Bicycle Related Links

Wheel Building

1. This video here is pretty thorough. Total viewing time nearly 2 hours but it covers every aspect of wheel building. Click here

2. This is a PDF of one of the best and exhaustive books on the subject. It's a 147 page book by Jobs Brandt. Click here

3. Here is the website of Roger Musson who also has a very good book on the subject of wheel building. Click here

4. This is the Sapim site for spoke length calculation. Sapim is a Belgian producer of high quality spokes. Click here 

5. This is a famous custom wheel builder. It has a famous spoke calculator. But you have to have top branded hubs and rims for this to work. Unbranded cheap products are not included here. Click here

Bottom Bracket

1. All about square tapered bottom brackets. Click here

New Bike Day

After bringing the new bike home these are the things one should do right away. Get a proper fit of the saddle. Once done, put a permanent marker around the neck of the collar on the seat post. If the seat post is black get an electrical black tape and wrap it there. Apply a thin coat of grease from this point down to the end of the tube. And fit it properly. Once every six months, take the seat post out, regrease this portion - whether you ride or not - and fit it back on. All you need is a 5 mm Allen key. This should be done so that the seat post does not seize. It becomes impossible to take the post out. 

You should probably instal the pedal before this. Because without pedal you cannot get a bike fitted to your size. And modern bikes don't come with their saddle installed. If you are a rookie buyer, buying from a shop, they will likely instal a very cheap pedal. Please take it off. Put some grease on the axle of the pedal and instal it again. Do this every six months. That is, take the pedals off. Clean the axles. Grease them. Reinstall them. If you ride very frequently do this at least once a month. The idea again is to ensure that they don't seize. You will need a sliding wrench, if not the dedicated pedal wrench.

Take out all the rivnuts from the bike. These are the nuts pre-installed on the bike's frame for after market attachments like bottle cage, fenders, racks etc. They are variously known as rivnuts, braze-ons, bosses etc. Depending on your bike you might have plenty of them. Take them off one by one. Apply a thin coat of grease and put them back on. Don't tighten them too hard unless installing something. Keep cleaning and greasing them once in six months. The idea is to ensure they don't seize. If they seize it becomes a very invasive procedure to take them out. This might even affect the frame of your bike. (I learnt it the hard way).

 

If you want you might replace the factory fitted bolts to stainless steel bolts, if the originals are not SS. You need a 4 mm Allen key to do this job.

You might want to follow the same with the stem bolts also. I do it once a year though. 

Now lube up the chain. I would assume the shop has put some lube. Unless it's a very reputable shop or has come factory sealed in a box from some renowned brand, degrease the chain, wash it clean, dry it thoroughly, lube it up properly, let the lubricant sit overnight, clean it up with a rag. It might sound counter intuitive but clean up the excess lube stuck on the external walls of the chain. The lube should be inside. Not outside. Never put lube without thoroughly cleaning and degreasing it first. Always apply lube on a dry chain.

Clean the chain, sprockets and the chain rings every week or so if you ride every day. Otherwise once every month. Good brand named chains don't rust even if they are left idle for a very long time. Cheap chains rust up very soon. Throw such chains out.

If I am riding on wet roads I lube up the chain every week and clean it thoroughly once a month or so. By thorough cleaning I mean individually cleaning each and every notch/tooth of the sprockets and chain rings. I am yet to take my chain completely off the bike and give it a thorough bath. I have ordered for the tool to do it.

I have used the term grease for the bolts and seat post etc. Ideally you should use an anti-seize compound. But they aren't easily available in India (there is an Indian brand Petreplus available on Amazon but I don't trust Indian manufacturers unless they represent a big long established brand). I guess Park Tool is sold by Happy Earth but they are very expensive. I keep a small tub of Castrol all purpose automotive grease. These are available in any large petrol pumps. 

These are the most basic new bike preps. They sound very elaborate but should not take more than half an hour to do the complete job. 

Diary of an Intrepid Bicycle Commuter in Calcutta

I have been cycling consistently to work for a few weeks now - more than a month actually - and I think it is now time to maintain a day by day journal. Just for fun. I will note down all the things I learnt along the way, hoping that you might benefit from those learnings.

On a normal day when we would go out in the morning the three of us in my family - my daughter, my wife and I - would go together. This has been going on for the last 16 years or so. I would first drop my daughter at her school on the edge of Park Circus (these days our next door neighbour's daughter also comes along as she is in the same school and class with my daughter). From there I would go to Dalhousie to drop her mother at her work. Then I would come back to my office. On the days when only I would need to go out, like on a working  Saturday (oddly enough, the first and last Saturdays are working for us), I would take out my motorcycle. I had often thought about cycling to work on such days but it never quite happened. 

Now, to unknowingly help the cause of my cycling, I ended up selling my motorcycle just before the lockdown because A. I got a decent price B. The guy who offered to buy it really pestered me C. I was wanting to sell it for quite some time, given it had certain inherent problems D. The BS VI norms for pollution control were going to be introduced in India when these pre-BS VI models would soon lose their value in the resale market.

Before I could buy a new motorcycle for local commute lockdown was clamped on India. After it was lifted for limited travel to office I grabbed the opportunity to go out of the house. I drove to work on the first day. The roads weren't really empty but traffic was really low. Next day I decided to cycle to work and see what happens. 

So off I went. 

Why Did I Choose To Cycle To Work 

If you are not an Indian you need to know this. Indians don't like cycling to work. Those who do, do it under economic compulsion. They are mostly daily wage earners, peons and other lowly paid staff or self employed people to whom even a public transport is unaffordable, given the poor salary or income they get. They do not do it because they enjoy doing it. They all aspire to graduate at least to a motorcycle if not a car. It is almost unimaginable here in India that someone who has a car and can drive as well as afford the fuel should cycle to work. We have colleagues who drive 2 km from their home to office.

Now, why did I choose to cycle to work? First, the distance from my house to the office is a short 3.5 km of straight road. It takes me just 15 minutes to reach work on a cycle. Second, I find it ridiculous to drive this distance alone. Third, the clean air of Calcutta that we got during the lockdown forced me to rethink the decision to drive for these short distances and contribute to the pollution. Fourth, I found the peons were coming to work from far off distances on cycles because public transport is neither available nor is it safe for them. There are guys who are cycling for two hours each way to and from work. So in order to show my solidarity with them I decided to also pedal to work. Fifth, to be honest I wanted to do something different. Set an example or inspire someone? Absolutely not. I just love being different. 

