Amen!...people used to think I was nuts when I took the stairs, but I usually beat them to the 2nd floor and I got the exercise while they got the pounds.

My wife drives me nuts. I like to park away from the door bangers whenever we go shopping, but she wants to park right by the door and will circle the lot waiting for someone to move. Then she goes home and gets on her $1000 treadmill!

Honestly there's a lot of truth to this. When I raced on the road, I always had a training set of wheels and a racing set. The difference in weight was atleast 1.5 lbs. Then we I got on a very well sponsored team, I had two complete bikes, one for my very hilly races and stage races, and one for training and criterium races. My lightweight bike was about 17.5 lbs for a 54cm frame, which back in 1995/6 when I was still racing road. Then the switch to mountain biking and christ, a good set of wheels alone would be 3 lbs difference with tires, tubes, rims, spokes, hubs, you name it.

Now, all my bikes are *heavy*. I have a dutch bike that is all drum brakes and steel rims, and I swear the tubes aren't even butted! Its like 40lbs. Add to that my son Matty (he rides on the back now) and its easily up to 65 lbs. That makes for some fun stuff on hills!

Here's a pic of him on it when he was smaller and couldn't hold his head up on the rear seat last July:



Now talk about heavy, here's my friend's bike. He's 6'5" and he's got 2 kids...and groceries. This thing is awesome! Luckily there aren't many hills there in Gronigen.



ok so back to Master Brake Cylinders...do I want a smaller bore size or larger bore size for good response on my manual disc brake conversion?



MJ

Smaller bore = "easier" pedal with longer travel.
Larger bore = "harder" pedal with shorter travel.

You have to pick your own compromise. Which one to get depends on things like what kind of brake pad you're going to run (hard semi-metallic pads, you'd want the smaller-bore master; soft organic pads would let you use a larger-bore master).

I've tried various combinations and I keep coming back to organic pads and a 1" bore master cylinder without a booster on my cars with the 4-piston discs.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

everything i've read about the KH discs says to use organic pads--overheating isn't going to be an issue so no need for semi-metallic. Also, it'll save my rotors a bit

The 1" masters, I've not seen those much. Are they what was spec'd for 70-72 dusters with discs? The ones I always seem to see are the 7/8" and 1 1/32" bore ones. I think i'd prefer a harder pedal so it doens't travel too far down.

Thanks Dan!

MJ

True and correct. Organic pads can be a little hard to find for this system, I've found, though I haven't looked all that hard 'cause I've been using up my supply of NOS Mopar ones.
All K-H disc brake A-bodies through the 1970 model year. Starting in '71, the bore went to 1-1/32" or 15/16", depending on whether or not the car was equipped with a booster.
Too hard is a nuisance.

Thanks Dan!

MJ[/quote]

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Ok lets quantify "hard" and "soft". About how much travel are we talking about for a soft pedal? Or a hard pedal? That would help me figure out what my current one is (its stiff, travels about an inch or a little more before it feels like it starts to grab, then I have about 2" more travel till its really stiff).

MJ

The manual discs on my '73 truck have a very hard pedal. The pedal travels less than an inch, but you need a strong leg. The MC is from a '79 Aspen with manual discs, but I don't know the piston size. Had I known how much pressure I would have to apply, I would have used a different MC.

This is funny...great minds...I also run up and down stairs whenever the op arrises...and I lost 60 pounds last year riding my 1978 custom Trek road bike...I have very long legs and use a 27" frame...about a 25 pound bike.

Everyone keeps telling me to get a new bike...but mine is tuned like my racecar to fit me perfect, I ride 50-65 minutes 4 times per week minimum(except the last few weeks) thats 13-20 miles...average 16mph at a cadence of 90 revs per minute or faster.

Got my resting heart rate down to the high 40's in the fall...

But alas...winter...got to kick the 10 I gained back good buy.

Master cylinders...I just switched my manual disk GTO (3500#'s) from a 1 and 3/16" bore to a 1 and 1/8" bore and the pedal travel went from very hard (to hard, but I dealt with it for 20 years)to damn near power brakes.

My KH4's for the Valiant I bought the 1" bore master for manual use...I'll post what I think about how it works in a couple weeks when its done. The model I got was the Wagner R75800.

Gearhead

_________________
64 GTO...10.80's@122 on street radials
Destroked 455, Qjet, stock ign, 2400 stall

64 Valiant
Old 225, 4spd, 2.92-8.75, 2bbl, headers
dual 2.25"

Good to hear on the MBC. What model trek do you have? Those oldies with nice Reynolds 531 tubing are classic. I love them. You'll lose it again--consistency is key.

BTW 40 is a very low resting rate? Do you have a large heart? What's it sitting at now? Even when I'm at top form, my resting is like 44-48. Course my max (i'm 33 keep in mind) is still just about 201-203. Guess that makes me part bird heart or something...

