Chain "Stretch" - Part 2 (freewheel removal)

I recently did a post about measuring chain "stretch" and found my son's drivetrain was indeed worn. This Saturday I was finally was near a local bike shop during open hours to pick up the needed tools.

Because the part needing replacement is the freewheel I needed to get a special tool. When choosing the tool you will need to know the brand freewheel and the number of splines inside (grab a flashlight, look down into the slot, and count). In our case, the freewheel was made by Shimano and has 12 splines. So we picked up a FR-1 from Park Tools. If you are not sure which tool you need, go to this page on Sheldon's site or take your wheel to the bike shop and they will tell which you need.

The FR-1 fits into the freewheel and using a big 1" wrench turn it counterclockwise. In theory. Because it is self tightening, it is very difficult to turn. The longer the wrench, the better the chances of getting it loose. Ours was not budging.

Just I was headed out to the garage to look for a "cheater bar" (another tool added to the end of the original wrench to lengthen it), I remembered another trick I had recently heard. If you mount the FR-1 into a vise, you can use the wheel itself to loosen it.

First step is drop in the tool. Then put the nut or quick-release back on the wheel. This holds the tool on for you (a good idea when using a wrench also).

 Next mount the tool in the vise TIGHTLY. Grab the wheel and twist counterclockwise. With enough struggle, it will come loose.

Once it was loosened, it easily came off with a lot of turning.

The install of the new freewheel is much easier. Simply spin it on finger tight. The pedaling motion will tighten it to the "correct" torque.

The old freewheel is clearly worn. Most areas between the teeth are no longer perfect half circles as a new one would. This is great time to replace the chain and front chainring also as they will also be worn too.

We will be paying more attention to keeping it lubricated and checking the chain in the future.

Take a Kid Mountain Biking - Spring Edition!

It finally happened! A spring Take a Kid Mountain Biking event! It has been the talk of the parents after every one. "We really need to go this again soon" but until recently it has only been talk.

I have always been saddened by the lack of biking activities for kids. And every (adult) event I politely (hopefully) express my concerns to the coordinator. But this year I decided rather than being a complainer, I would be a fixer. So I emailed the Bike Month coordinator asking if she knew of another dad that I might contact to partner up with to do a bike rodeo. She didn't. Not feeling confident that I could handle bunch of kids by myself I suggested we wait until next year while I found willing parents to help out.

But while talking, I remembered my talks with The Bike Zoo at the previous Take a Kid's. After a few quick emails, Steve agreed to host it.

So, it you have not been able to attend in the fall or haven't heard about it, this year's Spring TAKMB will be May 18, 2013 at 9:00. Meads Quarry (near Ijams in South Knoxville) is again the location because it is so user/kid-friendly. It will be tons of wild, dirty fun! And again, thank you The Bike Zoo for stepping up.

How to Measure a Bike Chain for "Stretch"

I always go over my son's bike after a long offroad rides, cleaning, looking for anything broken, etc. This time I realized I had never checked his chain for wear. So, out came my trusty ruler. I know the bike was not well taken care of before we purchased it so I was not too surprised with what we found: it was clearly "stretched." It is time for a new chain and more than likely a freewheel.

How did I know it was no longer good? Let's measure the "stretch." Using an inch ruler, put the "0" in the center of one of the chain pins and go down to the 12" mark. When the chain was new, the 12" would be exactly in the center of a chain pin.

In our case the chain pin center was more than 1/16" past the 12" line.

Stretched chain? Well, not really. What is happening is the tolerances between the parts are getting looser. More space, the longer or "stretched" the chain becomes.  With any wear item determining how much wear is too much is the difficult part. According to every biker's favorite info website (Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Tech Information Site):

• Less than 1/16" past the mark, all is well.
• If the rivet is 1/16" past the mark, replace the chain, but the freewheel/cassette sprockets are probably undamaged.
• If the rivet is 1/8" past the mark, you have left it too long, and the sprockets (at least the favorite ones) will be too badly worn. If you replace a chain at the 1/8" point, without replacing the sprockets, it may run OK and not skip, but the worn sprockets will cause the new chain to wear much faster than it should, until it catches up with the wear state of the sprockets.

Clearly we have waited too long. We plan to get a new chain. And though we might get away without changing anything else, we plan to use a "parts bin" freewheel I have.

Watch for an update soon, after I gather parts and tools, showing how to change the chain and freewheel.

Warm Winter Weekend Ride

This winter has had its share of temperature extremes. The typical winter weather for here in East Tennessee is either bitter cold or rainy. But this weekend we had record high temps with breaks between the rain clouds... on a Saturday! Of course, we were not going to waste it on the couch!

Again, we boys headed out on another Greenway that we had not tried. This time we chose the Third Creek Greenway. The thought was to start in Bearden and go until the young ones started looking tired. The hope was to at least make it to Knoxville Skateboard Park before heading back.

The "trailhead" started in the parking lot of Earth Fare in Bearden. Technically, the trail runs beside the parking lot so there is no real entrance, but we figured it out. We headed out with the many runners, walkers, and bikers taking advantage of the awesome weather.

Eventually we arrived at our target goal: the skatepark. Most people are surprised that such a nice facility is tucked under the interstate. Surprisingly, the kids were up for more riding. The goal changed to simply getting to the river. Still, they wanted more. The carp under Calhoun's was our next landmark. Yes, we made it but the kids were starting to grumble a little. They had just done 7.1 miles one way!

