See the 2011 Commutes entry below - particularly the note about rear deraillieur troubles - the link being the bit about falling off on the black ice.
The cboardman has an SRAM X9 rear mech and its been giving some trouble of late. Mainly being unreliable between the 3rd and 4th cogs - choosing which one to use using some kind of unknown algorithm related to speed, road surface, pressure on the chain and if its a really bad time to disengage drive or pitch the rider out of a standing in the pedals rhythm.
So I did a quick inspection and noticed that the deraillieur hanger (which is alloy and is bolted to the frame wasn't parallel with the gear cogs - it was pushed in towards the lower edge. Comparing this with the Bianchi MTB showed that it should really be parallel. What suprised me was how easy it was to place a screwdriver between the flat face of the smallest gear cog (not the actual teeth of the cog) and the hanger and just bend the hanger back out to make it parallel.
This, combined with a quick tweak on the knurled adjuster at the shifter end and all is well once more.
Bit suprised how soft the hanger alloy is, but I guess that's the benefit - it bends before the frame does.
Showing posts with label cboardman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cboardman. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Thursday, 10 February 2011
2011 Commutes
16th February - more black ice today. Very very bad on the first half a mile or so before reaching gritted roads. Went down the first hill with both feet hovering just above the ground. Even on gritted roads there were sections where there was between 6 and 18 inches of ice along the side of the road, and lots of "non-splashy" puddles about. Homeward was a good ride - just under the hour so still room for some improvement, and a couple of light wintery showers to keep me awake.
14th February - straigthtfoward this time, although the rear mech on the cboardman is getting a bit "chatty" and unreliable between the 3rd and 4th cogs.
3rd February - another eventful commute, but not on the way in this time which was very enjoyable with no wind and a positively blamy 6 degrees. However, on the way home the wind had got up and it was lashing with rain. Very hard work into the mainly head wind meant a normally 55 min journey stretched out to 1hr 17 mins. Ouch. Had to get off and walk a couple of times because the side wind coming through gaps in hedges was just too strong to risk getting blown off!
21st January. -4 degrees on the way in on the cboardman urban pro. Sparkly frost on the side roads, but black ice on the cycle paths - so this attempt at safer cycling turned nasty on me today. Slipped on black ice at about 4 mph and took a fall, but landing on the grass by the path meant only a few minor bruises to deal with. Worst bit was the embarrassment of still being clipped onto the bike whilst lying on the floor...
14th February - straigthtfoward this time, although the rear mech on the cboardman is getting a bit "chatty" and unreliable between the 3rd and 4th cogs.
3rd February - another eventful commute, but not on the way in this time which was very enjoyable with no wind and a positively blamy 6 degrees. However, on the way home the wind had got up and it was lashing with rain. Very hard work into the mainly head wind meant a normally 55 min journey stretched out to 1hr 17 mins. Ouch. Had to get off and walk a couple of times because the side wind coming through gaps in hedges was just too strong to risk getting blown off!
21st January. -4 degrees on the way in on the cboardman urban pro. Sparkly frost on the side roads, but black ice on the cycle paths - so this attempt at safer cycling turned nasty on me today. Slipped on black ice at about 4 mph and took a fall, but landing on the grass by the path meant only a few minor bruises to deal with. Worst bit was the embarrassment of still being clipped onto the bike whilst lying on the floor...
Thursday, 8 April 2010
2010 Commutes
15, 16, 17/07/2010
First time on any kind of bike for nearly 3 weeks. Have moved offices so daily commute has been reduced slightly to a total of 28 miles. Given how much great weather we've had over those 3 weeks, a bit disappointing to end up cycling in showery and blustery conditions over these 3 days. cboardman has been for its free "first service" at Halfords. Came out with the chain still covered in grime and the gears working more smoothly across the board (assuming they've tweaked the set up to take up initial cable stretch) but now can't get top gear. Not exactly brilliant eh? A quick tweak got the gears going into top gear again, but disappointing to get it back from a "service" with less than a fully operational set of gears.
17/05/2010
Back in the groove today on the cboardman (the weather forecast said the Bianchi should come out, the black threatening clouds suggested otherwise - the forecast turned out to be more accurate for a change) with a decent ride in and, despite a decent headwind, a strong ride home. Good prep for the weekend ride coming up, I hope.
