Life with Dennis: Bicycling, Teaching, & more: March 2011

In my prior post I told my story regarding the old Fuji and the new Fuji. Other than the new Fuji is a racing frame and I do not anticipate racing there is really nothing about the new Fuji I do not like.

The "new" Fuji's inaugural ride was February 6, 2011. I found the steering to be "twitchy" at first but not overly disconcerting. I have ridden less than 300 miles on the Fuji with the Ultegra groupo. I found the bike ride to be smooth. The wheels, Mavic Open Pro with 32 spokes per wheel, rolled very easily. The compact drive train, a 34/50 combination, shifted very nicely. I missed the granny gear bail out a triple provides on some steep climbs but I was able to get up the hill anyway. My low gear now is a 34 X 28 as the Ultegra long cage rear derailler handles nothing bigger than a 28. But a new vision was forming in the back of my brain.

Scott had been johnny-on-the-spot at the Las Vegas bike show when he learned a nearby competitor had lost the Specialized dealership. Since completion of the necessary paperwork we have been incorporating various Specialized bikes into the shop. Scott picked up a 2010 56 centimeter Specialized Roubaix at a good close-out price. I stood over it and found it to be an appropriate bike fit. It came with a complete Shimano 105 groupo. I knew I would have to sell one of my current crop of bicycles to be able to afford the Roubaix. I began to imagine the Fuji as a 105 bike and what its worth might be. Initially I had stars in my eyes imagining what I might get for the Fuji. The plan as I saw it was to take all the Ultegra stuff off the Fuji and replace it with 105. The Roubaix would receive the Ultegra componentry.

What has happened after clearing it with Scott was the Roubaix received all the Ultegra componentry but my Cannondale Synapse frame has received the 105 and the various "old school" componentry originally on the Cannondale is going on the Fuji. I will keep the steel Fuji.

The Cannondale Synapse is a replacement frame like the Fuji Connoiseur. Noted in the previous blog entry was a mention of my acquiring a Cannondale 3.0 bicycle. This bicycle dates from the days prior to replacement derailler hangers. I believe Cannondale came out with replaceable rear derailler hangers the next year after I purchased my 3.0. In any event my derailler hanger cracked after approximately 15 years of service. I called around to various dealers inquiring if Cannondale would warranty the frame. Mike's Bikes in downtown Sacramento said to bring it in and they would have the rep check it out. Obviously Cannondale warrantied the frame and provided me with the Synapse frame and carbon fiber fork. I moved the Shimano 600 brakes and crank over to the new frame; added a new inexpensive 9 speed Shimano hub wheel coupled with Dura Ace 9 speed bar end shifters and voila a new bike to ride. It has served me well.

A month, approximately, after the Fuji's first ride, I completed the transfer of the Ultegra groupo to the Roubaix and rode out to meet Geno, Herb, Jim, Mike and Eric in the El Dorado hills. I achieved the buzz for having a carbon fiber bike. Eric was the first to get a new carbon fiber bike the previous spring which he bought at Patriot. He requested some component changes which fed my thinking about changing the componentry to Ultegra from 105.

I was peppered with questions about how fast it accelerated and went up hills. To the first I just shrugged as I have almost always been the first to accelerate from a dead stop at a traffic light and look back to see everyone else 50 yards behind me, to my surprise. The same when I might accelerate with minimal effort to the front to relieve someone only to look back and see I have dropped everyone. The Roubaix did not change any of the preceding. As for going up hills I really feel that is more dependent on the condition of the engine. I still chase Geno up hills. Nine out of ten times he is waiting for me and the others at the top. That has not changed. The bike as it now sits weighs 20 pounds. The wheels are not light weight but they are sturdy and roll like they will go forever. The wheels represent the one piece where I could lighten the bike considerably. Scott's two carbon fiber bikes both weigh in around 15 to 16 pounds each on large frames. He has light weight wheels.

Pictures of the Roubaix build are below.

Roubaix almost stripped with the parts on the Cannondale in the background.

The Cannondale with the Roubaix in the background.

The Fuji with parts from the Cannondale.

