Got a weird fork leak problem, I first noticed that the fork had lost air before I put the volume spacers in, I suspected that the air cap wasn't tight enough but the problem hasn't gone away. The fork is less than 1yr old and gets the stanchions cleaned after every ride, I confirmed that the air spring chamber is well-lubricated, that the cap O-ring looks good, and I tried changing the schrader valve in the cap, but the problem continues. It seems to only happen while riding, it won't lose any pressure if left to sit for 24hrs, but yesterday evening it went from 110 to 90psi over a 1.5hr ride. It seems far more likely that this was caused by micro-cracks in the stanchion than worn air spring piston seals on such a new fork, it's a pretty cheap fork so maybe shotgunning a replacement one on would be the best solution?
In reply to GameboyRMH :
Maybe the surface finish of the stanchions or flexing could cause you to burp out some air? What size fork and axle standard is it? I know a guy with some 26er bits.
Keith Tanner said:
ChrisTropea said:
I have a Shimano clipless setup on my road bikes but for my mountain bike I ride flats because I am too terrified of being stuck to the bike if I crash.
After almost crashing in the 80s because I wasn't attached to my bike, I ride clipped in on the mountain bike. I know it's not cool anymore but I like what being able to lift on the pedals does for my riding and it's what I've been used to for (mumble mumble) years. I use Crank Brothers pedals with a fairly loose cleat, so unclipping is about as difficult as getting one of those gummy skate shoes to relinquish a set of bear claw pedals. You just move your foot sideways instead of up.
Don't get me started on Bluetooth shifters. And get off my lawn!
I feel like I'm the only one riding clipped-in these days (SPD). Everyone seems to be wearing flats. Riding has also changed a lot. When I started riding in the 90s there weren't wooden structures where failure to unclip would be catastrophic. Nowadays all of the local trails add obstacles that are narrow & a few feet off the ground.
Not sure I posted this yet, picked up a used Catrike Expedition. It's a real trip and kind of frightning to ride when you realize how low to the ground you are. No city streets yet, only a few bike trails here and there.
In reply to Brotus7 :
This one's a 29er with a 100mm QR axle, the stanchion surface still looks flawless on the outside (apart from a couple chips above max travel it had since new) and the inside. Flexing could be a possibility, but I would've expected that to start from day one rather than so many months in.
Hoondavan said:
I feel like I'm the only one riding clipped-in these days (SPD). Everyone seems to be wearing flats. Riding has also changed a lot. When I started riding in the 90s there weren't wooden structures where failure to unclip would be catastrophic. Nowadays all of the local trails add obstacles that are narrow & a few feet off the ground.
I fear my feet coming off the pedals more than not being able to take them off - typically not being able to take your feet off causes a stop-and-drop, while having them come off unintentionally causes high-speed wrecks, often on landings. I run the dual-sided pedals so I can switch to flats on the fly for skinnies or anything where I'd want to be able to put a foot down quickly. I also don't think I could go back from circular pedaling.
So I decided to take the fork apart myself to see if there was anything I could fix, the inside of the spring stanchion has a mirror finish, the only possible issue I found was what looks like some scuffs on the sides of the air spring piston and a nick in the middle O-ring. It looks like it may be on twisted too. I guess I should try to replace this O-ring or at least rotate it?
I think rotating the seal and greasing it up is a good idea. It looks like that seal carrier or bushing was rubbing against something. Does that sit in the fork lower stanchion? It isn't a sealing surface itself, but could wear the bore the seals ride in with time. Probably something to keep an eye on.
That piston sits in the upper stanchion, driven by a shaft bolted to the bottom of the lower stanchion.
Rotated the O-ring and lubed everything up and put it back together, I'll take it for a ride tomorrow and see how much pressure it loses.
So the I took it for a nearly 2hr ride today, confirmed beforehand that it didn't lose any pressure while sitting, tried to work the suspension a lot including a 3ft drop to flat as a stress test, and after the ride...no more pressure loss! Guess it's fixed!
BTW here's a saddle that I'm happy enough with that I've started stockpiling them...just one spare for now since they seem to still be in production. Decent weight, very comfy, good ventilation, very strong rails:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005632936583.html
I use Brooks cambium saddles on everything. Find a saddle that is right for you is quite an adventure in cycling. Glad you found a good one for you!
And last night / this morning I was driving the Trace on the way to and from work. I never knew there was a Trace 444 event.... 444 miles in 3 days. That sounds like a bit much. Apparently the fastest riders do it all at once. Lots of support vehicles and a few motor homes about for support. I want to ride the entire Trace someday, but not like this!
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
I might be biking the Natchez Trace next year. Not the 444 but some other guys in my cycling club are talking about putting together a group and taking about a week or so to bike it.
moxnix said:
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
I might be biking the Natchez Trace next year. Not the 444 but some other guys in my cycling club are talking about putting together a group and taking about a week or so to bike it.
I've tought about bikepacking the Trace myself at some point. I have the bike and gear to do it. I would want to take 6-9 days depending myself. It's a lot harder to map out than the Katy trail was (and I only got to do half of it). I'd like to go back and do the entire Katy especially since it gets all the way to KC now.
moxnix
Dork
9/30/23 11:45 p.m.
