19bonestock88’s commuter bike BUILD: replacing the “Green Line”

[Grant-53]

My air compressor is set to shut off at 90 psi so I can get up to 85 psi in my tires. Tire size and pressure are adjusted for load, traction, and comfort. As a rule most tires will handle 50% higher pressure. See recumbents.com for articles on rear wheel disc building. I may try to make an aero front wheel using plastic tubing at the rim and strips of plastic to fair the individual spokes. Fair the down tube and cover the gap between the seat tube and the rear wheel. See pictures of the triathlete or TT bikes. I like making material from 1 in. hex mesh bonded between two layers of 0.005" plastic tarp material.

[19bonestock88]

From what I read, doing a disc on the front wheel makes it effectively a wind rudder and really hurts stability... I do want a spoke fairing on front(it’s about half the height of the wheel and shields the spokes as they’re rotating forward into the wind)

[veloman]

I know you have a road bike but you should know it's easier and possibly cheaper to convert a 26" wheel hardtail mtn bike. Tons on craigslist for very little money. Stay away from dept store brands.

If you are converting the road bike to electric, you will want at least 30mm wide tires. The extra weight will ride much better on a wider tire. You won't gain much of anything, especially not in the big picture by riding a 25mm tire vs 32mm. If it's electric and a 5 mile roundtrip - then who cares if you use 20watt hours per mile vs 17?

Lots of ebay hub conversion kits for about $150 shipped. Maybe find some cheap toolpack batteries you can hack together. Lots of generic knock offs for black n decker 20v 4ah for example. I have used 4 of them for a couple hundred cycles and they are fine.
Endless-sphere.com is good if you really want to get into diy ebikes.

[AdrianD]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

I ended up buying a $1 flashlight from a dollar store and zip tied it to my handlebar/stem and it is *just barely* adequate, but it got me on the road...

PLEASE get good lights for your bike. If a couple of street lights have larger spacing between them you are invisible if the light outside is not good.

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

With some eyeballing, I think a 42mm tire would fit the hybrid, but I’ll worry about that when it’s closer to time for snow to fly, as that bike needs some love to be reliable for commuting...

How do I adjust the derailleurs to shift better? I don’t know jack about adjusting them, last time I tried I basically ruined it (I was 15)... when it’s on the small chainring, the chain pops in the lower gears, and it happens a little in the middle chainring (and in 1st gear mostly), but it’s smooth on the big chainring...

I did adjust my brakes, but I still think it could stand a little better set of pads, I’ll wait until these are fairly worn though...

You can try this tutorial for setting up the rear derailleur: https://www.artscyclery.com/learning...railleurs.html

Stretched cables and worn cable housing will affect shifting a lot.

For the past 5 years I've went to work almost exclusively by bike (4 miles from my house to the office, alongside cars and on bike lanes alongside walkways) and I what I can say so far:

Get good tires. They cost more but will pay off in having less drag, better life and puncture resistance. I run Schwalbe Marathon supreme (700-32C). It sucks if you get a flat and have to push your bike back home, so keep a spare tube, a light pump and a set of tire levers.

If you plan to ride in the rain or snow, waterproof equipment is your friend: shoe gaiters and drop pants keep your bottom half dry and most importantly warm. Jackets, gloves and balaclavas are easier to find. The coldest I rode in was -4F and all it took to keep my legs comfortable was a set of skiing wool underpants, thin drop pants and gaiters.
Depending on traffic and pollution on your route, a pollution mask is also a good idea.

Good brakes, as you never know when you have to stop quickly, especially if you plan on going fast.

I had a short period when I tried a road bike with oldschool downtube shifters but it was slower overall than a mountainbike with street tires.

Slowly but surely you'll wear out the hill, it's going to become smaller and smaller as you get fitter

[19bonestock88]

I’m just waiting on the opportunity to buy a better light setup... I did buy one but I couldn’t get the headlight to mount, and it took like 8 CR2032 cells...

I’m not quite hardcore enough to ride in pouring rain, but since I ride in my work attire(steel toed lace up logging boots), my feet at least will stay dry and warm if I decide to commute in the snow, on the other bike...

I did get my derailleur adjusted by turning the limit screws, but sometimes it’s still a little slow to downshift, particularly on the chainring... I still wanna upgrade tires and brake pads (have rim brakes)... bike came with 32mm tires but the rear had a faulty bead, so I borrowed the 35mm tire from my hybrid bike... was going back and forth between running 28mm, 32mm, or a 28/32 combo... so far, the 32/35 feels okay other than tread patterns not matching

[Grant-53]

I like my Planetbike lights. My Stearns rain jacket has been a good buy. They make pants as well but I still have some chaps that I like. Neoprene work gloves with jersey cloth gloves as liners are cost effective. After years of trying goggles and face shields I have settled on a Bell motorcycle helmet with a flip up visors. A front tire can use a different pattern than the rear.

[19bonestock88]

I’m just being OCD about the tread patterns, it rides fine...

It’s dialed in about as well as I can except saddle position, I think it needs tweaked, but I’m not sure in what way... when pedaling on the drops, when I get too high of a cadence, my hips rock and sometimes I lift briefly off the seat... considering moving it back a little... I also feel it could be higher, as my knee isn’t as extended as I’d like, but I already can just barely climb onto it at rest...

[19bonestock88]

I adjusted my saddle back about half an inch and it feels a little better to ride in the drops, and I think I’ll need a speedometer soon... have had two coworkers pace me going above the speed limit(~28mph) in town right before breaking over the hill, so I’m guessing I could go through the light at the bottom at 35 or maybe 40mph... I’d have to frame the ticket lol

[19bonestock88]

So, I estimate that I’ve done about 100mi on the bike so far... for a cheap department store bike it’s doing well enough, and I’ve saved numerous cold starts in my car and boosted tank averages some as a result of taking fewer low mileage trips through town... I’m also getting to be in better shape, now going at least halfway up the hill before going down to 1st gear, and my legs aren’t burning as badly at the top... I still wanna do some modding to the bike to make it faster, but I haven’t had the cash to order the plastic to make the wheel covers...

I still need a better light setup, as my headlight really sucks... the contacts for the battery are weak and I’ll hit a bump or shift gears and lose my light...

[California98Civic]

I had a similar irritating problem with my lights until I bought one that could take the vibration.