The one experience on the Roubaix I find significant happened on the first day. The others had started from the CSUS Aquatic Center parking lot. After leaving them there I skedaddled home to catch Marcia before she left for an overnight with the VOCARE team. VOCARE (vo- car- ee) is a Christian renewal experience for 20 somethings put on by 20 somethings with support from clergy and a few other older people. After Marcia left home I pedaled on over to Patriot to weigh my bike, 20 pounds, 3 ounces.
I had left my pump behind and noticed a few blocks away from the shop. I returned to the shop for the pump. I had taken a circuitous route home and during my self-talk as I rode along I said to my self: "Self, lets keep riding." The idea really appealed but as I had already put in 40 miles and it was getting late I probably shouldn't so I didn't.

I find the previous train of thought significant in regards to the comfort of the bike. I had not burned myself out, nor was my butt sore (I kept the Specialized Body Geometry saddle that came stock with the bike), and the bike just rolls along. Other owners of carbon fiber bikes describe the ride as less harsh than metal bikes. I still feel the road through the frame but maybe it really is dampening the road feedback so as not to be harsh and debilitating, i.e. the body's muscles do not have react to the feedback quite as energetically as it might on a metal bike. I have ridden steel and aluminum but not titanium and could never determine for myself the difference in ride feel. I am not sure I can yet.

Specialized Roubaix as she rolls with 150 miles

Due to Marcia's summer sabbatical, July, August and September, I informed Bob A. I could not do the planned bike trip this coming summer. I hope the future allows me to accomplish this goal soon.

Bicycling wise I have been working on the following story. My bicycling journey began years ago with a Schwinn Continental given to me by a friend, Gary, with whom I worked at Mid-Valley Youth Center in Salem, Oregon. It was a typical Schwinn as it was composed of a plumber's pipe frame with serviceable components including steel wheels.

My friend, Michael, had connected with a bunch from a new bike shop just down the street from where he lived. It was a collective bike shop, co-owned by several people. It had service bays for people from the community to come in and work on their own bikes. It was called the Bicycle Doctors. The three original members were Steve W., Steve D. and Martha as I recall. You could ask for free advice from whomever was working in the store. They also sold bicycles and worked on bikes besides being a source of information. One of the brands they sold was Fuji.

The bike store was closed on Sundays. The collective went riding on Sundays inivitng friends they had met through the shop to ride with them. Generally the route was from the shop in West Salem, west and south toward Independence with a stop at Taylor's Drug Store for refresments which was about half-way. It was Michael who informed me of the Sunday ride. I agreed to meet them at Taylor's as it was only three miles from my home at the time in Monmouth. I joined them at Taylor's indulging in a fresh lemon flavored coca cola in a small coca cola labled glass.

Taylor's had been a local icon for many decades. It was the meeting place when I was in junior high and high school. Flavored cokes for 5 cents, 10 cents and 25 cents were the de rigeur of the day. Generally one went there with a friend or friends or to meet up with friends. You could nurse a 5 cent coke and shoot the breeze until something better came up or if nothing else came up go home because it was time to do so, like dinner time.

So I nursed my coke while the others indulged in ice cream treats, such as milk shakes or a two scoop cone. We sat at the counter just like Michael and I had years before except now we rode bikes. Back then bikes were not cool as Michael can attest. His parents bought him a new Pugeot when we were in the 8th grade and as I recall was ridiculed by the boys for being seen on such a machine. I can't recall how the girls reacted. I may have even partaken in the ridicule of my friend. The tables were soon to turn.

The Bicycle Doctors had two Fuji Americas in the store during the summer of 1977. Michael bought one of them and rode it with the others to Taylor's on that sunny Sunday. They were wearing the wool shorts with real chamois pads and wool jerseys. I showed up in a t-shirt and cut-off levis. Once finished with our treats we hopped on our bikes and headed south out of Independence to cross the Willamette on the Independence bridge. As the group started up the bridge I quickly fell behind and by the time I reached the top the others were off the bridge and speeding away. I sped down the bridge's incline, only to look up at the bottom and see tiny dots disappearing around a bend in the road. I knew I would never be able to catch them. I turned around and headed home. That was the first indication the Schwinn was a second class (or worse) bike.

The next indication came after riding the Schwinn into Salem from my home in Monmouth to spend all day working on a newsletter. I did not stop working on the newsletter to eat lunch or even take a break. When we finished I hopped on the bike and took off for home. I was probably 8 to 10 miles from home when my poor butt screamed at me to 'get of this poor excuse for a bicycle seat!' The seat was a set of springs connected to the nose and radiating out toward the rear to connect to the back and covered by vinyl. As soon as I hopped off my butt was screaming 'get back on this is worse!' What could I do but get back on. I rode two or three miles to Rickreall and called Marcia, my wife, to "come get me, I can't go any further."

