I had added the tweed "blog" to my "following" list so that I wouldn't miss any, because I was really looking forward to riding my really really old bike in something low key and parade-y like a tweed ride. But I still missed it. Damn.
Instead the Scientist and I headed out to Concord to peep at some leaves, and take Minerva's new brake setup for another test ride. I shortened the cable, to the point where it grabbed a lot more at the maximum pull on the levers.
Time got away from us, so we ended up putting the bikes in the back of the Scientist's car, and drove out to Concord, then did a 13 mile loop, oohing and awwwing at the lovely foliage as we went.
It was good that the light setup works, because we needed lights by the time we got back to the car.
The countryside: lovely, the light 100%, the truing, much much better, the braking, OK, but still needs work. I'd say that the front brake is at 80% of where I want it to be. I'm afraid that if I take any more slack out of the cable, I'll be riding with the brakes permanently "on". So I may have to work out a way of increasing the mechanical advantage of the brake lever travel somehow. More tinkering is in order.
i missed the tweed ride as well! like you, i knew about it, but assumed i'd get a last minute reminder, which never happened. oh well, we were out riding with the family, so it's all good!
ReplyDeleteRegarding front brake:
ReplyDeleteI have the same front hub on my Pashley and at this point I have tried half a dozen bikes with the same Sturmey Archer dynamo/brake hub. It's just not that powerful for a heavy rider like me. I switched my front brake cable to my right brake lever, and even if I grip it with enough strength to ruin the casing ends, it's still not nearly as grippy as a decent caliper brake. The problem is the DL-1 rod brakes cannot be squeezed with the same level of power. If I did that, I would just bend them.
The only solution is a heavier heavy-duty 90mm brake hub, but I am unwilling to re-do my front wheel and I am sure you don't like the idea either after just putting this wheel together.
I missed the tweed ride, too. Great foliage shots.
ReplyDeleteI missed it too. It fell off my radar after the linen ride happened. Wow, it's October isn't it???
ReplyDeletewell darn, I guess it's good I didn't know as I was doing oysters on the cape.
Yep, I missed the tweed ride too. I knew about it, but after a busy Saturday, including the Tour de Somerville, I got up too late to cycle out the meeting place in time :(
ReplyDeleteHowever, the Concord pix are inspiring. I bought a Hungry Nomad map of the area and want to try it out before all the leaves are gone! There's always next weekend.
I missed it too! Happily it was a great weekend to bike, with or without tweeds, but I'm a little puzzled that there wasn't more fanfare, especially since the fall seems to be a more apt time to haul out the smart woolen ensembles. A guy stopped me on my way home yesterday (I was riding my Minerva twin) and mentioned that he'd been there--said it was great fun but a small crowd. Next year...
ReplyDeleteBummer about missing the tweed ride. Those are so much fun. But it looks like your plans were lots of fun, too. Those trees are absolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI missed the tweed ride as well. Just took too long to get ready and didn't have enough time to get to downtown. Dressed up and nowhere to go - bummer! Will have to get out on a foliage ride very soon to make up for it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update on the generator hub, I'm currently working on adding a 2nd light to my Shimano generator setup; looks like a SA Gen/Brake combo will have to wait till the new year.
Mark
Eh, braking power is overrated IMHO. BTW, MDI, if you do decide to rebuild the wheel, I might be interested in buying the hub you have now!
ReplyDeleteHerzog--I won't be rebuilding this wheel around a 90mm drum any time soon. It's too much trouble. My Pashley can sort-of stop quickly if I squeeze both brakes sharply and with feeling. But don't forget that my Pash & me are quite a *cough* weighty combo together. :)
ReplyDeleteI think the take-home is that the DL-1 cannot exert as much sudden pull on the brake hub because the levers would bend (and don't have enough travel). So, what Cycler is doing is quite difficult. On my DL-1, I kept adjusting the rod levers to get more travel, but they would eventually just settle back. Maybe I am ham-fisting my brakes.
Cycler--Is your rear brake converted to hub too? Because I find these Roadsters get quite a bit of their total combined braking power from the rear wheel due to their geometry and weight.
I have the same xf-dd hub. It took some cable adjustment and a brake in period before the stopping power dramatically improved. I don't know why, but the braking power improved with use on a similar pattern to my coaster brake hub.
ReplyDelete