What have you fettled today?

[T42]

Quick wax dunk for Trek chain, checked cables inside shifters, adjusted RD & checked FD.

Also, cut a block of wood the same size as the controller of the new battery kit I have on order, to see if it will fit under the saddle.  It will, but I'll have to move the alarm elsewhere.

ETA: I've had a pair of Shimano cyclotourist shoes for a few years and not worn them because the cleats were so deeply recessed in the soles that it was all but impossible to plug them into SPD pedals.  This afternoon I took a Stanley knife and carved away enough of the sole to let the pedals in.    I did look on line for shims but couldn't find any and I didn't have a Coke can handy.

They're not bad, although I take a 43 and they're 44 thnx to the Shimano tradition of only offering even-numbered sizes. They don't quite hit the front tyre.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Peering out of the kitchen window of my Rural Idyll (in reality a first floor flat, overlooking some communal grounds) this morning, while munching a piece of toast, I spied a bloke wresting with changing tyres on an urban kind of bike, with child seat attached. I surmised, correctly, he was visiting and presumbly related to the young Polish couple who live down stairs. I wandered down with my track pump, which in his case he did not have.   He also did not have English. I do not speak Polish. He was about to bugger up the hub gear and brake by undoing cables that didn't need it. Between us, using pointing and nodding, we got the back wheel off (we had to get the chgain guard off too), new tyre and tube on. I tried to explain the racing snake tubes he'd bought were a bit on the narrow side for 40mm wide tyres.
We also corrected the front tyre, where he'd trapped the tube.   The new tyre rubs a bit on the rear mudgaud and the brke might need adjusting but it seems to be fixed.

I was only half an hour late for work.

Dobra robota!

[robgul]

Quick wax dunk for Trek chain, checked cables inside shifters, adjusted RD & checked FD.

Also, cut a block of wood the same size as the controller of the new battery kit I have on order, to see if it will fit under the saddle.  It will, but I'll have to move the alarm elsewhere.

ETA: I've had a pair of Shimano cyclotourist shoes for a few years and not worn them because the cleats were so deeply recessed in the soles that it was all but impossible to plug them into SPD pedals.  This afternoon I took a Stanley knife and carved away enough of the sole to let the pedals in.    I did look on line for shims but couldn't find any and I didn't have a Coke can handy.

They're not bad, although I take a 43 and they're 44 thnx to the Shimano tradition of only offering even-numbered sizes. They don't quite hit the front tyre.

I had the same problem with some Shimano shoes and discovered that Shimano sells shims for MTB type cleats - they fit beween cleat and show with male/female serrations to locate and grip - they worked a treat to clear the rubber from the pedal - these (I bought mine from Swinnertons, cheaper)  https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/pedals-cleats/shimano-deore-xt-spd-pdm8000-cleat-spacers-pack-of-2-yl8098030/     

[Mr Larrington]

Replaced a wonky rack fixing bolt on the Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle, an exercise requiring two different Allen keys, two screwdrivers, an 8mm spanner, a hacksaw, a Dremel and backache.

[Kim]

I had the same problem with some Shimano shoes and discovered that Shimano sells shims for MTB type cleats - they fit beween cleat and show with male/female serrations to locate and grip - they worked a treat to clear the rubber from the pedal - these (I bought mine from Swinnertons, cheaper)  https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/pedals-cleats/shimano-deore-xt-spd-pdm8000-cleat-spacers-pack-of-2-yl8098030/   

There's also https://www.crankbrothers.com/products/shoe-shields which are intended for protecting carbon-soled shoes from rubbing on the pedal, but by their nature end up raising the cleat by a small amount.  I use them to stop my ATAC pedals eating the plastic sole of my shoes.

[T42]

Quick wax dunk for Trek chain, checked cables inside shifters, adjusted RD & checked FD.

Also, cut a block of wood the same size as the controller of the new battery kit I have on order, to see if it will fit under the saddle.  It will, but I'll have to move the alarm elsewhere.

ETA: I've had a pair of Shimano cyclotourist shoes for a few years and not worn them because the cleats were so deeply recessed in the soles that it was all but impossible to plug them into SPD pedals.  This afternoon I took a Stanley knife and carved away enough of the sole to let the pedals in.    I did look on line for shims but couldn't find any and I didn't have a Coke can handy.

They're not bad, although I take a 43 and they're 44 thnx to the Shimano tradition of only offering even-numbered sizes. They don't quite hit the front tyre.

I had the same problem with some Shimano shoes and discovered that Shimano sells shims for MTB type cleats - they fit beween cleat and show with male/female serrations to locate and grip - they worked a treat to clear the rubber from the pedal - these (I bought mine from Swinnertons, cheaper)  https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/pedals-cleats/shimano-deore-xt-spd-pdm8000-cleat-spacers-pack-of-2-yl8098030/   

Strange - I would have expected something that would match the base of the cleat.  In any case, they aren't the doo-dads I thought I had in my wee chest of drawers.

Carving away the sole either side of the cleat works pretty well in the end, with the added benefit that they don't scratch the floor.  And since I bought mine, Shimano seem to have come to the same conclusion and are selling them ready-carved.