My Learnings So Far

The heat and sweat, exposure to direct pollution of smoke and dust and terribly undisciplined, uncouth and dangerous fellow drivers and pedestrians - these are the main impediments to cycling during office hours in Calcutta. I have so far not been stopped by rain. I have been extremely lucky that way. I do have a rain coat in my Ortlieb bag. But it cannot be used in heavy rain. Because when rain water falls on my glasses I cannot see anything. In a light drizzle I can use it. It's there in the bag because I have it.

The fear of heavy traffic is somewhat removed once you cycle for a few days in traffic. But the risk is always there. A veteran cyclist like Sanjay Daga has been knocked down on the by-pass and is right now recovering from the injury. I do not know the details of the accident like how it happened but Mr Daga, considerably older than me, cycles more than 50 km every single day including commute to work. 

The sweat is really unmanageable when I come back home because I take long detours to come home. On the way up to the office I take the straight route and do not sweat so much. Sweating is also a function of fitness. The more fit you are the less you sweat, relatively speaking. Cyclists don't sweat so much while actually riding. Our sweating starts when the ride ends. I find a wet chin strap of the helmet most uncomfortable thing in the world. My palms also sweat and often it becomes difficult to grip the brake lever. But I manage.

July 6, 2020

Today I chose to come home via Race Course. I went straight towards Planetarium and turned towards Victoria. From there I headed towards the main gate of Fort William and on to the Red Road. There I turned towards Eden Gardens and then towards Prinsep Ghat. I kept pedalling further on and after crossing the small hump of a bridge, which is part of the noodle like road network on this side of the second Hooghly bridge, I went past the race course main gate towards DL Khan Road. 

The road after crossing the bridge can be dangerous because it merges with another road that is coming from the second bridge. This road is on your left hand side. So you have to cross this to remain on the extreme left lane. I had to stop here for quite some time to let the traffic pass. Traffic, I must say, was rather heavy in this section past the Police Training School. From DL Khan Road I turned right towards Bhavani Bhavan and on to Gopal Nagar. Turned left and then came home via Kali temple and the Keoratala burning ghat. The total distance was a very satisfying 12 kms.

Tyre Pressure

I knew the basic fundamental of tyre pressure. That it made the bike roll faster but made the ride more rough if it was on the higher side and slower but more comfortable when on the lower side. In certain situations like wet roads or sandy roads lower pressure is better as it offers more grip.

But I did not know the exact limit. It is not written down anywhere for novices. I used to pump it up to 60 and 50 or sometimes 60 and 40 etc. Then I recently read the booklet by the owner of Thorn Cycles of the UK (if you have not I suggest you immediately download it and read it up). There he has given a chart for recommended bike tyre pressure for every possible tyre width. 

I checked my tyre pressure after a long time. I knew it was on the lower side because the bike wasn't rolling fast enough but being the eternal procrastinator I didn't correct it. Finally on Sunday night I did it. Actually I finished three jobs in one. A. I used the Lezyne pump that Guria had brought for me. I had not used it in a long long time and mechanical things tend to malfunction if you do not use them once in a while. Why mechanical? Even shoes behave differently if you do not wear them every now and then. B. I wanted to keep the pump properly rolled up in a soft plastic wrapper. Because it was lying in the pannier just like that and could pick up some scratches. 

So off I went. According to the Thorn Touring Bike Bible, the recommended pressure for my 1.75 tyre is 50 and 45 psi. I found my tyres had 30 psi pressure in both. No wonder it was sluggish but very comfortable. After the change the difference was immediately noticeable. It rolls like a dream. Since I am on the lighter side and the Calcutta roads are a little on the rougher side, I think for load less city riding I will keep it at 45/40 and see how it improves comfort. Of course the Schwalbe Marathon Plus touring tyres also help in keeping the comfort level very high. Touch wood, the bike now rolls like a dream.  

My Cycling Gear

I have a robust carrier (these days everyone calls it a pannier rack) from Tubus where I load an Ortlieb pannier (I would rather call it just a water proof bag). It's a very convenient bag to load and unload. It clips on the carrier's tube and you can unhook it only if you pull it by the designated handle. 

This bag contains everything I carry. Apart from my office lunch bag, reading glasses and charger, I have in the bag my multi-tool, tyre levers and other puncture repair paraphernalia, a chain link, my portable touring pump and a spare tube. If I get a flat, realistically speaking, I do not see myself sitting down by the road side to fix it unless I was caught very far from home that would take more than an hour to walk. I would prefer to walk it back home or hail a cab. I am not so enamoured by the idea of doing the work in the heat and dust of a busy Calcutta road but by the prospect of the spectacle that I would make to the casual onlookers and Calcutta is full of them. I can well imagine a motley crowd would soon gather around me and some of them will most definitely have some advice for me. I might soon get into a fist fight. I just cannot take unsolicited advice. 

I have fixed a flat on the road only once. That was early in the morning and in front of the All India Radio on a small traffic island where there was not a single visiting soul around. Also I am not sure how long it will take for me to unseat and reseat the 1.75 inch tyre if I was doing it on the road in full view of a curious crowd.

Master Link of My Chain

9th July - Today I discovered the master link of my chain :-) I had looked for it a few times in the past while lubing the chain and couldn't find it. I thought it didn't have it as new bikes often don't come with such master links. I should have known that this bike was hand fitted at Happy Earth and not in a factory. It does have a master link after all. Today I found it. It will be now easier for me to lube up the chain properly. I would start from that point and end there. 

Today I also fixed the iron stand that I have. It had to be finally widened to hold the bike properly. 

The Garmin Edge 130 acted a little weird in the morning. That got fixed on its own by evening though. In the morning it did not sync my ride. In the evening it did for the evening ride but the old unsynced ride still didn't sync through the phone. Connected through the cable to the computer. Things took care of themselves. Apparently Nishant's isn't syncing for a few days now. 

