First ride of the $20 bike was...

"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
06/21/2020 at 21:29 • Filed to: None

Fine.

Just fine.

I awoke to the replacement handle bars propped up against my front door. The chrome ones I wanted are still “on the way” so I popped downstairs, stripped the drop bars off, and got the new bars assembled. I went ahead and replaced the brake pads and cables too, cutting the new cables to match the old even though it made for an odd fit.

Then I went for a test drive and it was... fine.

Certainly some problems

I am deeply unfit, far more than I realized. After just a few blocks my muscles awoke from their slumber and started asking very pointed questions about what, exactly, the fuck I thought I was doing

I don’t like the new flat bar, but I do like it more than the drop bars. The geometry is just slightly not right for me. I’m considering going with larger drop bars, but not rushing to make that decision until I get more accustom to the bike and riding again.

The brake pads I had on hand are not great, so I have new ones on order

My feet/posture on the pedals is wrong such that if I do a big wheel turn the front wheel hits my feet, resulting in sudden unexpected wrongness

The bike’s lowest gear isn’t very low. Going up even a moderate hill is a bit much for my weak self

There is a 1/rev bump I can feel through the saddle. I assume this is an issue with the rear wheel/tube/tires

The welded on kickstand is beyond useless

Standing up and pedaling is terrifying

But in good news

I like the bike overall and will be keeping it as is for the time being (AKA it is being spared Craigslist or the 2-stroke treatment). I like the silent movement compared to even a mountain bike, but certainly compared to the cruiser bike

After some adjustment the friction derailleurs work more or less perfectly. Shifting the front cogs sometimes results in a jam, but otherwise no issues

My butt hurts, but not as much as I was expecting it to

All the bearings I replaced seem to be working as intended

So... overall I’m calling this project a win. I think this will be the last post on the matter unless I switch back to drop bars. It has been a fun project and I am interested to see where it takes me, but the “project” portion of it is mostly over.

!!! UNKNOWN HEADER TYPE (MULTI-LINE BREAK?) !!!

DISCUSSION (18)

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/21/2020 at 21:33

But SAAB! We need more SAAB!

atfsgeoff > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/21/2020 at 21:37

Man, that is one big honking headlight!

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
06/21/2020 at 21:37

Doh! Typo. We we NOW return to our regularly scheduled car content!

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/21/2020 at 22:20

Try r olling the handlebar back towards you a tad...and that front brake cable ‘should’ be out front rather than looping behind.

Toe overlap on road bikes is a real thing even with modern road bikes. So no surprise you have issues! You could try grippy MTB style flat pedals similar to th e OneUp composite (of which there are many knock offs).

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/21/2020 at 22:27

I wasn't sure whether it was a typo but it made for a hilariously abrupt ending.

Stef Schrader > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/21/2020 at 22:28

Oh man, I haven’t felt as out-of-shape in years as I have lately, especially after getting a bicycle to fart around on. I am a Puffalump. Yeesh.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/21/2020 at 23:40

Are those bars mounted the right way? It looks like they are swept forward instead of backward like they should be. Also, the logo typically goes to the front. The front brake cable housing is way too long for that bar. It should pass in front of and underneath the bar.

Those look like chrome rims. They aren’t going to have great braking performance no matter what you do. I recommend Kool Stop salmon brake pads. They offer excellent stopping performance and longevity and will give you the best you can expect from those rims.

Foot / front wheel overlap is pretty common. You’ll learn not to leave your feet parallel to the ground when making tight turns. To prevent overlap, the foot away from the turn should be down and the foot inside the turn should be up. That prevents front wheel overlap and avoids scraping a pedal on the pavement.

If there is a bump in the wheel or tire, it should be easy to find. Just lift the wheel off the ground and spin it. Make sure the tire bead is seated evenly. Also, road tires don’t like oversized inner tubes. If there’s a fold in the tube, you’ll feel it.

Feel free to reach out if you have questions. Remove “thereal” from my username and add a gmail on the end.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
06/22/2020 at 00:38

Thanks! I’ll hit you up if I get stumped.

Looooooooooooks like the bars are right to me? Not like they came with instructions haha. At least based on the customer photos I think I did it mostly right.

I’ll check on the brake pads. The ones I have on there are sort of hard plastic and the ones that were on there were more squish and seemed to work better. As-is they’re sufficient but could be better.

I’m relieved to hear the foot overlap is “normal” and not me donking up, but also that seems a weird thing to live with. I’m sure I’ll get used to it but seems like something that could/should have been designed out by now haha.

Good to know on the tire/wheel bumping. I think first step is to put the new tubes and tires on and see if that solves it.

Thanks again for all your help!

