Planning to ride in So Cal, Flat protection advice

[CAMPYBOB]

It sounds like your Sora front derailleur is not set up correctly. Old Bobcat and/or the shimaNO tech doc web page can get you headed in the right direction. There are some very important details that need to be followed when setting up and dialing in shimaNO derailleurs.

In thinking about upgrading to a 105 (or any other changer for that matter) front derailleur, make sure it is compatible with your shift levers or you will have to upgrade those, also. The 105, when properly set up is a decent unit. It's not the most rapid shifting changer, but it is very solid and accurate.

 

[alfeng]

The one on the Sirrus doesn't step cleanly for up or down shift.
Says double on the shifter but IMO it acts like a triple. (3x)
When I down shift, it goes 1/2 way when I pull the lever, then let go & it goes to the stop.
But just push the up shift lever a tad & it clicks up to a different detent position.
Same happens on the up shift,

The Sram I have on the Kona, is 1 push & click up detent position & 1 push & click down.
Don't have the 3 click detent positions like the Sora shifter. Sometimes going up I hear /feel the click
but there is just a tad more to go for the next click so the derailleur hits the stop & don't rub.
The Sora seems to be a ratchet type shifting up, takes 2 pushes to get it into the right position.

Another thin I noticed, (which is probably just getting used to riding & preferences)
I ride with my index fingers on top , touching the brake levers, I have to move them off the brake
to pull the Sora shifter where the Sram is a thumb push for up & a thumb push for down.

Having hydraulic brakes, one finger is enough force & might be a habit I need to change.

Can see a reason to go with one type of shifter on all your bikes
& with no standards,
if you change shifters, you have to change the derailleur to match.

HMMmmm ...

AFAIK, there has never been a retail version of a SRAM front shifter which has had any trim capability for the front derailleur ...

It's a philosophical choice by their bean counters which their "engineers" do not try to over-rule ...

Instead, SRAM's solution was to convince people that they do not need more than one Chainring!!!!.

While you may not think it is the case right now, having "trim" is a good thing!
​

Presuming you have Drop handlebars on the bike you plan to ride, if you opt for 10-speed Campagnolo shifters, you can continue to use your existing derailleurs ...

FYI. Apparently, I cannot say this often enough ...

Unlike setting up a front derailleur with either Shimano or SRAM shifter, IMO, it does NOT take any finesse or luck to set up a front derailleur when using a post-1993 (that's right, more than 20 years of easy front-and-rear derailleur set up) Campagnolo shifter.​

Heck, get a pair of 11-speed Campagnolo shifters if you prefer the hood style!

BTW. I don't have any recent Shimano MTB shifters, but the older ones which I have do not have a provision for "trimming" the front derailleur.

 

[Flatbardave]

It sounds like your Sora front derailleur is not set up correctly. Old Bobcat and/or the shimaNO tech doc web page can get you headed in the right direction. There are some very important details that need to be followed when setting up and dialing in shimaNO derailleurs.

I keep thinking the same thing. I got online & went thru it step by step.
I mean come on, 2 gears, shifter says double, Sora shifter & derailleur, should be simple.

Gonna be packing it up soon, I can live with it, it works, it shifts, just not smooth.

I must be missing something. Might mess with it again today. 10° & snow here.

Didn't see anything online about getting inside the shifter & tweaking it.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

1st time over 100k, not gonna push it.

If you can do 62 miles, you can do 100. The main thing is to stay hydrated and eat something to keep yourself energized.

More experienced century riders can get by on gels, bars etc but I say eat something at about 50 miles.Eat somethignsolid like a turkery sandwich. I bleieve the big rest stop serves sandwiches at about 59 miles, eat one!

I've done a century that climbs 10,000 ft a few times and the key for me is to eat a sandwich. If I try to get by on gels on this kind of a ride I feel empty. If I eat something solid, I have enough gas to lift the pace at the end.

 

[Flatbardave]

Wow
10,000 feet climb & 100 miles, On a sandwich
I'd need Oxygen bottles at the SAGs

I'm a pancake & egg breakfast person, so will have to eat before the ride too.
Retired & I'm getting up before daylight to ride a bike100 miles , I'm nuts. LOL

TDPS is a just a 1,000 ft climb
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/10981260

 

[Mr. Beanz]

Wow
10,000 feet climb & 100 miles, On a sandwich
I'd need Oxygen bottles at the SAGs

I'm a pancake & egg breakfast person, so will have to eat before the ride too.
Retired & I'm getting up before daylight to ride a bike100 miles , I'm nuts. LOL

TDPS is a just a 1,000 ft climb
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/10981260

Oh I did eat breakfast too! I mean you eat breakfast , drink on the ride, maybe a powerbar at about 30 miles then eat a sandwich at 50 or 60 miles into the ride. The sandwich makes a huge difference later in the ride.

My ride plan:

Sleep well the nights before a ride because chances are you will be excited about the ride the night before and maybe sleep 4 hours. I did the climbing rides on 3 to 4 hours of sleep. Good think I planned ahead. If i hadn't slept well the previous nights, I'd be dead now.

