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>...

> 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
 
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