Black Mountain Bicycles

Before heading back home today, my step-dad and I took a trip to Trader Joe’s to get the usual pasalubongs (Tagalog for souvenirs/gifts). Hawaiians love Trader Joe’s and I mean LOVE! Anyway, right next door was Black Mountain Bicycles and my step-dad asked if I wanted to check it out. I didn’t because I was running pretty late (what’s new), but I wanted to check out Trek’s entry level road bike.

They’ve moved since I last stepped into their store and they’re now at 9860 Hibert St. Their new location is super huge with their products nicely spaced out, and they carry mostly Trek and Specialized bicycles along with a few other brands. 

An employee brought down a Trek 1.1 for me to checkout and I found out 52 cm fit me pretty well. He told me that the 1.2 would be a better deal though because the 1.1 still had an aluminum fork, while the 1.2 and most other newer road bikes had carbon forks. He also mentioned that most of the other components were upgraded. He didn’t have one on the floor, but he said that they could build any bike that they carried for me to checkout without any commitment to buy since building bikes was what they did. I told him no thanks since I was just visiting, and we looked around a little more.

I thought my step-dad had caught the road bike bug after showing him the bike I had and what I wanted, but after taking a turn at the next display, we were greeted by the BMX section! Maybe my brother will have his road bike with an adjustable seat by the time I visit again lol.

New Bike Pump and Seat Bag

I have been putting off buying a bicycle pump this whole time, thinking that bike tires were like car tires and that they only needed to be checked once in a while. WRONG. I bought one today after looking in two shops (actually I've been checking every where I go) and pumped up the tubes right when I got home. I test rode the bike up the local hill and around the block and the result was a more firm and nimble ride. The front was a little wobbly at around 25 mph which I think is because of the new reflectors, but we'll look into that another time.

Circuit
Distance: 1.9 mi
Elevation Gain: 78 ft
Moving Time: 0:09:57
Max Speed: 25.7 mi/hr
Avg Speed: 11.6 mi/hr
Calories: 71

I went to The Bike Shop earlier today with Michelle to check out their selection of bicycle stuff. It's nice to see that there are so many shops in Honolulu within a small vicinity because they usually all carry different things. The Bike Shop is located on King Street, right before crossing Piikoi and their parking lot is behind the shop through a short alley. They carry mostly Specialized bikes and their stock was a little more on the expensive side. Everyone inside was very nice though and they seemed very knowledgeable. We browsed around for a little bit and then headed to my favorite LBS.

We already knew though that it would be McCully Bicycle & Sporting Goods saving they day. I went in there looking for the cheapest pump they had. They carried a $19.99 pump, but it didn't get too many favorable reviews online, so I went up one price bracket. I ended up getting the Blackburn Air Tower 1 Floor Bicycle Pump for $29.98+tax. It has a Presta/Schrader AnyValve head which I needed because my rear tube is Schrader and my front tube is Presta. Don't ask lol. The Air Tower series from Blackburn also did not have too many accuracy complaints which is the most important factor in buying a pump! It seems well built and Blackburn offers it with a LIFETIME WARRANTY! The shop even told me to just bring it in with the receipt if I had a problem and they would take care of it. I have also read many accounts online about people just calling the company up and also getting thing taken care of that way.

 

I checked and pumped my tires right away when I got home.

 

 

I have been riding around with less than half the recommended tire pressures! The first reading was of the front tire and the second one was of the rear and from the looks of it, I would have been the perfect candidate for a pinch flat. Pinch flats are flats resulting from an under inflated tire becoming pinched up against the rim when running over things. I am so lucky that it hasn't happened to me yet!

 

I also bought a seat bag/pack from McCully, so I wouldn't have to carry anything in my pockets anymore while riding. I've been carrying my cell phone, keys, money, etc. in my shorts with zipper pockets and it felt really bulky. I got the Jandd Hurricane Mini Mountain Wedge which was the only WATERPROOF pack they carried. Everything else was just water resistant.

 

 

Now all I need are fenders!

