Penny-pincher Pedal Upgrade

On a recent ride I noticed my son's feet slipping off his pedals. The plastic "spikes" were worn down from years of hand-me-down use. I suppose it is time to get new pedals.

But we really like the fact that his old pedals fold up. I makes garage storage and transport much easier. So before buying new ones I thought I would try to add new "spikes". Here is my tightwad-dad fix.

tools/parts needed:
drill
aluminum rivets
rivet installation tool
pliers/Vice Grips
a cutting devise (snips, dremel or file)
metal file

Before:

After:

How it was done...
First drill a hole in the corner of the petal roughly the same diameter as the rivet body:

Then insert the rivet. I found it easiest putting it into the gun first because the holes were sorta tight:

Here is the tricky part. When you squeeze the rivet, do not pull it enough to break it off or so it pulls through the hole, just enough to deform the rivet body. Now use a pliers to push the rivet shaft out of the rivet body and back down in to the pedal (the reason for this later). I used Vise Grips with a twisting motion.

Clip or file/break off the shaft about 1/8" from the pedal surface:

Now you can file the shaft making it shorter and less jaggy. Here is how it will look before filing:

Done!

Tips:
Don't clip off the rivet shaft before pushing it down into the pedal. My first try I clipped it off and when I put my foot on it, it popped down into the pedal leaving it flush. So the next attempt I pushed it in, before clipping it off:

Also, be sure not to drill holes in the center of the pedal or you might drill into the bearings.

We have not made time to try them but I am sure they will work, at least for a while. Will post back if more "spikes" are needed.

Being somewhat new to MTB I am sure someone has done this before so sorry if I accidentally stole your idea.

Craigslist Quotes (#2)

Another "duh, what were you thinking" Craigslist post:

(headline)
"Bicycle used once. I don't like bikes. - $300 (Oak Ridge)"

(text)
This spring I purchased a new Dawes Lightning and used it once for less than a mile. As it turns out I do not like biking but since I paid over $400 for this bike about 6 or 7 months ago I am not about to let it sit in my garage for the next five years.

Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day

This past Saturday was the IMBA's "Take a Kid Mountain Biking" day. It started as a chilly morning with the kids and dads (mostly) ready for a fun ride in the woods. Sadly, I was the only one from our family on this trip... my son ironically went over the handlebars a few days earlier and broke his arm. But he was there in spirit and Cubmaster John was there to "guide" the boys to receiving their Biking Belt Loop.

The new trails, recently built by the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club at Mead's Quarry, were challenging to a few including one little girl on training wheels (with much help from a very ambitious dad). I hesitate calling the trails awesome. Wasn't it the band The Eagles that said "call it paradise and kiss it goodbye"? But they really did build some awesome trails!

A few miles down the smooth rolling singletracks we all took a break at one of the two quarries. The boys explored the caves, climbed rock faces, and had dads a little nervous at times.

Then back onto the rollercoaster headed for the trailhead.

Thank you AMBC, IMBA, and The Bike Zoo for putting on this great ride. Let's think about another in the spring, not just fall.

Self-Inflating Tires

Popping up on all the bike blogs lately is a product that really has me excited. There is a company claims to have invented a self-inflating tire. It has a hose built into the tread that forces air into the tire squeezed in by the rider's weight. The final pressure is then limited by a valve that bleeds off extra pressure once the ideal pressure is reached.

Assuming this thing actually works (the tire has yet to be invented), I am excited more for other applications, not just bicycles. I have on numerous occasions told my wife that this country could save millions of gallons of gas every day if people would keep their car tires at (or above) the recommended pressures. Imagine if every car in the US got a tiny one mile per gallon better? My thought was that someone, like our government, who actually cared about lowering gas usage and pollution, could put free-to-use air pressure stations at gas stations. It would really add up quickly. According to Project America, we drove over 260,000 million miles per month in 2008. But I digress.

This new idea could KEEP people's tires properly inflated in summer or winter, with slow leaks or not, trucks, cars, anything that uses gas.

Needless to say, I will be watching this company like a hawk!

UPDATE:
Apparently this company's investors have decided that it is not as exciting as I. They are no longer asking for funding. Oh well.

Weekend Ride with the Boys

The boys of the family headed out for an afternoon ride this weekend in Oak Ridge.

