How stupid can you be!

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Keith Oates

Janner
Location
Penarth, Wales
Today I went out on the roadie for a ride, although I did have the feeling of a cold coming on. After setting off on my normal weekend run I thought that my legs were not so good and I was struggling to get up to my normal 'cruising' speed. I put this down to the impending cold but carried on and did a 56 Km ride. When I got home I was pushing the bike towards the door way steps and the lifted it to get into the house. The front wheel kept spinning but the back one stopped immediately. A quick feel of the back rim confirmed that the brake had been 'binding' thereby causing the problem. Moral to the story, make sure when you are adjusting the brakes after a ride you do not make the gap too small!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Good training technique Keith, character building we used to call it!!!!!:ohmy:
 
I know that technique!
Last year I was making my way around and, passing Virginia Water, near Windsor, I saw a stick in the road...looked too good to be a bit of branch and, after humming and haa-ing (as you do) I turned round to have a 'proper' look.
A decent walking stick no less. I immediately thought "I might need one of those when I'm as old as Keith" and decided to liberate it from a miserable existence in the middle of the road...
To cut a long story short, I lashed it to the crossbar with an inner tube as I had no regulation zip ties or other products - in fact, I thought I did rather well thinking of the inner tube as it stretched a little bit and protected my paint from the nasty knobbly (but nice) stick.
What followed was near instant retribution as I seemed to be struggling shortly afterwards. I got home, dismounted and thought " must get out more...mutter mutter" and went to push the bike indoors.
That's when I realised I had done a good job on my back brake.
First time I pulled on the rear, thanks to my acme, stretchy walking stick binding method, the brake cable was also held tight and the blocks enjoyed a very close relationship with my rims for the next 60km or so...Prat* was a word that sprang to mind - still does :ohmy:
 
OP
OP
Keith Oates

Keith Oates

Janner
Location
Penarth, Wales
I'm flattered Aperitif, there are not many people that ride along the road and immediately think of me when they see something of value;)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

barq

Senior Member
Location
Birmingham, UK
I know someone who broke one of their wheels a matter of hours before heading off on a cycling holiday. They managed to convince their LBS (now defunct) to build them a new rear wheel as a matter of urgency. It was at the end of a rather sluggish day's riding that they discovered the wheel wrongly dished, and it had worn a hole in their frame. :ohmy:
 

chris42

New Member
Location
Deal, Kent
:blush::ohmy::biggrin::ohmy::biggrin::ohmy:
 

Tim Bennet.

Entirely Average Member
Location
S of Kendal
do not make the gap too small!!

Now Mr Oates. If you had bought 'quality' components for your bike, you would have been able to flick the little button on the Ergo lever and release the brakes off a little. Although it makes the 'reach' to the levers a little further, it doesn't effect the braking efficiency as it does with that 'other' make, nor do you risk losing your fingers trying to reach the adjustment levers on your callipers while riding.

Most of the pros on the more affluent teams who can afford proper equipment do this on the climbs and at any other time their legs tell them the brakes might be rubbing (even though it probably isn't).

It's one of those little touches that come from being made by people who are not only passionate, but also knowledgeable about their riding, as opposed to merely a spin off from the fishing tackle business.

As you say, 'How studpid can you be?' ;-)
 

yenrod

Guest
That reminds me of pretty much the same thing happened to a mate of mine when on a cycing holiday...he thought he was having a bad day = i still gave him the vote of confidence for pushing against it all day !

And the stupiid thing was we'd stoppped a few times to see what was the matter but we couldnt work it out :blush:

:ohmy::biggrin::biggrin:


Keith Oates said:
Today I went out on the roadie for a ride, although I did have the feeling of a cold coming on. After setting off on my normal weekend run I thought that my legs were not so good and I was struggling to get up to my normal 'cruising' speed. I put this down to the impending cold but carried on and did a 56 Km ride. When I got home I was pushing the bike towards the door way steps and the lifted it to get into the house. The front wheel kept spinning but the back one stopped immediately. A quick feel of the back rim confirmed that the brake had been 'binding' thereby causing the problem. Moral to the story, make sure when you are adjusting the brakes after a ride you do not make the gap too small!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
OP
OP
Keith Oates

Keith Oates

Janner
Location
Penarth, Wales
You are correct Tim, in that the brakes are 'copy' Shimano but supplied (and probably made) in China. The little lever you talk abuot is well known to me and I use it every time I remove the wheel for cleaning. However the mechanism has gone rusty and so after each ride I now have to release the cable via the allen screw to get the wheel out. The little lever by the way is broken due to using too much force in trying to use it. I can't get replacement Shimano brakes here in Vietnam (or at least in Halong) so it will be added on my list of things to get when I next go to Hong Kong. I've also seen the pro's changing over using the little lever at the top of some steep climbs, a certain Vinokorouv (Sp) did it very often!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Tim Bennet.

Entirely Average Member
Location
S of Kendal
I'm sorry Keith.

From your posts over the years, I've always imagined you immaculately dressed, riding serenely along aboard your fully DuraAced Colnago amongst a throng of Flying Pigeons.

And you would be riding along 'no handed' while piling up your post count with your Blackberry. Although I wasn't really sure quite how you came to be crossing a cattle grid every time you depressed the exclamation mark key.
 
Top Bottom