My oldest child, Dameon, was born in December, 1977. As result of his good timing we received a healthy tax return. Marcia conceded to my wanting to spend our tax return on buying a bicycle. So in the spring of 1978 I bought the other Fuji America. The America at the time was Fuji's flagship touring bicycle. It was a beautiful Rainbow Blue with chrome forks, seat tubes and chain stays. The componentry was Sun Tour deraillers and Sun Tour G caliper brakes. The crank was a Sugino with a 34, 42, 52 triple chain ring connected to a six cog freewheel. Eighteen gears, just imagine! The hubs were Sunshine sealed hubs. I changed the rims enough over time I cannot now recall what the stock rims were.

I rode the Fuji everywhere. Soon I was gapping everyone else going over the Independence bridge to Salem. I bought panniers and a handlebar bag but never toured anywhere. I did commute to work on it. I changed the components keeping up with what was hot but eventually bought a second bike, a Specialized Rock Combo, with drop handlebars then a third bike, a Cannondale racing frame bike. All this made possible because I went to work at Bicycle Doctors.

I think of the America as being born and raised in Oregon, subject to the rains and a not very regular maintainance schedule. We moved to California in 1990. All my bikes came with me, of course. I continued to use the Fuji, on occasion, as my commute bike from our home in Berkeley to work in San Leandro.

When Marcia graduated from seminary we moved to Sacramento where she had been hired for her first job as a priest in the Episcopal church.

Between the 3 bikes I rode the Fuji as much as I did the other 2 although I eventually converted the Specialized Rock Combo into my commute bike. The Fuji America was the touring/winter bike with fenders in the winter and low gears for the hills during the summer.

Several years ago during a ride I heard a creak. I went through several procedures trying to isolate the creak but could not pin point where its origin was. Then one morning as I was rushing out the garage to make a Sacramento Wheelmen breakfast ride I did something that caused the bike to creak before I mounted. I may have put pressure on a pedal and caused the frame to flex. Once I knew what to do to cause the creaking sound I did it several more times but could not determine what specifically was the source. I hopped on the bike and rode off to the ride start. At the start was the owner of our local bike shop, Scott. I got his attention and asked him if he could determine the source of the creak. Scott flexed the pedal/crank arm assembly and pointed to a spot just above the bottom bracket lug on the seat tube and said "Your frame is cracked." He advised me it would be OK to ride as long as the bottom bracket assembly was intact because it would hold everything together. I went for a short ride with the group then rode home and hung the Fuji America up.

Three years ago faced with a decision about my future having been one of many, last in-first out casualties of our great recession, I decided to go into semi-retirement. I wanted to do something I enjoyed doing as a second source of income. I love bicycling so applied at Scott's shop, Patriot Bicycles. Scott hired me and so there I was one Tuesday afternoon when the rep for Fuji bicycles came in to the shop. Patriot does a strong business in BMX bicycles and Fuji owns SE bikes. During a break in the conversation with Scott I asked the rep if Fuji would warranty my frame. The rep said he could make it happen.

It took me several months to get the America into the shop so the rep could see it and warranty it. He was able to persuade someone back at the warehouse to send a replacement frame. I was excited anticipating a second touring frame and what I would do with the bike I had previously built up to replace the America.

What I received as a replacement was a Fuji Connoiseur. A Reynolds 725 Chrome-Moly steel frame. I looked all over the frame for the bosses and eyelets needed on a decent touring frame. The only threaded bosses to be fund were the water bottle mounts found on all bicycles today. I pulled the fork out of its packaging noticing right away they were straight forks not the gently raked forks to be found on a touring frame. As I assayed the fork for bosses I noticed in bright bold red paint "Racing" on the fork. I went back and looked at the frame again. Sure enough, below the Reynolds 725 sticker were the words "Racing Frame."

There was no way this frame was going to become a touring bicycle as to many adaptive adjustments would have to be made to get bags and equipment on it.

I subscribe to "Bicycle Quarterly," a publication out of Seattle with a focus on Randonneur bicycling. It is edited by Jan Heine. Randonneur is French word for riding long distances. I thought the Fuji might become the long distance bicycle.

Once I decided what to do with the Fuji I had to decide what bicycling componentry to put on the bike. I chose to go with Shimano Ultegra. First rate componentry but not at a Dura Ace, top of the line, price. I began ordering the pieces and parts through Scott eventually getting a complete bike build.