I decided to shoot a little video for this topic. The quality isn’t great so please bear with me as I try something new.

I had to replace mine last week when I noticed my shoes weren’t feeling as ‘solid’ when clipped in. A close inspection revealed some pretty good wear that required replacement. Here’s a couple of pictures of my well-worn cleats.

You can tell in the second pic that I had a huge chunk missing out of the leading edge of my cleat. No wonder it felt weird.

Why Change Your Cleats?

As your cleats become worn, they lack the surface area to keep them securely fastened to the pedal. A worn clear can cause the following:

1. Lack of power transfer. The whole purpose of having cleats is to make our power transfer from foot to pedal better. If the cleats are worn then they aren’t transferring power properly.
2. Injury. If your cleats are worn, and you’re not regularly checking them, your first indication may be when your foot comes unclipped while pedaling. This would be a bad thing if you’re involved in a group sprint or out of the saddle while climbing. Not only could this injure you but you could cause a crash involving other riders.

Tips When Changing Cleats

I mentioned a couple of these in the video but left one out. The are:

• Use the dirt ring left by the old cleat to put the new one in the exact same spot.
• If you haven’t had a proper cleat alignment done, now may be a good time to get one done.
• The one I left out – if they’re not damaged, keep those old allen bolts and washers when replacing your clear. You never know when you’ll need a spare.

When was the last time you replaced your cleats? Check’em out the next time you go for a ride.

I got up, went through my whole morning routine of getting kitted up, drinking 4 oz of water mixed with 4 oz of juice, and eating half a banana. I even had about half a cup of coffee. What was even better was that I was going to be able to ride without tights and arm warmers. That alone had me totally jacked to ride. Ah, ignorance is bliss.

Once down in the garage I immediately noticed my back tire was flat. If I was going to have one I’d rather it be now than out on the road so I set about changing it. I had one spare tube in my seat bag so I pulled it out and quickly swapped it out with the bad one. Before putting the new one in, an inspection of the tire revealed the culprit-a piece of needle sharp metal about a cm long was sticking through the tire. I almost think I may have picked it up just before pulling into the garage the previous morning. Anyway, it’s a good reminder to inspect your tire before putting that new tube in (Tip #5 in repairing a flat bicycle tire).

Once I had the tube in I noticed an immediate problem. The valve stem was really short and was barely sticking out. The last time I bought a tube I must not have paid attention to the valve stem length. With me having a deep-v rim cross-section, I need a long valve stem length in order to be able to attach a pump to inflate the tube. To make matters worse – I didn’t have another tube.

To say I was pissed was an understatement. I was really looking forward to riding that morning but now I was screwed. The local bike shops wouldn’t open for another two hours so I’d have to wait until then to get a tube. Yes, I could have patched the tube with a hole in it but I didn’t want to start a ride on a patched tube. I’ll limp home on a patched tube but didn’t want to have to worry about it for an entire ride. I called it quits shortly after that.

So, take that as a lesson. Don’t get caught without a rubber. I went to the LBS on Saturday and picked up four.

PhotoC: proteinbiochemist

Anyway, the numbers for today’s ride are: 13.1 miles in 57 min at a 13.8 mph pace. I really thought I was faster than that.

Tested out the Chain Cleaner

If you follow the Biking To Live Facebook Page you know that I gave the steed a good cleaning to get rid of the road grime it had collected. I also wanted to try out the new chain cleaner I got from Nashbar. The chain cleaner didn’t come with any degreaser so I picked up some Park CB-2 Citrus Chain-Brite Cleaner from the local bike shop.

I’ll write a more detailed review of the chain cleaner soon but wanted to show you some pics of the results. I was really impressed at the job it did for a $9 chain cleaner. Here are the before and after pics (they’re big pics so let’em load):

[nggallery id=4]

Another awesome benefit of cleaning the chain showed up during this morning’s ride. Immediately upon setting out I noticed that my bike was a lot quieter. A lot. I was totally blown away and througout my entire ride I couldn’t help but shake my head. Of course it shifted better too.

A Word on My Goals

One of my cycling goals for 2011 was to ride 2000 miles this year. As of today, I’ve got 275 miles on the bike so far this year which puts me at 13.75% of my 2000 mile goal.

Some questions for the readers:

1. Do you clean your chain/drivetrain yourself or have the local bike shop do it?
2. How many miles do you have on the bike so far this year? Are you on track to meet your mileage goal this year? Do you have a mileage goal this year?

After some searching, the mechanic verfied they don’t have what I need in stock and couldn’t find one via their online sources. They will call Sugino (the maker of the cranks on my Allez) to see if they can get the part. If they can’t, I did find what looks to be the right part on Amazon. It also looks like you don’t need a special tool for it but I’ll have my BB serviced anyway.

