What have you fettled today?

[hulver]

I also need to sort out where I'm going to keep Pugsley when he turns up in March - another shed may need to be bought 

Inter "2 sheds" zen? 

[interzen]

I also need to sort out where I'm going to keep Pugsley when he turns up in March - another shed may need to be bought 

Inter "2 sheds" zen? 

Possibly.
However, I have no plans to write any symphonies in the shed

[rower40]

Now that the Orange Bling is the proud wearer of a pair of BB7s, there comes the minor matter of cable tension.  The tektro lyras did, to their credit, have threaded adjusters, but the BB7s don't.
The LBS didn't fit the in-line adjusters, but they did give me them in a little plastic specimen bag.  So I've fitted the first one (on the front), with a bit of trepidation as it meant cutting through the lovely orange cable.  And then a new inner, because the additional length of the adjuster meant the inner wasn't long enough.

[Arch]

I slowley stretched the leather to close the gap and pulled the threads tight.  It took about 3 goes to fully tighten the threads.

In another age, you could have been a ladies maid, doing up corsets.

No, I'm not getting a corset.

Lovely job on the grips!

[Kim]

Now that the Orange Bling is the proud wearer of a pair of BB7s, there comes the minor matter of cable tension.  The tektro lyras did, to their credit, have threaded adjusters, but the BB7s don't.

Dunno about your previous brakes, but one of the great things about BB7s compared to lesser disc brakes is that cable tension is adjusted separately from pad position.  IME once the outers have bedded in, the cable tension hardly ever actually needs tweaking - you just take up the pad wear on the clicky knobs.

[interzen]

Dunno about your previous brakes, but one of the great things about BB7s compared to lesser disc brakes is that cable tension is adjusted separately from pad position.  IME once the outers have bedded in, the cable tension hardly ever actually needs tweaking - you just take up the pad wear on the clicky knobs.

That's good to know, since the Pug has BB7s fitted as standard and I'm going to leave them on rather than replace them with hydraulics (a cable operated brake is more likely to work at temperatures south of -20C)

I have just finished my Genesis uber-fettle - full set of spoke reflectors, large quantities of Clas Ohlson's finest reflective tape (including some yellow which almost matches the frame colour) and upgraded lighting fore and aft. I am officially ready to tackle a commute on roads which will take me to one of York's larger shopping areas where the roads are paved with fuckwitted drivers. I have no plans to pave the road with my not insubstantial bulk.

Oh, and there's the ludicrously orange jacket

[Kim]

IME once the outers have bedded in, the cable tension hardly ever actually needs tweaking - you just take up the pad wear on the clicky knobs.

That's good to know, since the Pug has BB7s fitted as standard and I'm going to leave them on rather than replace them with hydraulics

Standard BB7 setup procedure starts with clamping the almost-completely-slack cable in the clamp thingy.  The idea is that as soon as you touch the lever, the arm starts to move.  This is reasonably achievable by direct manipulation of the cable clamp point if necessary, as there's no tension to worry about when you do it.

You then go on to dial both pads in using their respective clicky knobs, which is slightly more voodoo, but once you get it right, taking up pad wear is simply a function of turning them in by another click every now and then.

(a cable operated brake is more likely to work at temperatures south of -20C)

Is it really?  I've heard enough stories about cables getting wet and freezing.  No idea about hydraulics, admittedly, but I assume the oil's fine at those temperatures.  I can imagine seals and things misbehaving with really extreme cold, though.

[interzen]

Is it really?  I've heard enough stories about cables getting wet and freezing.  No idea about hydraulics, admittedly, but I assume the oil's fine at those temperatures.  I can imagine seals and things misbehaving with really extreme cold, though.

Research is currently ongoing, but what I've found out thus far points at running a cable-operated disc with no grease etc. is the way to go at low temperatures - hub gears are a no-no too, so I'm looking at running singlespeed with fixed as a backup. Quite a few Alaskan riders seem to ride brakeless in the winter, which sort-of makes sense but I'm not *that* hardcore by a long shot

There's method in the madness, since I'm hoping to do the Arrowhead 135¹ in either 2013 or (more likely) 2014 - -20C in Minnesota in January is heatwave territory

¹ - http://www.arrowheadultra.com/index.php

[Tewdric]

There's method in the madness, since I'm hoping to do the Arrowhead 135¹ in either 2013 or (more likely) 2014 - -20C in Minnesota in January is heatwave territory

¹ - http://www.arrowheadultra.com/index.php

I really want to do that one day, if only for the excuse to buy a Pugsley!



