Fred D's Ironman/Half-Ironman focused Mentor Group --CLOSED (Page 31)

40 miles in the books for today...now on to tackle some chores then relaxation after that!

Question for the group... today's ride was a bit grimy with the fog and mist...and usually, I've had a local guy that has done all my bike maintenence and cleaning. However, I want to be a lot more diligent in taking care of the new ride. What are some cleaning tips you all can share? What do you do for cleaning the chain, etc, on a regular basis?

I got a 10K run in the snow.  First run in the snow EVER.  I liked it.

It was in 4-5” fresh snow not heavy or wet.  I new it would be different with gate and pace.  I must admit it was more changeling with traction and a bit harder than I thought.

I used my Mizuno Wave Rider 14 they did great for me.  I went with them because the tread was more aggressive than my other shoes.  I don’t have trail specific shoes.  Although my feet were wet at the end of the 10K (55min) I was comfortable.  I rinse the shoes well, hung to dry and then went back out to shovel snow.

That puts me at week’s totals of;

So very happy and hope I can keep on going.

Nice ride.  Honestly I think that too many folks put too much thought into bike maintenance.  The best way to clean a chain is to properly oil a chain.  Many folks either never oil their chain or oil it wrong.  What I do is oil the chain well in advance of my ride, perhaps the day before or after my last ride.  What you want is for the oil to soak into your chain links.  When I am getting ready to ride I wipe off the excess oil.  No excess oil means less grime on your chain, but you gave time for the oil to get to where it needs to be.  Other then that I just wipe the bike down periodically.  This has worked for me in all my years in Oregon and I have biked in some god awful conditions.  I am a huge fan of giving mine to someone to completely take apart and clean every part, replace all the cables, screws, etc periodically.  I miss my Oregon mechanic.

I just posted this in main Tri forum.

Chain replacement is a variable thing depending on your maintenance, riding style and conditions.  I have replaced them anywhere between 1000-5000 miles.  Non pre-stretched chains Shimano and SRAMwill stretch over time, wear and shifting becomes poor.  There is a simple little tool to determine this.  Here is a good tutorial link to determine chain wear.  http://bicycletutor.com/chain-wear/

I do a lot of bike maintenance and chain cleaning is something I do a lot of.  You can get a lot of drag from a dirty and or worn out chain.  Plus it wears out other components.  I use a “Connex” quick link by Wippermann to make it very easy to take the chain off and clean it.  Taken it off it the best way to get the dirt out of in-between all the links. 

http://www.connexchain.com/Connectors/Connex-link/1_309.html

I also concur with bzgl40 oil procedures.  I would like to add there are a ton of different lube oils out there.  I use a general all purpose oil for all conditions because I clean the chain all the time.

bzgl40

That snow run was a blast.  The Wave riders worked well.  Thanks for the advice.

James

The thing I love about marathon training is when you get to say "thank god I only have to run 16 this week".  lol 

............and well you do.

I have not read the book- protocol? what was your number?

I just saw your numbers on your log..

If you are speaking of the death, it is not true.  Or do you mean something else?  I didn't see any stories on anything else

ETA: Check pennlive.com.  The family is a bit pissed about the death stories

yeah, it was an awesome post.  And as mentioned, took guts. 

Posted. 

It took me a little to compose, that was a bit emotional for me.