No More Pressure Meds (16th July 2020) - Last 4th July I had a sudden drop in my blood pressure. I was feeling very weak and dizzy. Checked the pressure. It was 90/60 or something like that. My normal is 120/80. Binayak told me to stop the Asomex 5 for a few days, which I did from that night onward. But I kept monitoring the pressure every day. I found it did not cross 110 (+/-5) and 70 (+/-3). Last night, after being off Asomex for 12 days I sent a message to Binayak informing him about the pressure range. He asked me not to take Asomex any more. I had thought he would make it 2.5 but no. He made it zero. 

Is it because of my daily cycling? I think it is a combination of factors and the ground was building up for some time. My diabetic control has much to do with it. In fact last time when I saw him, Binayak had said next time he would reduce the pressure medicine. That next time never happened for a long time and then the lockdown started. 

I think the daily cycling bit helped the cause but that may not be the only reason. My diabetic control has also been reasonably acceptable since I switched over to Jardiance from insulin. That might have played a role. End of the day, my hypertension is entirely linked to my diabetes. 

I am happy for my kidneys though. Very proud of my achievement because my nephrologist told me that my only treatment to keep the kidneys in good shape is to control the blood pressure. It is a great relief to know that it is not only under control but as of now I do not even need a medicine for it.  

July 21, 2020 

Last Sunday, that is day before yesterday I had gone to Salt Lake Bike Studio to buy the Lizard Skins bar tape and the back light. I started at 11 am. Although the sun wasn't quite strong due to a light cloud cover it wasn't quite dark. After about an hour I started feeling a bit weak. Finished half a bottle of Electral and kept pushing pedals. Finally when I somehow managed to reach home it was 2:40. Therefore I cycled for more than 3 and a half hours. I was in the shop for about ten minutes and had an ice cream for another ten minutes or so. 

I was feeling extremely tired and weak. I knew my pressure was really low. I finished the full two bottles of water - one had electral in it. I had an ice cream. Yet I was feeling too weak to pedal. Of course the cross wind and the strong sun on the EM Bypass didn't help matters. At one point I even took off my helmet, as its strap was thoroughly wet.

When I reached home, after two glasses of lime water with salt and a bottle of water, I took my pressure. It was 70/50. I couldn't believe it. I took it again. It was 73/51. I was feeling very very dizzy. When I got up from the sofa I almost blacked out. 

Slept after a shower and full lunch. Felt much better after that. Pressure also rose up. But I was pretty alarmed. Finally I went to AMRI today, after Monday's complete rest, to get my blood tests done. HbA1C, CBC, creatinine were Binayak's suggestion. Suranjan added sodium, potassium and cortisol tests (which has to be done in an empty stomach). 

The results came in later in the evening. Creatinine is on the higher side of normal range. 1.06. In 2018 it was 1.02. I think the limit is 1.9. But the most satisfying result was of HbA1C which is 6.1. This is my best in 12 years, despite all the rice I am eating twice every day. The previous one last September was 7.4, which is quite high.

I didn't cycle yesterday and today. So the Sunday 40 km got averaged out to 13 km over three days :-). I think I need to double my water intake on my long cycling days from the current 3 litres to 6 litres. Because Jardiance works like a diuretic of sorts. 

Sunday, 26th July 

Today I had gone to fetch my Merida from Ritabrata's Stay Tuned in Chetla. I had given it to him for a possible sale to someone who wanted Ritabrata to check and vet it. That sale didn't happen. So went to get it back. In fact while riding it the other day I felt like not selling it, as it rode like a dream. All it needed, I thought, was a proper pair of tyres. The ones that I had were too thin and meant for races. Some Maxxis model that came as OE. Good that the sale didn't happen. I have decided to keep it. But that is not the point. 

The point is, while riding the bike back I realised what a fantastic saddle the Brooks is. The Red Roadie has a Merida OE saddle which I always thought was quite comfortable. But today I realised Brooks has spoilt me. I was missing that subtle flex for which I love the Brooks. 

I will probably replace the Merida saddle with the ProBiker one that is lying idle and give the Merida away to a student or something. Meanwhile time for the new tyres - Continental Gator Skin. I will ride it on Sundays for long fast rides. I might attempt a brevet also with it. Let me see.

Garmin Outage

Garmin's Connect software meanwhile has stopped working. For a few days now. The company is saying nothing except that they are going through an outage that has affected all their software and even the call center. The rumour is that they are the latest high profile victim of some ransomeware. 

This didn't stop me from going out this morning for a 26 km ride with the Edge 130 on. There is no problem with the individual units recording the activities but when it comes to uploading that data or even looking at old activities on the internet one is blocked. I am hoping things will come back to normal soon. 

Some people seem devastated :-) I can wait to upload my data after at least 100 hours of activities, as that is the memory limit of my unit.

After A Long Time (10th September, 2020)

I haven't written in a long time. Nothing exciting happened actually in my daily commute routine. I go to work cycling on most days. I come back home. Monisha goes to work once a week or so. Those days I have to take the car out. Very reluctantly so. 

I have not been able to cycle this week (today is Thursday) because the lift had gone out of order. Going downstairs with the cycle is not such a big problem but coming back tired and sweating I don't want to pull the bike up. 

Meanwhile, one weekend I went for a 56 km ride to the airport on my red Merida shod with the new Gatorskins. Went via VIP and came back via New Town. Total of 56 Km. That has nothing to do with the coming 17th September when I turn 56. It was my fastest 40 Km, declared Garmin. I am glad. Yes, I did push the pedal hard but more importantly I stopped every 15 Km or so and drank some Electral. Pushed again. I think the regular Electral intake did me a world of good. There was also a young lad who rode with me on VIP. He was pushing very hard and to keep pace with him I also rode faster than my usual pace. In fact my fastest 5K happened during this phase :-) When I ride alone I do not push that hard. This is the beauty of pace making. You end up running or cycling faster.

 

The airport trip

Tomorrow is Saturday. I wish to go for another airport ride. Let me see if I can wake up. I installed the Garmin speed and cadence sensor on the Merida last night. Pointless keeping them on the Surly. 

The Brooks Long Term Review

This will be a work in progress for my Brooks saddle that I installed on the LHT in 2019. I will do a review at 250 km now. I will do another at 1000 and then at 5000 km. 

Why I Bought The Brooks

I grew up, like any other Indian in the 70s, on a leather saddle that every single bicycle in our country donned in those days. We never knew that bicycles could come in any other type of saddle. Of course as a child, my tricycle had a plastic seat that had turned white being exposed to the sun forever.  Some time in the 80s the non-leather saddles (we always calledthem seats) became fashionable and then a norm. Only poor people rode on leather or perhaps more correctly leather like saddles. 