Down the Turnpike to North Boundary trails, we rode to the quarry, skipped rocks for a while, then headed to the other side where we, you guessed it, skipped more rocks.
Along the trip we saw much wildlife. A couple frogs, a deer family, a tiny snake, this huge spider flushed out by our flat-rock hunting:

In the bright green water we spotted this shark-like fish. We believe he is a sauger. He did not seem at all afraid of us:

On the road around the quarry, there were two to three well maintained family graveyards back in the woods. This wrought iron fence in Grave Site 62 (Silvey family - pdf) had obviously been here a while.

After the roughly nine miles, we stopped into the local convenience store for a much deserved Icee. 

This ride has become a family favorite. The hills are not too steep. There are sights every few minutes, and the quarry is entertaining to the boys. It is amazing how long they (we) will throw rocks in.

Craigslist Quotes (#1)

Many of the bikes I currently own were ones I found on Craigslist. I hit the list many times a day looking for a bike that catches my eye in some way or another. But occasionally my eye is caught by things in the listings... ignorance, outlandish claims, or just plain crazy sellers. I dedicate this page (and future ones) to those funny listings that just have to be shared.

The first:
K2 T: Nine Breeze Women's Comfort Bike (26-Inch Wheels) - $100
...this bike has at least 21 speeds...

Reminds me of a line in the movie Mr. Mom. When the main character's wife receives advances from her boss, "Mr. Mom" (played by Michael Keaton) feels the need to impress him with his man skills and tells the boss he plans to rewire the house. When the boss asks him if he will be going with 210, he replies "210, 211. Whatever it takes!"

"Swiss Army" Bike - Dahon Tailwind Bicycle

I was recently given a bike in exchange for cleaning up my sister-in-law's bike. It was the strangest looking thing... almost ugly. But hey, it was free.

After I got it home I immediately hit the internet to do a little research about it. Turns out this Dahon Tailwind is a very famous (and surprisingly expensive) brand of bike. Its strange shape and size is a clever design that allows it to be folded in half with handlebars out of the way creating a compact package. This makes it an ideal bike for city-living or for people doing travels with limited trunk space.

Well in our house there are two constants for new bikes that come in: my son wants to try EVERY one (whether or not it fits) and he wants to keep each and every one. I thought this would be one bike that he would make an exception for because it is so... homely. It is the polar opposite to his other bike: a racy Specialized mountain bike with shiny loud modern paint, large wheels, a suspension fork, and many gears.

But I forgot one thing...as in the "Be Careful What You Wish For" thread, he loves gadgets, especially multi-function tools. And of course he did it to me again. He loves the thing! A bike that can fit into a suitcase and then be "Swiss Army Knifed" out into a fully functioning bike. I should have known.

I know, I know... wearing flip flops and no helmet. Yes, he heard about it from his dad.

Weekend Finds - Parts and A GT Timberline

It was the weekend for bike searches. My son and I planned out each and every promising yard sale in West Knoxville and headed out for six locations.

After being less than fruitful at every one we headed home. But that one pink sign on the way forced us to stop. At our first "non scheduled" stop we found handle bar ends. I talked the teenage girl down to 50 cents.

Entering our neighborhood we decided to stop at another. We spotted two bikes: a Murray and a late-80s (I assume) GT Timberline. Having just purchased another GT Timberline it was easy spotting the unusual seat stay attachments:

 

When I inquired about the price the owner said "Man, are you sure? It's gonna need a LOT of work." When I jokingly said "well then, how about 5 bucks?" he said sure!

So, after about ten yard sales, we spent $5.50 and headed home with a whole bunch of nice stuff.

I originally thought I would be parting out this bike but the signature GT seat stays and out of the box thinking with their brakes have me thinking I might change my mind. I really like the unique details in the GT's design. Even the rad 80s Duran Duran album cover graphics are growing on me.

After a little research, it turns out that the bike was new in 1989 which is a little puzzling to me. As a graphic designer I remember a short lived graphic movement with the styling to these logos (Memphis Style) being earlier by a few years - more like mid 80s.

After riding it a few times, I realized that I had found a diamond in the rough... at least for me. It just rides sooooo well. This old GT is going to live its second life as a hybrid in my stable.

I Love Coffee, I Love Tea...

Needed a bell, came home with a cup of coffee (that was also a bell). I saw this neat bike bell shaped like a coffee cup in a bike shop in Virginia and just had to have it! It is so unlike me to impulse buy, especially something so "fashionable" but hey, I needed a bell.

