Baron Owners Group



Hi Mark,
There seems to be an ever increasing number of Baron owners in the
U.S. as well as other countries, and I think a Baron owners group was
a bit overdue. We have 31 members at the moment, but no doubt there
are many that are not yet aware of the existence of the Baron owners
group...

Don

"Mark Leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<8C2Cc.132178$3x.61329@attbi_s54>...
> "Don Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > For interested Optima Baron owners, there is now a Baron Owners Group on

> yahoo.
> >
> > http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/BaronOwners/
> >
> > Don

>
> GOD BLESS YOU!
>
> (I've been looking for something like that for ages)
 
Hi Tom,
I plan on letting Dries know about the group as soon as I find out
what I did with his e-mail address. I will also make Optima aware of
the group...

Don

Tom Sherman <[email protected]> wrote in message:
> Don Smith wrote:
>
> > For interested Optima Baron owners, there is now a Baron Owners Group on yahoo.
> >
> > http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/BaronOwners/
> >
> > Don

>
> Has Dries Baron been invited to join the group?
 
On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 12:48:32 -0700, Don Smith wrote:

> Hi Mark,
> There seems to be an ever increasing number of Baron owners in the
> U.S. as well as other countries, and I think a Baron owners group was
> a bit overdue.


At risk of seeming a spoilsport, I don't see any particular reason to
start a whole new group just about Barons. I like to read a little about
all kinds of bikes, not just the one I ride.

AC
 
AC,
I`m sure all our members would disagree with your view of our group,
or they wouldn`t have joined. We have some members in the BaronOwners
group, myself included, that are very knowledgeable with this
particular bike, and can offer valuable technical advice and
information to those Baron owners that seek it. I think its very
convenient to have a place to go to when you need good reliable info
or technical assistance from other owners of the same bike that you
ride...

Don


Don Smith wrote:
>
> > Hi Mark,
> > There seems to be an ever increasing number of Baron owners in the
> > U.S. as well as other countries, and I think a Baron owners group was
> > a bit overdue.


>anonymous coward <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> At risk of seeming a spoilsport, I don't see any particular reason to
> start a whole new group just about Barons. I like to read a little about
> all kinds of bikes, not just the one I ride.
>
> AC
 
"anonymous coward" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 12:48:32 -0700, Don Smith wrote:
>
> > Hi Mark,
> > There seems to be an ever increasing number of Baron owners in the
> > U.S. as well as other countries, and I think a Baron owners group was
> > a bit overdue.

>
> At risk of seeming a spoilsport, I don't see any particular reason to
> start a whole new group just about Barons. I like to read a little about
> all kinds of bikes, not just the one I ride.
>
> AC


Its not a newsgroup like this one, just a Yahoo forum. Its been a major pain
finding anyone else with a Baron in the US, if you do a Google you end up
finding mostly euro web pages which, while nice, don't quite show what I am
looking for.
 
> AC,
> I`m sure all our members would disagree with your view of our group,
> or they wouldn`t have joined.


Well, good luck to you.

> We have some members in the BaronOwners
> group, myself included, that are very knowledgeable with this
> particular bike, and can offer valuable technical advice and
> information to those Baron owners that seek it.


Are Baron's so very different from other lowracers, that there's no
transfer?

> I think its very
> convenient to have a place to go to when you need good reliable info
> or technical assistance from other owners of the same bike that you
> ride...


It may be that I'm missing something, but I never find it easy to search
Yahoo groups, in the way that Google can scan the newsgroup archives. For
a while I thought very seriously about buying a Baron, but I'd probably
never have found any posts about them that were sent to a Yahoo group.

AC
 
AC,
Let me give you an example of some technical info one might receive on
the BaronOwners group regarding the installation of a carbon fiber
boom on a Baron, and then you decide if this is information you would
like to have if you had a Baron and were contemplating the purchase of
a carbon boom for it:

