Keystone Cycling

Preparing for you first charity ride

You have put in the hard work and now ready to tackle your first charity ride.  Before you set off on your journey make sure your bike is tuned up and ready to go.  If you do not work on your bike yourself don’t wait until the last minute to take your bike to the shop.  Bike shops are busiest this time of year and it’s not uncommon for a 10-15 day wait to get you bike back from the shop.  Call in advance to see how long the wait is and what arrangements can be made.  For example:

• Some stores have rental bikes which allow you keep riding.
• Some will let you hold a place on the repair schedule with a deposit.
• Lots of mechanics take bribes (wink wink)  Beer work well, but so does food and  good old cash.

Rotaz (Chin Haur) rear hub review

I purchased a new rear Rotaz hub in October 2011 and build a new rear disc wheel for my commuter/cross bike.  My review is only for a rear hub.

Out of the box you will notice that this is a light hub (228 grams) and that you can take the hub completely apart without any tools.  The hub has high flange design both drive/non-drive sides with a standard 6 bolt rotor mount.

After 800 miles of riding I felt that freehub was not coasting smoothly so I decided to take the wheel off and investigate.  Turning the cassette backwards by hand I could feel that the freehub felt gritty as the pawls clicked against the teeth. I pulled the cassette off and observed that the cassette had chewed big gashes into the freehub body.  Pulling off the freehub to inspect the springs, pawls and teeth it was apparent that the teeth where worn.  There are several design flaws that may have contributed to this rapid premature wear of the freehub:

• The freehub is made from a soft alloy which not appropriate for this application. 
• Poor machining tolerances.
• The toolless design allows a small amount of play.

The freehub is easy to replace, however the replacement cost is almost as much as a new hub and you should not be replacing your freehub every 800 miles.  Hubs should last for thousands of miles so no matter how cheap or light, this hub is  just not worth the investment.

Participating in Sponsored Events or Races

A frequently asked question is, “How do I get started riding in events?”  Here are the general quick and easy steps:

1. Pick an event that piques your interest or is in line with your beliefs/goals: Motivate and inspire yourself. Whether it’s a race, charity ride or bike tour. Pick one and plan at least 6-8 weeks to prepare.  You can use the ride/race link on the left to find one.
2. Know all the requirements for the event:  Some races require a racing license (i.e. USA cycling qualifiers; collegiate events) and many charity rides have fund raising requirements. It’s very important to know all of rules that qualify you for participation in the event.  That includes equipment, deadlines, registration and many more. 
3. Practice like you are participating:  Not only do you have to be fit, but you should be comfortable riding in a pack.  While nothing duplicates the pace and rhythm of a race, regular participation in group training rides will work wonders.

Tips of the Month

The “Tips of the Month” page is being maintained for reference but will no longer be updated.