14/05/2010
A whole month passes without a cycle commute. Not good! With a head wind the ride in on the cboardman took an hour today, and a few showers about this meant it wasn't that much fun inside the waterproofs.
Nice dry ride home and a decent 58 minutes.
12/04/2010
15 miles into work on the via Narone 7 today, but no return journey due to a change in plans.
08/04/2010
Another 30 miles on the cboardman today. Good weather, 52 minutes inward, 1hr 5 mins return (its up hill OK!?!)
06/04/2010
30 miles on the cboardman today. Chilly in the morning, OK in the evening but it started to rain 10 minutes from home. Should've left work on time! Lights needed in the rain, but it won't be long before they can be left at home.
12/03/2010
Grrr. Loads of rain on the way home tonight. Bike filthy with salty dirt, but the ride went well enough otherwise. Polaris jacket and Altura waterproof leggings did their job very well, as did the Altura winter gloves and the new overshoes of course.
33 miles
16/02/2010
Not much to report - another 33 miles on the cboardman along the winter route.
07/01/2010
33 miles today on the Holdsworth Hybrid (soon to be retired!). Used the "Winter route" which means no unlit roads and lots more cycle paths than the "Summer route".
Given that it was -2 deg on the way in, very impressed with the peformance of my new dhb bib longs (available from wiggle.co.uk), but my feet were very painful when they warmed up in the shower. A quick trip to The Edge Cycleworks in Chester to buy a pair of Endura waterproof overshoes kept the feet much warmer on the way home.
First time on any kind of bike for nearly 3 weeks. Have moved offices so daily commute has been reduced slightly to a total of 28 miles. Given how much great weather we've had over those 3 weeks, a bit disappointing to end up cycling in showery and blustery conditions over these 3 days. cboardman has been for its free "first service" at Halfords. Came out with the chain still covered in grime and the gears working more smoothly across the board (assuming they've tweaked the set up to take up initial cable stretch) but now can't get top gear. Not exactly brilliant eh? A quick tweak got the gears going into top gear again, but disappointing to get it back from a "service" with less than a fully operational set of gears.
17/05/2010
Back in the groove today on the cboardman (the weather forecast said the Bianchi should come out, the black threatening clouds suggested otherwise - the forecast turned out to be more accurate for a change) with a decent ride in and, despite a decent headwind, a strong ride home. Good prep for the weekend ride coming up, I hope.
14/05/2010
A whole month passes without a cycle commute. Not good! With a head wind the ride in on the cboardman took an hour today, and a few showers about this meant it wasn't that much fun inside the waterproofs.
Nice dry ride home and a decent 58 minutes.
12/04/2010
15 miles into work on the via Narone 7 today, but no return journey due to a change in plans.
08/04/2010
Another 30 miles on the cboardman today. Good weather, 52 minutes inward, 1hr 5 mins return (its up hill OK!?!)
06/04/2010
30 miles on the cboardman today. Chilly in the morning, OK in the evening but it started to rain 10 minutes from home. Should've left work on time! Lights needed in the rain, but it won't be long before they can be left at home.
12/03/2010
Grrr. Loads of rain on the way home tonight. Bike filthy with salty dirt, but the ride went well enough otherwise. Polaris jacket and Altura waterproof leggings did their job very well, as did the Altura winter gloves and the new overshoes of course.
33 miles
16/02/2010
Not much to report - another 33 miles on the cboardman along the winter route.
07/01/2010
33 miles today on the Holdsworth Hybrid (soon to be retired!). Used the "Winter route" which means no unlit roads and lots more cycle paths than the "Summer route".
Given that it was -2 deg on the way in, very impressed with the peformance of my new dhb bib longs (available from wiggle.co.uk), but my feet were very painful when they warmed up in the shower. A quick trip to The Edge Cycleworks in Chester to buy a pair of Endura waterproof overshoes kept the feet much warmer on the way home.
Friday, 22 January 2010
cboardman Urban Pro
Spec details:
Piccies:
Plus points:
Service history:
- Frame Material: Cboardman Hydroformed, super butted Aluminium.