Let`s say that someone had purchased a Baron Discus, which has a
triple crank, and after riding it for a couple months, decided they
would like to make the bike a bit lighter. They notice that Optima is
now selling a carbon fiber boom for the Baron and would like to
purchase one for their bike. If they just go ahead and purchase the
carbon boom without prior knowledge what they will need to do to make
it work, they may be in for a rude awakening when they put it on the
bike, and here is why....the deraileur tube is located in the middle
of the boom,(hopefully they will eventually be manufactured
offset)while the stock boom has an offset deraileur tube. Even at
maximum adjustment, a deraileur such as an Ultegra triple, will not be
able to shift the chain onto the large chainring due to the location
of the deraileur tube...it is too far away. To get around this
problem, the deraileur must be moved closer to the chainrings. This
can be accomplished by making a spacer from a piece of aluminum tube
that has an O.D. of 1-3/8" and an I.D. of 1-1/8"....it will need to be
about 5/8" wide, with a slot cut through one side. Slide the spacer
over the 1-1/8" deraileur tube, then slide a deraileur with a 1-3/8"
clamp over the spacer and clamp it down in the proper position. This
will effectively move the deraileur close enough to the chainrings to
allow the deraileur enough range to shift the chain onto the large
ring. Bottom bracket spindle length should be about 118mm. Other
things to consider are...there is no cable stop on the carbon boom for
the deraileur cable, but a 1-1/8" clamp-on cable stop works well.
Also, since the finish of the carbon boom is so smooth and shiny, it
tends to slip sideways when enough pressure is applied to the pedals.
The cure for this, is to scuff up the portion of the boom that fits
into the frame with a ScotchBrite pad and then spray the scuffed up
area with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive or something similar and then
insert it into the frame tube after letting it dry a minute or
two...this will cure the slipping, while still allowing the boom to be
easily removed again if necessary for some reason. Also, finding a
high quality deraileur with a 1-3/8" clamp is extremely difficult, if
not impossible. Best thing to do, if a Dura Ace/Ultegra quality
deraileur is preferred, is to purchase a braze-on deraileur and a
1-3/8" clamp adapter. Anyway, one thing that should be mentioned, is
that the low Baron`s different frame geometry requires the deraileur
tube to be at a more radical angle than the standard Baron. Kamil at
Velokraft(manufacturer of the carbon booms sold by Optima)can make the
carbon boom with a custom deraileur tube angle.....30 degrees works
well for the low Baron...

Don

anonymous coward <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > AC,
> > I`m sure all our members would disagree with your view of our group,
> > or they wouldn`t have joined.

>
> Well, good luck to you.
>
> > We have some members in the BaronOwners
> > group, myself included, that are very knowledgeable with this
> > particular bike, and can offer valuable technical advice and
> > information to those Baron owners that seek it.

>
> Are Baron's so very different from other lowracers, that there's no
> transfer?
>
> > I think its very
> > convenient to have a place to go to when you need good reliable info
> > or technical assistance from other owners of the same bike that you
> > ride...

>
> It may be that I'm missing something, but I never find it easy to search
> Yahoo groups, in the way that Google can scan the newsgroup archives. For
> a while I thought very seriously about buying a Baron, but I'd probably
> never have found any posts about them that were sent to a Yahoo group.
>
> AC
 
Don,

I've been and had a browse of your group, and it does seem to be going
well - lots of interesting posts; places for photos; no political rows to
wade through. It's a great group and I can see why people like it.

I didn't mean to offend - it's just a bugbear of mine that if I ever need
to search the internet for specific information it generally gets harder
if the people discussing it are on closed groups. And mostly I use
newsgroups for problem-solving and for this, diversity often seems to be
the key.

For example quite a lot of your post below is of interest to me. I built a
(metal) boom a couple of years back and had to think about many of the
spacing / angle issues that you discussed - I didn't realise they were
even issues until I thought about them quite hard. I also have problems
with the boom on my bike slipping - it's not a carbon boom but it has a
plastic finish that slips occasionally. I've been meaning to do a search /
ask the group for their solutions for some time now.

Regards,

AC



On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 09:20:09 -0700, Don Smith wrote:

