[909] Bike Musings

I've had my gravel bike for a few months now. I can safely say I've learned my lesson riding it, and of course hindsight is 20/20. So with my experiences riding it (unfortunately mostly inside the subdivision because I'm still deathly afraid of riding on public roads here in Metro Manila) I can say what stuff I would have changed from the very beginning when I was buying parts to build it.

1. 11-42 max cassette, maybe as low as 11-34. I currently have an 11-speed 11-50 cassette. I honestly can't remember when I've gone to the biggest gear, because in our area there are no really steep climbs. I only got this because I had "delusions" that I would eventually be riding my bike for long distances to visit friends/family in the province and go trail riding where I would need gear ratios lower than 1:1. In truth I'm still stuck riding around the subdivision where I usually use the 21T or 24T cog paired my with 42T oval chainring. That's why I think the biggest cog I should have gotten was a 42T since that would still give me a 1:1 ratio gearing.
2. Saddle. I've already replaced the saddle with a foam saddle that's longer, but if I just read the details a bit better I probably should have bought the correct one from the very start. The current saddle I use is pretty comfortable but I'm not a fan of how it looks. Yes I still have issues with looking cool despite my age.
3. Fork. The frame came with a front fork but for aesthetics, and a longer wheelbase so it's not purely aesthetic, I should have probably gotten a separate rigid for for the bike. I'm probably going to push through with this soon.
4. Wheelset. I probably should have tried building one from ground up instead of buying the cheaper, pre-made ones from China. The reason for this is because I may have converted the current wheelset I have to tubeless, but having tubeless ready gear would probably have been better to begin with.
5. Tires. I got 700x38 and while I am happy with them and how they look on the bike, part of me is wondering if getting 700x35 would have been enough. I haven't even gone on trails but I'm really hoping I can eventually go somewhere with trails to go biking.

I'm not saying I'm not happy with my bike. I really am happy and proud that I was able to assemble it with lots of help from people. Experience is really a great teacher.

Out.

[900] My Bike's Tubeless Tires

I had to refill the tubeless sealant to both my tires this past January. Now I did my research before and I do know that you will have to do this, but I wasn't expecting it to be this soon.

It started with the rear tire. I inflated it once in preparation for the next day's ride. Luckily for me I used the bike trainer that afternoon because after using the trainer I saw that the rear tire had no air pressure left. So I checked and there were lots of leaks.

Two days ago it happened to my front tire as well. I inflated it for a ride the next day, got around to riding and went home. The next day it had no air left.

When I re-filled it with sealant I decided to use more sealant than before. Just taking precautions. Also with the front tire after applying sealant it was still steadily leaking from somewhere. So I unscrewed the Presta valve core and poured some more sealant through the valve stem. After that the tire held air.

So after this past month's experience I've decided that next time I need to re-fill the tire with sealant my new process will involve:

1. Unseating the tire and pouring the sealant directly into the tire by removing one side of the tire from the rim. Then I'll use lots of sealant, because the sealant I'm using might need more instead of the recommended.
2. Once the sealant fills the gaps and sets I'll fill it with air and do the usual ritual involved with having new sealant in the tire.
3. Remove the air, remove the valve core, then pour some sealant through the valve stem. This is just in case there are gaps near the stem that the sealant didn't get.
4. Refill with air and check if it holds pressure.

Anyway I've gotten suggestions of just switching to tubed tires since it would save me money in the long run. I'll be thinking about that but I already have the tubeless tire repair kit. And I do have two spare inner tubes, one in my bike's bag.

I do like the fact that I was able to upgrade my bike to tubeless tires even if the rims weren't tubeless ready.

Out.

[879] Bike Goals

I've been having very good discussions about bikes with a friend of mine. He does a better job of researching about lots of bike things and is a bit more experienced with newer tech bikes. Let's just say, as an example, that all I know about bikes is frame size and cassettes and chainrings. Meanwhile he already knows about head angles, crank length, and other more important technical things.

My near daily conversations with him has made me realize that while yes, I still want a gravel bike, I need to be a bit more specific about things I want to have on my bike. And what my priorities are before I even start buying, and possibly building, my own bike. So in this blog post I'll try to write down my priorities when I build a bike.