Be Careful What You Wish For

My son has always been a gadget guy. But surprisingly in a world of electronic do-dads, his favorites are old-school items with lots of function squeezed into small packages. He loves backpacks with pockets, boxes with compartments, but his favorites are tools that do many things. A Swiss Army knife is the ultimate.

Recently we found a rear bike rack in the back of our bedroom closet (a Christmas present to me that never made it under the tree). "Please, please please! I want it for my bike!" His favorite outdoor toy was now a gadget when it included a rack.

After riding around the back yard a few afternoons with all his toys bungied on, I suggested we use the carrier for what it was designed... carrying stuff. We headed out to the local pizza joint. A half hour later we headed home with two larges strapped to his rack. The added weight made the bike feel very different, a concept he never thought about. Needless to say, a little more grumbling was heard toward the end of the trip.

A few weeks later the topic of getting pizza again via bicycle-delivery-boy came up again.

"Daddy, I think you need a rack for your bike too!"

Don't be Mean to a Bike Rider in LA

I frequent many bike news sites. They mostly tell of a new product or racer that has done something wonderful. But this article caught my eye for many reasons. It praises the Los Angeles city council for passing a "Bike Anti-harassment Ordinance."

According to the paperwork...

A person shall not do or attempt to do any of the following:
A. Physically assault or attempt to physically assault a Bicyclist because of, in whole or in part, the Bicyclist's status as a Bicyclist.

B. Threaten to physically injure a Bicyclist because of, in whole or in part, the Bicyclist's status as a Bicyclist.

C. Intentionally injure, attempt to injure, or threaten to physically injure by words, either vehicle, or other object, a Bicyclist because of, in whole or in part, the Bicyclist's status as a Bicyclist.

D. Intentionally distract or attempt to distract a Bicyclist because of, in whole or in part, the Bicyclist's status as a Bicyclist.

E. Intentionally force or attempt to force a Bicyclist off a street for purposes unrelated to public safety.

It states that the punishment for the violator:
shall be liable for treble the actual damages with regard to each and every such violation, or $1,000, whichever is greater, and shall be liable for reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of litigation. In addition, a jury or a court may award punitive damages

While the council members and LA bike enthusiasts are busy patting each other on their backs, I am sitting here in middle-America wondering what happened before they passed this? Wasn't it already illegal to intentionally injure anyone, bike rider or not in LA? I am guessing it was and this an attempt for legislators to say "look how much we love you bike riders" really meaning "keep voting for us."

And with the success of this one, I suppose they will also be coming out with the very same law for EVERY other form of transportation or even interest group that can pull a voting lever. Imagine the tons of paper or worse, hours of pay that will be wasted kissing up to skateboarders, pedestrians, food vendors, newspaper sales people, dog walkers... the list can go on and on. I guess things are so perfect in SoCal that they need to make up stuff to fix.

First Post... A Little History

I will admit it, I am having my midlife crisis. Some guys buy a Corvette. Some trade their "old" wives in for "new" ones. I started riding my bicycle. It is the perfect crisis management tool. I don't want a new wife, my wallet can't handle a sports car. With a bike I get some physical exercise, something my body has been begging for. I get some mental exercise, troubles seem to disappear with every hour pedaling.

So, out of the garage came my old Giant mountain bike. It had hardly been ridden in the past so was still in great shape. Though it did not quite fit me, it was alway willing to be ridden. With as much street-traffic as we have around here, I usually took it to the local off road park. Mountain biking felt like being a kid again: jumping over ditches, skidding up dust clouds.

When Christmas came around my wife had seen how excited I was looking for a decent Mountain Bike for my (then) seven year old. She surprised me with my own new-to-me Mountain bike. A few-year-old Fuji Nevada. I was really excited! Though not as technically flashy as the other bikes I see at the trails, it does work very well. It joins my hybrid Trek.

Now that the kids are actually old enough to ride, it is becoming a family hobby. My son is incredible on two wheels handling any trail I can... though complains a lot more than I do climbing hills. My wife has a very nice Trek so she joins us occasionally on rides around the neighborhood. The only issue is my daughter. She doesn't yet ride. She is too big for the bike trailer. So she zooms behind me on our recently acquired Adams Trail-a-Bike. Hopefully not much longer... she is getting heavy and knees are feeling it!