MJ

BTW for giggles

H'mmmm. Can't find R75800 in my catalogues, but my brake catalogues aren't complete. Is this a single- or dual-type master cylinder? For what application?

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList ... ber=R75800

Doesn't give an application, but I can try some guesses and see what I find.

MJ

The page you gave shows 1971 Dart. That'd be either a 1-1/32" or a 15/16" bore master, if the application is correct. THe 1" bore cylinder was used up through '70. But wait, the PartsAmerica site also shows this master cylinder for a '70! So something's not right in PA's catalogue.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

its strange, you can change the car types if you're on that part, and it will keep showing that part. I clicked on the "Buyer's Guide" link and it showed there were no applications recorded for that part. But they stock it

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductGuid ... ame=Wagner

Where do you get a bicycle with a 27" frame? Sounds like what I need.
I'm still riding my 26 year old Schwinn Suburban. I just replaced the ORIGINAL front tire a month ago, gumwalls dried up years ago and fell off. Finally the stuff between the cords/threads dried up and blew away and I could see the original inner tube through the sidewall of the tire!

I don't remember the application...I just told them I wanted a manual disk brake master cylinder for the earliest application they could find...

Typical parts store guys...they get me a single master. Second try a dual comes in...I took the calipers and measured...it was a 1" bore, and after my experience with the GTO...I figured that should work, and its sounds like it will from what you all are saying.

Craig and NewLancer:

I am amazed how small modern bikes are...nobody even stocks a frame I think is large enough for me...

In 1978 in high school, I was riding with my friends all over the city, and occasionally 50 miles up into the mountains, such as Timberline Lodge on Mount hood... 6000ft altitude from PDX at sea level.

I did a report on bicycling in school and learned about bike setup and cadence and such...so I junked my old schwinn Varsity and had my Trek custom built from parts. There is no model number or title on the bike, and I don't remember if it had one. But the frame is huge and fits me well and has a nice ride. I remember the frame being the slightly heavier gauge steel but had the silver brazed joints. And I couldn't afford the really good hardware so I got SunTour stuff and Die-comp brakes(lousy and have caused me two bad accidents over the years...)...I had an Avocet seat installed which after twenty years is finally wearing in...and a gear cluster with a granny gear installed because I am surrounded by hills 1000 ft high...and when I bought the bike, I lived at the top of one...so it was always up hill home. This prompted ordering longer stroke cranks at the time to help with leverage.

So i've got a low geared, long stroke torque monster of a bicycle. But it rides so nice I just can't see spending for a new bike what it costs for most of the internals on a new /6.

My heart rate, to my surprise, for a few weeks last summer when I was riding everyday, carefully following a training pattern to keep from overworking myself, yet burning enough calories to kick some big gut goodbye...my heart rate dropped to 46-48 during the mid afternoon when I would typically get tired aroound five and need a short nap(common for me for 15 years now). Also, all my normal terrible grass allergies disappeared... typically though it was 56-60 during the afternoon even when working. Better than when I was in high school!

I got so enthused about data acquisition I almost bought a heart meter/cadence rpm sensor and chain tension sensor to monitor instantaneous calorie consumtion and plot my heart rate 24 hrs a day. But the price tag for everything scared me off...

Right now, at 6am, after working around the house for a 1/2 hr cleaning, and then sitting down here...my rate is at 60bpm, and I haven't been riding much at all due to 30 days of wet weather and time consuming obligations...but its nice today, so I ride the next three days no matter what!

My blood pressure has always been excellent as well, but was finally creeping higher these last few years with the extra 60 pounds.

All of this was basically because I can't afford health insurance, and I have three friends with adult onset diabetes. I decided to take my health into my own hands and practice preventative maintenence. But my blood pressure came down almost right away. So I don't think my arteries are clogged to bad or my heart would have to work harder to get the blood flow moving. Anyway...seems to be working, haven't been sick in ages, feel great almost all the time...and have muscle instead of fat almost everywhere.

I have a mild form of Muscular Dystrophy, so strength has never been great, but maybe I do have a large heart....two things...I've always had a ton of stamina...and women have always found a way to take advantage of me even when I was trying to be a arsse to them!!! LOL

I have also always had a set of lungs on me that others seem to notice and wish they had...but since they are all I ever experienced, I don't know what other lungs would be like, so I can't say...

I've noticed many bicyclists (and in PDX they are a huge number) are snobbish and won't talk to you unless it is down, and seem to ride their hardware as a badge.

Oh well,

Karl

_________________
64 GTO...10.80's@122 on street radials
Destroked 455, Qjet, stock ign, 2400 stall

64 Valiant
Old 225, 4spd, 2.92-8.75, 2bbl, headers
dual 2.25"