Apr 27, 2011 2
Here is an inspiring bit of news featuring an Xtracycle outfitted with electric assist to give the rider a little Xtra get up and go.
Bike based lifestyles take center stage as more people look for ways to beat rising gas prices, have more fun and get in shape at the same dern time!
Go Green & $ave $ome $erious Green with Xtracycle!
Feb 2, 2011 0
Kathleen is a PeaPod Pilot, turned mama-cyclist extraordinaire!
In her latest post, Kathleen shares 8 reasons to bike commute with your children. Her first reason is our favorite ’cause it’s true!
It’s fun:Mostly. Yes, sometimes it’s rainy and windy and we don’t wanna. But other times, we cycle through the raindrops singing “If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops, oh what a rain that would be!” Or we breeze along in the sun, soaking up the vitamin D.
8 Reasons To Bike Commute With Your Kids | Utility Cycling.
Jan 30, 2011 0
Rider of the week: Longtail commuter Riley Merline | Tucson Velo
Riley is a longtime cyclist, loving and riding his Gary Fisher hardtail for over 12 years, but recently upgraded his utility by adding an Xtracycle FreeRadical conversion kit.
The impetus for the upgrade was the dreaded, “I wish I didn’t have to carry everything in my backpack,” syndrome. Now, Riley doesn’t have to fret about what he can/can’t carry during his commute.
Congrats on the lifestyle upgrade, Riley and thanks Tucson Velo for the profile!
Ride on!
Jan 20, 2011 0
While working on this bike another snowy bike came in with the same problem, and so it went the whole day. Alexis and I pulled and flushed at least 15 cables yesterday. The problem is that Amsterdam bikes live outdoors, rain or shine. Tiny amounts of water drip and condense into the cable housings. On good quality bikes the cables are stainless steel and the housings are lined with polyethelene or another low friction plastic so the water doesn’t make much difference… until the thermometer goes below the freezing point. Then the cable freezes inside the housing. Usually it creates enough friction that pulling hard on the brake lever will overcome the friction, actuating the brake but the brake’s return spring cannot pull it back… thus locked brakes.So here’s what you do to fix or prevent a frozen cable:
- 1. Let it thaw.
- 2. Remove the crimped end cap and make sure the end of the cable isn’t unwound or damaged. If it is either rewind, shorten or replace the cable as necessary.
- 3. Remove any kinks in the cable so that it can easily be pulled and reinserted through the housing.
- 4. Pull the cable out.
- 5. Seal the nozzle of a compressed air pistol against the upper end of the housing and blow everything possible out of the housing.
- 6. Seal the dispenser straw of a suitable light oil against the brake lever end of the housing. It might be necessary to pull the housing cap to do this. We use a generic multipurpose oil with teflon but just about any light oil should work fine. Don’t use “dry” type lubricant because it won’t displace the water for long.
- 7. Spray the oil into the housing until it begins coming out the other end. [Dont't forget to put] a rag at the brake end of the housing to catch the oil coming out at great velocity.
- 8-9-10. Thread the cable back into the housing, readjust the brake and crimp a new end on.
This fix is valid for any brake or gear cable but I’m basically assuming the bike has roller brakes here. Drum brakes can pull their own freezing tricks and rim brakes simply aren’t suitable for storing outdoors and riding in snow country. Now the techies can ask me why I didn’t write anything about disk brakes.
Read the Full Post at Bakfiets en Meer » Blog Archive » Frozen Cable Time Again.
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