KMX Cobra brake problem.

I was having trouble with the brakes on my KMX Cobra. The right brake (my right as a sit on it) was coming on earlier and more strongly than the left side. So, off to the bike shop I went (slowly as the brakes were rubbing and not working well). Luckily Marc the bike shop dude is open to the idea of fixing weird bikes I buy on eBay. Some bike shops don't want to know you unless you're there buying one of their $2000 bikes.

We started fiddling. Trying to see if there was a way to adjust the brakes to get them acting more evenly. After half an hour of fiddling the brakes weren't rubbing any more but still pretty much the same for pulling the trike into broad slides.

What was happening was that I would slide sideways if I tried to brake. There isn't much traction at the best of times on the rear wheel so any braking on the rear whilst braking on the front would just cause a broad slide with the left side of the trike leading (so that's turning to the right while skidding). This would end with a roll to the left side when it got traction.

Anyway, there wasn't any adjustment that could be made to fix it. We figured that the left brake was activating later and less than the right. But why? We got it down to different levels of cable flex/drag. The cable housing to the left brake is roughly 800mm long whereas the right side is less than 200mm long. The left one has loops whereas the right one only has one loop.

Being unable to eliminate these perfectly normal problems with the left cable we decided to replicate them to the right brake. To do that we simply fitted the old left brake cable and housing. We had replaced the left cable and housing during attempts to eliminate the problem.

The excess length follows the left cable towards the centre of the bike then loops back to the right brake. The excess cable length doesn't get in the way or interfere with the steering.

This worked perfectly. The bike holds its line under full brake now. The rear wheel doesn't skid to the left when it loses traction. I don't have huge crashes under brake (it was fun until I dislocated a rib the day before a video shoot).

Helmets are necessary on drop bar racers.

I don't think anyone arguing against helmets thinks that they are a bad idea for drop bar racing bikes. This is very different to cycling to the shops on an upright bike.

Amazon.com: Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities (9780870714191): Jeff Mapes: Books

Amazon.com: Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities (9780870714191): Jeff Mapes: Books: "In a time of climate change and car-worship, bicycle riding has become a political statement and a policy issue, with its own grassroots movement working 'to seize at least a part of the street back from motorists.' After a dry but brief history of the bicycle and its political significance (Susan B. Anthony said bicycles have 'done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world'), Mapes reports from the world capitals of bicycle culture. Mapes explores Amsterdam, marveling at the ease with which cyclists, motorists and pedestrians share the road. In San Francisco and New York City, he finds cycling groups at their most hip and radical, and joins them on a 'Critical Mass' protest, in which cyclists take to the streets en masse to block traffic and take over rush hour streets; they've caused siginificant headaches for the NYPD, especially during the 2004 National Republican Convention. Focusing largely on the cyclists themselves, Mapes puts a passionate and pragmatic face to the 'new urban bike movement' while connecting the dots between cycling culture and a host of quality of life issues."

Sunrider Cycles

Sunrider Cycles

The Recumbent Blog » Blog Archive » Schroeder 2010 Human Powered Trike

A fully enclosed, streamlined recumbent trike.
The Recumbent Blog » Blog Archive » Schroeder 2010 Human Powered Trike

Man of the people with cities to save

Man of the people with cities to save:

"THE man whose life's work has been about making cities better places for people is not complimentary about Sydney. The city centre is 'backwards', 'anachronistic', and 'really rock bottom quality'. The CBD is cut off from the magnificent waterfront by giant elevated roads and a railway station. The buses are 'a study in mediaeval traffic planning'. The underground shopping arcades siphon life from the streets.

'You have the most wonderful city in the southern hemisphere and you push one-third of all your activities underground instead of celebrating the beauty of the harbour,' Jan Gehl says. In conclusion, Sydney is rich with 'good examples of what not to do'."

SBS: Cycling Central : Sydney's easy riders

SBS: Cycling Central : Sydney's easy riders: "A report in the Sydney Morning Herald on December 9 with the attached headline 'Cyclists getting an easy ride' had me thinking.

At first glance, I assumed it was another token opinionated attack on bike riders who choose to use two wheels as a form of transport or recreation, rather than get behind the wheel of their car."