably, although it got ridden much less than one would imagine considering how much I currently ride and that I was living in Portland.
I subsequently moved to Atlanta for grad school and I brought the Rock Hopper rather than the RB-T. I didn't ride much while I lived there as that city is so car-centric. Were I to live there now I would ride, but at the time it just wasn't part of my plan.
I moved back to Boston in 2006, settling into life in JP. I began riding regularly within 6 months-or-so and I retrieved the Bridgestone from the basement and it became my primary ride for a while. The wheels were screwed up and I bought some Ritchey deep-section wheels with bladed spokes from Nashbar that ultimately looked ridiculous on it. I then built up a fixed-gear and that became my primary ride during my blossoming bike obsession over the following 5 years.

A Beauty Reborn

The Bridgestone became my winter bike and was a bit neglected. As I began to appreciate the beauty of this bike, I realized that at some point I would like to do a complete rebuild of the bike. When I first resurrected the bike when I moved back to Boston I had gone in to International Bike to ask them what they thought it needed. I was told that it was not worth putting any money into it, that I should just buy a new one. Needless to say, I didn't take their advice, and I began to see that there are numerous types of bike shops, not all of which have a philosophy about cycling that is one I agree with. I'll save more on that for another post.
The pictures here are of the completed project. It is the first bike that I have ever built entirely by myself from the ground up (not including the frame (obviously) and the wheels which I had built for me). It was an amazingly fun activity, and was all the more rewarding considering that I rode this bike across the country so there is obviously some sentimental attachment. While this might be heresy for some who think that bikes like this should be restored with period perfect parts: I actually think the bike is more beautiful than it was the day it was new, and any parts that I have added (as opposed to reusing) are certainly superior to the original equipment.
So here is the part-by-part breakdown of my rebuild:

Tange double butted tubing on the RB-T. The paint is in remarkably good condition considering that the bike is almost 20 years old.

I replaced the original triple crankset with a Fluted Triple 24x34x48T from Velo Orange. This give the bike lower gearing than it originally came with, as the bike previously had a 52T large ring. The front derailer (Sheldon spelling...) is the original Shimano RX100 clamp-on. The pedals are Velo Orange City Pedals that I had sitting around, they will probably be swapped for something a little larger or something with SPD compatibility. I used new VO bottom bracket as well, as the spacing was different for this crankset relative to the original.

The rear derailer is the original Shimano RX100. The RB-T came as a 7-speed drivetrain, but it is increasingly hard to find decent parts that are 7-speed, and there was really no reason not to go up, so I have changed to an 8-speed SRAM PG-850 11-30T cassette. Because I am running the original barcon shifter in friction mode, there is no problem making this switch. The chain is a Wipperman ConneX 808.

Mavic A319 rims are new. Double-butted stainless steel spokes with brass nipples laced to...

Ultegra 32H front hub laced 3X, and...

Ultegra 32H rear hub laced 3X. These wheels were hand-built by www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com. I would have preferred to have them built locally, but I saved a ton of money on these and I was already spending too much money as it was. I still need to cut the fender stays.

American made Paul Components Touring Canti with polished finish up front. Another serious upgrade from the original brakes. Front fender is a 52mm Velo Orange Zeppelin. The headset is original, mainly because it seems like it is in decent shape, I serviced it with the help of Broadway Bicycle School a number of years ago, and I don't have the proper tools to remove it myself. If this one ever needs replacing, I'll put a Chris King in there.

Paul Components Touring Canti with polished finish in the rear too. Same VO 52mm Zeppelin fender. Paul gives you a pair of salmon Kool Stop pads when you buy their brakes. It's the least they can do considering how expensive they are...

Brooks B17 saddle. This is much better than the Avocet saddle that the bike came with. That thing made it hurt to pee!

A little Japanese flair: an NJS stamped Nitto Jaguar SP-72 27.0mm seatpost that I ordered off Ebay from a guy that sells used Kerin gear. You know you are a bike dork when you get excited about a seatpost, and this one is a beauty. I have a Jaguar on my Iglehart (in 27.2mm guise) too and it is much more appropriate for this bike than a Thompson IMHO. The original seatpost was an ugly cheapo giveaway. All parts that I did not reuse that were still functional were given to Bikes Not Bombs. The brake cable hanger is original. The kitty sticker is not.