- Fork Material: Cboardman Carbon
- Suspension: None
- Rear Pannier Mounts: Yes
- Traditional Mudguard Mounts: Yes
- Approximate Weight (KG): 9.6
- Chainset: Truvativ Elita compact 50/36
- Frame Size: 49 cm
- Frame Colour: White
- Front Brake: Avid Elixir R hydraulic disc brakes, 160mm rotors
- Gear Shifters: SRAM X7 9 speed
- Handle Bars: Ritchey Comp Flat Alloy OS 31.8mmwith stubby bar ends
- Headset: Semi integrated cartridge bearing
- Hubs: Sealed bearings
- Number of Gears: 18
- Pedals: Shimano dual sided (SPD and cage) M534s- not as standard
- Quick Release Wheels: yes
- Rear Brake: Avid Elixir R hydraulic disc brakes, 160mm rotors
- Rear Mech: SRAM X9
- Rims: Ritchey Pro disc alloy rims
- Saddle: Cboardman, Cro-Mo rails
- Seatpost: Ritchey Comp Alloy 27.2mm
- Stem: Ritchey Comp Alloy OS 31.8mm
- Tyre size: 25c
- Tyres: Continental Gatorskins
- Wheel size: 700c
- Mudguards: Halfords full black plastic
- Computer: Cboardman wireless with altimeter
- Saddle pack: Topeak including tool kit
- Bottle cage: Specialized white plastic
- Front lights: Cateye
- Rear lights: Cateye and Halfords
Plus points:
- Lightweight (especially after the Holdsworth, but not light in the same way as the Via Narone)
- Responsive - when you push hard it picks up quickly, responding to the extra effort
- Quality of the major components - the SRAM gears are well above the shift quality and ease of use that I was expecting
- Ride is much more forgiving that I expected from the rear triangle which is all alloy
- The brakes are very very powerful, easy to modulate and not phased by wet weather
- The whole thing feels all of a piece and well put together - no knocking or creaking, no slop in the bearings
- I really enjoy riding it!
- Saves fuel, gets me fitter
- Value for money is very good. When bought on the government's bike to work scheme the value for money is astonishing
- Paint finish is excellent and it really looks good (when clean - see not so good points)
- Tyres are a bit delicate - got a puncture in the first 15 miles (but none since)
- Vibration from rear brake (you see this comment on bike radar reviews too)
- Do you really need 28c tyres? Going to try some 25c soon
- Looks dirty very quickly and hard to keep clean
Service history:
- 18/04/2010 - changed tyres from Maxxis Detonator 700 x 28 to Continental Gatorskin 700 x 25 with corresponding inner tubes
- 18/04/2010 - swapped out as many M5 and M6 nuts and bolts for stainless steel equivaents. The more specialised bolts removed, threads treated with copper grease and replaced
- 18/04/2010 - Tacx alloy bottle cage swapped for Specialized white plastic cage
- None to date, just cleaning and lube
Saturday, 4 April 2009
What's It All About Then?
This blog might be increasingly inaccurately named over time, but, for now, its a reasonable working title. It's about riding bikes in, around and sometimes away from North Wales in the UK. Two out of three of the bikes are Bianchis, hence the blog title. More soon, but for now, here's a quick summary:
Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Alu Carbon is the road bike - used for summer riding in the main, shortist leisure rides and medium size sportive riding;
Bianchi Mutt hard tail MTB - use mainly for winter riding and most of it on recognised trails such as those at Llandegla and Betws-y-Coed;
And the interloper, a cboardman urban pro- the commuting machine. I used to commute once or twice a week in the summer, now its all year around.
So there'll be mechanical content, mtb, sportive and commuting news, commentary and riding thoughts, something about how unfit I am and maybe a bit about polishing, who knows?
Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Alu Carbon is the road bike - used for summer riding in the main, shortist leisure rides and medium size sportive riding;
Bianchi Mutt hard tail MTB - use mainly for winter riding and most of it on recognised trails such as those at Llandegla and Betws-y-Coed;
And the interloper, a cboardman urban pro- the commuting machine. I used to commute once or twice a week in the summer, now its all year around.
So there'll be mechanical content, mtb, sportive and commuting news, commentary and riding thoughts, something about how unfit I am and maybe a bit about polishing, who knows?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)