Thursday, October 15, 2015

It Finally Happened



Flat tire on my most complicated bicycle.  not a simple quick release on wheel and brakes and get it back on in 2 to 5 minutes.  Nope.  Had to happen on the rear wheel of a bike with a Nexus 7 speed internal hub and roller (drum brakes).  Tools required.  Specifically, a 15 and a 10mm wrench.  And the dreaded releasing and reconnecting of the shifter cable.  That's the main problem.  The little damn cable that needs to be placed into the slot just perfectly.  But first the slot needs to be pushed forward.  I had to use a wrench to push it.

Just above the axle bolt on the out side of the sprocket the end of the shifter cable is showing.


3 things going for me today.
1. I had all the stuff--wrenches, tub, levers and pump
2. This happened at work.  Bike fixtation with pump next to bike rack
3. Spent time with the bike shop mechanic going over this shit

The latter is probably the most important.  If you can watch them do their magic you may just pick up the knowledge you need for such situations.  With my high tech wunderbike I had to ask how to remove the wheel, how to properly place the lock ring if it got loose.  But the best trick I learned was to lower the tension on the shifter cable before attempting to reattach the cable to the hub.  Sure, I spent the ride home fine tuning the shifting but I got the bastard back together.

Now time to purchase new tires.  I have 2000 miles on the rear tire, 3600 on the front.  The rear is looking a bit worn.  Apparently it was not thick enough to stop a tiny bit of wire from puncturing the tube.


No comments:

Post a Comment