Here’s some random bike things which you may or may not care about…
· After a bunch of shifting problems while riding during the really warm day a few weeks ago I determined that my shifting cables and houses needed to be replaced. Tonight I replaced them, finding the cables intact but the ends of the housings rusty and the innards dirty. I’d had the parts since before I went on vacation, but finally got around to it today.
Cutting the cable was very easy with Dremel cut-off discs and a razor blade and awl for cleanup. I then dripped some Triflow in each end of the cable, fitted the end caps, then assembled everything Shifting is now as smooth as it was when my bike was new a year ago. I’m sure there’s a bit of fine tuning I’ll have to do as the cables stretch, but things seem nice so far.
· I washed my Specialzed bike tonight so that I could replace the shift cable, and at the same time also washed the Bianchi Single Speed. It didn’t really need it, but most bike washing time is spent setting up the hose. So, why not?
· The forecast tomorrow is for highs near 60°F, so I’m hoping to get out for a ride tomorrow after work. I’ll start towards Metro Beach with the intention of riding there and back, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to do the full 46 miles. We’ll see. This will be my first longer distance ride since last fall.
· I’m not so sure about the On-One Mary Bar that I’ve been borrowing. The Bianchi handles very nicely with it on the bike, having a nice twitchy feel that I can’t wait to try on single track, but on longer rides (as Bob and I did last night up through River Bends and back) the slightly odd positioning makes my wrists hurt. Maybe some Ergon grips would help. I do like these, and would probably want them on the riser bar the bike came with, so a purchase wouldn’t be lost money.