[campagman]

Got round to changing the coolant/antifreeze on the car. I've had the car over 10 yrs but have never done this. I knew it was long life antifreeze but that means 5 yrs, oops. The only problem I had was refilling. There must have been an air lock so could only get 4 ltrs in. The local garage told me what to do so got most of the rest in. Will have to keep an eye on the level for the next couple of trips.

[robgul]

Got round to changing the coolant/antifreeze on the car. I've had the car over 10 yrs but have never done this. I knew it was long life antifreeze but that means 5 yrs, oops. The only problem I had was refilling. There must have been an air lock so could only get 4 ltrs in. The local garage told me what to do so got most of the rest in. Will have to keep an eye on the level for the next couple of trips.

I had my car serviced a couple of weeks ago (it's 5 years old and only 20,000 on the clock) - the garage (franchise dealer*) wanted £160 to change the coolant!!!! - there's about 4 litres of it in the 3cylinder 1300 engine . .  I declined.  When I get round to it I'll do it myself, the stuff can't be expensive.

*Dacia Duster at the Renault main dealer - it's the "official Renault price for the job"

[CAMRAMan]

What I've failed to fettle today is the puncture on my SEAT. No spare, just a Slimesque puncture repair kit that failed to do what it says on the tin. That renders the car immobile until I get the work van on Monday to take the wheel to somewhere they can, hopefully, repair it.

[zigzag]

coming home after a group yesterday i noticed that two top gears wouldn't engage properly. i had a closer look, shifted through the cassette few times and bang the mech goes into top gear after the inner cable snapping. luckily the small head of cable didn't jam inside the shifter and was straightforward to replace it. good timing too - at home, on a bike stand. i was going to replace it at a 20,000km service, but somehow kept putting it off until now, with another 6396km ridden..

another freak mechanical on a bike stand (on a different bike) - the ultegra pedal body came off the axle while i was adjusting gears. that's unusual, i thought. especially as the plastic threaded insert was still fully screwed in. i took it all apart and found the far side tip of the axle broken off together with the little retaining nut, which basically holds the whole assembly together. there is no bending load on that part of the axle, so i'm puzzled why it broke there. i feel lucky this didn't happen during an intense out of saddle acceleration!..

(i thanked the universe for keeping me safe - i've not had any major mechanicals so far, since i started cycling seriously 15 years ago  )

[JefO]

On Tuesday, on the Pino, replaced both sets of brake pads, using E1011 pads, which I bought as spares for my 29er actually, but these are the same size.
Cleaned both chains. The final drive chain got a dip in petrol/diesel fuel mix and a good scrub with a plastic brush. To be honest I should have done the same to the stoker's chain, but it is such a faff, removing and replacing the very long chain, I just wiped it on a rag until it looked clean, then adjusted the chain tension.
Fitted a new inner gear cable for the Rear Deraileur. Straightened the integral hanger (which was badly misaligned). Surprisingly, we had had no problems with the indexing on our recent tour around east Suffolk.
This was because I like to periodically strip, clean, lube and rebuild the jockey wheels, but the upper jockey's screw was in tighter than it's countersunk allen socket could take. So I ended up removing the derailleur and taking it to the workbench, centre punching the stubborn little bugger to within an inch of its 20mm long life.
Managed to use a standard inner gear cable rather than one of the longer ones, which is handy because that is all I had in stock. The inner cable was only just long enough to reach the clamping screw on the derailleur. 

Today, repaired a puncture in my 29er rear tyre. Then found that there were two thorns in the tyre, not just the one very large one that I had already found before fixing the first puncture. Had to wire brush the normally unseen face of the rim and give it a rub with a very oily rag to get rid of the white rot (aluminium oxide). Threw away the gungy old rim tape and fitted a newer one. 

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Refitted the SPD pedal to HK’s orange trike. Fitted elastic straps to my friend’s newly be-racked Brompton.

[Mr Larrington]

Replaced the shonky collection of cable ties that connected the Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle front mudguard to its fork top with a proper bolt.  This has taken approximately twenty years.

[T42]

No shame to that. Back in the days when disk drives contained BFO linear motors and weighed >50 kilos I saw one installed in a rack by four bolts at the front and a couple of sheaves of cable ties at the back.

---o0o---

Last night one of the hoisting cords of my office Venetian blind snapped.  I have just re-threaded the broken end through umpteen slats and tied it off with a double granny to a new bit of string that bundles up the slats that fall below the window - the double granny does not slide through the slat-holes* but I don't need those slats so who cares? Fiddly damned job accomplished with the aid of tweezers, mini pliers, crocodile clips, a dental loupe and a blood sacrifice made to my carnivorous wall, with incantations.  It'll work until it doesn't; in the meantime it's nice to have the window open again.

* slat-hole sounds like a Shakespearean insult: Aroint thee, thou craven slat-hole! (Richard MCMLXIII, Fit the third, The Landing.)

[drossall]

The other day my Topeak Road Morph was misbehaving, slightly harder to pump than it should be, so I took it apart, cleaned the snot and crud out of it and reassembled.

If it doesn't hold up, then spares are available.