I'm pretty proud of this piece of improvisational bicycle mechanics, and I really hope that this was my idea and that I didn't see it somewhere a long time ago, filing it away for a time when I would need it, because I think it is slick as hell: the rear fender is mounted to the brake bridge using an old threaded presta tube valve as the connector between the frame and the "L" bracket. The VO fenders come with 2 brackets for the rear fender, one that wraps around the fender, and one that requires you to drill into the fender and then screw the "L" bracket into the fender from beneath. I originally used the former, but it looks ugly, and I had tire clearance issues with it.

I used 3 of the screws that typically go on a presta valve and some of the extra leather washers I had. This is rock solid so far, and looks pretty killer if you ask me.

Nitto Pearl 110mm 1" threaded quill stem. I considered going for a matching Jaguar, but the slope of the Jaguar stem is really severe and considerably more expensive. The Pearl is still a gorgeous stem with that sheen that Nitto is known for. For some reason the RB-T originally came with a black stem. I have no idea what the aesthetic thinking was for that, because it looked awful from day one. This is a major aesthetic upgrade. Original Shimano barcon bar end shifters set to friction mode to accommodate the 8-speed drivetrain (and because that's how Grant says you should use them).

In true Grant Peterson fashion, I used moustache-style bars and finished the bar tape with waxed thread. I had an extra pair of Soma Oxford bars, so these are not the Nitto Moustache that Grant designed, but they are close. I have them turned down. The brake levers are the original Shimano SLR Exage. Bar tape is a retro perforated felt-like variety. You can see that I had to use a Nitto stainless stem shim in there to change from the 26.0mm stem to the 25.4mm bar clamp area. This was the result of a mislabeled Ebay purchase that I was none to happy about. I wound up scratching the handlebars pretty good trying to get that thing in there. Oh well. The front brake cable hanger is original.

Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 700x35c. It turns out that these are really like a 37c, and that therefore the 45mm fenders that I originally purchased would not fit as there was tire rub. From everything I've read about these tires they are great. I think I've officially been converted from a Conti man to a Schwalbe man. All my bikes have them now, including the Marathon Winter studs which are great btw.

From the front

From the back

I couldn't be more pleased! See you on the road.

The Blizzard is a Boon for Cyclists

Jonathan — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 18:16:06 +0000

Gov. Patrick has banned all vehicular traffic after 4pm in THE WHOLE STATE! Woo hoo. Throw those Marathon Winter studded tires on your steed (if you have not already done so) and get out there and ride. My commute this morning to work was a breeze and I’m pumped for the ride home.

Critical Mass Tonight, 5/25/2012

Jonathan — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:36:10 +0000

Come one come all, for tonight we ride.

Meet at Copley Square between 5:30-6pm.

Also, check out this great poster made by Mona Caron for the upcoming 20th anniversary of Critical Mass this September in San Francisco.

Modeling a Bicycle Wheel in Grasshopper & Rhino

Jonathan — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:41:29 +0000

Believe it or not, this is a bicycle wheel (click on the image for a high-res version)

Things have been a bit slow at work lately, so I decided to expand on my 3D modelling skills and teach myself the intricacies of Grasshopper, a parametric/generative modelling plugin for Rhino which is a NURBS modelling program used extensively in architecture (my field) as well as jewelry and boat design. Essentially, Grasshopper is a visual programming infrastructure that allows one to easily modify a design through parametric relationships.

The wheel that I have modeled here is based on a Phil Wood (natch) high-flange front track hub laced radially to a Velocity Deep-V. I suppose I should have chosen a Mavic Open Pro if I really wanted to mash-up the old school bike standards with new school technology, but alas.

The image of the definition above represents a wheel that is 99% parametric: other than the profile of the rim (which I drew based on an image from Velocity’s website) everything else about the wheel is easily modifiable with sliders. The spoke count, spoke thickness, flange height, flange width, hub width, wheel size and tire size are all variable.

Wheel With 32 Spokes

: Wheel With 48 Spokes

I’m pretty sure that I have messed up the lacing a little bit, as I think that the holes on the left and right side of the hub would be offset from each other to ensure that the spokes are truly radial, but it’s really close right now. I’m not very good with data structures, so I know that there is a much easier way to create a Grasshopper definition without so much repeating of commands. I will be further refining this and will hopefully attempt to model other components of a bicycle until I’ve got the whole thing. If you’re interested in the Grasshopper file, hit me up in the comments and I’ll figure out a way to post it for people to use and modify.

Boston Midnight Marathon Ride TONIGHT!