Nom De Plume > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/22/2020 at 01:13

My feet/posture on the pedals is wrong such that if I do a big wheel turn the front wheel hits my feet, resulting in sudden unexpected wrongness

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

I’m sure I’ll get used to it but seems like something that could/should have been designed out by now haha.

Technically it still exists when the tradeoffs are decided upon as worth it to accomplish a larger goal. Such as making the smallest frame sizes or enabling use of largish tires + fenders with road bike steering angles.

In all honesty the only reason I’ve persevered here was to see you get the dyno light working. Please feel free to make another post if that is still in the cards.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/22/2020 at 08:00

No problem!

It may be an optical illusion created by the camera angle, but it does look like the bars are sweeping forward instead of back. Imagine mounting a straight piece of pipe instead of bent bars. Now think of where the handlebars should end up in relation to that pipe. The bends in the center are called the rise and should carry the bars up and maybe slightly behind the clamp. The bars should sweep backward from there, taking the ends of the bars behind the clamp. The ends should also sweep slightly down.

It all gets a little weird because you’re using a riser bar with a road stem which is designed to be parallel to the ground. That angle is meant to move the rider forward into a more aerodynamic position. The bars you bought are meant to bring the rider up and backward, reducing the overall reach. The sweep also makes the flat bars a little more ergonomic so the final position doesn’t put as much pressure on your wrists.

I started writing a long introduction to bike fitting, but after writing for half an hour, I remembered that entire books ha ve been written on the subject and you probably don’t want to read it all. So, here are a few links that will help you find the right fit. If the frame you bought is fairly close, getting a good fit is a matter of finding the right saddle, adjusting its position, then finding the right handlebar and stem combination to get a comfortable reach to the bars.

https://gobiking.ca/resourceshow-to/good-bike-fit-fundamentals/

https://sqlab-usa.com/pages/arm-handlebar-ergonomics

https://livetoplaysports.com/news-press/2016/03/how-to-choose-the-right-stem/

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Nom De Plume
06/22/2020 at 10:21

Lol will do. Just for you, here is where I’m at with the dyno:

Against all odds it just straight up works right now with the traditional bulbs. It doesn’t have any holding power (no supercap or battery) which isn’t unexpected. The next step would be to see if I could do some sort of voltage stabilization on the cheap. The most straightforward would be hang a supercap off the output with a thermistor to limit inrush, if needed . This should be enough to keep the lights running at a brief stop and miiiiiiight allow the switch to LEDs. However even the high brightness 6V LEDs that will fit in those pods I’ve found are only 10 0ish lumens, which compared to the 4 00 you’d get from a cheap, modern light.... kinda hard to justify messing around with. Then again , I rarely run my front light at full...

Another option would be to slap together a battery/charging system in addition to the LED charge. Something can could top off a small USB battery to power/charge LED lights. This would eliminate the (possible) need for inrush limiting hardware and make the whole rig more “universal” but would require spe cing a charge controller. Those are cheap enough, I’m not in love with installing electronics onto the bike considering most nights it is going to have to sleep outside.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/22/2020 at 11:07

I think the handle bars may be on backwards, there should be some sweep back towards the rider and the lettering should face forward. That may help how it feels a lot.

Nom De Plume > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/22/2020 at 11:09

You need to keep in mind the lack of light pollution in the 60's made this a suitable amount of output to safely navigate with at speeds realistic on this bike. Bike and light were also nowhere near top of the line products to start with.

The dyno works as it should and feasibly would be replaced by a modern unit should you become endeared to the functionality it offers. That it works under load is job done as far as I’m concerned.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
06/22/2020 at 11:09

Yeah that is what I have been reading. As far as I can tell these do not, but the original one I ordered does and looks like it might actually get delivered some time this month. Will investigate further.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
06/22/2020 at 17:29

The bars I originally ordered came in today and I just pulled off the ones pictures. Yoooooooooou were right. They were on backwards. T hey do have a slight backwards rake and that would have made them a lot more comfortable. “New” ones are wider, have a higher lift, and a more dramatic rake, so I expect them to be even better.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
06/22/2020 at 17:30

The bars I originally ordered came in today and I just pulled off the ones pictures. Yoooooooooou were right. They were on backwards. They do have a slight backwards rake and that would have made them a lot more comfortable. “New” ones are wider, have a higher lift, and a more dramatic rake, so I expect them to be even better.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/22/2020 at 17:41

I’m glad that you have some new bars to try. You make find that putting the first set on the correct way might have been enough, but at least you have them for when you get a little more fit and want to try out a more aggres sive position. Now get those brakes squared away!

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/22/2020 at 18:05

Excellent. The new bars should be much better.