bonnie & jason

DIY bike work stand

I’ve been getting tired hunching down to work on the bike, so I decided I needed a bike stand. Unfortunately, all the decent ones commercially available are pretty pricey, so off to the great google I went in search of a DIY solution. The first result is this page which lists eight different solutions but I ultimately decided on this super simple one.

I followed the directions almost entirely. The only real differences were that I used a shorter length pipe (12″) since I didn’t feel I needed as much clearance from the wall and that I just threaded said pipe directly into the PVC t-section. In the end, for about $20, I got a super beefy stand that takes 10 seconds to take apart and put away.

Otherwise, notice that I pulled the large chain ring off and got the seat on. I also tried to make the rear wheel work, but there’s something wrong with the spacing so I may end up needing a new rear wheel after all. Grr… oh well… at least the front wheel is good.

Bike rebuild progress

I’ve made some good progress on the bike rebuild.

1. Dennis helped me score some free wheels from a guy on sffixed.com. They’re old 27 inchers which is the correct size for this bike. They even had tires, tubes, and a cog (even though the cog is a “suicide” cog in that it’s just loc-tited on there.) I just cleaned them up, rebuilt the hubs, and pumped up the tires. The rear wheel axle is a little bent but I’m hoping I can position so that it doesn’t make the wheel cockeyed in the frame. At least not by too much anyway.
2. I got a set of handlebars for free from a guy on craigslist. He also threw in some bar tape and some pedal clips. I wasn’t a fan of the red at first, but they were free and it’s actually growing on me a bit. The handlebars I flipped and chopped into bullhorn bars.

3. Dennis had an old stem that he gave me (CONTROLTECH!). The bars were a little big for the stem, but I wedged them in there and I think they’ll work fine.
4. I got an old Sakae crankset on ebay for $20. The bigger chain ring is a bit worn, but the inner one, which is the one I’ll use, is in pretty good shape.

5. I ordered a brake from bikeisland.com but they don’t reach the brake surface. I’m going to need to find a longer reach brake. I also need to figure out how to attach them to the fork since they are a newer recessed nut style vs. the original double nutted style.
6. I got a cheap chain from bikeisland.com as well. Should be fine.
7. I bought some tools (cone wrench, bottom bracket tool, waterproof grease, degreaser) from The Bike Nook which is the local bike store on Taraval. Len has been pretty helpful and their prices aren’t bad. It’s a really small store though, so they don’t have a ton of stuff in stock, but they’re helpful with advice and can order whatever you want. I like to support the local stores when I can as well so go visit them if you’re in the neighborhood.

So what’s left to do?
1. Well, I’m not sure if the chain line is going to work so once I get the bottom bracket rebuilt and the rear hub tightened up, I’ll figure out if I’m good or if I need to be creative or if I still need a new rear wheel.
2. I still need a 25.8mm (I think) seatpost. It’s an odd size for modern bikes so I’ll probably have to order one. (EDIT: I used a tennis ball canister to make some shims for the seatpost. It seems like it’s going to work fine.)
3. I may need a new saddle. I have a cheapy plastic one (another freebie from Craigslist) but that may not be very tushy friendly.
4. If the chainline works and I want to remove the bigger chain ring, I’ll need some short chain ring bolts or chain ring spacers.
5. Still need to figure out the brake thing I mentioned above.

I think that’s about it. So far, I’ve just been working on it for 30 minutes here or there after Alissa goes to bed. Typically, I’d be much more impatient about it but wanting to do it on a budget means waiting for cheap (or free) parts. But I have enjoyed getting my hands dirty again. Without the motorcycle/sports car/go kart around for me to turn wrenches on, the bike has been a welcome outlet.

More Halloween pictures

On Saturday, Eddy hosted a party at his place for the kids that slowly evolved into a party for the adults. It was kind of a post Halloween, Halloween party. Alissa seemed to have a good time playing with the toys that Megan brought and sort of got a kick out of some of the costumes folks had on. Here are a few highlights:

McDreamy and Eeyore:

Calvin as Incredibly Ugly Betty:

Eddy as Beaker:

Some of the grown up costumes:

Alissa sort of knows her 123’s and Do-Re-Mi’s

She’s a bit preoccupied with her Halloween stash, but she sort of gets through them.

Halloween, hundred acre wood style

As posted previously, Alissa was Eeyore for Halloween this year. This time around, she was able to at least hold her own pumpkin and would occasionally say “trick tree.” We just went around the block and hit maybe eight houses or so.

One of the houses just down the street always goes all out. Actually, the guy goes all out on every holiday.

Benita and Alan came along for the fun.

And we took a picture alongside one of Eeyore’s good friends:

In other news, Bonnie finished up a robe for Alissa that has been in the works for quite a while now. It’s a bit big, but should do well to keep her toasty now that the weather is starting to become winterish. (I guess the wink is part of her pose.)

Happy Halloween!

Bonnie put this little montage together of Alissa at different ages in different Winnie the Pooh costumes.