In short, it looks like I’ll be without my road bike for at least the weekend and into next week. Why, oh why didn’t I take care of this when I wasn’t riding.

Why I Have A Crank Problem

Yesterday you may remember that I had a problem with left crank arm again where it wants to come off during my rides. I’ve replaced both bolts that hold it on to no avail. Yesterday, while heading to Lowes (a local home improvement store) to get some Blue Loctite, I stopped into a local bike shop to talk to a mechanic about my crank problems (no jokes please). It turns out that I’m missing the compression nut that screws into the left-side of the crank arm. The mechanic says that without that nut I’ll never be able to keep the crank arm on. Here’s a diagram of what I’m talking about. The compression nut is part #5.

Dura Ace Crank Diagram

This particular shop would have had to order me a nut (no, my nickname isn’t Juan Pelota) because they don’t sale Specialized bikes. I left there and headed over to the shop that carries Specialized bikes to pick up the nut which was only $5. Today I’m going to take my bike back to shop #1 to have them overhaul my bottom bracket and put the nut on. Just so you know, that nut requires a special tool (TL-FC16 in the figure above). It looks like a large allen bolt but it isn’t. I went to Home Depot to see if I could make a tool using the nut and bolt trick but nothing fit (standard or metric). So, because I have to take it in to get the nut put on I’m going to have the bottom bracket overhauled at the same time. I’m taking it back to first shop I talked to because they are my favorite shop in the area. Even though I didn’t buy the part from them, I’d rather pay them to install it and do the maintenance. You can follow that shop on Twitter @bicyclesetc.

The Shut Up Everything T-shirt

If you follow professional cycling I’m sure you’ve heard of Jens Voigt. If not, he’s one of the most respected riders in the peleton and is known for his gutsy riding style and giving 100% effort all day every day. He’s also known for the quote “SHUT UP LEGS”. See the video below.

While typing up yesterday’s post, and thinking about how sore I was all over from my first ride in a couple of months, I thought of Jens and his ‘SHUT UP LEGS’ comment and mentality. If I applied that to myself at the time it would have to have been ‘SHUT UP LEGS, NECK, SHOULDER, HANDS, FINGERS, WRISTS, TOES, BUTT, ETC.’. I thought that might look kinda funny on a t-shirt.

Shut Up Legs Tshirt

Six Tips To Easier Flat Repair

1. Be prepared. If you’re out riding with no way to repair your own flat then you’re riding on borrowed time. If you’re riding with friends you may be able to bum something off one of them but if you’re all alone and 30 miles from nowhere then you’re what I like to call ‘screwed’. Being prepared starts with having the equipment needed to repair your own flat – patch kit, tube, tire levers, pump/CO2, etc. Most all of this can be easily carried in a seat bag and I discuss this in the article I wrote about what you should carry in a bicycle seat bag. Having the right tools doesn’t help if you’ve never used them though. Practice changing tubes while at home until you get the hang of it.
2. Shift to the smallest cog if the flat is on the rear. Putting the chain on the smallest cog on the cassette will make it much easier to remove and install the rear wheel. Chances are you won’t be in the smallest cog when you notice the flat. To get the chain there just shift the gears, pick up the rear wheel by grabbing your seat with one hand, grasp a pedal with your other hand and roll the crank forward one or two revolutions.
3. Inflate the tube a little before installing. Putting some air in the tube forces it to hold its shape as you install it. This will help keep the tube installed as you work the tube into the tire around the rim.
4. Find small leaks with saliva. If your going to use a patch on the tube you’ve got to find the leak. If it’s small it could be hard to locate (using Tip #5 will help) and you could waste a lot of time putting air in the tube and then squeezing it while you try to listen for the leak. If you can find the general location by listening or using a reference point you can pinpoint the leak by moistening a couple of fingers with your saliva and rubbing it on the the tube in the approximate location. The saliva will cover the hole and as air escapes will begin to bubble up. With the leak located you can now patch it. This is just like the soap bubble test when looking for leaks in natural gas and freon lines.
5. Create a reference point using the tube stem and tire. By creating a reference point you make it easier to find the hole in the tube if you have something sticking out of your tire such as a nail. If the culprit of the flat isn’t obvious you can use the reference point to correlate the hole in the tube with a spot on the tire so you can check for small foreign objects like glass or thorns. To create this reference point, install the tube stem aligned with a specific spot on the tire like a logo, letter, color, or mark you’ve made.
6. Inflate halfway first. It’s very easy to accidentally get the new/patched tube caught between the rim and tire when installing it. If you fully inflate the tube with it pinched like this you’ll either pop the tube right away or shortly after you start riding. By inflating the tire halfway you give yourself an opportunity to see if the tube is pinched and correct it.

Do You Have Any Tips?

I’ve started the list with six but I’m sure some of you have other tips that are great so lets hear them. Post’em in the comments below.

