Pride, forgetfulness, mistakes, frustration, inspiration, delight!
The above describes me from the weekend through the early part of this week. It began with my familiar maintenance chores, made a bit more difficult due to the weather…
Over the last few weeks there have been more soakings on the cycle commute than the whole of the winter put together. As well as testing my mental resolve, this also leaves the bike in a sorry state by the end of the week. I’ve heard of some people who clean the bike after every ride! Although this sounds great, my obsession does not go that far. However, there is no way I could leave the bike in this mess over the weekend. Just check how filthy things were last week:
Pride
It probably took me about an hour to get things scrubbed clean and sparkling again. The wheels, cassette and rear brake calliper had to come off and my brake cable was released and oiled as it was getting a bit sticky. I also replaced my front brake pads as they were nearing the end of their life. You can imagine how pleased I was feeling when it was all finished and shining:
Forgetfulness
Perhaps it was the extra tasks that I don’t normally carry out, or my excitement at posting shiny bike pictures on Instagram, but whatever it was resulted in me missing a crucial step in the process. Maybe I am just getting forgetful in my old age.
Mistakes
Monday morning was a bit of a grey affair. I finished my Weetabix feeling gloomy while looking at the dull skies out of the window. Then I remembered how nice and clean my bike was so cheered up and got myself packed up and ready to go. Upon leaving the street I could hear a bit of a squeak but assumed it would disappear after warming up. However, as the miles ticked by the squeak grew lounder until it eventually sounded like I was carrying a brood of hungry chicks in my backpack.
My forgetfulness at the weekend had resulted in me neglecting to apply any lubrication to the chain after scrubbing it clean. It’s amazing what an impact this can have on the smooth running of a bike!
Sadly, Mondays have quite a tight schedule for me as I do the nursery pick up in the evening, so by this stage it was too late to go back home. The only thing I could do was to try and block it out and carry on to work. At least anyone up ahead got plenty advance warning of my approach!
Frustration
This meant that I had to spend the rest of the day with the prospect of a return journey accompanied by the screaming drivetrain. Not even the howling wind outside would mask this. I’m not sure about anyone else but for me squeaks, clicks and rattles are among the most annoying things when riding. Even more so than the awful “summer” weather we have been enjoying.
Inspiration
After sharing my woes with a sympathetic colleague we began to jokingly discuss possible solutions. I thought of looking through the fridge for some butter or yoghurt to spread over the chain. Discounting this I then suggested taking one of the soap dispensers down and squeezing some of that over it. Not taking me too seriously he then had the inspired idea of using some of his hand cream. I wanted to scoff, but actually it could work…
Squeezing some into a cup for me, I quickly lathered it over the chain before setting off on my ride home.
Delight
For the first few miles there was no noticeable reduction in noise and I consoled myself with the prospect of berating him for his stupid idea 🙁
Then, between miles 5 and 10 I began to think it was getting better and better. Sure enough, after about 10 miles the chain began to spin through the cogs without so much as a whisper. I reached home with an even bigger smile than I normally do 🙂
What do you think, is there any mileage in marketing this as a new type of chain lube? Keeps the chain healthy and your hands soft at the same time!
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