Danneaux's Nomad

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

What I should be doing (sprucing up the garden) on a beautiful, warm Spring day versus what I am doing... (running the wires for the Nomad's lighting system).

Easy choice.

Don't tell anyone.

Best,

Dan. (...who says, "Shh! Mum's the word!")

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

What a difference a day makes, weather-wise!

Today was overcast with some sprinkles and much cooler than when I worked on the Nomad's headlight wiring in the backyard yesterday. The new rear mudflap got a workout.

Still, it was a terrific day for a bike ride on the Nomad, and I went well up the Valley, then back via Weatherford Road, stopping at a little bridge over Muddy Creek so I could enjoy the wildlife. I saw and heard a bald eagle overhead, saw some white egrets and a great blue heron, then heard a splash at my feet and saw a good-sized nutria swimming in the water. Nutria are large rodents, an invasive species introduced to Oregon in the 1930s in an attempt to establish a nutria-based fur industry. They are remarkably pleasant creatures unless cornered, but people really shouldn't feed them (or feed bread to geese, which causes wing-feather damage and eventual loss of flight capability), as shown here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdMHMwLCjsE Nutria are considered an invasive species and do considerable damage to the environment. See: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/nutria.asp ...and... http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/nutria/

On the way back, I stopped by a private collector's attempt to recreate a vintage gas (petrol) and service station from the 1930s. He has worked on his collection over most of the last 20 years, and now it is complete enough to serve as a backdrop for my Nomad!

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

This afternoon turned out to be warm (60°F/15.5°C) and pleasantly sunny despite the forecasts, so I took the Nomad outside to make some progress on the rest of the light wiring. I removed the rear wheel and routed the taillight wire as I did on Sherpa, inside the left-side lip of the rear mudguard, through two Futaba R/C rubber grommets, and then employed a couple Dean's R/C #1225 gold-plated micro-connectors at each end so I can remove the rear 'guard or change to a different taillight in future with little fuss while leaving the rest of the wiring intact. I used a gel-type beta-cyanoacrylate and wooden clothespins to keep about 5cm of wire at a time under compression against the 'guard till the glue cured.

Unfortunately, I ran short of wire for the middle section and will need to buy more from Peter White. The Nomad's suspension-corrected frame design means there's a fair amount of space between front tire and downtube, and I want to span the gap by coiling the wire there to serve as a strain relief. Coiling takes up a fair amount of wire, leaving me just short for now.

While I had the Nomad on its side and the wheel out, I decided it was a good time to disassemble and thoroughly lube the EX (external) Rohloff shift-box, something I have pondered for some time. Given some past problems among Forum members with seized cover screws and cable problems, it seemed a good idea. I've had the bike about 6 months and didn't want to push my luck and encourage galling by leaving it alone past this point. I also wanted to make sure the unit was grease-sealed against the talc-like playa I will encounter in the desert.

I removed the two Torx screws that hold the cover plate and coated their threads with anti-seize. I then popped the cover and removed it and the pulley for the shift cable. Of course, the pulley is under some torsion, 'cos the cable wraps 'round it, but if you use care to keep tension on it, it may be removed laterally from the box with cables still in their raceways and the adjusters slide out as well with no change in tension.

While it was apart, I grabbed one of my cameras for some quick pics. The photos aren't not as crisp as usual 'cos I had one hand holding the spool under tension and the other hand had some greasy fingers I didn't want to transfer to the camera.

My shift box was innocent of any lubricant, and the red arrow shows where the EX housing contacted the edge of the pulley, causing some friction when shifting and showing some contact with the pulley. I greased that face, then pumped the lot full of my preferred Phil Wood waterproof grease and bolted it back together, torquing the cover-plate screws to spec. Shifting feels much more fluid and shifting effort is slightly reduced. Though it is often overlooked, Rohloff do specifically recommend lubing the EX shift-box, as Andre has mentioned on several occasions:
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3325.0
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=5049.msg26349#msg26349
http://coolmainpress.com/BICYCLINGRohloffEXTservice.html

There is a difference between what Andre and Rohloff have in mind and what I did today.

