Perfecting my second custom Tetra Pro: Bikefanclub.com

Hello folks. I was drinking my morning coffee and thinking about biking since there is a Bike Commute Month celebration I'm going to for the free meal and fun. With over 800 miles on my bike now I can give a definitive impression of it's ride characteristics, the choices that were made, and the ramifications of living with them.

I would start out by saying that a bicycle is a machine and it's a machine built to a purpose. Just like you can get an all-purpose machine, when you get one specialized for the job, it's been optimized to work better.

Living with the rack is one thing I'll comment on. I have a JANDD rack trunk on it. They do not fit together pefectly. The Jannd trunk would sit better on a wide platform of a regular rack. The Tubus rack I have is a small minimalist kind of rack. I also have some extra lash-ups I made with some nylon staps I had laying around. They are not really noticeable unless you have an eye for details. For an example of how handy the rac trunk is, on my last ride I carried in it my repair kit, spare tube, three apples, two bananas, two maps, my cell phone and a hand towel. No matter how fast I ride, turn and how hard I hit bumps the rack sits there stable and the only sounds are from the things inside that are being thrown around.

I had an issue with my FSA Gossamer crankset. The left hand fixing bolt came loose and fell off while I was riding. I did not notice it. A few miles later my left foot fell down, and at first I thought I had dropped my chain. The left crank arm had fallen off the splines. I got it back on and tightened it as much as I could and rode gingerly to my bike shop. My bike shop replaced the crank arm with a new one. I was told that more than one person has had that arm come loose on them. He told me if I had any problems any more that he would swap out my crank with a Shimano one for free.

Yesterday, during a rest I decided to check the tightness of the fixing bolt since I was told by my bike shop to keep an eye on it. I tweaked it maybe a sixteenth of a turn. The clamp bolts for the crank arm turned maybe an eight at most. I had heard some creaks only when I was standing and pushing hard on the pedals. Apparently I nailed the creek because I had no more after I had tightened the crank arm. I didn't use a torque wrench, and I didn't use a gorilla twist on the bolts. I'll have to keep an eye on this brank of crank arm.

Once the rainy season was over I removed my fenders. The execution of the fenders was not as elegant as I've seen on other bikes. I'll have to rethink that this next winter rainy season.

I like silence so I am happy that there are no creaks, rattles or whistles on my bike. At speed, when riding next to a wall I can hear the whirring of the chain running. I can hear a whisper sound coming from the wheels. I can hear the rythmic sound of the rotation of the cranks and my legs going past the seat tube and down tube.

No toe overlap. I have a slack geometry to push the front wheel out far enough so I would not have toe overlap with fenders mounted. The one place where it was an issue for me, making a hairpin turn to go up a levee gravel path. I find I still habitually am careful not to turn my front wheel to hard over. Stupid of me, really, since it no longer matters. As far as riding is concerned I can take turns faster than I used to more from practise and confidence than a difference in geometry. I can track a narrow line more easily on this bike compared to my last one. That is definately due to the more stable geometry.

My saddle is a Brooks B-17. I have found my saddle. Knowing a bit about leather I have it oiled up regularly with neatsfoot oil. That and the combination of shammy cream that has ended up on it has turned it from the tan of new leather to a shiny brown of used leather quite rapidly. Every time I get on that seat I am grateful for how it feels. It just fits my but right and the flexibilty of it works well for me. Saddles are personal so all I will say further is that I finally found the saddle that saves my butt from pain.

My gearing is the FSA compact 50/34 with the Shimano 12-27 cassette. My regular ride now runs about 47 miles in length, out and back. For the last ten miles of out it's all uphiill, not a steep grade, but steady, unrelenting. I find the 34/27 is low enough for the steepest grade that I can ride, which requires standing on the pedals. There is one steep access to the bike lane on a bridge over the river where I have to stand to pedal, otherwise I would have to walk my bike. I don't ride hills so much but am of the opinion that my bike would be adequate in rolling hills as well.

I have dropped my chain, flipping to the 34 while going up a hill a few times. Unfortunately front shifting on a bike with a 14 tooth ring difference still can be problematical. I have to be more careful to let it fall before I force my pedal down. I was in too much of a hurry. Normally, when I anticipate it would be better to be in the 34 ring, I have no issues with shifting.

Crank Brothers Candy pedals. I like them. Easy to clip in, very easy to twist out. Nothing more to say, they just work well.

Just to let you all know where my fitness level is at the moment, my ride yesterday was 47.5 miles at an average of 15.7 mph. I was not pushing hard, I was just riding my ride, feeling strong.

These were just some of the impressions I've gained from living with my bike.