Almost Done!
Yes, I am making steady progress. It is a little longer than I thought, but I am learning a lot more than I ever thought I would about cycling.
I have been out riding a few times. The first times out I learned that the Essex County (NJ, USA) Parks Commission prohibits cyclists on the paved walking paths. This excludes many of the best visual locations to bike. On the other hand some parks do have paths that meet the allowance requirement of being paved and made for vehicles, whether vehicles are allowed on them or not.
Handlebar Angle & Seat Height
I also learned that at some point, someone had readjusted my handlebars and seat to painfully and dangerously awkward positions. There is a long story that involves my Bride giving away what she thought was her bike, which she had already done at least a year before at the time. To be honest, I forgot, too, because I spent hours looking for it (disorganized shed). I started developing Cyclists Palsy. The seat height made the bike unwieldy. Perhaps he (Jerome) had given this bike to a taller friend, because Jerome is no more than 66" (1.7m). I am 69" (1.8m). Yet, the seat was adjusted so high that I could barely lean into steering without nearly faling over. The drop handlebar was angled in such a way that the cables out of the break levers were angled between 45 and 60 degrees to the ground. That produced a braking angle for my wrist of about the same as the brake lever cables. After 12 miles of riding, OUCH! Back to "school" for education on cycling ergonomics. I actually changed from the Dia-Compe original handles to a pair of Shimano Deore. I researched how to get the correct angle and height on the seat, brake handles and handlebars.
Branch Brook Park, in Newark New Jersey, the internationally known crowning jewel of the Essex County Park system has a cycling-friendly path that is made for pedestrians and cyclists. I went to put in some miles and found the need for more work. I did not ride that day, except to check to see if my "roadside" adjustments resolved the issues I was experiencing. They did not. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful place. Once it got dark, I packed it up and went home. The good thing about this outing was that I also found that I had made the correct adjustments to the bars, handles and seat. The bike felt much more manageable.
Pre-forum/Pre-Research Cassette Purchase
The main problem was that I could not shift into all 11 gears. Either the lowest or highest couple of gears would be omitted. I took it home, and there realized that a website where I learned so much about drive trains was wrong on one point, well at least wrong if you use anything from VG. I had bought a VG 11-speed cassette before I did my research. Since I did not know much about VG, I decided to keep the rest of the drive train under the Shimano banner. I learned an important word in my drive train research, "index". I did not understand how it applied to bicycle parts until now. I realized that the index is the degree of movement from one gear to the other. The article that gave me the most and best guidance said that chains and cassettes can be mixed and matched, but not derailleurs and gearshift levers. The good news was that most brands are of compatible indices throughout most of their variety range. What I learned on inspection of how things were working was that the VG cassette index is not compatible with that of the Shimano Deore, so it was back to the house that Jeff buit again.
Pre-forum/Pre-Research Chain Purchase+Original Crankset
I go out for a test run after replacing the VG with a Shimano Deore cassette. The rear derailleur and cassette are excellent together. The bicycle is not only manageable now. It now feels like an extension of my body. This is how it felt before my hiatus. I got the derailleur to engage all 11 gears. Now we move to the front derailleur. It would not shift to the high sprocket. Now, if I wanted only 11 speeds, this would be fine. Leaving it this way would beg the question, why embark upon this journey and give up a gear range!?! Back in the lab, I got the derailleur, by only adjusting the front derailleur high and low screws to change to both high and low. Yay! I had 22 speeds!!! Well, not really. Remember, this was originally a 12-speed (2x6) rig. The lowest gear on the 6-speed hub was maybe half the size of that on the 11-speed cassette. In the lowest gear or two with the original crankset, a number of things happened. The non-Shimano chain was stretched fully. Only one sprocket on the rear derailleur was engaged. Resistance and friction were increased to destructive levels. As i type I await the delivery of a replacement Shimano Diore crankset that is made for 10 to 11 speed Deore cassettes. I expect delivery on Tuesday, 5 November, 2024. I also ordered the appropriate bottom barrel. As they say, it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Returns are easy and free.
Stay tuned.