Jonathan — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:06:43 +0000

Calling all Boston riders: did you know that one of the best times you will ever have on your bike is only 11 hours away? Take the train with what looks to be nearly 400 cyclists from South Station to Hopkinton and then ride along the Boston Marathon route into Boston under the cover of darkness. It should be a blast. Check out the Boston Societies of Spontaneity’s page for details. The weather should be perfect.

Installing a “Ghostring” on a Single Speed or Internally Geared Bicycle

Jonathan — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 01:04:02 +0000

37 Tooth Ghostring

This weekend I finally solved a particularly tough chain tension problem that I’ve been having on my winter commuter/guest bike with the addition of a “ghostring” or “ghost ring” or “ghost chainring” (I’m unsure of what the proper name for it is, if there is one). The idea is simple, but when first presented with it any well-seasoned cyclist will surely look askance at the contraption. I’m here to say: so far, so good!

A little background: I purchased the bike, a Felt XCity 3 off CL this winter, as it exactly fit my criteria for an ideal winter commuter bike: it has a Nexus 3-speed internal hub, disc brakes, generous toe clearance so that there is no toe overlap with heavy boots, clearance for wide tires (I put on 700x35c Schwalbe Marathon Winter studs that fit under the included fenders), it is aluminum so I don’t have to worry about the frame rusting from road salt, and it was relatively cheap. The main problem is that the previous owner was a bit of a hack at bicycle mechanics (apologies to the previous owner if by chance you read this blog, but you must know it’s true), and he managed to let rust or strip-out nearly every bolt on the bike. Most importantly, the two tiny bolts that are on the underside of the bottom bracket were seized in the BB shell. The purpose of these two bolts is that they are what allow for the adjustment of the eccentric BB which in turn is what allows for an adjustment of chain tension. To make matters worse, in attempting to remove one of the bolts, I snapped a 3mm hex key in the bolt, and now it’s really not coming out. Because this bike has vertical dropouts, the eccentric BB was originally the only option for adjusting chain tension. After a ton of back-and-forth with the people at Felt in California, they scrounged up a replaceable dropout that included a derailleur hanger in the hope of being able to install a standard pulley chain tensioner. However, because of the shifting mechanism of the Nexus hub, there is not enough clearance to mount the device.

The Nexus shifting mechanism doesn't provide enough clearance to the derailleur hanger

Because I view this bike as a beater (albeit a nice beater) I’ve been hoping to avoid spending a bunch of money on it as I only plan on riding it 3 or 4 months out of the year. If this were not the case I found these snazzy eccentric bottom brackets for tandems that would appear to do the trick, but they are $120 and it would involve me taking a chance on hammering the existing BB out of the frame one I removed the cranks.

After a lot of searching around on the internet (way more drivetrain-related forum posts on random bike blogs around the world than I would care to remember) for solutions, I came across the ghostring. The idea is that you place an extra chainring in the middle of the drivetrain that serves to tension the chain. Because the chain is going at the same speed in both directions, the chainring does not move fore or aft so long as it is in there tight, it just rotates with everything else. It’s one of those things that one needs to see to believe. The mechanics at Bikes Not Bombs were highly skeptical of the idea when I went in this weekend, but they humored me in bringing out a whole bunch of variously-sized chainrings so that I could find the right one. After getting the chain as short as I could (including the addition of a half-link) I settled on a 36 tooth for the ghostring. I could probably get away with a 37 or maybe even a 38 to get the chain ever tighter, but I would then run into the problem of the ghostring rubbing against the chainstay. Plus, as it is right now, there is an ever so slight rubbing of the tips of the teeth on the ghostring with those on the rear cog. It’s a very slight clicking that I assume will go away when the harder steel cog wears down the softer teeth of the aluminum ghostring. If this were on a fixed gear I might be a little bit more concerned about the rubbing, but in this case I don’t think it’s going to matter.

Super tight clearance between ghostring and cog

It worked flawlessly on my ride home and whenever I have a friend in town that needs to borrow a bike it will get tested further. I’ve swapped out the studded tires (for Marathon Plus 28c’s that I had lying around) for the warm months. Otherwise it will have to wait until next winter for the true test. Do you have any experience with this franken-solution? Thoughts?

