emily’s bike stuff
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An indieweb blog for my bike projects, maintenance, and riding. Bikes are utilitarian dream machines that I use for a chill lifestyle of transportation and joy.

A wheel in a truing stand with a person standing behind it with a tension meter.

Wheel True and New Derailleur Hanger

Kat trued a bit of lateral wobble out of my rear wheel and I got a spare derailleur hanger.

A close-up of a gold brake with the excess cable routed through its slot. It's mounted on a blue bike in a bike stand with a tanwall tire with black knobs.

Kat’s Bridgestone BB-1 Part 2: Basic Build Complete!

Kat threw on the old Eagle drivetrain from my defunct All-City to finish the build. Now she can play around with bike fit and see how she likes it before its final configuration.

A group of cyclists riding around a turn with a 'Mission Creek' banner on the right.

Fall Into Slow Streets Slow Ride

Another ride organized by Safe Street Rebel. Checking out Slow 22nd (future), Sanchez, Arlington, Shotwell, 20th, and Noe.

A spinning tire between two blue chainstays. The chainstay in front says 'Bridgestone'

Kat’s Bridgestone BB-1 Part 1

Maxing out the tire clearance and aligning the derailleur hanger on Kat’s new-to-her Bridgestone BB-1.

The drivetrain of a blue e-bike with a new Shimano CUES cassette, derailleur, and chainring.

Shimano CUES Drivetrain Upgrade for Egret

Attempting to solve the chain retention and shifting issues on my e-bike with a new drivetrain. Now it’s got a narrow-wide chainring, a clutched rear derailleur, and the extra chainline increases the gap so the chain can’t get stuck.

A close up view of a newly waxed Shimano CN-LG500 chain.

Chain Wax!

Alright nerds I did it, I waxed the chain for my e-bike’s new drivetrain.

A pink rigid bike with black-and-tan tires standing up against a median filled with sand and ice plant.

Quick Maintenance on the Hardtack and Egret

My beloved Tanglefoot Hardtack is coming back to me! Logging some maintenance records here.

Kat riding around the bend on one of the Golden Gate Bridge towers

October 2023 Riding Highlights

I’ve never been on the Golden Gate Bridge so many times in a month. Bike party, Slow Street rides, Marin Headlands, and Hawk Hill. And!! Dogs on bikes! Pumpkins on bikes!

A blue Kona e-bike and purple vintage Trek in front of a view of the San Francisco Bay facing towards the East Bay, some time after the sun has set

Thoughts After 2000km on an E-Bike

I’ve now put about 2000 km on my e-bike (~1250 miles) and want to write out my thoughts on e-biking compared to regular biking — the good, the bad, why I chose this one, and my political opinions on e-bikes that haven’t changed.

A blue e-bike with black fenders resting on an oak tree beside a dirt path surrounded by other old oaks

It’s Fall Y’all! 🎃💦 Time for Fenders

We’re getting into wet season so I begrudingly put fenders on my e-bike. Kona was a bit sly about the tire/fender clearance so I used a heat gun to open up the rear fender clearance a bit. It worked but it looks real bad.

The motor cabinet of a mid-drive e-bike with various loose cables coming from the downtube and chainstay

Misc: Internal Routing and Prof. Ronnie

Good thoughts from one of my fave bike influencers, a cute documentary, and internal routing on mid-drive e-bikes.

A Crankbrothers Stamp 7 left pedal in a bench vise beside a drill with a bolt extractor and grease port screw hanging on the bolt extractor

Grease Port Bolt Extraction

My seized grease port screw was stopping me from replacing the bearings in my left pedal. But it came out with a bolt extractor drill bit!

A 9-speed chain with caked on grime.

I’m So Close to Waxing My Chain

Maybe I’ve been reading too much internet while stuck at home with a cold but I’m basically convinced to try switching from drip lube to wax.

A buff tabby cat looking grumpy and sitting beside a crankset just out of view.

Linkglide Di2 Is Incompatible With E6100

Gus is grumpy at Shimano for not making their new electronic drivetrains compatible with older e-bikes. I have thoughts on why I’d like to try Linkglide and Di2!

The front of a 1x crankset with the chain case fixing mounts visible

1x Chain Retention Problems

My chain drops on the inboard side and gets real stuck between the motor and chainring. There’s a bunch of different solutions but none of them are perfect.

A variety of pedal components arranged in the right order for assembly

Crankbrothers Stamp 7 Bearing Replacement

Replacing the polymer igus bearings on my pedal!

Looking behind a person in a flannel riding their bike on a path between serpentine grass.

September 2023 Riding Highlights

New monthly riding record of 803 km! Including a lot of Bay Trail riding, goats doing work, unusually pleasant Golden Gate Bridge crossings, and a car-free Niles Canyon.

A purple Crankbrothers Stamp 7 pedal mounted on a right crank arm of a bicycle.

Crankbrothers Stamp 7 Play

My pedals have gotten pretty wiggly because the polymer igus bearings have worn out.

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