San Diego or bust

[CCotD]

Got my S40 about 6 weeks ago and after getting the basics down, decided to start my long planned tour.

Going is slow since I haven’t mastered hills yet and I’m sure it’s even more daunting with the load I’m carrying.

Started in Seattle and hit Seaside Oregon on day 11.

I have not started a blog yet as I am unsure what to call it. My partner in crime does not like using “At a Snails Pace”.

My tricked out errr…. I mean loaded S40.


Any recommendations on touring on a Cruzbike?

Thanks for reading.

 

[bladderhead]

What size wheels and tyres? What is your lowest gear ratio? Silly questions, because it is too late to change them now. Your front mudguards is too short. Your drivetrain is going to be lubricated by mud and gouged by gravel. Too late to change that now. Your bar-ends are clear of your legs. So much better than the alternative. Enjoy!

 

[ChaleJake]

I have no recommendations other than to enjoy! I admire your willingness to give it a go. Beautiful bike!

 

[chicorider]

Have a great ride!

 

[woodguy]

I say don’t worry about how fast you’re going. Enjoy every mile. The best way to see the country is from the seat of a Cruzbike!

 

[CCotD]

What size wheels and tyres? What is your lowest gear ratio? Silly questions, because it is too late to change them now. Your front mudguards is too short. Your drivetrain is going to be lubricated by mud and gouged by gravel. Too late to change that now. Your bar-ends are clear of your legs. So much better than the alternative. Enjoy!

Wheels are stock I guss (they are what came with the bike, and the chain placement is massively annoying, gets oil/grase in everything. I had thought I had looked for a guard, but unable to find one. It gets cleaned and reoiled every rest day (currently every 4th day) so dirt and grime I’m not too worried about, though it hasn’t rained …. Yet.

Tires I can replace in the road, most small towns have at least one bike shop.

 

[tiltmaniac]

Wheels are stock I guss (they are what came with the bike, and the chain placement is massively annoying, gets oil/grase in everything. I had thought I had looked for a guard, but unable to find one. It gets cleaned and reoiled every rest day (currently every 4th day) so dirt and grime I’m not too worried about, though it hasn’t rained …. Yet.

Tires I can replace in the road, most small towns have at least one bike shop.

If you have time, wax your chain.
It will last for a couple thousand miles, and you get no grease!

.. and then you can grease it when you need to, but at least you get quite a while without the oil being annoying.

You can get a block of parrafin at a craft/hobby store. Get a gallon or larger ziplock or similar, and microwave some water till it is hot.

Put some wax in the ziplock. Put ziplock in hot water. Get the wax melty.
optional: Put a loop of string through one of the links of the chain to make removal from the bag easier.
Put chain (ideally cleaned with de-greaser) into wax.
Jiggle for a while, and let it sit (but don't let the wax congeal).
Then, remove waxed chain, and place onto paper towel or similar.
When not hot, put onto bike.
When you pedal the first time some wax will come off, so don't do that part indoors.

 

[bladderhead]

Wax the chain. The first time you do it is a nuisance because you have to degrease the drivetrain. Thereafter it is no trouble. And no black gunge everywhere.

 

[chicorider]

Ditto here. And if you really get into it, you'll have more than one chain and a small chain-waxing-only crock pot.

I ride and maintain four bikes, two 11-speed road bikes, and two 12-speed mtn. bikes. Unfortunately, none of them share the same chain length, so I have 12 chains total--three for each bike. When I put on the third and last clean chain for any of the bikes (usually the Vendetta because I ride it the most), that's my cue to get out the crock pot and re-wax my spent chains, usually about five to eight of them.

Once you've stripped the new chains and done it a time or two, it's easy to do, takes little time, keeps my bikes much cleaner, and my shifting is as good as a freshly lubed chain.

 

[tiltmaniac]

I believe that, overall, waxing the chain not only makes for more carefree riding, but it likely decreases the time I have to spend on maintaining the bike/clothes overall (a lot less cleaning.. and.. nasty black grease does tend to get on lots of things).

Anecdotally, my waxed chains last longer than my greased chains. I suspect this is because the dirt/muck doesn't stick and so doesn't act like sandpaper.

 

[CCotD]

WOW!! I wish I had known this sooner. I doubt I will be able to do this on the tour, but I will see if I can get this together. Every other rest day I’m having to clean and re-oil the chains on both bikes. Waxing would stop that part of the maintenance plan.

Thank you for the heads up.

 

[LarryOz]

Anecdotally, my waxed chains last longer than my greased chains. I suspect this is because the dirt/muck doesn't stick and so doesn't act like sandpaper

Yeah - like 2 to 3 times longer is my experience. Wax worth it's weight in gold!

 

[Gregory Carlsen]

I prefer the simpler approach of rock and roll gold. Just wet down the chain on the bike and then wipe as much of it off as you can. Be sure to wipe the jockey wheels too. That's it. No fussing with multiple chains, nasty solvents, or crock pots. And it only takes a few minutes. Seems perfect for your current situation.

It may take a few application cycles to work out your current lube. But it will clean up.

Get a chain wear tool. Change the chain when it reaches 0.5. after several years I have not managed to wear out chain rings or cassettes using this approach.

 

[Frito Bandito]

Ditto here. And if you really get into it, you'll have more than one chain and a small chain-waxing-only crock pot.

I ride and maintain four bikes, two 11-speed road bikes, and two 12-speed mtn. bikes. Unfortunately, none of them share the same chain length, so I have 12 chains total--three for each bike. When I put on the third and last clean chain for any of the bikes (usually the Vendetta because I ride it the most), that's my cue to get out the crock pot and re-wax my spent chains, usually about five to eight of them.

Once you've stripped the new chains and done it a time or two, it's easy to do, takes little time, keeps my bikes much cleaner, and my shifting is as good as a freshly lubed chain.

I used to be incredibly meticulous with my 2 road bikes and last car. Now I am older and in a position to be comfortable with replacing the chain once a year and cassette about every 2 years. The where and when I ride conditions are great for WD40 and the simplicity is great to just spray on and wipe off with an old, disposable towel.

I like to jokingly give waxers a hard time with my use of WD40 but this way of multiple chains and reusable links is the way I would do it if I waxed my chains. If I were to do any kind of big event, then I would definitely wax. Right off the bat waxing saves at least 3 watts on perfectly clean and lubed chains, and as the ride goes on, grime buildup on a petroleum based lube is going to result in even more power loss. My chain never comes off so dirty fingers isn't an issue, but on endurance events 3w-....?w is significant.

As much as I think that ceramic bearings are a waste of money, saving a couple of watts with them in the wheels for big events might be on the menu as well. I gotta draw the line at them in the jockey wheels and BB though. Maybe bigger jockey wheels, but not ceramics in them for me. I ain't got that much money.