When I bought the new bike Merida Scultura it came with a normal narrow saddle. I guess these are PU material. It wasn't uncomfortable. But once I started researching on touring cycles I inevitably learned about Brooks and its legacy. I immediately identified with it and understood how our saddles of childhood were all replica Brooks. Of course I wanted a Brooks. For the legend that it is. I got it brought for me when Guria came to India for a visit and installed it on my LHT right away. 

Before the first ride I treated the saddle with the Proofide that came gratis with it in a small sachet. I also got Raja to bring a tin of Proofide for me from England for future use. The initial few days on the Brooks were hard, I must confess. But I remembered all our childhood and boyhood saddles which were never comfortable. We would often buy a plastic cover with thick foam padding inside. I cannot say they reduced the discomfort in any way. 

But somewhere along the line, perhaps after 6/7 short rides the saddle became less uncomfortable. Now that I have done more than 250 kms with it, I guess the initial breaking in period is over. I do not feel it is hard. I cannot say it is soft or squishy. But there is a certain flex in it that I like. Very subtle flex. Not a loud spring but just a wave. I quite love the saddle now.

Today for the first time it rained as I had gone out with the bike (basically to sell the Cateye Velo 7 to a Howrah guy called Nabin Haldar). As we were chatting near the Victoria it started raining. After a few drops on the saddle I realised it was exposed and immediately reached for the black plastic under the saddle. It had dropped off somewhere because Monisha gave me a new one today and loosely stuck it under the saddle. I should have tucked it between the rails. Then I realised I had the plastic carry bag in which I brought the Velo7. So I put it as a cover and even rode over it even though it wasn't raining any more. But before putting the cover I used my hand towel to wipe the saddle and soak the water up.

I am not sure if it got a darker tan after this but I love the colour as it is now. It's a little darker than when it first came. 

I must add two things here. In the first year of its existence atop my LHT frame I did not ride a lot. The cycle was as good as lying idle in my living room. This possibly resulted in rusting of the rivets. My rivets are not copper rivets but steel and some of them have rusted. I am not too worried about that. It's okay. I am not sure if Brasso is necessary as it might do more harm to the leather than do any good on the metal. So I am allowing it to get that coating of oxidation. If it rubs off with my bum fine. Otherwise I can live with it. 

I will write the next review after I finish 1000 km on it. I might go for a coat of Proofiding at 500. The Calcutta monsoon is on right now and everything is so damp here.

5th July, 2020 - The First Seat Marks Appear At 432 Km - Today, while on a trip to Bagbazaar with Mezda I realised my saddle had developed some marks where my bottom puts the maximum pressure. The odo at the end of the day's trip shows 432 km. The saddle is slightly discoloured there with crease like markings, though they are not actual creases. Initially I thought they were marks from my sweat. The other day while coming back from work I sweated like a pig and my trousers and shirt were soaking wet with my sweat. So I wouldn't be surprised if the saddle also took up some sweat from there. But on closer inspection they don't seem to be water marks. They look more like pressure points.

If you really strained your eyes you could see the marks in this image near the last and first rivets at the two sides. There is a similar mark near the top first rivet also. The saddle, I suppose, is gradually adapting to the shape of my bottom. This is what it is supposed to do and the reputation is precisely for this. I have no complaints against it in terms of it being a "pain in the butt". It is not. Super comfortable? Not yet. But cycle saddles are not supposed to be your drawing room sofa where you sink in.

I think I will Proofide it once at 500 km, which I expect to hit sometime towards the end of this week. It should hopefully improve things further. But the weather has been very damp of late. So whether it is the right time to Proofide the saddle is something worth thinking about. But then these saddles are born in England which is not known for being sunny. So let me see. 

Saturday July 11, 2020 - Today the saddle touched 500 kilometers. Tomorrow being Sunday I plan to go out again and then I will Proofide it once because Monday I have to take the car out in the morning as Monisha plans to go to work as well (when the two of us go out we take the car out). 

So how has the saddle been so far. It's great. I bought it for the legacy, as I said. Comfort is a side benefit :-). But it indeed is getting more and more comfortable. As I said I don't weigh much and I do a lot of exercise trying to stay fit. Therefore my glutes, I think, are less prone to pain. The saddle is gradually taking the shape of my butt. I can see new contours emerging and colour changes in certain places of the saddle. I think it is a matter of time before it takes the shape of my backside. I am waiting rather curiously for that to happen and see how it improves comfort. I don't wear padded shorts. And I am fine with the Kappa track pants. Tomorrow I might go out in my golf shorts though. 

Proofiding At 500 Km Today Sunday, July 12, 2020 I applied Proofide to the saddle for the second time. The odo is showing 560 km actually. More importantly it's been one year since the saddle was installed. I love the lovely tan colour that came out after it dried up. There were some bits that were not drying. I buffed it gently all over the saddle with a micro-fibre cloth. It looks a very luscious dark tan now. I am not sure when I will apply the next coat of Proofide. Perhaps next monsoon. 

Brooks At 1000 Km - Today, Thursday 3rd September 2020, the Brooks B-17 completed its 1000 Km. It was 798 on the odo when I reached home from work. Add the 200 Km I had already recorded before installing the Edge 130. So it was 998 Km after that ride and therefore it would've hit 1000 near Bhatikhana Morh when I was going to see Maa later in the evening. I am not counting the two rides I did without counting the kilometers when my battery had run out.

The saddle has finally started taking the shape of my bottom, particularly where the left sit bone sits on the saddle. It is quite pronounced I can see. I have a feeling the long 9 and a half hours spent on the saddle on Saturday during our Canning trip has done this. I noticed this new development today. Does it mean I exert more pressure with my left leg and sit more on the left bum than the right? I don't know.

Whatever it is, the seat is now super comfortable. The Canning trip is a case in point which proves this beyond an iota of doubt. I went wearing ordinary shorts with a pair of very regular briefs underneath. Nothing happened to my glutes. A little stiffness after the ride but that was gone after the afternoon siesta. The legs were more affected, to be honest. 