The Ala Wai Mash

Went out a little late today. I had to wait for Eki Cyclery to open at 9am to get the strut kit Jayne put aside for me yesterday. Then I had to get water. During my ride, I stopped by McCully Bicycle and Sporting Goods and went through Ala Wai Boulevard before heading home, totaling 7.5 miles.

Strava Stats

1st Half
Distance: 5.6 mi
Elevation Gain: 0 ft
Moving Time: 0:29:19
Max Speed: 22.8 mi/hr
Avg Speed: 11.4 mi/hr
Calories: 126

Back Home
Distance: 1.9 mi
Elevation Gain: 51 ft
Moving Time: 0:10:53
Max Speed: 20.4 mi/hr
Avg Speed: 10.4 mi/hr
Calories: 55

Before sleeping last night, I thought about setting some biking objectives. I told myself that for starters, I should ride around 10 miles a day during the weekends, and around 2 miles, or maybe even 30 minutes a day during the weekdays. I remembered that Michelle bought an Outdoor Products Kilometer 2.0 Hydration Pack Camelbak thing a while ago for hiking, and since I had around a 10 mile ride the next day, I should make use of it.

I headed over to Eki Cyclery after dropping Michelle off to work and picked up the strut kit for my rear rack. It was a great deal at $6.95. I also bought a Long Sunlite Bicycle Wheel Reflector Set for $3.95! Eki Cyclery is located on Dillingham Boulevard and carries mostly Raleigh, Schwinn, and Dahon bicycles. They have a great assortment of accessories with prices comparable to my favorite LBS. The staff is also very helpful and knowledgeable and if they didn't know something, they will admit it and not beat around the bush. I actually walked around their shop for maybe 30 minutes before checking out.

When I got home, I tried mounting the rear bike rack, but then realized that I was missing the mounting screws! Luckily, McCully Bicycle and Sporting Goods had them in stock for 50 cents each (When I got back home, I found out that these were the same screws on the bike already used for water bottle holders and accessories uhhh). I installed both reflectors on the front wheel and headed toward the store.

After getting the last of what I needed to attach the rear rack, I kept on going up King Street toward Kaimuki. It was a little scary sharing the road with cars coming from the freeway off ramp, so I stuck on the sidewalk. I turned right onto Kapahulu Avenue and headed toward Ala Wai Boulevard.

There is a nice, flat, straight bike lane on Ala Wai Boulevard that I've been wanting to get on ever since I got the bike and it was everything I was hoping for when I did. The road was nice and smooth and had a 0.0% average grade through out the ride according to Strava. I got some real satisfaction from pushing through the gears, knowing that it was ALL ME powering the smooth ride and not a downhill. Naturally, there would be a Strava Segment on this stretch called Ala Wai Mash which I got 158th place on lol. Pretty fun ride regardless.

Ala Wai Boulevard consists of a few stoplights that are usually green. Car lanes are to the left of the bike lane and designated parking is to the right, so watch out for opening doors. The bike lane ends a long ways away from the intersection crossing McCully Street and signs suddenly tell you that you can take a whole lane. Cars turning right with you in the intersection will start getting impatient, so be careful toward the end.

I take McCully Street toward my usual route, down bumpy Beretania Street and up Piikoi Street. The end. I want to go back ASAP!

 

My friend told me to take a photo on the drive side which I found out was the proper way of taking bike pictures so enjoy! lol

First Ride, Tune-Up, Lock, Reflectors, and Brakes

Had a great first ride out today. Went to the LBS repair shop and back home totaling 5.6 miles.

Strava Stats

To the Repair Shop
Distance: 2.3 mi
Elevation Gain: 0 ft
Moving Time: 0:15:18
Max Speed: 18.0 mi/hr
Avg Speed: 9.0 mi/hr
Calories: 42

Back Home
Distance: 3.3 mi
Elevation Gain: 38 ft
Moving Time: 0:21:18
Max Speed: 22.8 mi/hr
Avg Speed: 9.3 mi/hr
Calories: 81

I took my bike to the McCully Bike & Sporting Goods Repair Shop for a tune-up and the guy there was very accommodating. He took a quick look over my bike and snuck me in a waiting time slot since everything looked fine. He told me to come back in an hour or so, so I went to Longs, got some C2o Coconut Water, then headed a few blocks toward the LBS.

