- Location
- Glasgow
So here we have my Gonzales, 5 speed, old steel frame, bought about 2 years ago from a recycle-a- bike place. Guess milage since purchase is about 1,500. Used with sleeks in summer, as "ice bike" in winter.
Few weeks ago I bent the derallieur in the spokes, also bent the frame, lbs fixed that.
Got a few days off, decide to overhaul Gonzales. What I had in mind was to give him a good clean, change the tyres, a new chain
What I ended up doing over 2 days, with puzzled head alternating between "Zinn and the art of mountain bike maintenance" and a pot of grease, is the following jobs:
new (to me) wheels, serviced hubs and fitted summer tyres
fitted my trailer's hitch
new back brake cable
new gear cable
fitted a "mock" front derallieur, as the chain had a tendency to come off the big (only) front ring
new freewheel
new chain - had to add links
indexed gears
removed and greased seat post - got a new saddle rail thingmy, (clamp?) as the old one had sharp edges that ripped my trousers
fitted a new water cage to match the saddle
It was not all straight forward: rusty screws, road salt eaten components, my incompetence
meant what started as a few simple jobs escalated in a myriad of time consuming additions to the tasks at hand.
V-brakes would rub, cables would fray, cones would be either too tight or too lose
Now I know why bike mechanics are expensive and why the bike is never ready when they say it would be: one small job leads to another half dozen!
Taking Gonzales to my favorite lady bike mechanic next week, get her to check my work in case the bike collapses in a heap after my tinkering.
Needs a new bottom bracket too: could give it a bash? .... if I knew which one to buy.
Few weeks ago I bent the derallieur in the spokes, also bent the frame, lbs fixed that.
Got a few days off, decide to overhaul Gonzales. What I had in mind was to give him a good clean, change the tyres, a new chain
What I ended up doing over 2 days, with puzzled head alternating between "Zinn and the art of mountain bike maintenance" and a pot of grease, is the following jobs:
new (to me) wheels, serviced hubs and fitted summer tyres
fitted my trailer's hitch
new back brake cable
new gear cable
fitted a "mock" front derallieur, as the chain had a tendency to come off the big (only) front ring
new freewheel
new chain - had to add links
indexed gears
removed and greased seat post - got a new saddle rail thingmy, (clamp?) as the old one had sharp edges that ripped my trousers
fitted a new water cage to match the saddle
It was not all straight forward: rusty screws, road salt eaten components, my incompetence
meant what started as a few simple jobs escalated in a myriad of time consuming additions to the tasks at hand.V-brakes would rub, cables would fray, cones would be either too tight or too lose
Now I know why bike mechanics are expensive and why the bike is never ready when they say it would be: one small job leads to another half dozen!
Taking Gonzales to my favorite lady bike mechanic next week, get her to check my work in case the bike collapses in a heap after my tinkering.
Needs a new bottom bracket too: could give it a bash? .... if I knew which one to buy.