Now I understand why people vouch for the Brooks so wholeheartedly, particularly the tourers. The only hassle with the saddle is to remember that it is leather and requires protection from water. I keep a plastic grocery bag under the saddle and use it whenever there is a semblance of any rain. For deep cleaning days I cover it with a similar plastic bag or take the saddle off along with the seat post. Of course I have to cover the seat tube with another piece of plastic.

I think I will take another look at the seat once it hits 5000 Km. I hope it is soon :-) If I do one century  ride every week I could hit the figure in another twelve months or less. Let's see.

From today I am going to keep tab on the Brooks mileage through the Garmin Connect app where I have added it as a gear. Whatever the total mileage is I have to add another 1000 Km to it. This is so because now I want to use the Edge 130 on both LHT and the Red Roadie.

September 19, 2020

Today being a Saturday I went out on a long ride to Dankuni. I had thought it would be a 100 km trip but it turned out to be just above 76 km because I took the Kona Expressway to return. It's a much shorter distance by that route. But that is not the point. 

The point is, I went on my Red Roadie with the Shimano Probiker Griffon saddle and not my Brooks. I could understand today how comfortable my Brooks is. The total saddle time for me was about 5 hours. My butt was hurting from around 3 or 3.5 hours. I love my Brooks all the more now. 

Monsoon Cleaning The LHT

Today I cleaned and washed and re-greased and lubed up the LHT. Having gone out for a few days in monsoon on wet roads for about 50 kms I thought today is the day to do it. One should clean the wheels and lube the chain every weekend I guess.

Realised I had forgotten almost everything :-) First taking off the front wheel. I had forgotten how to disengage the brake. In my Merida Red Roadie there is a lever that you just release and the brakes become loose enough to take the wheel out. Here one has to unhook the brake cable from the caliper. Providentially enough, I remembered it suddenly while looking intently at the wheel, hand on chin. The rear wheel, always a pain, came off relatively easily. 

I had also quite forgotten which way to wrench to get the pedals off. Referred to ParkTools video and got that. I had written it all down. But then I realised it was too full of unnecessary details. So wrote the basic steps as an appendage to that write up.

I noticed that the kickstand clamp has stripped the paint from the frame a bit. The exposed part is black in colour. I am not sure if this is of any worry. I had taken the kickstand and the rack off for cleaning. I asked the Surly forum on facebook and they say this is called ED (electro deposition). It is a kind of primer and the steel is not yet exposed. So it is okay. I would prefer not to mollycoddle the bike. It is not a museum piece. It is meant to be ridden.

While degreasing and lubing up the chain Monisha managed to dislodge the chain from the sprocket with one hack. I don't know how she managed to do it. All I told her was to rotate the pedal back while I held the chain scrubber with one hand and a rag with the other. I got a little nervous but managed to put it back after hanging it from the Kushuda stand. 

Yet to put the Tubus back because it has yet to be washed and it is 8 pm now. I plan to go out tomorrow for a ride to New Town. 

July 20, 2020

Today I went for another round of very deep cleaning, particularly of the chain, cassettes and the chain rings because last time the job wasn't good enough. The three important parts of the drive train were made sparkling clean this time. Today I didn't go to work, having suffered from a bout of very low pressure yesterday. So decided to spend the day well, giving some TLC to the bike. There was a lot of mud on the body. Feeling very good after the clean. The previous clean wasn't deep enough. I loaded the bike up on the Kushuda stand and lubed it. Kushuda stand works well if there is no rear rack/carrier. 

Garmin Edge 130 Impressions

Today is Saturday, 13th June 2020. I just brought home the Garmin Edge 130 from Nikita Distributors. It's a small box really. Smaller than any mobile phone box. 

About the Unit

Software Version 3.60 

(13427f0) 

Unit ID 3978212180

GPS 2.50

Sensor Hub: 5.80 

(The above details were noted down from the about section of the unit on 9th July 2020)

What's In The Box

The unit, a pack containing two mounts with two rubber gasket like things to work as a layer between the handle bar and the mount, 4 smaller rubber bands and four larger bands to connect the mount to the bar, then there is the charging and computer connecting USB cable, a string to attach to the unit and a quick start manual book presumably detailing how to use the unit (the main users' manual has to be downloaded from their website). There are some stickers also inside the book. I am going to keep all these packed in the box it came in and keep the box in the dining room cupboard.

The First Steps

After unboxing I  powered it up by charging it from my computer and then connected it to my smart phone - I think the technical term is pairing. The unit offered a number that had to be keyed into the phone. The rest of the steps were pretty much clicking the "next" tabs. I synced it to the computer as well. To do that you need to keep the unit connected to the computer through the USB cable.

I had Garmin Express and Connect downloaded in both my computer and the phone (I have been using the Forerunner 15 for a few years now). While the phone wanted to know my location, the computer did not ask for anything like that. The phone's location and bluetooth have to be on to use certain phone oriented features like weather report (good for touring if there is internet connection everywhere). The unit automatically uploads the data to the phone after a ride is completed if there is bluetooth connection. I don't know if the internet also has to be on for automatic upload of data.

While uploading data from my Forerunner 15 to the computer it is not enough to just connect the two. The internet must be on.

Internet and bluetooth has to be on when a completed trip is uploaded to the Connect app. It can be done at any point of time after the ride. If there is no internet for a long time then uploading GPX files from the unit into the computer may be considered to free up memory space in the unit. however, on a trip this will involve taking the computer along, which may not be viable. 

Pairing the unit with the phone or the computer was super easy. Just follow the steps suggested. Keep the bluetooth of the phone and computer on when you are doing this.

When the unit was first connected to Connect it learnt about me and my cycling accomplishments from the app and kept it stored in the unit. So the unit now knows my height, weight, maximum cycling distance etc. These were there in the Connect app from my earlier rides and the unit copied them into my profile. If you are using Connect for the first time the profile data will have to be keyed in. 

Just out of the box

As of now I have not used the unit. It is getting charged. Possibly the charge is full because the battery icon is showing full and not bouncing. In fact at some point in time in future I will have to find out how long it takes to fully charge the unit from zero. 

I ejected the unit out of my computer and it says it wants to update the software. The one that is installed 2.40. It wants to update it to 3.60. So I chose to "instal now". These firmwire updates are important to do. 