I have been looking at bike locks online and previously thought that all locks were the same, until I watched some videos on how to properly lock your bike. I got really interested in Kryptonite locks because they have a key replacement program if you happen to lose all of your keys. I got the Kryptonite Kryptolok Series U-Lock with Transit FlexFrame Bracket and 4-Foot Flex Cable and the key numbers are etched into the plastic part of the key end. Amazon currently had them for under $40, but I needed it ASAP, so I just went ahead and supported my LBS.

Just fyi though, most if not all of the KRYPTONITE LOCKS SOLD AT WALMART DO NOT HAVE THE REQUIRED KEY NUMBER TO RECEIVE KEY REPLACEMENTS! (i peeked inside the boxes and checked)

Anyway, I asked the LBS if they sold reflectors and they just gave me a pair for free. They ended up being too small though :/

 

 

I also got a small cable to lock down the seat, but I am still debating if I should use it or not.

 

 

I headed back to the repair shop after an hour and my bike was ready. The guy said that he adjusted my brakes and gears and that most everything checked out, but the rear brakes were down to the metal. He replaced them and said to always replace the brakes because they are only $5 toward your safety and are very easy to replace myself. He charged me $20 and even installed the new lock I just bought on the bike. Seemed like a great place, so I will probably bring all of my bike problems to them lol. Does anyone know what brand of brakes these are?

 

 

The rest of the ride was a little nerve wrecking, trying to get used to driving on the road, but eventually I retreated back to the sidewalk. I took a different route to get back home taking in the beautiful local scenery (less busy streets).

Bike Lights: Bell Radian Light Set

I rode the bike around the block after work today and quickly realized that I needed some lights. I actually also needed some reflectors since the bike didn't even have any! So off to the LBS I went.

The employee at McCully Bicycle & Sporting Goods (which is not even at McCully btw) recommended the Blackburn Click Combo Light. They were a pair of nice looking front and rear lights that were easy to install and remove. The lenses clicked in to turn on and off and could either be steady or have a strobe effect (actually pretty standard for most bike lights). The set was around $20 at the store and was currently the same price on Amazon.

The price was perfect, but I didn't want to have to take the lights on and off the bike just so they wouldn't get stolen off the rack. I looked at a few other lights and had a problem with all of them, so I decided to just go home.

When I got home, Michelle asked if we could go to Walmart (of course I said yes! I love roaming Walmart for some reason). I went straight to the bike section and looked around. They carried mostly Bell and Schwinn gear which all had a cheaper look and feel to them compared to the stuff at the bike shop. One light set caught my eyes though.

It was the Bell Radian Light Set which was priced under $17! I liked them because the packaging said they were waterproof and shockproof. Complaints on Amazon for bike lights were usually water seeping into the casing or the light just falling off or apart, so these were perfect! They also attached using hex key screws which I liked.

Also picked up some bandanas, so the sweat doesn't drip down my face while biking.

Forgot about the reflectors though :/

Got a Helmet: Bell XLV

Got a Bell XLV Bike Helmet today. Actually went to the LBS (LBS means local bike store or shop in the online biking community) yesterday, but thought it was a little expensive. Checked online and it was around $30 on Amazon. Great price, but couldn't wait, so I came back to the LBS earlier and paid the $39.98+tax. The store's name is McCully Bicycle & Sporting Goods if anyone is interested.

I measured my head the day before and the largest circumference was a whopping 59cm! I have a big head lol. The size range stated on the inside of the helmet is 58-65cm. I could fit a regular size, but I wanted to wear a bandana under my helmet and this XL one fit pretty well with one. The Bell XLV Bike Helmet comes in black, white, or silver and is an extra large size version of the Bell Venture Bike Helmet.