> AC,
> Let me give you an example of some technical info one might receive on
> the BaronOwners group regarding the installation of a carbon fiber
> boom on a Baron, and then you decide if this is information you would
> like to have if you had a Baron and were contemplating the purchase of
> a carbon boom for it:
>
> Let`s say that someone had purchased a Baron Discus, which has a
> triple crank, and after riding it for a couple months, decided they
> would like to make the bike a bit lighter. They notice that Optima is
> now selling a carbon fiber boom for the Baron and would like to
> purchase one for their bike. If they just go ahead and purchase the
> carbon boom without prior knowledge what they will need to do to make
> it work, they may be in for a rude awakening when they put it on the
> bike, and here is why....the deraileur tube is located in the middle
> of the boom,(hopefully they will eventually be manufactured
> offset)while the stock boom has an offset deraileur tube. Even at
> maximum adjustment, a deraileur such as an Ultegra triple, will not be
> able to shift the chain onto the large chainring due to the location
> of the deraileur tube...it is too far away. To get around this
> problem, the deraileur must be moved closer to the chainrings. This
> can be accomplished by making a spacer from a piece of aluminum tube
> that has an O.D. of 1-3/8" and an I.D. of 1-1/8"....it will need to be
> about 5/8" wide, with a slot cut through one side. Slide the spacer
> over the 1-1/8" deraileur tube, then slide a deraileur with a 1-3/8"
> clamp over the spacer and clamp it down in the proper position. This
> will effectively move the deraileur close enough to the chainrings to
> allow the deraileur enough range to shift the chain onto the large
> ring. Bottom bracket spindle length should be about 118mm. Other
> things to consider are...there is no cable stop on the carbon boom for
> the deraileur cable, but a 1-1/8" clamp-on cable stop works well.
> Also, since the finish of the carbon boom is so smooth and shiny, it
> tends to slip sideways when enough pressure is applied to the pedals.
> The cure for this, is to scuff up the portion of the boom that fits
> into the frame with a ScotchBrite pad and then spray the scuffed up
> area with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive or something similar and then
> insert it into the frame tube after letting it dry a minute or
> two...this will cure the slipping, while still allowing the boom to be
> easily removed again if necessary for some reason. Also, finding a
> high quality deraileur with a 1-3/8" clamp is extremely difficult, if
> not impossible. Best thing to do, if a Dura Ace/Ultegra quality
> deraileur is preferred, is to purchase a braze-on deraileur and a
> 1-3/8" clamp adapter. Anyway, one thing that should be mentioned, is
> that the low Baron`s different frame geometry requires the deraileur
> tube to be at a more radical angle than the standard Baron. Kamil at
> Velokraft(manufacturer of the carbon booms sold by Optima)can make the
> carbon boom with a custom deraileur tube angle.....30 degrees works
> well for the low Baron...
>
> Don
>
> anonymous coward <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>> > AC,
>> > I`m sure all our members would disagree with your view of our group,
>> > or they wouldn`t have joined.

>>
>> Well, good luck to you.
>>
>> > We have some members in the BaronOwners
>> > group, myself included, that are very knowledgeable with this
>> > particular bike, and can offer valuable technical advice and
>> > information to those Baron owners that seek it.

>>
>> Are Baron's so very different from other lowracers, that there's no
>> transfer?
>>
>> > I think its very
>> > convenient to have a place to go to when you need good reliable info
>> > or technical assistance from other owners of the same bike that you
>> > ride...

>>
>> It may be that I'm missing something, but I never find it easy to search
>> Yahoo groups, in the way that Google can scan the newsgroup archives. For
>> a while I thought very seriously about buying a Baron, but I'd probably
>> never have found any posts about them that were sent to a Yahoo group.
>>
>> AC
 
"Don Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> AC,
> Let me give you an example of some technical info one might receive on
> the BaronOwners group regarding the installation of a carbon fiber
> boom on a Baron, and then you decide if this is information you would
> like to have if you had a Baron and were contemplating the purchase of
> a carbon boom for it:
>
> Let`s say that someone had purchased a Baron Discus, which has a
> triple crank, and after riding it for a couple months, decided they
> would like to make the bike a bit lighter. They notice that Optima is
> now selling a carbon fiber boom for the Baron and would like to
> purchase one for their bike. If they just go ahead and purchase the
> carbon boom without prior knowledge what they will need to do to make
> it work, they may be in for a rude awakening when they put it on the
> bike, and here is why....the deraileur tube is located in the middle
> of the boom,(hopefully they will eventually be manufactured
> offset)while the stock boom has an offset deraileur tube. Even at
> maximum adjustment, a deraileur such as an Ultegra triple, will not be
> able to shift the chain onto the large chainring due to the location
> of the deraileur tube...it is too far away. To get around this
> problem, the deraileur must be moved closer to the chainrings. This
> can be accomplished by making a spacer from a piece of aluminum tube
> that has an O.D. of 1-3/8" and an I.D. of 1-1/8"....it will need to be
> about 5/8" wide, with a slot cut through one side. Slide the spacer
> over the 1-1/8" deraileur tube, then slide a deraileur with a 1-3/8"
> clamp over the spacer and clamp it down in the proper position. This
> will effectively move the deraileur close enough to the chainrings to
> allow the deraileur enough range to shift the chain onto the large
> ring. Bottom bracket spindle length should be about 118mm. Other
> things to consider are...there is no cable stop on the carbon boom for
> the deraileur cable, but a 1-1/8" clamp-on cable stop works well.
> Also, since the finish of the carbon boom is so smooth and shiny, it
> tends to slip sideways when enough pressure is applied to the pedals.
> The cure for this, is to scuff up the portion of the boom that fits
> into the frame with a ScotchBrite pad and then spray the scuffed up
> area with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive or something similar and then
> insert it into the frame tube after letting it dry a minute or
> two...this will cure the slipping, while still allowing the boom to be
> easily removed again if necessary for some reason. Also, finding a
> high quality deraileur with a 1-3/8" clamp is extremely difficult, if
> not impossible. Best thing to do, if a Dura Ace/Ultegra quality
> deraileur is preferred, is to purchase a braze-on deraileur and a
> 1-3/8" clamp adapter. Anyway, one thing that should be mentioned, is
> that the low Baron`s different frame geometry requires the deraileur
> tube to be at a more radical angle than the standard Baron. Kamil at
> Velokraft(manufacturer of the carbon booms sold by Optima)can make the
> carbon boom with a custom deraileur tube angle.....30 degrees works
> well for the low Baron...
>
> Don