Closeup of the ghostring (apologies for the crappy iphone photo)

An Ode to New LED headlights (Worn on Your Noggin)

Jonathan — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:01:52 +0000

I recently purchased a new headlight, and I’ve been so pleased with it that I figure it deserves a little write-up. The light is the Niterider MiNewt.600 Cordless, and as the name suggests this model blasts 600 lumens (from a single LED) and does not require any wires to dangle from your bike or helmet. I’ll go into some details about the light in a minute, but first a little synopsis of my experience with front lights over the past 7 years of commuting in Boston:

When I first started riding regularly, I purchased a series of $30-$50 headlights. They were all of the “be seen” variety, and made of cheap plastic. None were rechargeable and they all had a light output around 25-30 lumens. They all sucked. The batteries never lasted very long, the mounts were flimsy, and they were completely useless for displaying the subtleties of road imperfections or illuminating that one section of the J-Way bike path that winds through the trees at the bottom of JP and is pitch black at night. I was originally unable to stomach the prospect of spending north of $100 for a light and never considered them. Once I finally bit the bullet and bought a Light and Motion Stella (about $100, 100 lumens from a single LED) I was converted. This light had a number of modes including a strobe that I once accidentally looked at from 2 feet and from which I was temporary blinded. It was also bright enough to somewhat make out the road in really dark spots when set on a steady setting. It was rechargeable so I wasn’t burning through batteries, and it was encased in metal and survived a number of trips home from the pub. Recently however, the light became finicky, and the rechargeable batteries were not lasting as long as they were originally.

Thus began my online searching for reviews of bike lights. I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit comparing models, light output, price, features, etc. The most helpful place for comparisons (and from which I ultimately made my decision) was this article. What I learned is that the recent advances in semiconductors have not gone entirely into making your smartphone faster: much progress has been made in the efficiency and output of LED’s (which are a form of semiconductor for the non-physicists out there). In fact, in the span of just 4 years, the light output that I settled on was more than 5 times that of my L&M Stella and was purchased for roughly the same price. The Niterider MiNewt.600 is bright. Stupid bright. Here is the review from mtbr.com that convinced me to choose this model. With the MN600 I can easily see the road: this is my first “see” (as opposed to “be seen”) light, and it makes riding at night much more pleasant and safe. A really slick feature that this light features is that it is rechargeable via a USB cable rather than a proprietary charger (as was the case with the L&M light). One nit that I can pick on this front is that the connection on the light is standard USB rather than micro USB. Even though I carry an iPhone, my wife has an Android phone that takes micro USB (like almost all non-apple phones these days) and I can’t use her charger for the light, thus necessitating yet another cord on our kitchen counter. Regardless, I’ve got plenty of old cords in the house so I’m able to keep one at the office, and one at home and never have to worry about charging the light.

The worst part about the MN600 is the mount. It comes with both a helmet and a handlebar mount, both of which are very under-engineered and flimsy. Because my old L&M Stella has a little life left in it I left the mount on my primary bike, and decided to try out the helmet mount. While the helmet mount is not great, it has worked so far, and I have more confidence in it than the bar mount. There is no better way to rock your dork cred than with a light mounted to your helmet, and while I generally pride myself on my dorkiness, I previously drew the line at the spelunking style of a light on my dome. I’m here to say that I’ve been converted! Particularly with a light this bright, everything is visible. The on-ramp signs downtown explode with reflection when I look at them, and I’ve found that cars are considerably more aware of me when I’m riding. There is nothing like giving a jerk driver a blinding 600 lumen stare down while riding. People actually stop for me, and it feels like cars give me more space on the road.

Prior to this “winter” in Boston, I was a 3-1/2 season commuter. I bought studded tires this year and installed them on a CL-purchased beater with disc brakes in anticipation of the snow and ice, but both have gone mostly unused. Combined with our lack of snow this year, this light has turned me into the holy grail (for me anyway) of a 4 season commuter. If you are still riding with a piece of junk front light (or horror, none) save your pennies and get some lumens for your ride. If you can bear it, mount it to your helmet (you do wear one, don’t you?) and give those Beantown bruisers the lumen look.

cheers!

Halloween Bike Ride Tonight @ 8pm

Jonathan — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:25:51 +0000

This is always super fun. Meet at Green Street Orange line stop in JP tonight @ 8pm.

See you there:

http://halloweenbikeride.net/

Occupy the Streets: Critical Mass Friday Night 5:30 pm Copley Square

Jonathan — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:02:47 +0000

Costumes encouraged.

Ride in solidarity with Occupy Boston. Who’s streets?