The Rohloff manual (here: http://www.rohloff.de/uploads/media/Service_en.pdf pg. 3, photo 5) indicates, "To lubricate the cable pulley bearing, remove the cable box and place a little grease on the parts arrowed in the picture above". I considered this carefully, and on looking at the side of the pulley, there were signs of friction. Since grease could migrate into the box from the open face of the click-box, I decided to fill the box with grease and monitor it over time. If the worst should happen and it gums up, it won't be a huge thing to dunk it in the solvent tank, replace the cable, and be back where I was. Yes, I also realize it would make cable replacement messier, but still possible.

My touring conditions are a bit different from others', and the talc-fine corrosive alkali dust I go through can filter into everything. I am hoping the Phil Waterproof grease will form a barrier; it is the only grease that proved to hold up in my use against Mt. St Helens' corrosive volcanic ashfall when I rode through it in 1980. Phil grease has worked well for me in a number of sealed assemblies over the years and even when pumped into freewheels and cassettes for use in sub-zero F temps, and I am hoping it will also work well here. This is an Experiment -- for Science -- and will provide an opportunity to see how it works over time. I have several months before I my next big tour, and will have ample opportunity to discover any problems before I leave.

Some tips, if you give this a try:

• First shift into Gear 1 or 14 to prevent indexing problems on reassembly.
• Once the cover is removed, keep the cable winding spool under tension and remove it directly toward the open side. The adjustment barrels will slide out laterally as well. With care, no tension adjustment will be necessary on reassembly.
• With the box open and empty, clean out any debris and then manually lubricate the lip shown by the red arrow.
• While keeping tension on the winding spool, slide the lot directly sideways into the box. If the cable comes out of the raceway or crosses another, the cable will effectively be too short to allow the adjusters to seat on their 'box mounts. This is something you should check, as a crossed cable will make for rough shifting, poor adjustment, and short cable life.
• Once the contents are back in the box, pump in sufficient grease to level and a bit more. You want the excess to squish out when the cover is replaced, ensuring a full fill and grease seal from the inside-out. Wipe off any excess.
• Retorque the Torx fittings to spec, refit to the hub, and call it done.

A quick and easy job, it took me all of ten minutes including the photos. I'll report back later as to how it all works out.

Best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

Nice writeup, Dan. With the assembled clickbox off (one thumbscrew) I put grease in whatever space there is to both the clickbox and the on-bike bit it mates with, also onto the threaded pins that position the EXT box, because we don't want those to corrode either, then fitted the click box back and wiped the excess grease squeezed out. I'm not planning on taking my click box apart until the cable gives out. If that causes problems, too bad. I have no intention of fitting or refitting cables to the spools until I have to, and prefer not to take the chance of losing tension by unbolting the thing just to take a look.

Edited on Friday 8 July 2022 at 24 minutes and 25 seconds past 19hrs Irish Summertime to correct the typo "change" to chance, lest I'm nibbled to death by the gnats of precision.

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

As most of you know, I like to keep a fairly clean bike, figuring it aids longevity. After a ride, I rev up the compressor and do a quick blowoff of any accumulated dust, then use a soft, freshly-laundered microfiber cloth dampened with alcohol- and ammonia-free window cleaner for a quick wipe-down. if the bike is rain-soaked, I gently bounce it on its tires to shake off the excess water, then dry it with an absorbent cloth. The post-ride cleaning takes all of five minutes if I get to it promptly.

As for the chain, I usually lube it the night before a longish ride so the lube can fully penetrate before use. Next morning, I use a paper towel on it to lightly wipe off any excess that remains so it won't sling off the chain.

I've been doing a lot of gravel-road riding recently -- both in the dry and in the wet -- and followed this routine again after the last ride and took and attached some photos of the result below. This is the original SRAM PC830 chain, relubed with Purple Extreme atop the original factory lube. It still runs clean and quietly and doesn't attract dust. The PE does tend to make the remaining original lube a bit "soupy" in the first 15 minutes or so after application, but this is nicely addressed with a quick wipedown before letting it sit overnight. No problems, drips, or slinging after.

