It Never Rains But it Pours!
I’m not sure what 2019 has done with the summer but we’ve definitely not caught sight of it here in Scotland yet. After feeling pretty lucky over the winter and enjoying the spring sunshine, there’s been nothing but rain and wind so far in the summer. I’ve lost count of the number of soakings in the last month and my legs are complaining about the number of times they need to slog into a headwind.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still in love with the cycle commute but it would be nice to leave the snorkel at home and be able to do it in proper summer conditions.
Mounting Maintenance
As well as adding to the physical and mental challenge, the weather also batters my poor bike and it needs much more attention. After a prolonged spell with very little needing done to the bikes, quite a few issues have started to crop up all at once.
Cables
First of all my rear brake decided that it loved my wheel so much it wouldn’t let go! I took the caliper off and gave it good clean, put a new inner cable in and hoped this would help. Despite intially feeling better, after a couple of soakings it was just as bad as before. As well as this my rear gears were also a bit sluggish so I decided to treat the bike to a whole new set of cables (inners and outers, front and back).
Not knowing how long it would take me to do myself, and not exactly having a lot of free time right now, I took it to my local bike shop. He did an amazing job for me and turned it around for the next day.
It’s amazing what a difference that can make to the feel of your bike. Gear changes are just so much more slick and the control you get through the brakes is brilliant.
Pedal
Whilst in the bike shop, my mechanic noticed that one of my pedals had quite a lot of play in it. It looks like the bearings inside must be worn out so it feels loose. Thinking about it, I have felt it loose for a while now but thought it was just the cleats on my shoes wearing out. The pedals are original from when I got the bike so have done me quite well (18,500 miles). I just need to see if I can get them off the cranks though…
Wheel
Now this one is really annoying me!
During these really wet weeks the rear wheel has been filling up with water. I could hear it sloshing about inside when I did the bike cleaning and taking the tyre off revealed a significant amount of water. It must be getting in where the spokes or valve go through the rim. The wheels are Mavic Cosmic aluminiums.
Has one else seen this and is there any way to stop it happening?
Puncture
I’ve been pretty proud of the fact that I had reached so far through the year without a single puncture. Sadly this came to an end on Mon 17th June. 🙁
Approaching the first roundabout near our house I spotted a wet patch on the road. When I got closer there was a big pile of tiny pieces of glass. Presumably a vehicle had bumped into another and I could feel my wheels slipping a bit as I went over the wet patch. Not wanting to risk falling over I decided to keep a straight line which took me through some of the glass and I feared the worst…
Surprisingly, I completed the rest of the journey to work with tyres still intact. Having forgotten all about it I retrieved my bike at home-time and my heart sank when I noticed the flat front. When examining the tyre I pulled out a tiny sliver of glass poking through which I must have picked up in the morning. (It’s ALWAYS worth checking your tyre for the source of a puncture, otherwise you’ll likely just get another in the new tube straight away!)
Thankfully I didn’t need to rush back for nursery this week so there was no urgency in changing it. This was just as well because these tyres are a nightmare to get back onto the wheels! No amount of pushing or squeezing can get the tyre over the final piece of rim. I’d found out how hard it was when emptying the water the previous 2 weekends and brought a secret weapon just in case I needed to on the commute…
On a YouTube clip I’d seen, someone suggested that putting a little liquid soap under the tyre is enough to lubricate it over the rim. I didn’t expect to need to try it on the very first day of carrying it!
After spreading a bit with my finger I eagerly started pressing the tyre back over the wheel. A few minutes of pushing and prodding soon revealed that it was not going to make any difference. Back to the drawing board then 🙁
The last resort is to force the tyre on using tyre levers. Although this has never failed me yet, I don’t like doing it for a number of reasons. Firstly, the tube can get caught between the lever and the rim causing a pinch flat on your freshly installed new tube. This has happened to me in the past! Also, there is a danger of damaging the rims or decals on the wheels. Then, if it’s an especially stubborn tyre the lever could actually snap.
Does anyone have any top tips for getting difficult tyre/wheel combos fitted?
Anyway I got my trye fitted using the levers, pumped it up to a reasonable pressure and made my way home. You’d think after that I would remember not to risk the same thing happening the next morning…
Jockey Wheels
This is just a matter of wear and tear, but the mechanic also suggested that these should be replaced when the bike was in getting the cables changed. 3,700 miles on them which seems on the low side. They were definitely a bit wobbly and worn looking so I picked up a new set and got them fitted.
Bearings
I’ve enjoyed a lovely smooth and quiet ride for a number of weeks, but the rain has eroded that as well. Now I’m accompanied by a creaking on every pedal stroke and there’s a nasty brown sludge oozing out of the headset. Back to the bike shop this weekend and I will get the bottom bracket and headset both looked at and probably replaced.
Wheel
Finally for now, my rear wheel. Yes I know I’ve already mentioned that but this is a different one…
A couple of weeks ago I took my Vitus bike off the wall on a particularly wet morning. I was going to use it as I have mudguards fitted which keep me a bit cleaner. However, when pushing out of the garage I noticed that the rear wheel would not freewheel: the hub had completely seized. I guess the winter took it’s toll and getting left for a couple of months was too much for it.
I’ll see if it can be fixed for a reasonable cost. I’m not overly impressed with the reliability of these wheels though so if it’s too much I will be tempted just to look for a new pair.
Despite all this it is still impossible not to love the commute. How can you not enjoy being out with the sun rising on a morning like this…?
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Neil Broadhurst
Christy
CycleCommute.CC