Tag: spokes

Pimp Your Bike

On By Michel McDonaldIn BikeLeave a comment

I just saw this article on the Dvice website.

Pimp your bike with MonkeyLectric LED wheels

This is so cool.  I used to have a little fan that did the same thing, I don’t know where that fan is but they sell them at the store for like $3.  But, who cares about such a small fan when you can have this on your bicycle on both the front and the back wheels.

It has 16 led lights on each side and it straps right to the spokes on the inside of the wheel so it’s not sticking out.  You can put 1 on your wheel or you can put 4 on your wheel or 1-4 on each wheel.  It’s really cool for teenagers at night so they can woo their friends and also be very visible to cars so they don’t get hit… from the side?  Cars can’t really see this from the back.

I wonder if this is street legal though.  I can see it being bicycle trail and skate park legal but what about the street?

This product from MonkeyLectric is only $60 per board and it takes 3AA batteries which are good for 30 hours.

Bike Tire PSI

On By Michel McDonaldIn BikeLeave a comment

I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  I’ve had bicycles since I was a kid and I’ve always had to fill them with air when they get low and I’ve never had an issue with following directions when it comes to how much PSI to put in them.  I’ve only been putting 20 PSI in my tires.  It clearly says on there 40 MINIMUM!  LOL I don’t know why I’ve only been putting 20 in.

I think it goes back to when I first got this bike, I bought a pump but the tire gauge that I have meant for a car wasn’t worth didley because it was saying that it was too low then I would pump too much air in the tire and pop it.  So when I first started riding again last year I bought a new pump with a gauge on it and for some strange reason was only putting in 20.  Well, I think 2 weeks ago I started putting in 30 but it still wasn’t enough.  And during my ride it goes down from 30 back to 20!  UGH!

Ok so I’ve put 40 in both and so in the morning hopefully they are still at 40 lol.  The night I started putting 30 in I woke up the next day to ride and it was completely flat.

Oh and my back tire isn’t true either, it’s wobbly.  I don’t think it’s bent though but I am going to have to buy the tools to tighten the cassette because I think it’s loose.  I’ve been hearing/feeling this clicking that is concerning me.  So I need the tools to tighten the cassette and a spokes tool to tighten those too because I think they might be the reason it’s not true.

I hate having to spend so much money on such a cheap Wal-Mart bike hehe.  If it were an expensive bike then fine, no problem, bring on the expense of tools but it’s not.  With all the money I’ve spent on tools just to maintain this stupid bike I could have bought another one.  Then again I wouldn’t be able to maintain that one either lol.

“Stuff”

On By Michel McDonaldIn Products I LikeLeave a comment

We went to Snider’s Cyclry today to get the parts for my bike.  I got a new stem that has an extension so that my handlebars will be high enough so I don’t have to raise them as much to get height.  I also had to buy new hand grips because in order to take the old stem off and put the new stem on I have to take everything off the right side of the bar to slide it through.  I don’t really have to take the grip off the other side but then it will be lopsided so I really kinda do have to.  All that was $25

Then we went and got my glasses frame which was $35.

And lastly we went to Target to buy a new computer because the magnet fell off the spokes when I had my accident and when I was putting the bike in the car today to go to Snider’s the wire snapped so I needed a new one.  But instead of buying another 20 function computer for $15 I bought the 12 function because I don’t need that computer, just the parts.  The 12 function computer was only $10 and I would’ve spent that on the magnet plus $2 on eBay which would’ve been a total waste of money.  While I was in the bike department I bought a new rear view mirror that goes on the rubber grip on the outside of the bike, not on the inside so I will now be able to see and I bought gloves with the tips missing.

Cyclo-Computer

On By Michel McDonaldIn CyclingLeave a comment

Well I bought a Cyclo-computer today at Target with 20 functions.  Some of the functions are Odometer, speedometer, how many calories I’m burning, how much fat I’m burning, timer and many more.  The way it works is I put a magnet on one of the spokes on the front wheel and I attach a sensor to the fork then the wire goes up to the computer.  The computer is also removable so nobody will steal it when I go to the store.

I also bought a new lock while we were there.  It’s a much better lock and it came with a bracket that attaches to the frame.  This new lock has a key so I don’t have to worry about a combination and the spare key is in a drawer just in case I lose my first key.  If I lose both keys then I will probably lose my bike forever because this is the type of lock that you cannot open easily.