Friday, June 8, 2012

I can tell I'm getting better at this.

Last few weeks I noticed when I accelerated when I was at above 20mph, my rear wheel made swooshing noise.

Yea, this is what I have now. Mavic Aksium (source: Mavic)

I thought the hub was not tight enough, so the rim had play a bit. Nope. I checked and checked again, the play was less than 1mm side to side.

So I asked on the bike forum I go to, and they said, it's the noise the wheel set can make slicing through the air at high speed.

Ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Really!!!!!!!

I never though I could ride fast enough to make that noise. This never happened last year, and it's still early in the season, I can easily accelerate at above 20mph.

This is awesome.





Sunday, May 27, 2012

New chain lube

I've been using Finish Line dry lube in a spray can.
Yea, this one. (source: Finish Line)

It's "dry lube" so I expected my drive train stayed clean, but it stayed clean only for a couple of weeks.
So, I did some research about a chain lube that stays clean ride after ride, and ended up buying this.
Out of focus a bit. This phone camera is a bit tricky.

Many people said it's best to use "wax lube" regardless of the brand, and many recommended this one. Hmm.. Wax lube. Ok.
As you can see in the picture, it has clear blue-ish liquid part and white wax part. When you shake it hard, it becomes like this.
After shaking it. It's all milky white solution.
 The solution has super low viscosity. It's almost like skim milk, or milk+water mixture. I had to be careful not to spill all over the floor when I applied on the chain.

To test how good it is in keeping my drive train clean, I'll apply it on my bike and ride for 200 miles (not at once, but over a few days). Usually 200 miles is when my drive train turns black.
I'll post shots later.

These are the 0-mile shots. I just cleaned it up yesterday.