Though I wish I had a Chainglider, the chain is staying pretty clean for now with this routine, just as it did on Sherpa. I think the Purple Extreme helps, but the real key is also the long Buddy Flap on the front mudguard. It keeps my feet much cleaner and drier and keeps the chain out of the front wheel's "spray zone" so it doesn't get as dirty. For my use, a long front flap is as important as a mudguard. The extended front 'guard (a repurposed rear 'guard) helps tremendously as well. The spray has lost much of its initial velocity and is directed downward by the time it exits the front. With the original short 'guard, I often rode into my own spray as it was thrown almost directly forward. The old French constructeurs knew this, and supplied their all-weather randonneur and touring bikes with front mudguards that extended similarly far forward.

Chain lubrication has been well-covered already in these threads:
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=2145.0
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=1210.0
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=711.0
...and we've seen photos of Il Padrone's Purple Extreme chain still doing well covered in red dust. I don't want to start yet another chain-lube thread in this topic, but thought I'd post this here 'cos it is a nice follow-on to my recent photos of wet/dry gravel-road riding and to some PMs and emails asking me if my chain stayed as clean as the rest of the bike. I've found the real answer to keeping the bike clean is mudguards with long flaps, a long front 'guard, and periodic removal of dust/dirt before it can "crust" and build layer upon layer.

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

Quick ride this morning, along the Willamette river and up the Valley. Weather was doing a bit if "everything" today, and I kept it short as I ran into heavy sleet and hail up North and didn't have rain gear with me. Still pretty; at times gorgeous. Well worth getting out.

Deliberate into-the-sun shot to silhouette the bike.

Best,

Dan.

[ianshearin]

Thats a great looking bike Dan 

[jags]

A lot going on with that Nomad but saying that it looks perfect very neat compact.
great looking bike.

[il padrone]

Yes, all looking very schmick Dan. That front mudguard has got me thinking..... although I never have any real bother from forward-flung spray. How did you get the second rear guard to do this? Did you have to buy a second set? Would be expensive.

And where ever did you get three Blackburn Bomber big bottle cages?? They are no longer made I thought  

[Danneaux]

How did you get the second rear guard to do this?

Pete, I had a second rear 'guard on-hand, though local bike shops often have spares left over when people come in with a broken one needing replacement. The customer gets the fresh pair they paid for, and the old but still usable one often goes in the recycle bin for lack of a better purpose. I'm that "better purpose". They are sometimes free for the asking, which creates value, so I have paid as much as USD$5 for "scrap" that had been thrown away (dumpsters and their contents are considered/on private property, so there is risk of a theft charge if I were to dive for them without permission). The bicycle racks mounted on city buses here help my cause. They use a spring-loaded arm that clamps the front wheel with a very strong spring...that breaks front 'guards if the patron gets it wrong when hurrying to board the bus. Bingo! Time for a new mudguard set.

To make it work, I emoved 110mm from the rear edge in the same profile ('guard ends at the same height as the brake pads), then re-riveted the lower stay bridge, using one rivet to catch the front Buddy Flap. I then used a hole punch to make plugs from the piece I cut off and used them to fill the original bridge-clip holes in the new front 'guard so water wouldn't spray through; I did the same on the rear 'guard. Beta-cyanoacrylate gel holds them in place, though the plugs are a hard friction fit. A salvaged stay bridge is riveted to the front of the extended 'guard, and a spare set of cut-down PlanetBike stays attach to the forward corners of the Thorn Low-Loader MkV pannier racks (same angle as the rack braces) to secure the extension. I covered the stays with heat-shrink tubing so they match the frame's matte black.

I did something very similar on another bike years ago (pic below to show the extended 'guard that inspired the Nomad one), and was astounded at the difference it made for my use. A conventional "short" front guard typically ends at a line not too far from vertical when drawn through the front axle. When riding in heavy rain, water exits forward at a pretty good velocity and I found myself riding directly into it, getting splatter on my thighs, knees, the upper part of the fork, the lower headset and the brakes; it all drained down from there. Once I extended the mudguard, I found it made a world of difference. By the time the spray exits at a lower height, it has lost some of its speed and is directed downward. My lowrider-mounted panniers stay much cleaner, too. The extended front 'guard really needs a nice, long mudflap to fulfill its purpose. I use the Buddy Flap for that: http://www.buddyflaps.com/ On the Nomad, I balance the length between coverage and the need to clear sagebrush and such in the desert, so they end a bit higher than standard rando practice.