My First Impressions (Even Before First Ride)

It's very small. More or less the same size as the Cateye Velo that I have, which is a wired meter. The small size could be an advantage but having gotten used to large screen mobiles we find these small units a little disappointing perhaps. 

The unit's buttons need hard pressing, as opposed to the Forerunner 15 which is just feather touch. The buttons here are really hard. Will they ease up? I doubt. The unit cannot be switched off when connected to the computer. Incidentally it does not come with a charging unit/pod like the Forerunner does. Just a USB charger. Even that is difficult to pull out. You have to really pull hard to pull it out completely off the unit. It's a little scary that I might break something. It could have definitely been smoother. I hope the connector stays good. 

I think I also missed that it is not a touch screen unit. We are so used to touch screens. But then that would have meant spending a lot more money - almost double. I am okay with pressing hard buttons

As of now, it is fully charged and I shall go for a spin tomorrow. 

I attached the mount to the handlebar of my LHT and loaded the unit to it. Right now the bike has both the Velo 7 and the Garmin. After I get used to the Garmin I shall remove the Cateye.

My Brooks saddle has 200 km on it and the bike has done 1122 km so far. So, once the odo starts I have to mentally add these figures to it for the true numbers. 

I couldn't see the place for the odo. I believe it is visible once it starts rolling. We shall see all these tomorrow.

I discovered that to view Strava Live Segments you need to be a premium Strava member. I guess that will either have to wait or might never even happen.

14th June, 2020 - 11.45 am

It's raining since morning and I am waiting impatiently for the first test run to begin. I am even wearing my heart rate monitor and waiting with my track pants and t-shirt on. The socks are ready. The moment it stops I go out but doesn't seem that is going to happen any time soon. 

I had meant to go towards Gol Park and take a call after reaching there. But all that has to wait now :-(

First Ride

I finally did manage to go out for a short ride. Basically to test the unit out. Just a lazy roll to Golpark and back. Here is a link to the Connect page of the particular ride.

I had forgotten to set the unit to metric system last night. So on the road it was showing me distance, speed etc in miles because that's its default setting. I corrected that after the ride and Connect is showing the distance etc in kilometers. History is also showing it in kilometers. The HRM didn't connect but that is possibly due to a dead battery. Because I came home and found it wasn't pairing with my Forerunner either. Will try changing the battery and see later. 

Note - the battery in the HRM was replaced and it got connected the moment the two were kept in close proximity. The unit sought permission before pairing with the HRM. The HRM is ANT protocol unit that came bundled with the Forerunner 15. 

Note 2 - Last night went for a 12 km ride to Buro's with the hrm strapped. It worked perfectly.  

I had kept the phone's bluetooth switched off. A little before ending the ride I turned it on. When I finished the ride it automatically uploaded the data to my Connect. There is no provision to edit the title of the activity. It just said Kolkata Ride or something like that. Connect is showing the temperature during the ride, presumably collected from the phone.

(15th June Note - On the way to office I had kept the bluetooth switched off. After the bluetooth and internet was connected, which was well after finishing the activity, the ride was uploaded. Of course the machine would also have to be on. After the upload they give you a message saying your ride is ready to view.)

Back at home I also customised the display of the unit. By default it was displaying distance, time and speed only. I guess I put things like odometer on top, speed, average speed, heart rate etc. I cannot remember. Am I happy? Yes more or less. It's just a matter of time before I get used to it. 

I guess I will have to find a buyer for the Velo 7.

Laps

I guess auto lap is 5 km for this unit. For the Forerunner it is 1 km. There are two options - auto lap on or off. I think it was in default mode of auto lap off. I turned it on. Let me see what happens tomorrow. 

New Learning on 15th June - The toggle switch The auto lap has to be turned on or off with a toggle switch whose meaning is difficult to understand. It is a blank small vertical bar with rounded corners and a black dot. Whether the dot on top means on or off is something one as to find through trial and error. It took me a lot of net search to finally learn that the dot on top means it is on. Intuitively I thought the dot at the bottom means it is on because that is how and electrical switch works. In fact, that the switch is known as a toggle switch was the first thing I had to learn. I found the final answer, or even this issue being discussed, in reddit. I don't know why this simple thing is not mentioned somewhere in the manual. It is not a universal symbol or icon.

While on the subject of auto lap - this unit can be used to manually mark your laps. For example, I could mark a lap up to Ruby and from there to Science City as another lap to understand how I perform in the city and outside.

15th June 2020 - The second ride was this morning while coming to work. I somehow did not realise the ride was not switched on. So I switched it on after about a kilometer. Therefore the odo reading is 1 km less than what it actually is. Rest everything was fine. I have customised the display to show the odometer on top, distance, speed, average speed and heart rate. This somewhat mimics my car's odometer. I would have loved to have the time of the day displayed somewhere. But I guess it does not show it anywhere.

I think I will write a one month report after this when I get to understand the unit better. I take my own sweet time to understand these modern machines. I must remember to get a battery for the hrm this evening. 

New Edge 130 Plus Launched - The moment you buy a new electronic gadget it becomes obsolete. This saying was proven right last night once again when I read the news about the launch of a new Edge 130 plus in the US. I believe battery hours have come down from the official 15 to 12 hours. Therefore it would have not attracted me in any case. I think Garmin is trying to position this model as an MTB computer because the additional features are more for mountain bikers. In fact I couldn't even understand what those new features mean. 

The mounting position - Having removed the Velo 7 from the stem last night (I have put it up for sale and found a buyer in Howrarh for Rs 800) I placed the 130 on the stem, oriented in a vertical manner (the Velo was turned 90 degree to the left) and went for a ride to Buro's. Did it principally to look cool :-)

Now the readability of the unit suffered because the stem is a little inclined so the 130 is offering a slanted view. The digits in the bottom line weren't so clearly visible in the night while riding. I will see how it goes in the morning and then decide whether the stem is the right place for the unit. I would love to put it on one of those extended arm mounts. They look uber cool.

I have checked this during the morning now and readability is fine. 

Live Tracking - This evening I had gone out with the bluetooth, location and internet on, meaning to see how Live Tracking works. I set up the email as mine. Upon return I realised no email had come. I had forgotten to switch on Live Tracking before starting. Now I have set it to automatically always send me live tracking whenever I undertake an activity. So, let me see what happens tomorrow when I go to work.

