...Heh, heh, heh. Followed it, didn't you?
Among all the other multiform badnesses of late, the back tire on my bike went phlatt just about a week ago to the day. Yeah. Nice touch. I managed to get the wheel removed yesterday and Tam took it to the bike shop today.
She brought it back, of course, with a super-mondo Kevlar-laced tactical combat-tire from Bontrager, same guys that make the grocery carrier linked to above. And not just 'cos she's The Tamara, it was all they had that fit.
Put it back together (easy as cake!) and made a run to the store this evening.* Nice! Alas, my chain is still FU.BAR and I found the bad link: roller's shot, forced out of position and locked up. That'll mean a new chain, I think. So back to the bike shop tomorrow, that one JUMP! per go-round when it hits the small drive sprocket is just too nasty to tolerate. I feel silly admitting I either didn't know or had forgotten there's no master link on this kind of roller-link chain but it's true. Only dawned on me after the third time around, looking.
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* Got fixin's for and cooked up Swiss Steakburgers on toasted rye, with red onion, dill, coarse mustard and chili sauce: fit for...well, me. And Tam. YMMV.
Try a bit of Strike Hold on it for a temporary fix.
ReplyDeleteSeriously.
You are feeling better, eh, gorgeous?
ReplyDeleteI'll admit, I LOL'd, then clicked the link. "Stretching" the definition of "edible" a bit, though.
I'll try the Strike Hold -- you're right, it will be more persistent than anything else I've tried.
ReplyDeleteAlas, the link (actually, just the roller) spacing is wrong at the bad one. Doesn't roll, either. So it will jump, no matter what...better that it do so more smoothly!
And yep, better. Still skleepy when I should not be but not as often.
And no more fever -- I was shivering in the A/C at work, which is, sadly, normal around there.
35" wheels, or 35mm wide tires? 35mm wide shouldn't be that rare unless the shop caters mostly to racers. You don't have to be exact--Up to 5mm narrower should still fit fine, with slightly harsher ride, slightly less rolling resistance. If you can find a wider tire it may work too, although you have to check clearance for brakes and frame.
ReplyDeleteIf you get a chain tool you can likely remove the bad link and reconnect the rest of the chain--1 link difference isn't likely to screw anything up. However, you'll want to measure the chain first--Measure between links nearest 12 inches apart. Brand new should be 12 inches exactly, 12 1/16 needs replacement. Over 12 1/8 probably means at least some of your sprockets are worn out. Replacing the chain before it gets too worn will increase the life of your sprockets.
Surprisingly, the Harbor Freight bike tool kit I bought a couple years ago doesn't suck. Obviously not pro quality, but the bike-specific tools work well enough, the chain tool is better than average and the kit was less than 1 Park bike tool.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rim-sizing.html
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of a 23 incher.
Regarding the chain, if you have 15 gears or less, its likely the $8 chain at wal*mart will fit.
You can get around the need for a chain breaker by getting a block of wood and drilling a hole in it. Then, take a pin punch and tap a pin out while holding it over the block (and allowing the pin to go into the hole). Works for disassembly at least, but this is also a great excuse to buy another tool (maybe $6 at wal*mart or a whole lot more for a nicer one at REI)
The wal*mart chain has a master link in it.
Now I'm'a hafta measure those rims. 35x700? --From memory. It does sound right metric but seven-tenths of a meter seems a bit smaller than I remembered; OTOH, my mental yardstick for "meter" is around 10% short. ;)
ReplyDeleteThey're actually a fairly standard size, it's just that with Bike Line being a Trek dealer and Hardcases being so popular, that was all they had in stock at the time.
ReplyDeleteWhy am I reminded of the scene in Cryptonomicon where Alan Turing has a loose spoke which cause his bike chain to fall off when said spoke hits the master link, and Turing is calculating exactly when to stop peddling and hop off to prevent it? Poor explanation of what was going on--there was a three or four page mathematical build-up to "Alan stopped and adjusted the wheel so it wouldn't knock the chain off."
ReplyDelete>They're actually a fairly standard size,...
ReplyDeleteOTOH, Sheldon Brown passed away over two years ago, and I'm sure that page has not been updated, maybe for several years before that.
The one thing about bicycle mechanics, I, the hand tool hoarder, had to buy 4 new tools just to replace the ball bearings in my bottom bracket. Most of the innovation in bike parts seems to be designed to lighten the green foldy stuff in the back pocket. (bikes with 27 gears, which take a special chain that wears out twice as fast, elliptical sprockets that are WAY better than the garbage you own now, Fixie bikes without a chain guard such that the entire weight of the bike+rider is available to chew anything that gets stuck, etc..)
Hmmm... Most of your links come up real fast for me this week but the "Edible Panniers" took much longer. I guess the Singaporean Internet Oversight Committee (made-up name) had to look first and decide if it should be censored or not. (I'm winding up a two-week business trip to Singapore before heading home mid-next week.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for helping keep Singapore employed!