Another bike! Panasonic Sport 500

I’ve been eying a stripped down bike frame that Terry has had hanging in his garage for decades apparently. It’s an 80’s era Panasonic Sport 500 which apparently, was the low end model that they had to offer back in the day. Using this thing called “google” I found out that the lineup went something like this:

$159: Sport 500 (Hi-Ten steel with stem mount and 27×1-3/8″ steel rims
$184.95: Sport (was only in the line a few years, basically a Sport 500 w/allo wheels)
$219.95: Sport Deluxe
$279: Sport 1000
$329: DX2000 (Midgrade components and the first 700C bike in the line)
$399: DX3000 (fitness bike with Tange Infinity Tubing and 700C wheels)
$499: DX4000 (Tange Double butted Fast Fitness entry level race bike with 700C wheels)
$599: DX5000 (Prestige frame and fork with Shimano 600 Ultegra 7speed)

Anyway, Terry was nice enough to just give me the bike. Here it is in all it’s glory:

It’s in pretty good shape for how old it is. A few chips here and there but no real rust. And the headset and bottom bracket both operated very smoothly. That being said, I can’t leave well enough alone so I spent a little time today tearing apart the headset, re-greasing the bearings, and reassembling. I’ll do the same with the bottom bracket as well once I pick up a pin spanner tool. Besides, it has been hanging in a garage for quite a while… it deserved a little TLC.

Clearly, there’s still a lot to do before it’s ready to ride. I’ve ordered a few parts here and there. I still need to figure out a number of details, but hopefully, I’ll have it together before too long. If anyone has any old bike parts lying around that could go to a loving home, let me know.

I got a new bike - Dawes SST review

I’ve been riding a beater mountain bike to go to work the last few months but it finally started giving me problems. Specifically, the chain was hopping off and the seat stem was starting to bend. So I decided it was time to replace the Motobecane Messenger that got stolen last year. (I’m still bitter by the way.)

I went to bikesdirect.com again since I was pretty happy with my last experience. But I figured I’d try something different this time. And it turns out the Dawes SST was exactly what I was looking for.

It had bullhorn bars, matte black finish, and a pretty easy geometry good for my commute. Plus, it was actually a little cheaper than my last bike. So… without further ado, here’s the review:

1. Ordered 52cm matte black on 10/3/08 (I’m 5′8″ with a 30″ inseam). Received 10/10/08.
2. Everything was in good shape upon delivery. No scratches or dents or anything like that. The only minor things I would mention are that I found a small tear in the bar tape and it looks like one of the welds on the chain stay (on the back end) looks to be slightly incomplete. In other words, there’s a small gap where there should be weld. Not happy about this, but I don’t think it will fail on me either.

EDIT: Bikesdirect is sending me some new bar tape. Yay!

3. Assembly went as expected with the exception of one thing. The rear brake mount seems to be angled a bit such that the brake pads aren’t parallel with the wheel. Not sure if it’s a bad weld or if the mount just wasn’t aligned in the fixture when the guy tacked it down. Regardless, not very happy with the result. I checked the wheel itself and it’s in line with the rest of the frame. Here’s a pic to demonstrate:

I know it’s not a huge deal… I actually was going to remove the brake entirely. But I commute daily on this thing and I figured the rear brake might help me stop a few feet more quickly than without and who knows if that could mean the difference between getting into an accident or just avoiding one.

EDIT: I just bent the brakes a little with some channel locks and now the pads are parallel. TADA!

4. I slapped on a 17T Soma cog and a generic lockring so I’ve been riding fixed. The gear ratio with the supplied 16T freewheel is a bit tall for me. The 17 seems to be a good balance. I might even go up another tooth or swap the chain ring for a slightly smaller one. I’ll have to ride a bit more and see if my legs get stronger or if I really should modify the gear ratio one way or the other.

5. Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with the bike given the price. It’s not the best quality piece of kit out there but it will do the job. I figure I’ll just replace things as they fail or wear out. If bikesdirect could give me a discount given the rear brake thing, then I would be satisfied. Shipping back to them in exchange for another one seems like a big waste of time, money, and energy.

California Academy of Sciences

We decided to try the California Academy of Sciences again today after our failed attempt on opening day. There were still tons of people there and traffic was a mess when we left. Still, we had a good if brief time there. We spent the bulk of our time in the aquarium as we figured Alissa would like that section the most. After about 30 minutes of “Look Alissa… fish!” I think she got a little bored. So we made our way up to the ground floor to check out the Planetarium but were told that little kids can’t go. Instead, we got tickets for the 3D bug show which was supposed to be kid friendly. It was borderline kid friendly, and in my opinion, not really toddler friendly. First of all, there was no way Alissa was going to wear the 3D glasses. Secondly, they had bug mating and killing going on. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was quite a high quality production. But kid friendly, it is not.

Anyway, by the time the bug show was done, Bonnie was starving and Alissa’s nap time was looming. So we figured we’d take off and save the rest for another day. After all, we did get the annual membership so we’ll want to take advantage of that.

Here are a few crappy pictures… I should have brought a faster lens and Bonnie’s dad’s 5D. Oh well, next time!

We visit the Pumpkin Patch on 19th Ave at Sloat

We had originally planned on making a trip to the Half Moon Bay pumpkin patch but it seemed like a big production for just a pumpkin. There’s the cost of gas, having to deal with traffic, twisty roads (with a nauseous pregnant wife), and finally, the time commitment. So instead, we thought we’d check out the corner of 19th and Sloat which is the “seasonal” corner. You know what I mean… in October, it’s pumpkins. In December, it’s Christmas trees. In February, it’s roses. Anyway, it turned out to be perfect. They had everything decorated all nice and Alissa had a fun time picking out the perfect pumpkin. With the exception of some traffic in the background, you would practically think we were in Half Moon Bay. Here are some of the pictures.

So many to choose from!

This pumpkin is too big!

This pumpkin is too small!

This one looks about right…

I’m ready to go pay now.

I wonder how far I can throw it.

It didn’t break… must be a keeper. I guess we’ll bring it home then.