What Have You Fettled Today?

[All uphill]

As mentioned elsewhere on CC I've been struggling to resolve the poor shifting on my Spa. Downward shifts are fine, but moving to smaller cogs on the cassette has been very poor. That seemed to me to indicate friction in the gear cable somewhere, so I replaced both outer and inner without improvement.

Yesterday I came to the conclusion that that the 20 year old Deore rd I'm using must have lost its springiness so I ordered a new rd.

Today I found I have a new Shimano cassette so I closely compared it with Shimano cassette on the bike, which is nearly new. It looks like it is also a fake. The ramps and tooth profiles are quite different. New cassette fitted and works fine.

Lesson learned.

 

[Shearwater Missile]

I noticed that my old pair of fingerless gloves had developed a hole, or rather the stitching had come away. These mitts I think came from Lidl or Aldi in possibly 2011 or not long after and cost about a fiver ! So it was a case of needle and cotton to repair them. I am not tight but they do the job so well and usually wear them over a long finger pair. I have had gloves since I bought these and they have not lasted.

 

[Punkawallah]

Spring cleaning day for the Hack.
Stripped down to fork & frame, scrubbed, bearings serviced, chipped paint wire brushed & sanded, rub down with vinegar, undercoat bare metal and used up remaining part spray tins of black.
Callipers & mechs scrubbed and oiled, cables wire-wooled & oiled, damaged outers replaced & oiled, shifters flushed and bars scrubbed.
Re-assembled with the spare wheels, as the day-to-day ones need servicing.

 

[ColinJ]

I noticed that my old pair of fingerless gloves had developed a hole, or rather the stitching had come away. These mitts I think came from Lidl or Aldi in possibly 2011 or not long after and cost about a fiver ! So it was a case of needle and cotton to repair them. I am not tight but they do the job so well and usually wear them over a long finger pair. I have had gloves since I bought these and they have not lasted.

I ought to do that with a couple of old pairs that I have, but sewing is something that I have never done. I'm sure that wouldn't be difficult though. I will have to buy needles etc.

PS Sorted!!

 

[Shearwater Missile]

I ought to do that with a couple of old pairs that I have, but sewing is something that I have never done. I'm sure that wouldn't be difficult though. I will have to buy needles etc.

PS Sorted!!

View attachment 801716

Luckily, sowing is something I have always done, only on a repair basis I must add. I`d watched my dear old mum sow to repair, years ago. Make do and mend. When mum passed away in 2016 I inherited her sowing kit, every colour cotton under the sun.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Adjusted left mirror on recumbent. It had got knocked in car. Reset to give full width of road rear vision again.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Fitted disc rotor to old front road wheel, installed 50mm Schwalbe Century on it, fitted to gravel ebike to see if it reduces harshness of ride a bit (despite the carbon forks).

New Trek suspension fork fitted to ebike, old hybrid saddle fitted to Trek post, to give it a test ride.

Rear 40mm Marathon Supreme pressure reduced to ~52PSI.

Only a 40min test ride, but seemed a bit more comfy.

 

[sevenfourate]

Another day. Another fettle. This one a post-ride fettle from the last couple of rides; and a pre-ride fettle for tomorrows effort. ***Which with the looming fuel / oil price-rise and availability carnage about to strike us (?) - riding to work might soon be an everyday occurrence however….…

Tyre pressures checked: no pump action required = excellent. Crank arm torque (Done with my recently calibrated and sizeable right arm) = all good ✅

So…..drive-chain:

I’ve been using BananaSlips Tungsten All-weather lube (Lower picture - LHS) which is highly rated. And once all drivetrain parts have been cleaned, left to dry and some of this applied and dried - the sound is ‘silent’. Feels great. And it’s slippery-ness is unquestionable - imo.

BUT: I’ve only done 65 miles. And nearing home I could hear how relatively graunchy / gritty it then sounded. The chain / idlers particularly are also Black in colour and very grubby. Whether it’s residue I didn’t / can’t completely get off the drivetrain that’s mixed in with the new lube, or road grime etc that’s mixed in - I can’t tell you. But its longevity appears to be pretty poor.

So - I’ve re-lubed with it again tonight. And putting it away I came across a full one of these in the Stores (Below pic - RHS). Unused ! Gets really good reviews too. And people are talking of easy re-application: after just a wipe of the chain …..and measuring time between re-lubing in the hundreds of miles (?).

I presume if I decide to try the wax I’d be best to remove the chain and strip completely in White Spirit etc. Also cleaning front sprockets and rear gear cluster thoroughly before moving over to a true Wax - on a drive chain that’s probably got remnants of all sorts of ‘Oil’ based products on. **That might be the weekends job so I can give the Weldtite a go……

 

[raleighnut]

Luckily, sowing is something I have always done, only on a repair basis I must add. I`d watched my dear old mum sow to repair, years ago. Make do and mend. When mum passed away in 2016 I inherited her sowing kit, every colour cotton under the sun.

I take you mean sewing unless seeds are required.

 

[Shearwater Missile]

I take you mean sewing unless seeds are required.

Well spotted that man ! Thanks for pointing it out. That explains why I thought `The Great British Sowing Bee` was about planting seeds then.