 

[gordon taylor]

I've put three Michelin Dynamic Sport tyres onto the trike.

They have white walls. WOW!    

[interzen]

There's method in the madness, since I'm hoping to do the Arrowhead 135¹ in either 2013 or (more likely) 2014 - -20C in Minnesota in January is heatwave territory

¹ - http://www.arrowheadultra.com/index.php

I really want to do that one day, if only for the excuse to buy a Pugsley!



 

<little moment>
The hand-fettled studded tyres look pretty badass as well.

Alpkit and Genesis sponsored a couple of guys doing the 2011 (I think) Arrowhead which they did on fairly standard MTBs set up as singlespeeds - http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/blog/16/02/10/arrowhead-135-the-race

I'm still hoping that Alpkit will make the frame bags these guys used generally available - for something like the Arrowhead a bar-bag and a Barley just isn't gonna do it

[Kim]

Shortened the chain on the baraktacycle, having established the boom extensions required for both of us to ride it properly.  It's now a lot less slack.

I note that whatever the powerlink-alikes supplied by ICE are, they're a lot more bastardly to undo than the SRAM ones.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I found that my front tyre, which I had pumped up on Wednesday, had only 20psi. No time to investigate, so I just pumped it up again, and it's held all day today.

I also had time before it got dark, in between other things, to tighten the mudguard bolts that were allowing the rear 'guard to rattle a little.

Considered removing remains of SWAN* from the bottom bracket area, but decided that was excessive.

*Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon, Newport. 

[tiermat]

Got the decos out of the attic..

[Cudzoziemiec]

Aye, our tree's finally standing straight in its wonky pot - in fact it turned out to be a wonky pot in a straight pot, but straight pot too big - and looking all green and red and silver and spangly and starry.

[why1040]

I have (as far as I can tell) successfully installed Windows XP on my MacBook using Virtual Box!

I haven't needed it til now-3 or 4 years of happy Mac ownership, but the new course I'm doing only provides the course material in Windows     Thus, that's all it's likely to be used for!

It was surprisingly easy so far, so I probably missed something!   

[Kim]

Shower botchery:

One Wilko posh straps-to-the-taps-with-velcro-so-it-doesn't-pop-off shower thingy and a 1/2" BSP coupler (from a hydraulic hose supplier on eBay), combined with the hose and showerhead from the existing landlord-issue 7500W pissy electric shower, to give an extra-long hose.  This is required because the bath is installed the stupid way round, with the curved end against the wall (so you have to stand forward of the splash screen with the shower aimed diagonally, and water inevitably ends up running off your elbow onto the floor, but never mind).

This means we can now shower in a torrent of lovely hot water from the combi boiler, rather than shiver in a lukewarm electric trickle.  I'm firmly of the opinion that happiness is measured in litres/minute, especially when you've just got in from riding in the cold and can't feel your fingers/toes/arse properly.   

[phantasmagoriana]

Snow Studs on, mudguards off (they rubbed on the studded tyres last year and have fairly useless semi-broken and non-adjustable fixings. I have new Tortec ones to go on, but having looked at the clearance between chainstay bridge and tyre, I've decided not to try, so the hybrid's staying guardless for now!).

[mcshroom]

Snap with the snow studs (yesterday rather than today).

Mine fit under the guards, but I had to pull all the little molding bits off the tyre to stop them catching.

[Andrew Br]

I've changed the oil in the Rohloff. It probably wasn't due since it's not 12 months and it's only done 2500 miles.
I started yesterday evening and left the flushing oil to drain overnight. I was amazed at how dirty and black the oil was when it came out.
One tip for the replacement oil; shake it very well since there is a small amount of black solid (molybdenum ?) which settles out on the bottom of the container.
I'm hoping that the hub will now be a little less "sticky" but I'm not holding my breath.

[Tewdric]

I've changed the stem on my audax bike - the previous 3TTT two-bolt was slipping a bit in the 'bars.  Hopefully the Pro 4-bolt replacement will be fine. 

I have also fettled the sticky front Hope Mono Mini disc on Mrs Tewdric's Santa Cruz.  It needed a full strip down and piston clean to unstick but is now sweet as a nut.

[andygates]

Thermite remote-firing igniters. 

[vorsprung]

I reattached the bright yellow bar tape to my commuter bike last night.  A combination of inadequate fitting by me in the first place plus heavy rain had made it come unstuck

[L CC]

I've sorted me flaps.

Suckers rejoice.

[Chris S]

I've sorted me flaps.

Suckers rejoice.

Ooo...

Post a pic to the flap thread?