I have set it to automatically send me and Monisha email of my ride. What happens is a link is sent which is clickable during the ride and you can see/follow my ride live. I am yet to see it. This link becomes inactive once the ride is completed and the data is uploaded to Connect. So unless I click it mid-ride I will never be able to see myself. 

Few Quick Observations

There is some battery loss even when the unit is switched off. Self discharge. Not very high but it is noticeable. Once turned on, the battery indicator shows one or two bars less. They come back on after some time. The battery management system is not the best. While charging I do not even know when it is full. (Added later - the power icon gets changed to a battery icon with five solid bars, each representing 20 per cent)

But one can download free third party apps from the IQ Connect stores. I intend to download a battery management widget and see how it goes. I want to know the detailed pros and cons of downloading such apps. 

I have quite got used to the small size of the unit. In fact I love the cute little size. The on-off switch does not seem as hard as it did initially. The charging cable still needs a little pulling to take it off the unit. The unit moves smoothly on the mount and clicks perfectly. I do not know if I got used to the unit or it's the other way round. 

June 26, 2020

IQ App Store I downloaded a third party battery related app called Battery Up Down. It is now a data field in my unit. I created a separate page for it where it shows an icon as well as number in per cent. For example, right now it is showing as 20 per cent. On the Connect website, the battery performance during the ride is also shown I wonder how accurate it is. 

On the Garmin Connect website, when seen through the computer, a separate chart also gets displayed like they show the elevation, speed, heart rate, temperature etc. It is definitely not correct. For example, today's ride shows 40 per cent for most of the ride with two points where it had dipped to 20 per cent suddenly for a few seconds. On the unit though it shows as 20 per cent. Last night it came down from 40 to 20 after the ride. But today it continues to show 20. So, I really don't know how useful it is. But it takes an insignificant space in the unit. 

The Garmin Connect website shows that this is one of the apps downloaded by this unit. 

I downloaded it through the phone. I opened the Garmin IQ app store (downloaded from Google Play Store) on my phone. The IQ app store is like the play store of Google but only for Garmin related third party apps. From this IQ app store I downloaded the Battery Up Down app and it got transferred to the unit through Bluetooth. Nothing very complicated, if you have ever downloaded any app for your phone.

For downloading through the computer you have to connect the unit to the computer. Because the computer bluetooth does not connect with the unit. 

Do I want any other app? As of now, no. I have a feeling they eat up battery. I am a little paranoid about battery. Because in India, in the remoter places, there is hardly any electricity in many places. Of course I have the Anker solar charger. But even then it is always safer to conserve as much power as possible.

Live Tracking

Edge 130 comes with a feature that is increasingly becoming very popular with a lot of such units. It's called Live Tracking. You can nominate a few email ids where a link would go from Garmin as soon as the ride starts. Clicking on this link, one can see your movement on a Google map. This can be an important peace of mind kind of thing for your family when you are out cycling. 

However, there are certain practical difficulties to get this working and I had to get it right after making many many minor errors. A. This is literally a live feature. That is, the link is active only when the activity is on. The moment it is finished the link stops working. So if you really want to know where I ended my trip you have to be continuously glued to the screen. But yes the screen is indeed live. You can actually see the blue line moving. B. At the time of starting the activity your internet has to be on. If there is no connectivity where you start then there is no live tracking even if internet comes on some time later. C. If for whatever reason the connectivity is gone somewhere in the middle of the trip, the live track cannot be seen after this. 

Odometer Cannot Be Manipulated

The other day battery died out while I was riding to work. The ride was finished at .80 Km. I know the exact distance from home to work. So I corrected the distance in the Connect app. The ride in the unit was still showing .80 Km. I thought once the unit connected to Bluetooth it would rewrite the distance in the odo and correct the ride in its own memory but it did not. Apparently once a ride is recorded it cannot be changed in any way. Therefore my odo is actually showing a distance of 2.8 km less. Not a big deal but have to remember to charge the unit before a long trip. I want my odo to give as correct a picture of my total distance as possible. I will celebrate the landmark distances when they are reached. For example, 5K will be a landmark to achieve. 

Syncing Issue - 9th July 2020

Today I faced some syncing issues with the unit. After coming to work, riding 3.56 km in 14 minutes, I found the unit had not synced. Opened the Connect app and found it is written that the servers are undergoing maintenance and asked me to check back. 

After a few hours that maintenance notice was gone but I find the unit is not syncing with the phone. The two are connected. I can even see the phone notices on the unit. It is showing all the signs of syncing but ultimately the data transfer is not happening. I cannot see my activity listed in the mobile. I believe I will have to do this by directly linking the unit to my computer through the Garmin Express application. But this problem needs to correct itself. It means I will not be able to upload the data while travelling/touring. 

I am hoping this is just a temporary software related problem and it will correct itself shortly. I have had similar issues with the Forerunner in the past. That was quite scary but it solved itself. 

I asked Nishant whether he could sync his unit an Edge 830 bought almost as the same time as me. He said he was having similar problems with syncing for a few days and has been syncing directly through the computer. Now I joined the club. Let me see how long this continues. I have asked the facebook forum about it, if someone else is facing similar problems. 

Speed & Cadence Sensors - Odo - 675 - 25th August, 2020

Yesterday I got for myself a set of speed and cadence sensors for my Edge 130 from Exad Sports for Rs 4900. They were installed right away on the LHT and I even went for a 10 km spin with them. Syncing them with the unit was very easy. With the unit close by and switched on you have to rotate the sensors one by one as if they were on the crank arm or the hub and the bike is in motion. They synced readily. I created a special page for them on the Edge 130. It's an eight field page with all sorts of data being there like cadence, average cadence, lap cadence etc.

I actually want to improve my cadence over time. The best way to do that is to see what the cadence actually is and then work on it. I think I will ultimately install them on the training bike Merida and spare the LHT. My normal leisurely cadence is 45 on the 7th gear. I want to exercise at 70 and then move on to 90. Question is on which gear? Let me see.

The speed sensor can either automatically decide the wheel size or it can be manually keyed in. I let it decide automatically. Because the actual size is not really 26 inches. It's a little more than that and finding it out is a rather tedious process. Plus, since I will be changing bikes often I kept it on auto mode only.