Utopia (Andre has a lovely Kranich made by them) do something similar but with less coverage: http://www.utopia-velo.de/relaunch/index.a4d# Most Honjo fenders extend forward a long way for the same reason and sometimes employ extra stays: http://tinyurl.com/chxzqr3 Classic French constructeurs Rene Herse and Alex Singer did this, as do Toei, Cherubim, and Royal Enfield in their reproductions. The appearance is strange and unsettling to contemporary eyes, but function is far superior for keeping bike and rider clean and dry in the really wet conditions I often find in Oregon's rainy months. The long rear Buddy Flap is standard practice for randonneurs in a draft and is considered a polite necessity when riding in the rain with a group. A former classmate of mine from uni wrote this about them: http://www.cyclingportland.com/2010/12/13/buddy-flaps/

...where ever did you get three Blackburn Bomber big bottle cages?? They are no longer made I thought

It wasn't easy! I did search a number of old shops. Mostly, I purchased them when they were shortly out of production and so less expensive and put them away against future use. They do still show up on eBay from time to time, even as NOS: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BIG-Blackburn-Bomber-B-52-Water-Bottle-Cage-1-5L-51-Oz-New-Unused-NOS-/221191871926?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3380101db6 A not-too-used one here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLACKBURN-COPPER-CANYON-CYCLING-Extra-Long-Large-Water-Bottle-Cage-Alloy-2L-/130862869009?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e7808ea11 They aren't cheap anymore, though. The Nomad ones transferred over from Sherpa. I have another, which is used on the tandem in warm weather.

The Bombers are built around a very strong hollow extrusion; I have not found a 1.5l bottle holder as sturdy since. They also have a number of mounting holes so their position can be adjusted (as when mounting beneath the downtube). Their limitation is in fitting bottles of the old Evian standard. In recent years, many bottlers have gone to proprietary designs, so it is sometimes a bit hard to find bottles to fit exactly, though nearly all are secure. When a mismatch occurs, I transfer the contents to my bottle and ride on.

If you'd like, Pete, I can keep my eyes open for some for you.

Best,

Dan.

[il padrone]

Discussion of guards and mudflaps suddenly got me thinking - an easier solution: a front-end mudflap?? I went looking out at a plastic container to cut up for this, then looked at my front mudguard end and saw this :



Not my bike, but my mudguard has the same plastic bumper at the front. I've often wondered why it is there and whether I should remove it, but now I realise it provides a lip at the front inside the guard. This probably explains why I don't seem to find the spray a problem - it gets disturbed and slowed into drips rather than a flying stream.  


As for the Blackburn Bomber, thanks for the offer Dan. I have one myself and only really use it on summer tours or the rare desert expedition. I would like one or two more to go on my wife's and son's bikes, but I'll keep my eyes open on ebay. Thanks for the links.

[NZPeterG]

Hi Dan,
Thanks I have been watching the NOS Blackburn Bomber on Ebay for a week after you write about them on a differed  post.
But after you posted a link to it! well I had to hit Buy How 

I hope that the bottles I can get in NZ will fit 

Pete
 

[Danneaux]

I had to hit Buy It Now

Yay, Pete!

Good on you; glad you got it. Hopefully bottles will fit, as the Bomber cage does best accept the bottles that hew to the original and most popular Evian design.  I have found bottles a little smaller in diameter or a little shorter still work fine and fit securely without rattling. The neck hoop does a good job holding the bottle, and the rubber strap stretches over and has a lip to lock beneath the bottle's screw-on cap. The rubber on mine shows no sign if deteriorating even after a lot of desert sun exposure.

A final tip: Most 1.5l bottles don't include a pop-top ("sport") nozzle. No problem; most of the caps from the same brand's smaller offerings will fit the threads of the larger bottles, so you just buy a small bottle and swap the cap if you prefer convenience over a screw cap. Even better: A Blackburn version is included in your NOS Bomber package. Double-yay!

Best,

Dan.

[NZPeterG]

Thanks Dan
 

Pete
 

[il padrone]

If you get Mt Franklin Spring Water in NZ, their 1.5L bottle fits in the cage very nicely.