Nearing the basketball stadium at UT

One of the many tunnels along the way

Gay Street bridge being repaired

The great thing about this Greenway is that the scenery is so varied that one never knows how far one has ridden, especially for a first-timer. And if you stop often for short rests, the kids will get a second (and third and fourth) wind. Bridges criss-cross many creeks, there is a playground at Safety City, another playground at Tyson Park, a couple tunnels, the gardens at UT's Ag Campus, the mighty Tennessee river, going by both stadiums at UT, and of course the fish under the Calhoun's restaurant. There were hills but they did a good job of designing them to be bike-friendly.

This a great trip for kids. We did the 14.2 miles in 2.5 hours and that includes the many stops along the way. This have become a new family favorite!

Thanksgiving Ride

It has become a family tradition: as soon as we are able to move again after stuffing ourselves, we get out for a walk, ride, anything that involves getting off our turkey-filled body moving. After a quick game of soccer at the local park someone suggested we try out the new-ish single track just down the road. A plan was hatched for another day... need to gather bikes for the out of town family members.

Two days later we headed out into the warm afternoon sun, the whole family (except moms)... three generations from 8 year old nephew to 73 year old Popi. A couple miles down the road we took off into Black Oak Trail, the single track that leads to the North Boundary Trails in Oak Ridge. The young ones occasionally had a little trouble with the slick leaves but "grandpa" had no problem. In fact, mentioned that he would have liked to ridden faster.

A quick rest while we throw rocks into the water

The moon above (and in) the quarry lake

One of the many cemeteries along the North Boundary Trails

Because Dad was riding my bike I had to pull out my old GT Timberline. I have not ridden a rigid off road before and was really surprised. With all the talk on the mountain bike forums of "not even bothering riding a sub-$1000 bike" I was amazed how much fun it was. There was this simple, connected-to-the-world feeling. In fact, I was able to do trails that might have been more difficult with the crummy fork on my Fuji. Sure, the ride was rough, the bike heavy, and trails not difficult... but fun is fun. I am going to be using this bike more and more in the future. And with all the high dollar carbon fiber and titanium machines on the trails around here, there is something cool about seeing some vintage steel out there!

1989 GT Timberline

Tech Tip: Self-Cleaning Hub

Recently I learned about "hub shiners" while dreaming about the awesome vintage machinery on The Cabe. It seemed like an intriguing idea, especially on my son's constantly-getting-dusty mountain bike. Not having any leather handy, I had a brainstorm: A Zip-tie.

Having self cleaning hubs and two zip-ties for fixing stuff on the trail appeals to me (I just love multipurpose tools). 

The trick is to not push the end into its case too far. You don't want it to start ratcheting and be come un-removable. Also, if you put it on so that the tail points toward the rear of the bike it tends to bump the spokes less when turning and therefore runs quieter.

After a few attempts I was able to get one on and removable. It actually works! It cleans the dust of the hubs and gives me a few more options for fixes out on the trails.

Skatepark and Helmets

After two years after hearing about it, we finally made time to visit our local skatepark. With bike and skateboard in hand we headed out to the Knoxville Skatepark for an afternoon of thrill-seeking.

With so many people there we took our time, scouting out the place for the areas we could and areas we shouldn't ride. Plus it also gave us time to see who to avoid (if you have been to a skatepark you know what I mean). After a while watching we ventured onto the concrete to try a few stunts.

As a dad, safety is foremost on my mind especially as my son's skills get better (amazing)... we were fully padded. But we were clearly the minority. The only ones wearing gear were kids. Puzzling to me as even when I was a teen riding without "nagging parents" around, we always wore helmets and knee pads. And with rumors of receiving tickets from police who were constantly circling only added to my confusion. I suppose it is a new time when cool trumps all.

Either way, my son was NOT going to ride without a helmet. Scaring his dad (doing the same tricks I did at that age) was a strange bitter-sweet feeling of amazement and terror.

As soon as I had convinced myself to stop being an over-protective dad, the other "old guy" there decided to show his grandson "how it's done" You know the rest of the story... he went off a jump and over the handlebars landing on his forehead. Blood everywhere. The teens scattered (either from feeling sick or knowing the ticket-giving cops would soon be showing up.) While calming the guy down and checking for shock, I was thinking how clear it was what happens when you don't wear a helmet.

But as paramedics strapped him to the neck board, I remembered an article I had read recently that claimed that bike helmets not only did not help but actually hurt people. Crazy? Yes and no. The article stated that few people ever hit their head on the top, the area where helmets cover. It suggested that if a rider landed on his face for instance, the helmet hitting adds an exaggerated bend in the neck that causes higher numbers of spine injures. Watching the ambulance leave, I am wondered if a helmet could have changed the guys' injuries. He more than likely he would not have had the gash above his eye but if we believe the article, might have sustained a neck injury. If we think of the worst case scenario, we are increasing our risk of becoming paralyzed from the neck down but decreasing our risk of instant death. So, I suppose we have to decide which we feel is worse.

What I do know is that both times I have had big crashes as an adult, I have hit my cheek. And this was also true of "Stunt Grandpa." And of my son's two big crashes going over the handlbars, one ended with a dent in the front of his helmet and the other with a broken arm (the bike came over on him even though he didn't have on his helmet). So of the four wrecks, only one clearly would have helped a head injury. But if we have a 25% of hitting our heads in our future accidents, I am going to be serious about those odds.

Since that day I have noticed that many BMXers (online, not at our park) wear motorcycle-style helmets that protect the face. It certainly makes sense... covering both head and face. And a full helmet would not have the neck-twist of a traditional bike helmet. So, the hunt is on for a helmet that will really protect my son while doing high-risk riding. Hopefully he will actually wear it when I am not around to nag him to do so.