Follow Up on the Trek Recall

A few months ago, I mentioned the Trek recall of certain bikes with defective front quick release mechanisms.  I took mine in to the Bicycle Sport Shop earlier this summer.  They fixed the problem in under 10 minutes (while I shopped for parts) and handed me the $20 gift certificate when the recall repair was over.   Quick and easy.

Cycling: Hydraulic Brakes + 105 Degree Heat = No Bueno

photo [by WDF's iPhone]: my heat impaired bike on the roof of my heat disliking VW Passat



Right now, as I write this post, I would like to be riding my mountain bike in the Barton Creek Greenbelt.  Unfortunately, it's too hot.  And, when I say "too hot," I don't just mean that I'm staying indoors to avoid a heat related injury.  No, it is apparently too hot for my bike's brakes to function properly.

I have a 2010 model Gary Fisher Cobia equipped with the stock ProMax hydraulic disc brakes and ProMax Hornet brake levers.  Apparently, the rear brake on said bike does not like the heat.  Since June, I have experienced several incidents wherein the rear brake has spontaneously engaged and locked up.

After consulting a couple of bike mechanics and having the brakes bled, I figured the problem would have been solved.  Unfortunately, the problem happened again last Sunday while the gf and I were attempting to ride over to Zilker Park.  I blamed the heat, and had this suspicion confirmed by a mechanic at the Bicycle Sport Shop.  His prognosis was that my bike's hydraulic fluid is heating up and expanding (both from the rotors/disks getting too hot as well as the air temperature cooking the fluid in the lines).  He mentioned that bike owners with varying levels of hydraulic brake systems (including high end systems like Shimano Deore XTR) have been coming into the shop with the same problem I've been experiencing.  He mentioned this right before I asked is buying a better set of hydraulic brakes would solve the problem.   As though the bike wanted to corroborate his story, the brakes began to function normally as the bike sat in the store's air conditioning; however, the rear brakes seized up merely from riding home on my roof rack and being exposed to the heat outside.

This is a fairly annoying problem for a mountain bike braking system to have.  For Summer 2012 I will be in search of a hydraulic system which can stand up to the heat as:

1. Austin can be insanely hot in the summer; and, 
2. You can't ride trails at night to take advantage of relatively cooler temps; and, 
3. Hydraulic disc brakes have excellent stopping power.

If you have a mountain bike with hydraulic disc brakes and they have been misbehaving this summer, it's quite possible that the heat is to blame.  If I find a braking system better suited for summer in Austin, I'll be sure to share on this blog.

On a more retro note: I'm also planning to have my old Trek 8000* refurbished.  It is equipped with some very old school wire pulled cantilever brakes which should be impervious to the heat.   That will be a good set-up to have, as I like for me to be the thing on my bike with the least heat tolerance.  

*Old, as in from 1991.  It has an incredible white-with-black splatter paint job which pegs it as belonging to a very tasteless year.  

Cycling: Map My Ride

[photo (by WDFloyd): my Gary Fisher 29er hardtail, parked along Shoal Creek]

From the age of 8 until about the age of 16, I biked a lot. Then I got a car. Mysteriously, the biking stopped. Then, in November, I decided I should work out more. I bought a Gary Fisher (or more accurately, Gary Fisher collection from Trek) hardtail mountain bike from the good folks at the Bicycle Sport Shop on South Lamar. Featuring 29" tires and Fisher's Genesis 2 ("G2") aluminum frame, this bike seemed to handle well and be capable of rolling over all sorts of obstacles. Biking resumed.

My Fisher mountain bike is a lot of fun to ride both on and off road. However, I recently found myself riding on paved surfaces quite a lot. A road bike seemed liked a good idea. Thus, I bought a Trek from the good folks at Mellow Johnny's. And I love it.

I rode it around downtown a few times and around Barton Hills. Then, on Monday night, after going to a reception adjacent to the TASA Midwinter Conference, I took the Trek for a night ride. It ended up being very long. And that is when I became curious about distance, which led to the discovery of Map My Ride.

Map My Ride classic allows you to set points on a Google street map with simple mouse clicks. You just drop and drop your route onto the screen, and instantly you know how far your ride was. While a cycle computer can tell you how far you've gone, this application does more by letting you map out prospective rides to find one which fits into the distance and area of town you want. The program will even figure out elevation. You can then save these routes for future reference.

Anyway, while the "classic" version is cool, and the new (Beta) version looks like it has a lot more tools for recording your progress with workouts, rides, training programs, and things of that nature. If you like to share, there are forums. Moreover, there is a mobile interface as well, so you can work with Map My Ride while you're out in the wild.

Check out either version if you're curious about distances of prospective routes, keeping logs of your rides, or you just tend to be obsessive about such things.