Overkill

I decided to use 7$ in parts to fix a 13 year old, 20$ tire pump. The old tire stem gave up on the idea of attaching to the stem without leaking (and often without really attaching).

The rationale being that after the itself pump died, I could cut the 7$ part off and use it elsewhere.

Somewhat annoyingly, this is exactly the kind of part that is not available at home despot. That problem has been striking a lot, and it makes me consider their product selection mentality. The store seemed designed for me to spend 20-$500 on an motorized tire inflator of some stripe. Luckily, the autozone nearby had exactly what I was looking for.

Not Obvious

I walked up to the checkout counter.

There was 32 lb bag of charcoal under one arm and a 16 lb bag of ice under the other.

I bet you can guess which arm was most uncomfortable.

I slumped my load onto the counter. The cashier started to ring it up. She asked if I wanted paper or plastic.

I replied, "No bag please, I'm on a bicycle."

She glared at me like I was crazy or something.

Bicycles are cheap

Thus, warm weather saves money. I don't remember the last time I got gas. I think the reason is the last time I stopped at the gas station was in February, at least judging by the receipts in the car.

High Milage

 Several years ago, I thought I would need new bike tires. In particular, the front tire looked a little cracked.

I had inherited them from a bike I bought from Packrat and parted out. They replaced the (then beloved) velociraptors that I spent many happy hours grinding through the Socorro single track on. They were reduced to rubber straps filled with goat heads.

 I miss Socorro.

Those tires are an awkward mismatch that make cornering a little funny (the rear tire has lugs that make it very wide, so the front of the bike climbs into curves). For a while, I worried about various performance aspects of these tires on pavement. Sheldon Brown ha(s/d) deep discussions about this, but I think they are targeted at bicycles with thinner tires and different rider geometries. After various turning and breaking tests, I concluded that the performance envelope of a mountain bike is such that there is virtually no situation on pavement and packed dirt where the tires will be the overriding factor in emergency response, unless, of course, they have no air.

Last year I suffered a rash of flat tires, and the cracks grew more obvious. I was certain I would need to replace the tires to make the bike reliable again. But then I found the tire liner was pinching the tube, causing holes. I rolled for the rest of the summer with few issues.

I have concluded I will simply ride, and wait no more.

Fr0z3n

It didn't seem to chilly when I walked the dog. I just wore a light sweater.

I put on my jacket over the sweater, threw my backpack into the cat litter tub on the back of the bike and started to work. A process that is principally trying to not suddenly coming from nowhere and then be under a nice BMW.

By the time I made it to the stoplight, it was painfully obvious that it was a lot colder than it felt.

That is to say, my hands were getting very cold.

The worse part was right after passing through the cloverleaf/death-trap, and turned downhill towards work. Then I realized I had been pedaling with the wind, and the last mile was going to be all about hoping my fingers would work well enough to work the brakes.

It's not summer yet.

Oh Snap!

 I was trying hard to grab bigger gears so I could grind up to the top of the overpass, looking forward to the long fast cruise before the next mini-hills. But that's not what happened. Instead, something gave, and the shifter went practically limp. I was stuck in a tiny gear.

I instantly knew the shifter cable had broke, and so I made it home using the front chain rings and grit.

This proves my theory that my bicycle has too many gears: Clearly, I can accomplish my daily grind on three speeds. Heck, I could do it on one if I wasn't in any form of hurry.

After two trips to the bike shop (without and with the shifter), i was able to procure a replacement cable for a mere seven scruples.

With the new cable, the shifter works better than it ever did before, making me wonder how long the old cable had been fraying in the tube. With the new cable, shifts are fast and crisp, and the drag feels springy and positive, not lazy and mushy. The shifter doesn't feel like it hunts for gears anymore.

Now if I could just convince the front shifter to work when it's cold. I've decided to celebrate winter by not using it.

Bike Chain Cleaning

I have been neglecting a lot of things I wish I weren't. I blame the dissertation, but it's likely more than that at work.

Among the things that had gone too long was the bikes drive chain. It needed a good cleaning. The crud kicked up from 18 miles a day during the summer in Dover for 2 years, and then 8 miles daily last year had mixed with constant re-applications of lube to produce an evil schmutz that seemed to get on everything.

"I get greasy just looking at your bike," she had said.

I finally picked up the sword, erm, can of brake cleaner and a tooth brush, and got to work. Working on bikes is far easier than cars. The parts are small and light, and everything you need fits into a small toolbox.

The crankset and cassette came clean pretty easily, but the chain was a real travesty. I soaked in goo-gone, wiped it clean, soaked it in a washtub with hot water and dishsoap, scrubed it with a toothbrush several times, changed the water and did it again. Then, in an act of desperation (everything it touched was still getting greasy!), I put it in the dishwasher.

I want to say that helped, but the white towels still had light grey smudges when I handled the chain. At least it was metal-white, and not black. I thought it was black-anodized before. Apparently not.

I had heard that high-teflon lubes were essentially permanent. I now have to agree.

I re-coated it with a light coating Pedros Extra Dry, gave everything a spin, then toweled off the drips. The drive train feels much lighter now. It's so nice, clean, and mechanical now. That should have been done along time ago.

I was stupid and pushed a crossbar completely out of the chain, then dinged the bar trying to shove it back in neccisitating the removal of a link. Other then that, the drivetrain is in surprisingly good condition. I have likely doubled (or more!) the milage since replacing the stock parts (circa 1995) with the current ones in 2006, and I would have expected concommitant wear. Perhaps the combination of riding on streets and better components has resulted in a longer life span.
 
Certainly, there are parts that are wearing. The sound of grit is audible in the bottom bracket. The rubber bearing cups are dry-rotting. The rear derailure in particular is suffering from my exuberant shifting. It's loose on its mounting, and both gears have considerable play. The tires are a little questionable, but they are not giving regular flats.

Let it roll, I say, let it roll.