The Racelight version arrived and has been put on. Quite a thin walled tyre - think Marathon Surpreme vs Marathon Plus. Even the K-guard it replaced is not a heavyweight really. I’ve put the new one on the front and swapped front to back.
Anyway, the reason for the tyre change is that I have a fear of an on-road RUD (rapid unscheduled deflation) on this bike, a Tern Vektron P7i with a Nexus 7 hub. This fear stems from the extent to which I dislike taking the back wheel out of it. And that is to a very great extent.
I’m reasonably adept with bike stuff but I really find this difficult. First, the orientation of the cable-release-enabling hole at the back of the Nexus 7, as fitted to a Vektron, makes it very difficult to find. It’s also quite low, on a 20” wheel bike. And I don’t do this very often, so forget exactly where it is. And in the dark, on a filth-strewn street, with an audience of oaves...
But today I was in the living room so that bit was ok. The real difficulty, for me, is getting the wheel out of its vertical dropouts past the chain tensioner. I just don’t think it can be done without 1) turning the wheel out of the plane of the bike and 2) applying an amount of force that I am uncomfortable with, when it comes to bicycles. I worry that I am risking putting the chain tensioner out of adjustment or bending it. Putting the wheel back in is even worse.
And for additional interest, as I was doing all that today the chain came apart. The Taya chain has a most unimpressive looking joining link and it must have had a push / bend at the just the right spot. That made matters much oilier than I had planned for in this living room fettling scenario which added to the evident strain.
I’m now thinking about the joining link and wishing it closed with a snap like those of other brands. This one looks as if it depends on the chain being in constant tension.
