Category: acquired things

Well, I won’t be riding my bike for a while. In light of the aforementioned bearing problem and the ongoing bent wheel issue I decided to order a new set of wheels, and a front brake to match the Avid BB7 fitted last night.

I ended up ordering this Shimano XT M756 / Mavic XC 717 wheelset which was $239.98, and a 160mm Front version of the 2007 Avid BB7 for $54.98.

So, now I just wait. It’ll probably be a week or so before I get the brake and wheels, and I’ll only have a usable bike after I put all of that together. Unfortunately I’m already antsy to ride more.

Even if I were to put what I have back together the front bearing would require some special wrenches and lots of time to adjust the bearings, and they’d be really questionable.

3 Comments

As yesterday’s collision left me with a not-safely-rideable bike, I’m stuck at home during reasonably nice weather. Since Danielle and I were heading out to Zingerman’s Deli for lunch, I figured I’d check out some bike shops along the way to Ann Arbor and see if I could find a suitable replacement for the now-damaged BB5.

Calling around to a few bike shops (Tree Fort Bikes, who has an asinine policy regarding online^† vs. in store prices and Trails Edge who was very friendly but out of stock) and stopping by Wheels In Motion (who seemed quite nice) I was unable to locate a rear set of Avid BB7 brakes for my bike. After eating a rather nice BLT, we began heading back towards my house when I thought of stopping off at REI in Northville. Thankfully we did, because sitting in the clearance bin was a brand new 2007 Avid BB7 rear disc brake set for mountain bikes, clearance priced at $49.83, which is even cheaper than Price Point sells it for.

After stopping at ‘s place to borrow his inch-pound torque wrench (to be sure everything is right) and visiting my Mom (Dad was at work) Danielle and I headed back to my house, where I spent a while fitting the brake and getting it nicely adjusted. While I haven’t ridden on it yet, I can say that this brake is so much nicer to adjust that I may very well order the matching front version from PricePoint and install it in place of the current BB5.

While looking over my bike I found that there’s a good bit of water in the frame (some ran out when I removed the rear rack to fit the rear brake), so I think tomorrow I’ll pull the bottom bracket apart and see if any more water runs out. I also found that the front wheel is not turning very well, and investigating that showed that the cone nuts (or they may just be lock nuts if they are cartridge bearing) on the front end are loose, so tomorrow I’ll look into fixing that bit up as well.

At least now I’m on my way to having a nicely rideable bike again. Maybe I will be able to make next weekend’s charity ride.

^† Tree Fort Bikes lists the Avid BB7 brakes as ~$52 each on line, so I called and asked if I could come by and get them for that price. I was told that they are out of stock, but if they were in stock that the price would be higher because one has to pay for the lights and buildings and such. However, the person I talked to informed me that if I ordered online and set things up for in-store pickup, I could get the online price. This doesn’t make sense to me, as I don’t see how in-store pickup for an in-stock item should be any more expensive than in-store pickup for a special order item.

Leave a Comment

After work today I swung by REI and picked up an Ultimate Support bike stand; the Sport-Mechanic model. (Here is a mirror of their catalog PDF, as the site is changing.) I really like this company’s stands, and as mentioned before, I have one of their display / floor stands for holding my bike upright when parking it.

This stand is quite useful, as I’m able to hold my bike off the ground and actually adjust things while pedaling, which is a nice change of pace. It was a hassle before holding the back end off the ground with one hand, pedaling with the other, and trying to see what wasn’t right. That said, I’m not sure if it’s really worth its cost.

The stand was $159 (plus 6% sales tax), and while I’ve found that online I could have acquired it for $20 less, including free shipping, at least this way I had the option of returning it if I didn’t like it. I also ended up getting two Park Tool items, the FR-5 Cassette Lockring Tool and SR-1 Sprocket Remover / Chain Whip, which are needed for taking apart my rear wheel.

I’m almost tempted to return the stand, partially because I can get it for so much cheaper online, and partially because I’m not sure if I really need it. I shouldn’t be buying expensive things that I don’t need and/or won’t use enough to make them worth the money spent. I’ll decide this tomorrow or over the weekend.

I also spent a bunch of time tonight washing my bike, cleaning up the drive train, and lubricating and/or adjusting the parts that needed it. The chain was cleaned in a solvent bath then checked for wear, which showed that it’s stretched 1/32″ over 11 links. Being half worn out it looks like I’ll end up replacing the chain sometime this year if I keep riding as frequently as I have been.

Leave a Comment