P.S. – While you’re down there, take the opportunity to visit some of the site sponsors and/or sign-up for the newsletter.

Feature image courtesy of Brampton Cyclist.

The first thing I always do is give the bike a good cleaning to get all the road grime and build up off. While doing it this time I went ahead and took apart the chain rings and rear derailleur to clean them well. With the rear derailleur off I discovered my first problem. The derailleur hangar has a crack in it. Luckily, my hangar is the replaceable type so it’s done it’s job in not letting the frame crack. The bad part is that it needs to be replaced. I had actually broken my first hangar after only having my bike a few months because of a bad shift. It looks like this crack was a product of age and/or fatigue. I know I’d probably crack under the pressure of carrying an elephant around.

One of the last things I do is clean my rims and the front rim was the last one to get cleaned this morning and it held the last surprise. One of the spokes looks like it’s pulling through the rim and on the break surface side the rim is splitting apart. Not good and actually very dangerous should the rim have decided to fail while riding. I had replaced my rear rim about a year ago due to a similar problem (although the front rim is in much worse condition) so I was probably due to replace the front anyway. It is the original after all.

So, with those two problems it looks like I won’t be cycling until I can get them fixed and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to. Truthfully, I was actually worried something like this might happen with all the riding I’ve been doing but I think the bike held up pretty good considering its age and my weight. I’ll probably take it to the bike shop tomorrow to get an estimate on a rim, hangar, and a few other things that need to be done, and I’ll take it from there. It kinda sucks but I think my century ride is probably in jeopardy. It’s probably in jeopardy anyway if I end up getting the job I want back in Jacksonville.

1. Make sure you’ve got your water bottle(s). I forgot mine several weeks ago and didn’t notice until about 10 miles into a 30 mile ride. Not good. They were still sitting on the car bumper when I got back.
2. Tires are pressurized properly. I used to be very bad about this but now make it a point to check them, and usually touch’em up, before each ride.
3. Your seat bag is stocked. Open up that seat bag and make sure you’ve got a spare tube, tire irons, multi-tool and whatever else you carry in there. If you’re with a group somebody is bound to have something you need but you don’t want a reputation of being a bum either. If you’re solo and don’t have what you need you’re screwed.
4. Your clothing is in order. Shorts/bibs and jerseys are no-brainers but some of the other assorted articles you may need are easily forgotten. I’ve forgotten socks, sunglasses or a headband on more than one occasion.
5. Your bike is mechanically sound. The real reason for this article today. I had the worst ride ever yesterday. My legs were blown after a mile and I couldn’t maintain any kind of respectable speed. I was getting passed by EVERYBODY including lots of people who had no business passing me. I was upset because I couldn’t understand why I was performing so poorly. Was my fitness/cycling actually declining when it should be getting better? I was seriously distraught. I fought it for 10 miles before packing it in. If I would have taken 20 seconds to spin each tire on my bike before starting out I would have easily noticed my rear brake rubbing the left side of the rim along its entire circumference. I know…I’m an noob. While spinning those tires stop’em with the appropriate brake to verify they work. You don’t want to plow into the rear of some unsuspecting cyclist…or car.

This is a pretty short list with plenty of room for other stuff. Let’s here about what you look out for before heading out to ride and how you remind yourself to bring everything. Got a good story related to forgetting something? Lets here it.

Related Article:

The Bicycle Seat Bag – What should you carry in it?

When I road around the lake I was really surprised to see all the trash still there from the weekends heavy rains. They had cleared the debris from the trail but the trash was still there. They have volunteer Saturdays to pick up trash but with it as bad as it is I’m surprised the parks department here in Dallas hasn’t taken care of it. Maybe there’s a reason they haven’t such as money.

I also saw a couple of groups rowing out on the lake. If I counted correctly each of the shells had 8 people in them. Pretty cool.

I’m a little concerned about my bike. My rear rim is working its way out of true and making some noise again, the front brake is giving me problems and my front hub doesn’t feel right. I may forgo rides tomorrow and Friday so I can give it a good once over up at my Mom’s house this weekend where I can use my Dad’s shop. I probably need to take it in for a complete overhaul when I have the cash. I just have a feeling it needs more love than my maintenance skills can give it.

With me having problems with my rear rim again I’m becoming more convinced that I need to invest in a set of wheels that can support me better. Maybe the Velocity Deep V rims that jaxgtr keeps talking about. My rear rim was replaced about 8 months ago when I noticed a problem at the seam. I almost wonder if this new rim isn’t as sturdy as the original was. The bad thing is that the Velocity rims will set me back about $280 and I’m concerned about the rear spacing because of my bike being older. I would have to take it to the bike shop for some advice. The only problem is that I haven’t found a shop I’m comfortable with yet.