After many months of not using my spin bike, today I was forced to because of a shoulder injury. 30 minutes into my work out one of the brake pads flew off (after increasing the resistance on the main wheel). It turns out the brake pads are merely glued to a plastic housing. How cheap can you get? Can you imagine if on a real bicycle, the pads were only glued instead of set inside a recessed housing?
The brand is Sunlite, also sold under the Forza label.
I already had many troubles early on as it was not tall enough to support my six-foot four frame. Consequently I had to have a local machinist drill out new holes to get to seat post high enough and to get the handlebars where I needed them.
Also, early on, I had issues with the brake pads as they squealed, and, unlike a real bike brake system, there was no way to adjust them into a “toe in” mode. I ended up taking electrical tape and creating a shim to get the preferred toe in position, thus eliminating the noise.
Author: Rando Richard
I’m an old guy (age 69 in 2023) who enjoys aerobic, endurance sports. I call myself a cardio-junkie. Perhaps the more appropriate term would be “ultra” endurance sports. Since I was a teenager I have always enjoyed “slow twitch” outdoor sports like backpacking, ice climbing, running, mountaineering, hiking, alpine skiing and randonnée skiing (alpine touring, backcountry skiing or skimo). In 2005 I starting running with more regularity — except this time it was not for the intent of getting ready for a mountaineering trip, but as an end to itself. From 2005 to 2007 I managed to eek out two seasons of ultramarathons — that is competitive trail runs up to 50 or 100 miles. Due to a nagging ankle injury from the 80s (an accident while ice climbing in the 1980s where my lower tib and fib were badly broken), I had to cease that grueling, but rewarding activity. I then migrated into ultra distance road cycling or randonneuring. The rides are called brevets (pronounced bruh-VAY, it’s French) and are minimally supported — they are similar to ultrarunning and backpacking where one must be self reliant. Although brevets are non-competitive, they do have have cut off times to qualify as a finisher. They are usually are done in groups, which can have a competitive slant to them. Today, I continue to participate in long distance cycling including some ultra-racing, randonnée skiing (a blend of cross country and downhill disciplines) and still get out on an occasional mountaineering trip.
Since 1996 I have been designing, manufacturing and selling camera bags. That is Kinesis Photo Gear (kgear.com). In 2005 I started selling cycling bags under the Kinesis label and eventually expanded it to including other sports like SUP (stand-up paddle boarding and some skimo). Consequently, it become eoGEAR — the “eo” stands for endurance outdoor.
My wife and I are empty-nesters now and we live and work out in the boondocks of central Utah, half way between Salt Lake City (great powder) and Moab (great red rocks).
Well, I guess that is all for now. Safe travels mate! Perhaps I’ll see you on the road or trail.
— Richard Stum
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