1. Comfort for posture. I'm definitely aiming to get a frame that is the right size for my height. Then find a seat height, handlebar height, and stem length that will be more on the comfort side than the aero/aggressive side of gravel bikes. Another reason for this is I'll be another year older in a few weeks, so I'm not as flexible as I used to.
2. Comfort while pedaling. I'm not building my bike for speed. More than likely I'll be looking for an 11-speed cassette with 11T-38T cogs, with a 38T chainring up front. I won't be going as fast but at least I also won't be exerting as much effort pedaling. I just want to be able to cruise with my bike.
3. Safety. This means I'll need reliable wheels and brakes. I'm looking to use mechanical disk brakes, and this will, I think, be the first time I will be using disk brakes on a bike. For tires I'd think the minimum width I should have is maybe 38mm. It's not like I actually have grave trails nearby. I'll also be adding rear lights and front lights, even if have no plan of riding during the evening. Plus I also plan on buying reflective tape to add to the bike in key locations.
4. Weight. Frames are expensive. Even the chromoly steel frames here are priced at an amount that makes my eyebrow go up. Or maybe I'm just a solid cheapskate. Still, I have no plans to go racing on this bike, my biggest dream is to do long distance biking. I have no idea how much of a factor weight will be. Also the bike I'm using now is probably way heavier than modern bikes so I'm not really sure how big a factor weight is.

And there you have it. I guess I'll be going over this list again as I approach the day I decide to buy a bike, or bike parts. I still have a lot of things to learn about bikes before I decide to pull the trigger, but I'm slowly getting there.

Meanwhile I'll keep riding my old bike and gaining strength, stamina, and confidence.

Out.

[875] A Gravel Bike

I got curious what these gravel bikes were a few months ago and tried the most basic research attempt -- watching youtube videos. I've come up with some ideas for an ideal gravel bike build for myself, not that I've been biking my whole life.

As a side story, during the Halloween break way back in 1994 I was biking around the village with a friend when he "accidentally" cut me off because I made a snarky joke at him. Cutting me off caused his rear tire to hit my front tire and made my front tire turn 90 degrees to the right, launching me into the air. I didn't know what to do in that situation so I fell on the right side of my face. Strangely enough this happened right in front of the house across the street from my house.

Ever since I rarely rode my bike. The last time I had a relatively long bike ride was in Bohol with my dad, around 2012 or so. We found out the resort we stayed at had mountain bikes that they let guests borrow so my dad and I went a few kilometers outside Bohol. Lack of practice and stamina made me go maybe a total of 2 or 3 kilometers. Round trip.

Anyway I have no idea why I became fascinated with gravel bikes, even going so far as to imagine myself going on really long bike trips by myself. I have no idea why, maybe because I'm getting older and I'm looking for something to do aside from playing video games.

Based on what I've read and watched online I've come up with this rough build on my mind.

• Size 54 bike frame. This was the ideal size for someone of my height, which is around 177cm. Frame should have enough mounting points for two or three water bottles and maybe some backpacking bags.
• 700c 40mm tubeless gravel tires. Decent size and width would be okay for a casual like me, plus I'd mostly be going on roads with the occasional trips off-road.
• Schrader auto valve for the tires if possible. These are the same valves cars use and almost all decent gas stations have automatic air pumps that fit this kind of valve. Sure you can bring along a hand pump for Presta valves, but Schrader seems more logical for me.
• The flared drop bar should ideally be around 500mm wide so it won't be too wide on the road. Flare shouldn't be too extreme, maybe around 10 degrees or so.
• Brakes should of course be disk brakes. Most likely mechanical instead of hydraulic since I'll most likely be using this theoretical build only inside the village.
• I'll be going with a 1x11 group set. Front chainring should be narrow wide oval. Maybe 38T since I'm old and I don't think I can maintain a high cadence to actually ride up to the max speed of the front chainring. So just a relatively small chainring with a gravel bike rear cassette so I have no problems climbing and won't go too fast going down.
• I'll be going with a standard mountain bike flat pedal so that I can use the bike anytime.

I'm sure I've missed some details for the build, but it's not like I'm going to be building it anytime soon.

Oh, and I'd like my bike frame to be reflective yellow so I can be easily visible on the roads. Of course I'll be mounting front and rear lights for safety, and maybe a cyclocomputer so I know my speed, cadence, and other important details.

So that's my idea for my gravel bike build. Too bad there's a pandemic so I can't go out to check prices in bike shops. My plan is to buy components and assemble the bike, instead of buying a fully built one.

Out.