Interesting because I was on Optima's website yesterday and was looking at
that boom :)

Bought the low racer rack and bag instead
 
"anonymous coward" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 12:48:32 -0700, Don Smith wrote:
>
> > Hi Mark,
> > There seems to be an ever increasing number of Baron owners in the
> > U.S. as well as other countries, and I think a Baron owners group was
> > a bit overdue.

>
> At risk of seeming a spoilsport, I don't see any particular reason to
> start a whole new group just about Barons. I like to read a little about
> all kinds of bikes, not just the one I ride.
>
> AC


I can think of plenty of reasons for having a site for an individual bike
like the Baron

For instance I went through 6 handlebar bags before I settled on one I liked
(soon to be replaced tho)

I ordered the back rack only to find it heavier and in my opinion uglier
than a standard rack, it will work if I go long distance but for now it
stays off the bike.

Best mirrors to use (I went through 2 sets of them before settling on B&M's

Lifespan of a particular brand of tires.

Who's ridden long distance on one in a day (my personal best is 123 miles)

Best components and how to install them etc.

While I don't care for the Yahoo format I'll live with it just for the
information, I can see something like this for any brand of bike
 
anonymous coward wrote:

> Don,
>
> I've been and had a browse of your group, and it does seem to be going
> well - lots of interesting posts; places for photos; no political rows to
> wade through....


Have these "political rows" ever occurred on alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent
- did I miss something?

--
Tom Sherman – Quad City Area
 
Hi AC,
I think it is likely that spraying the end of your boom with the
adhesive spray will keep your boom from slipping also. What I
especially like about using the spray adhesive, is that it has worked
so well that the clamping bolts don`t need to be overly tight, which I
don`t think would be a good thing on a carbon boom anyway. If a boom
somehow slipped even after spraying, I would probably try spraying the
inside of the frame tube also. If the boom needed to be removed at
some point in time and was stubborn coming apart, heating the frame
tube/boom with a hair dryer should soften the adhesive enough to get
it apart.

Don

anonymous coward <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Don,
>
> I've been and had a browse of your group, and it does seem to be going
> well - lots of interesting posts; places for photos; no political rows to
> wade through. It's a great group and I can see why people like it.
>
> I didn't mean to offend - it's just a bugbear of mine that if I ever need
> to search the internet for specific information it generally gets harder
> if the people discussing it are on closed groups. And mostly I use
> newsgroups for problem-solving and for this, diversity often seems to be
> the key.
>
> For example quite a lot of your post below is of interest to me. I built a
> (metal) boom a couple of years back and had to think about many of the
> spacing / angle issues that you discussed - I didn't realise they were
> even issues until I thought about them quite hard. I also have problems
> with the boom on my bike slipping - it's not a carbon boom but it has a
> plastic finish that slips occasionally. I've been meaning to do a search /
> ask the group for their solutions for some time now.
>
> Regards,
>
> AC
 
"Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> anonymous coward wrote:
>
> > Don,
> >
> > I've been and had a browse of your group, and it does seem to be going
> > well - lots of interesting posts; places for photos; no political rows

to
> > wade through....

>
> Have these "political rows" ever occurred on alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent
> - did I miss something?


Are they talking about ARBR? Or have I just entered the Twilight Zone?
Obviously, they need to hang around here for a longer period of time and
they will soon learn that ARBR is anything but peaceful and orderly - most
especially when I am posting on a thread. If I don't know how to do anything
else, at least I do know how to rile everybody and then to get them to the
point where they want to talk about nothing but kill filing - always an
interesting subject here on ARBR.

--
Ed Dolan - Minnesota