What I might do with the hybrid

I currently seem to be suffering from a fortuitous combination of elbow tendinitis and a flu-type virus. The result is a lack of energy, slightly dubious sense of balance and discomfort when I try to grip anything. This means that I don't really want to cycle, run or swim, and even messing around with a screwdriver seems to to be off limits. But I can just about manage to type gently.

This gives me the opportunity to at least think about what I'm going to do with the hybrid, and in what order.

It currently looks like this:

First of all I plan to strip it back down to a bare frame and forks, and have it powder coated, probably in pale blue.

Then I will build it back up with the current components, except for the  headset, front brake, and possibly cables, which will need to be replaced.

Once it is all working again, I plan to replace the existing butterfly bars with some new moustache or Northroad bars like these or these; and I may also fit a new stem at this stage. I do quite like the butterfly bars, but not quite enough not to replace them. They were on the tandem, with the brakes in the more conventional position (at the ends), but I wasn't happy with this. On the tandem I like my hands close to the brakes most of the time, and on the butterfly bars this gives the least sense of control and stability while also losing all of the useful hand positions.

When I put the bars on the hybrid I put the brake levers in the less conventional position you can see in the picture, near to those places where I most often have my hands. This is definitely an improvement, and I can't help but think people choose the other position simply because it is much more difficult getting the levers round the bars into my preferred position.

I will also replace at least the front wheel (but probably both wheels if finances stretch that far), with either proper handmade touring wheels from Spa in Harrogate or a pair from Rose Versand in Germany (cheaper, possibly handmade and probably with a dynamo hub). If I decide not to replace the rear wheel then I will need a new rear cassette (7-speed); If I do replace the rear wheel I will need a new rear cassette (7- or 8- speed, but 8-speed might require a new set of gear levers and maybe even a new rear mech).

By then it will be summer, so I will put off fitting new mudguards (and maybe a rack) until winter is looming once more.

And then it will be complete... unless I maybe get some thumb shifters and then maybe...

The great hybrid bike conversion project

I have a Ridgeback Adventure 502 GS hybrid from the early nineties. I bought it new, to cycle from home to the railway station when I lived in Sheffield (and foolishly worked in Nottingham). I chose it mostly because it was cheap, and not having owned a bike as an adult, I wasn't sure that I would use it at all.

I can't really remember how long I used it for, but it must have been at least a couple of years, almost daily. Then it was off the road for a while having various bits replaced, and it was never quite the same again. I also was expected to wear a suit more often, so the bike became much less convenient than the bus.

Then I passed my driving test at the grand old age of 33, left my job in Nottingham and moved up north where I travelled to work by car.

The bike lived in the shed mostly, and occasionally went to the shops, but no further. Then one day when I rode it to the shop I realised that it wasn't just the weight that was slowing me down (we are not talking about a light bike here, it is heavy steel), in fact it seemed to be like cycling through treacle.

And so the project began. Without me knowing that it was a project really. The problem seemed to lie in the transmission, and more specifically the pedals... or the bottom bracket. So I bought tools, did some reading, removed the BB and found the source of the treacle. I cleaned it, re-greased it and reassembled it. Lovely.

Then I looked at the chainset (crankset) and thought how nasty it was, a bit rusty with the chain rings spot welded together. It was thin and light and sharp. So I replaced it with an Alivio one... a bit better, but not, unfortunately, compatible with the existing BB. So I bought a new cartridge style BB and fitted that.

And then I couldn't get the front mech to change properly, so I replaced that with an Alivio one.

Then I replaced the tyres, decided that I needed a new front wheel (at least) replaced the original straight bars with some butterfly bars I had previously on the tandem, and added some funky (or perhaps not) yellow bar tape. Oh, and a new rear canti brake.

Then I realised I had a bike I could use... and a project.

Resurrection

I have decided that it is about time that I resurrected this blog, mostly so that I can document the great hybrid conversion project (see next post), but also to add a few running and cycling training notes.

The big goal for this year is the Lakeland 50 in July, which will be the furthest we have ever run. We entered a 50 mile ultra last year, but failed to even start let alone finish; hoping to at least reach the start line this year.

So far, as part of the build up we have the official Lakeland 50 recce at the end of March (and for some reason I have no idea how far this is), then the Allendale Challenge (26 miles) a week later in April, and then the  Swaledale Marathon (22 miles - ish) in June. Beyond that, the training is still a bit vague beyond get some long days on the hills under our collective belt; I'm working on the assumption that time on my feet is the key, and not the number of miles covered.

More importantly I now have the shoes I plan to wear on the big day. This is absurdly optimistic as most fell and trail shoes last me about three weeks before the uppers split, or my feet are shredded. This is entirely the result of  the bunion on my left big toe; if the shoes are soft enough to accomodate the bunion I split them, if not, then they are too uncomfortable to wear.

Shoes have become a bit easier with the latest Inov8 shoes now being made on a foot shaped last, rather than the narrow last they previously favoured... but I still split my Terraflys in about 100 miles in the same place as all the others (and to be fair, not just Inov8, but New Balance and Saucony...).

So the new shoes are Inov8 TrailRoc 255; the same shape as the Terraflys, but with a more aggressive sole, a 6mm drop, and a bit more protection than the other lighter TrailRocs. On paper they look like the right shoe for the job.

On their first outing today the TrailRocs were great; we did about 10 miles on track, footpath and road, in snow and ice and they were pretty much faultless.