So the bank holiday soon passed quickly (visited Andy on his LeJog walk and realised just how hilly most of the UK outside Northamptonshire is!) Now it's only days until my first triathlon of the year - Grendon, with the swim in Grendon lake. It's been very cold these past few days so wetsuit notwithstanding, I rather hope it warms up a bit next weekend. We shall see.
The bike maintenance is going well with the bottom bracket on the racer removed and time to get it all back together (fingers crossed!) If not, I'll be doing the triathlon on the touring bike - I might take the panniers off first :-)
Other than that, some necessary housekeeping on the blog, including improving the links and adding a Just Giving page - that could be by way of a hint, if you choose! I guess now the blog is now truly ready to meet the world.
Showing posts with label bike maintenance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bike maintenance. Show all posts
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Falling in love again...
I came into work on the touring bike today - the actual LeJog bike! And I have to say that it felt pretty wonderful. The big comfortable saddle, the big tyres, the smooth ride ... it really is like falling in love agin, which is great given the inital reservations I had about the bike. OK so I still aim for the downtube to change gears with a lever instead of the little switch thing on the brakes, but that's something you soon get used to. And the ride is so much more comfortable than on skinny racing wheels. The state of the roads around here is awful. Potholes are filled in and then instantly re-form. There are loose stones all over the roads; some roads don't actually seem to have a surface anymore. Other have been dug up so often they're just not flat and going along them is like riding down a country lane.
Another upside is that I do have more gears than I thought; a close inspection revealed that I'm not able to access the bottom three rings, which will be a huge advantage when they are set up properly. A Park Tools bike workstand is on order and then I'm looking forward to adjusting the gears and getting them to behave properly.
Changing bikes is an odd feeling; I felt very low to start with so the first job was to find my Allen keys and raise the saddle. It's amazingly heavy to lift (I've got the panniers and some gear on board) yet doesn't feel it when going along. Well it's good to get the thing out of the shed; it's all very well wanting to keep it nice and clean under a dust sheet and out of the weather, but that's not what bikes are for.
As for the racing bike, the reason for its temporary retirement is that the bearings are starting to feel extremely graunchy. Come the new workstand (I also ordered a crank puller and assembly grease) I'll have a go at cleaning everything and replacing the bearings (I have done it once, on a Cytech training course so at least know it is technically possible). Hopefully this won't result in me going to my nearest bike shop with a box full of bits and a sheepish grin!
Another upside is that I do have more gears than I thought; a close inspection revealed that I'm not able to access the bottom three rings, which will be a huge advantage when they are set up properly. A Park Tools bike workstand is on order and then I'm looking forward to adjusting the gears and getting them to behave properly.
Changing bikes is an odd feeling; I felt very low to start with so the first job was to find my Allen keys and raise the saddle. It's amazingly heavy to lift (I've got the panniers and some gear on board) yet doesn't feel it when going along. Well it's good to get the thing out of the shed; it's all very well wanting to keep it nice and clean under a dust sheet and out of the weather, but that's not what bikes are for.
As for the racing bike, the reason for its temporary retirement is that the bearings are starting to feel extremely graunchy. Come the new workstand (I also ordered a crank puller and assembly grease) I'll have a go at cleaning everything and replacing the bearings (I have done it once, on a Cytech training course so at least know it is technically possible). Hopefully this won't result in me going to my nearest bike shop with a box full of bits and a sheepish grin!
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