Dukester said:
decided to make the 7 mile commute to work on it. "I'm gonna FLY!" Again,
just awful. I was huffing the entire way - 48 minutes, what the ?? At one
point I thought I was going to have to get off and walk the bike. What is
the deal!? It does not coast very far when I stop pedalling, hardly at all
compared to my Schwinn. I tossed it off as a couple of bad riding days and
went back to the Schwinn...nope, no problem. I tried it one more time, same
thing.I've never owned more than one bike at a time. Is it just me adjusting to a
new bike or is there a mechanical problem underlying this? The brake pads
are not rubbing, the chain looks fine. What should I be looking for!?
When you pick the bike up and spin a wheel with your hand, what happens?
Does the wheel quickly stop? If so, then the bearings are all gummed up
and need re-packing. But I can't imagine the guy at the LBS would not
point that out to you. How about the cranks; do they rotate freely? If
not, same thing.
A bike that has been sitting for years would need to have all the bearings
re-packed. Grease does not evaporate away quickly, but eventually it will
become a hard blob.
Are you sure nothing is rubbing? Those old brakes tend to have a habit of
being inconsistent. Sometimes they will center properly, and other times
they won't.
--
David L. Johnson
__o | You will say Christ saith this and the apostles say this; but
_`\(,_ | what canst thou say? -- George Fox.
(_)/ (_) |