Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Long Time Comin'

Well, OK!

It's been some time since my last post, I know. You have better things to do than keep checking to see if there's any action.

There hasn't been.

It's been a long cold winter, and I'm not doing much with bikes. I know that I should be out there riding, but lack motivation. It's getting harder and harder to get the clothes on, grease up the rear end, and go for a ride. It's about once a week now, if I don't have something else going on, or it isn't raining. It seems to always be raining (windy, cold, don't feel good, have to do something else) and I can't get out.

Yeah. Right.

But anyway, I think spring is coming. At least daylight savings time is next week. Whoo-hoo! My favorite day of the year. And, it's on my birthday! Which is becoming my least favorite day of the year.

So enough with the complaining. How can you complain when the s3x is available for around $120.00? I spent $240 on it when it first came out, but that's cool. I got to mess with it right at the start, and I enjoyed every minute of it and don't begrudge a dime.

It's so low now, I'm thinking I'll get another one for my Mercian fixie when the wheelsets become available cheaply. Remember what I said about building another wheel from scratch? It's pricey.

The Mercian is an English 70s frame made of 531. It's way old school, and light as a feather.

It has pump brackets. Nice....

It isn't pretty, since the paint's a bit beat, and it's sort of a robin's egg blue color. I don't mind it, because people always think it's some old track bike from 1900 and I get lots of thumbs up when I take it out. That's not often since I have a 53-16 ring/cog on it. I use it mostly on the fluid trainer when it's raining (I basically hate doing that).

Maybe I should put that fake wood vinyl shelf paper on the rims so they look like wooden wheels? I have kept the old cloth bar tape on the bars, which contributes to the decrepit-antique look.

I mean the bike's, not mine.

This frame fits me perfectly, like the old school Japanese frames I ride: tall with a short cockpit. It's pretty amazing to me that they built them this way. How many people have legs that are disproportionately longer than their arms? Anyway, I'd ride it out on the road more often if it had a 3 speed hub.

Building the wheel was kind of fun.... Who knows? Maybe I'll do it again.

So to end up, once again I'll ask for comments and observations on the s3x. I'm sure there's lots of folks who'd like to read about your experiences and discuss your questions/observations/opinions. I'll post them
as I get 'em.

Holla.

9 comments:

  1. Hi, im knew t the internal hub gearing and im looking at buying a bike with the Sturmey Archer (Muddyfox Phatsta). If i was to change the wheels or rims, are there any problems that are likely occur?

    many Thanks,

    Danny

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  2. Not sure what you mean? The Phatsta comes with a SA freewheeling 3 speed, not an S3X.

    What would you change? Go to S3X? That'd be as simple as changing the wheel and screwing on the shift cable, I'd say.

    Let us know...

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  3. Hello! I just ordered an S3X via eBay. What gear ratio would you recommend? My area is medium hilly. Also, I'll have to have the wheel built. Any recommendations on the rim? I'm lightweight (150) and shortish at 5'9".

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  4. Well, this boils down to personal preference. I like a 50/17, mostly. This is a compromise between being able to climb and go fast. I still can't climb everything, and can't go as fast as I'd like.
    As for rims, aero or regular? Strong or light? My hub is 36 hole, and the rim is an Open Sport.
    It's a beefy setup, but I'm 6'4" and weigh 220.
    Anyway, let us know what you went with and how you like it. I'm still enjoying mine (both of them!)and think the S3X is a great way to go.

    Vance

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  5. Wow. I was curious about the prices these days. On eBay they're available for $99.50 with free shipping!!

    But the Bike Island wheelset is still $300 plus $20 shipping.

    Hmmm. This makes building a wheel much more reasonable....

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  6. I've had my S3X for about a month now and am thoroughly enjoying it. I ordered it with a 13T cog, which gave me a 2nd gear comparable what I run on a FG bike, but as average wind speed here seems to increase in the fall and winter I've since realized I'd need to gear down at least for the off-season. Having ridden FG for quite some time I have a good collection of track cogs and didn't feel like coughing up $$ for another cog, so I mounted a 15T Dura-Ace threaded track cog on the S3X. If you're thinking "suicide hub" -- don't! By mounting one of Sturmey Archer's provided splined spacers between the cog and the lock ring, no torque can be transferred from the cog to the lock ring. The first few rides I checked the cog and lock ring afterward but neither have budged. I did, however, replace the goofy aluminum SA lock ring with a proper steel bottom bracket lock ring, mostly because I could never get a good grip on the SA lock ring with my tools. With the steel lock ring I can crank down like Godzilla.

    Here are a few pictures:

    http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/viscount/s3x-da1.jpg

    http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/viscount/s3x-sr1.jpg

    http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/viscount/s3x-sr2.jpg

    http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/viscount/s3x-fc.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cool. Thanks for the pics.I like the way the cabling looks going down the wheel stay instead of the seat stay. But, I get too many heel strikes to make it work for me. Interesting shifter mount, too.
    The alloy lock ring IS hard to tighten, and gets chewed up if you don't have the ball wrench (which I don't). I have a steel ring on one, and the alloy ring on the other. I'll probably get rid of the alloy one next time it's off.
    Thanks for posting your comments!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey, Vance - I've finally gotten around to installing the S3X-hubbed rear wheel that I bought earlier this year on the Giant Bowery fixie/single-speed that I used to use for commuting - until my knees gave out from all the steep climbs. I've got a little more work to do on it before I'm ready to take it out (frozen brake), but I'll let you know how it goes once I do.
    - Bruce

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  9. Yeah, fix that brake first!

    I find that the only time I use the brake is to bleed off downhill speed, or when someone tries to kill me out on the road. Even though it barely gets used, I wouldn't go out without a brake for anything.

    Let us know how you get on with your ride.

    ReplyDelete