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
The Katy trail is good. I did that with my dad and brother last year. I did the Erie canalway trail this year with the group that is talking about the Natchez Trace next year. I have also done the Gap/C&O
moxnix said:
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
The Katy trail is good. I did that with my dad and brother last year. I did the Erie canalway trail this year with the group that is talking about the Natchez Trace next year. I have also done the Gap/C&O
All of those sound amazing! I'd love to hear more about your bike, gear and logistics of these longer tours.
Went on an...eye-opening ride at the Hydrocut with adam525i yesterday. First proper ride with the new 29er on a real MTB trail, I tried one closer to me before but the frame's original bottom bracket bearing promptly lunched itself so that ride was cut quite short. Things I learned:
- I'm actually only fit by average couch-potato standards
- The new 29er is still pretty short for proper MTB trails
- My usual riding regimen of cruising fairly smooth trails and occasionally taking the bike off some sweet jumps led me to set the suspension vastly too hard for anything in-between
- MTB hydraulic brakes are way more finicky and deceptive than those on a car
- Fork continues to hold pressure
Here's the section of the Hydrocut I did least badly on:
Some trails around Kitchener:
New to-do list after this ride:
- Replace shoe cleats (done)
- Soften suspension as much as possible without causing excessive sag or bottoming (in progress)
- Stress-test front derailleur and tune to minimize chain drops
- Get a full brake bleed done by a shop
moxnix said:
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
The Katy trail is good. I did that with my dad and brother last year. I did the Erie canalway trail this year with the group that is talking about the Natchez Trace next year. I have also done the Gap/C&O
Were you singing that song from the Blues Brothers while you rode? "She caught the Katy, and left me a mule to ride..."
travellering said:
moxnix said:
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
The Katy trail is good. I did that with my dad and brother last year. I did the Erie canalway trail this year with the group that is talking about the Natchez Trace next year. I have also done the Gap/C&O
Were you singing that song from the Blues Brothers while you rode? "She caught the Katy, and left me a mule to ride..."
No I can't say I thought of that one on the Katy. But I was singing the Low Bridge song while biking the Erie canal.
moxnix
Dork
10/3/23 10:22 p.m.
AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:
moxnix said:
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
The Katy trail is good. I did that with my dad and brother last year. I did the Erie canalway trail this year with the group that is talking about the Natchez Trace next year. I have also done the Gap/C&O
All of those sound amazing! I'd love to hear more about your bike, gear and logistics of these longer tours.
When doing the Gap/C&O since I was doing it with my dad my mom dropped us off in Pittsburgh and my wife picked me up in D.C. at the finish. Living in the D.C. area helps with that one. You do have the option of taking the train from D.C. to Pittsburgh or reverse with the bike but need to reserve in advance. I was riding my novara safari for that trip. That is the old REI brand touring bike.
Here is a picture of it at milepost 0 in D.C. If you plan to do the GAP/C&O make sure you read up on how to get to milepost 0 it is a bit hidden.
Bike: 2014 Novara Safari
Bags : Front bag Ortleib ultimate six compact handlebar bag. Panniers are Toba Pat?. They are older and not available anymore. They are from the first time I did the full C&O in 2011.
Sleeping pad and a chair on top of the rear rack and all tent/cooking gear/food/clothing in the panniers. This was very rear heavy.
---------
Doing the Katy Trail my mom ended up being SAG so we did not have to carry much with us.
moxnix
Dork
10/3/23 11:33 p.m.
For the Erie Canal trail.
I was on my new gravel bike. This was with a group from the local cycling club so a much faster ride.
Bike : 2022 Giant Revolt Advanced 3.
Bags : The front handlebar bag : Ortleib ultimate six compact handlebar bag. Top tube bag : REI Link. Frame bag : Revelate Designs Ripio. Feed bag : Revelate Designs mountain feed bag. Rear panniers : ortleib back roller plus. front panniers : ortleib fork pack. and a Po Campo rear top bag. I brought to much stuff. My bike ended up at 80+ lbs like this.
Ride was from buffalo to albany
Logistics : Parked at Albany train station and took the 281 Empire Service amtrak train to Buffalo. Only a few bike spots on each train so some of our group took the early train. Spent the night in Buffalo and spent the next 6 days riding 50-70 miles a day in the rain every other day to get back to buffalo.
Lodging : I packed a tent but other people in our group spent the nights in hotels so at least for that trip there were options. We did have one night planned for a hotel just because no good camping options at the mileage we needed to do that day and ended up with one more hotel night because it just rained hard all day.
Food : We planned on eating at restaurants for lunch every day. Breakfast was planned to be at camp. Dinner was also planned to be at camp on camping nights. With the rain we hit we ended up hitting up a few more restaurants for dinner than our plan but everybody was pretty flexible about that.
If you have specific questions about tours or gear let me know.
Got my bike back from the shop and ended up learning another thing: Brake pad material running low can feel a bit like air in the lines.
In reply to moxnix :
Looks nice! I love my Ortlieb bags. I need to use them more!
A local guy posted this for sale for $100 on Saturday, and about 20-minutes later was dropping it off at my door.
It's an old 2hip frame with possibly S&M forks & some 48 spoke wheels. I didn't really have a use for it, but I don't like my 2009 Haro & have been thinking about gathering parts for a new-school build. Before I dump money into that I decided to combine what I had & tossed this together a couple nights ago.
At ~30lbs it's way heavier than I want for my next bike, but it should help me pinpoint what size & geometry I want.