Start hydrating the day before the ride. I drink lots of water the day before the ride. Even a gatorade or something in the evening to get a head start on electrolytes. If you wait to hydrate on the ride, you are screwed.

I eat light for a few days then eat a pasta dinner the night before the ride.

The morning of I eat a good breakfast. I eat a couple eggs, pancakes, sausage and a glass of orange juice before the ride. Complete the first part of the ride on sag stop treats. Banana, oranges, maybe a cookie. Then eat a sandwich at about 60 miles.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

Wow
10,000 feet climb & 100 miles, On a sandwich
I'd need Oxygen bottles at the SAGs

I'm a pancake & egg breakfast person, so will have to eat before the ride too.
Retired & I'm getting up before daylight to ride a bike100 miles , I'm nuts. LOL

TDPS is a just a 1,000 ft climb
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/10981260

If you get a chance, do some longish gentle climbs. Maybe 4 to 5 miles long at about 3-4 % grades. This will prep you for the first section of the ride as it heads up to the hills. Once you make it past that point, you can see on the elevation graph that it is pretty flat on the remainder of the ride.

But believe me, on that section you will see a bunch of riders suffering. You can tell who trains for the climbs and those who don't. I did a lot of 20 mile climbs at 5-7% and so I just cruised up the hill wondering why so many riders had their tongues hanging out.

It made me laugh in another comment discussion about this ride. Some lady who claims to be a climber said Palm Springs was a tough ride with all the climbing. Well yeah, if you don't climb at all, this bump in the road will be tough. Btu again,once you make it beyond this point, it's pretty easy.

 

[Flatbardave]

I'll be there 3 weeks before the ride so I'll try out the climb & see how I do.
I kinda like hills anyway.
I can ride a 40 miles loop that hooks to tdps mile 40 to mile mile 27 a few times to improve my climbing.
If I can climb the steep climb from 40 to 27, then that should help get my legs prepped for
the gradual climb on the ride & 100 mile length.

Found a 40 mile route I can ride from where I'm staying & work on hill climbing.

 

[Flatbardave]

" Bike in the box "
Got the bike boxed up
Hope to be there next week, go for a bike ride in shorts

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Quote by FBD:
"10° & snow here."

Yikes! That sounds like the last two Winters we went through here in Ohio. That kind of weather is not good for outdoor training.

"I'll be there 3 weeks before the ride..."

It might take you that long to thaw out! Enjoy your vacation time in Cali, have fun on the ride and good luck forcing yourself on a plane to get back to that 10° white stuff!

 

[Flatbardave]

good luck forcing yourself on a plane to get back to that 10° white stuff!

Yea
That's always the case in winter.
One time we came back from Hawaii @ 80 ° to Alaska @ -20°f,
Talk about " thermal shock ", . 100° difference
Was "Painful"

34° & snowing here around noon. Now the sun is intermittently coming thru.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

You are warmer than Ohio! We stayed right around 32° all day with a cold mist in the air again. There were a few snow flakes it the air around 2 PM, but that only lasted for a few minutes and it was back to the freezing mist ****.

Is that your firewood pile? Looks about typical for my rural, farm land area! Stack it deep...we'll need it!

 

[Flatbardave]

Got 2018/19 fire wood (8 cord) in in Oct, stacked & seasoning, few days ago pic:

Hauling for the woodshed to the house


the view of the mts over the stack:

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Nice!

A neighbor was up on his roof this afternoon cleaning out his flue liner...chimney fires suck. Are outdoor wood burners in use up your way? They have taken over down here as 'the' way to go for whole-house heating. A boiler system with radiant floor heat and a few radiators with fans behind them provide lots of warmth.

 

[Flatbardave]

Nice!

A neighbor was up on his roof this afternoon cleaning out his flue liner...chimney fires suck. Are outdoor wood burners in use up your way? They have taken over down here as 'the' way to go for whole-house heating. A boiler system with radiant floor heat and a few radiators with fans behind them provide lots of warmth.

Yea,
A clean chimney is good . I burn 3 years seasoned dry wood, & get little to no creosote build up
Few OWB's here, typically burn dirtier though. Fairbanks area has several but also have bad air quality alerts
throughout the winter months.

The newer epa & catalytic wood stoves are pretty clean burning.
I have a catalytic Blaze king, near 80% efficient & clean burning.

 

[hillbasher]

That desert ride is not really much of a desert ride. Pretty populated and a very clean road. I've done it 3 times and never had to worry about desert type plants etc.

Like any ride, have good tires, 2 spare tubes. If anything should happen, you have 10,000 riders out there, surely one of them will give you a patch or even a tube.

Hey Fred, can I borrow a tube? LOL

 

[Mr. Beanz]

Hey Fred, can I borrow a tube? LOL

Holy ****! Hillbasheeeeeeeeeeeeer!

 

[Flatbardave]

Joel's bike shop said they like liners & slimed tubes
took the bike over today, lined & slimed. Rode back in the rain.
Got colder than i do in Alaska :~}

Did 32 miles up Dillon rd before the rain started,
Hve had 2 days of rain & cool weather sinec I got here
Thought was gonna be nice today but got caught in a cloudburst
only 8 mile ride today