Milestones and Timelines

List of various items added to the Edge 130 and other important events associated with it

Date	Odo	Remarks
13-06-20	000	Bought unit from ExadSports & installed
14-06-20	000	Went for maiden ride
25-08-20	675	Bought, synced and installed speed and cadence sensors from ExadSports (Rs 4900)

Plans For A Cycling Computer

I have been meaning to get a cycling computer for quite some time. I was making do with Strava for the longer rides and the Forerunner 15 for the short ones. But both have some inadequacies. The Forerunner 15 for example, essentially a running watch, is not meant for long hours on the saddle. Its battery is not meant for that kind of application over an extended period of time. It can barely last 3/4 hours with the satellites and heart rate monitor connected (which is how I use it). A typical day of cycling on a tour would last at least six to eight hours. Therefore the Forerunner cannot be taken on a tour. It cannot  even be taken on a day long cycling ride of about 50 or 100 kms. 

Forerunner for short commute

So I used Strava to record our Darjeeling trip in 2019. 

While Strava is fine for analysing data after it has been captured, it also has serious limitations as a data capture method during a trip. First of all you are never too sure whether it will capture or is capturing the data correctly. The other day on the way back home from work, it did not capture the data at all. Then you need to remember to switch it off or "finish" the trip after you reach your destination. When I reached Ghum from Kurseong, I forgot to finish my ride and it captured all my movement in and around the station (it's an interesting maze with me going from the station to the cycle shop in front to the momo shop to the hotel and then back to the station etc) till I remembered to switch off. Also, if I am not mistaken when you are finishing the ride you need to have access to the internet.

And then Strava is as weather proof as your phone, meaning it is not weather proof at all. Therefore putting it on the handlebar for a day long ride, exposing the phone to the hot sun or rain, is a little risky. Even if you do, visibility of the data on the go will be well nigh impossible. Plus I do not like switching my phone location on. The whole world it seems wants to know my location. I am reluctant to divulge that data to the various apps on my phone. I just feel it is modern snooping in the name of making the user experience better.

Therefore I wanted to have a cycle computer (how our requirements grow compmlicated with time and available technology - as a child all I wanted was a cycle). My requirements and expectations from the computer are very basic. I do not need too many fancy data about my ride. I want a computer that will have a long battery life. It will give me basic information about the ride like time spent, speed, distance traveled - in short what my Cateye Velo 9 gives me. I do not need any navigation support. I prefer finding my own way around. This requirement might change in future but as of now I do not like the complications involved in getting navigation guidance from a machine. In fact the Velo 9 is good enough for me except that it cannot show me a map of my trip after the trip is over. I feel fascinated like a child when I see the map of my journey. I do not know why but it happens. I love looking at the details of where I had gone. This is the principal requirement for me, not so much the speed. I don't really care about my speed at all.

Now Garmin's Edge series has a very celebrated 530 model that is quite a rage with those who can afford it. Simply put I cannot afford it. And in any case I do not need to know so many different things about my ride or the ability to download routes and then follow them turn by turn. So investing so much money on a 520 or 530 was out of question. I am not using the cycle computer for monitoring my training for an Olympic gold.

So I kept looking at the various models and then I discovered these two relatively new models. The Edge 130 and Edge 25. While the later, cheaper model would have sufficed me just fine, it seemed to have serious battery limitations. I find from reviews that the Edge 130 has great battery performance. The official claim is of 15 hours but with all the sensors attached it might be about half. Since on a tour I will not add any sensor I could easily expect 10 hours on a single charge. So I made up my mind to go for it. The 25 is more suited for shorter city based rides of four to six hours. The Edge 130 has certain capabilities that will not be useful for me - for example, I do not need to know my VO2 Max - but that's fine. 

As of this evening (June 8, Monday, 2020) I spoke to Jasraj. He is sending the model to his Calcutta office. It will be mine for Rs 13800. Substantially lower than the listed price of Rs 190000.

Unanswered Questions 

As of now I have a few unanswered questions that I can find out only after actually using the unit. First, I need it to also function as an odometer where it keeps track of the total kilometre traveled. As far as I could see from available online information it probably has one but I need to see if it gets reset under any circumstances. The Forerunner, for example, does not have one.

I also need to understand how to store my trip details. Normally after a ride you come back home and download the data into your computer through Connect. On a trip that is not possible unless you are carrying a laptop. So if I am on a trip for X number of days can the unit store that much data? Online research shows it can store 100 hours of data. My Forerunner can store seven runs and then if I record an eighth run it will automatically delete the oldest one. If I was riding for ten hours a day, therefore, it can handle a ten day trip. 

I found it mentioned somewhere that you can, through your smart phone, store the data in Garmin Connect app from anywhere. If that is the case then I can go for unlimited number of days on a trip and store all the trip information on Connect. Apparently it can also upload the data on social media like facebook or Strava. Since my Connect is already synced to Strava just connecting to Connect is enough for me. 

I shall be most curious to explore these features. Most reviews don't talk about these features. They only talk about all the training things that the unit can do like calculating VO2 Max etc. Who cares? 

Possible Upgrades/Accessories 

Even before laying my hands on the main unit I am considering upgrades :-) I think I would love to have a proper Garmin mount for the unit and speed and cadence sensors. But strangely enough I cannot find them with any online store here in India. REI in the US has the sensors for $70. The mount is available on the US Garmin store. Not that these are critically important to have but they are nice to have kind of accessories.

The unit comes with a mounting system that is rather basic. You can attach it to your handle bar or the top tube. But the after market mount looks rather cool and stays a little away from the bar. It is meant to be more secure in case the cycle falls. 

The cadence sensor is useful to have while on the trainer and using Zwift. Riding at a fixed cadence of 90 or so is ideal and to train while monitoring cadence is a good thing. I could not possibly have gone to Darjeeling without training on Zwift. And that training gets more teeth if you have a dedicated cadence sensor. The speed sensor, I am not sure about but if I go for additional sensors might as well get the full bundle. Theh speed sensor measures speed through calculating rotation of the wheel through magnetic field around the wheel. I am not sure how or why they choose such a complicated method.  

I think I will have to wait for international air travel to go back to normal and then for Mezda to travel to the US to get them. For some strange reasons these do not seem to be available here in India. 

Arrival, Unboxing and Charging

Today is Saturday 13th June, 2020. I just brought home the Garmin Edge 130 from Nikita's office.