May Club Meeting Minutes

Regular Joined: Posts: 55

Minutes from the May Club Meeting:

I. Brian reviewed the minutes from the last club meeting.

II. BikeAbout mailing:

Delivery times were not what was promise by the Post Office. For the
June
issue, we will switch back to the Pre-sort 1st Class mailing.

III. Adirondack Sport & Fitness insert:

MHCC has purchased a four page insert which will appear in the May
issue of
Adirondack Sport & Fitness. The insert with include articles on bike
safety
from past issues of the BikeAbout, and a MHCC new membership
application.
The club has also purchased 2,000 extra copies to distribute to area
bike
shops.

IV. Road Safety:

Brian is still trying to contact someone from LAB to set a Road One
class.
No one has responded to his inquiries as of the meeting.

V. Bike Path:

Mark ? reported that there are plans to extend the bike path from
Rotterdam
to Montgomery County. Currently, the acquiring the necessary land is
in the
hands of the lawyers.

VI. The Web Page:

It was suggested that the link for "new members" be moved to the top of
the
web page. Members are encouraged to submit articles for the web site.
The
clubs hopes new articles will help to keep the web site interesting.
The
club is looking for an editor for the web page. If someone is
interested,
please contact Frank or Brian.

VII. The League of American Cyclist:

The League of American Cyclists are celebrating their 25 anniversary in
June
10-12th and are hosting several events to mark the occasion. See their
web
site for more details http://www.bikeleague.org

VIII. Miscellaneous Topics:

Other sport organizations list their events in the Times Union. Frank
suggested that we check into getting MHCC events listed in the TU.

An article about MHCC appeared in the Schenectady Gazaette on May 5th.

The club will hold a memorial ride in honor of David T. Ryan. This
year's
event will not be a fund raiser, but will promote bike safety along
with
honoring the memory of Dr. Ryan.

IX. Guest Speaker - Eric Whalen of the DownTube Bike Shop:

Eric spoke about bike maintenance covering different levels of bike
tune
ups, Basic, Deluxe, and Over Haul. A Basic Tune-up should include the
following items: true the wheels, adjust the brakes, adjust the hubs,
examine/adjust the shifters, clean and lube the chain, properly inflate
the
tires, and check the chain length.

A Deluxe Tune-up includes everything in the Basic Tune-up. In
addition, the
whole bike is cleaned.

The Over Haul Tune-up includes everything in the Deluxe. In addition
the
bike is taken completely apart and rebuilt. It's a good idea to have
an
older bike over hauled, because the grease will break down over time.

Bike maintenance is best handled as problems occur. It's better to
address
problems as they occur instead of letting them built up.

In general, once a year tune-up is good enough for most riders. If you
are
a frequent or daily rider, or ride in the rain, you may want to
consider
getting a tune-up more often.

The Downtube offers price breaks on the Over Haul Tune-up in January
when
business is slower.

After raining in the rain, you should wipe the bike dry, including the
chain
to avoid surface rust. You should lightly touch the chain with a dry
cloth
and re-lube the chain from the top near the hub. Don't over lube the
chain.
The chain should be greased, but not wet to the touch. Apply the
lube for
1 to 1 1/2 rotation of the chain. Continue to rotate the chain for 1
to 2
minutes after lubing. It is also a good idea to wipe down the rim
after a
wet ride, but in general a little rain won't hurt your bike.

Don't use the garden hose to clean your bike. It's not good for the
mechanical parts of the bike especially the crank. You also want to
avoid
getting water into the seat post which can cause your bike to rust.

Titanium bikes are very corrosive and should be kept dry. On the other
hand, Carbon fiber bikes will not rust.

The Chain: You should avoid riding in the both the lowest gear and the
highest gear because they put the most strain on the chain. It's a
good
idea to replace the chain from time to time. Chain tools will work on
lower
speed chains, but not on higher speed chains. For example, an 8 speed
chain
tool will work on 7,6,5 speeds, but not on a 9 speed.

Lube: Wet lube attracts dirt and dust. Wax lube doesn't attract dirt
and
dust, but builds up over time and is extremely difficult to remove.
Motor
oil is not effective as a lubricant for a bike chain. Also, WD-40 is
too
light to be effective on a bike chain.

What to bring on the ride: patch kit, a chain tool, and alan wrenches.

What to check, if you haven't ridden in awhile: Spin the wheels to
make
sure that the brakes are not rubbing. Check that the handle bars are
secure. Verify that the stem is secure and that the seat is secure.
Check
for broken spokes.

Adjusting the Derailer: The derailer cable can become lose. If you
need to
click twice to change gears, it may be a sign that the derailer cable
needs
adjustment. Also, if the chain is rubbing on the derailer, then the
cable
may need to be adjusted. The cable could be too lose or too tight.

The DownTube offers a bike maintenance class thru Knowledge Network for
the
do-it-yourselfers.