Will's Similiblog » bicycle

Maybe I’m a lightweight …

admin — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 06:58:11 +0000

… but the stock crankset (FSA/RPM 30/39/52T) on my Bacchetta has seemed geared a bit high for me. I rarely get up on the 52t chainring, & even then only on the low range on the cassette or when screaming down a long downhill faster than I really should be going at my age. My top gear would put me over 40mph at a 120rpm cadence, which I just don’t need (& likely couldn’t manage anyhow!). I’m usually riding mid-range on the 39t chainring.

So I swapped it out for a new crankset - picked up a wonderfully inexpensive Sugino XD300 110/74mm 46-36-26T crankset with 165 mm cranks. Went for the cheaper XD300 with steel chainrings, rather than the all-alloy XD600.

Just what the doctor ordered. I’m now all over the middle chainring on most of my riding, up on the 46t on the long flats & downhills, and that granny gear that I didn’t really think I needed - with a gain ratio of only 1.5 - is one of those things that you really don’t think you need until you realize that you want it.

Am still using the stock pedals. Entertaining the notion of clipless (Speedplay frogs?), but with most of my riding being Portland Oregon commuting, am feeling a little spleeny about riding clipped in. I hear folks talk about your feet not staying on the pedals due to gravity, with a high bottom-bracket, but this is just not an issue for me. On a budget, the crankset feels like it was the best gain for the buck at this point.

Will Taylor / Will's Similiblog 2008
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Bacchetta B-Link fix

admin — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 06:21:30 +0000

I love my Bacchetta Giro 20.
There’s this thing with the B-Link in the stem, tho. This very handily allows the stem to hinge forward, which is nice, except that it allows the stem to hinge way foward - so when lifting/maneuvering the bike by the handlebars into the garage, or into a bike rack, it’ll suddenly hinge all the way forward, the bike flips upside-down like a huge chrome-moly limp fish, & I’ll trip over the place where the bottom-bracket would be if Picasso hadn’t been the one to design this wonderful piece of machinery.

So -
I picked up a few inches of 1/16″ cable from the hardware store, & smushed on sleeves with vice-grips & hammer, fastening this to the top bolts in the bottom & top blocks of the B-Link assembly:

I had to make a few to get the length just right - the loops tend to stretch a bit, and as there’s a lot of leverage in the stem, the swages need to be smashed pretty thoroughly to prevent the cable ends from pulling through.

This now gives me a good range of forward swing in the stem, but prevents hinging forward past the point of stable maneuverability.

Sweet.

Will Taylor / Will's Similiblog 2008
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not really dennis hopper …

admin — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:53:24 +0000

… tho I do admit it can feel that way.

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It’s my Bacchetta recumbent, & I’m totally in love with it. My 57-year-old neck was having troubles with standard touring-bike posture, & is now happy as a pig in poop. And talk about hill-climbing - push the tush back in the seat & crank.

Will Taylor / Will's Similiblog 2008
Creative Commons attribution 3.0 license