A ride for Brucey....

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by Jamesh »

Anyone been on a ride over the holiday weekend?
Pneumant
Posts: 278
Joined: 7 Oct 2010, 8:25pm

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by Pneumant »

Jamesh wrote: 5 Apr 2021, 10:29pm Right thanks that's fleet moss ticked off south to north X2 as I did it in June too. Looks a fair bit tougher north to south tbh.
The chain started making a clicking sound which I should not have ignored...then it dumped me on the tarmac!
Cheers James
Tbh it is tough in both directions, I once struggled over heading north into the mother of all headwinds. Chain letting go is a bad one, you were lucky there. I won't touch shimano chains as I don't trust their joining pins. I run KMC X10 chains on my 10-speed 105 road bike and they work well.
Jamesh wrote: 6 Apr 2021, 6:17pm Anyone been on a ride over the holiday weekend?
Good Friday for me. A short 53 local miler through the Shropshire lanes on the fixed, out via Montford Bridge, Pentre, Melverley, Llanymynech, Maesbury and back to Shrewsbury. No stops as ride short enough to make it on bonk food (Lidl Walnut cake!) and water. No average speed to quote but usually around the 15mph mark. Saw numerous Buzzards, a couple of Red Kites, a very noisy pair of Oystercatchers and heard Skylarks. Scrambled eggs on toast and tea upon my return home :D
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by Jamesh »

My favourite ride good is flapjack but it must have raisins in it.
Christmas cake is good too. Thirdly chocolate for when things really get bad! Usually too late by that point.

I drank 500mls of SIS drink which I think helps alot.

Cheers James
philvantwo
Posts: 1730
Joined: 8 Dec 2012, 6:08pm

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by philvantwo »

What about some Yorkshire tea?
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by Jamesh »

Prefer coffee tbh.

Paying for tea seems a waste when you can buy proper coffee for not a lot more....

Cheers James
Darkman
Posts: 242
Joined: 30 Aug 2019, 8:46pm

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by Darkman »

Mechanical mishaps especially welcome.....
*ahem*

Before I start, I should point out that I made the switch from flat pedals to SPD-SL and completed a handful of rides without incident. So some of you can probably already sense where this is going. We had to have one of our pets put down the previous day so I'm not in the best frame of mind anyway.

"What's it like out?" I asked the missus.

"It's fine, you won't need arm warmers," she says.

I stuff them in my jersey pocket anyway, unconvinced. Less than a quarter of a mile down the road, I quickly realise it's bloody freezing, and stop to put the arm warmers on. Check the road's clear, make a complete buttock* of clipping in, end up sprawled in the road, drive-side down. :?

Pick myself up, nobody saw me, no problem. This has never happened to me before. I'm a REAL boy now! The rear mech is scratched up a bit, but the hangar looks fine, gears seem to be working.

So I get about 15 miles into this 32-miler with about 2000ft of ascent. My wrist hurts, my elbow hurts, my buttock* hurts. I'm not enjoying this one little bit and it isn't going well, so I stop on a climb (sensibly!) since I'm just not "feeling it" today. Gather my thoughts, attempt to set off, not enough momentum, hello Mr Floor, again! :?

Swearing happened. Again everything looks OK considering I've now dropped it on the drive-side twice in the same ride, but unknown to me, all is not so good in RearMechLand.

The last climb of the day, about a 3% gradient, but stick a fork in me, I'm done. I drop into a granny gear and the rear mech overshoots the cassette and would have been into the spokes had I not been too lazy to take the dork disc off. The chain breaks - how, I do not know, but it's not on the bike any more. When I find it, the masterlink is missing. A tantrum ensues. I pick the chain up and launch it into a low orbit. It probably hasn't landed yet.

Phoned the missus to come get me. First time I have ever been defeated by a ride. It's only lucky for the bike that there wasn't a pond nearby.

Once home it turns out that the mech hanger is bent in by about 3mm, though I managed to straighten it out (but bought a replacement anyway). Also, the rear mech is a write-off. Luckily it's only about £22 worth of Shimano Acera 8sp.

Replaced the hanger and mech, but to top it all off I cut the chain two links too long, then couldn't get the masterlink back off to shorten it. Managed to pinch my hands (both of them, which is impressive) in the not-the-tool-for-the-job pliers I was using - pliers which got launched down the garden in a paddy as I invented myself some new swear words.

Considering taking up something a bit safer. Maybe base-jumping.

[edit] "buttock" was not my word of choice.
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by Jamesh »

Darkman wrote: 21 Apr 2021, 10:38am
Mechanical mishaps especially welcome.....
*ahem*

Before I start, I should point out that I made the switch from flat pedals to SPD-SL and completed a handful of rides without incident. So some of you can probably already sense where this is going. We had to have one of our pets put down the previous day so I'm not in the best frame of mind anyway.

"What's it like out?" I asked the missus.

"It's fine, you won't need arm warmers," she says.

I stuff them in my jersey pocket anyway, unconvinced. Less than a quarter of a mile down the road, I quickly realise it's bloody freezing, and stop to put the arm warmers on. Check the road's clear, make a complete buttock* of clipping in, end up sprawled in the road, drive-side down. :?

Pick myself up, nobody saw me, no problem. This has never happened to me before. I'm a REAL boy now! The rear mech is scratched up a bit, but the hangar looks fine, gears seem to be working.

So I get about 15 miles into this 32-miler with about 2000ft of ascent. My wrist hurts, my elbow hurts, my buttock* hurts. I'm not enjoying this one little bit and it isn't going well, so I stop on a climb (sensibly!) since I'm just not "feeling it" today. Gather my thoughts, attempt to set off, not enough momentum, hello Mr Floor, again! :?

Swearing happened. Again everything looks OK considering I've now dropped it on the drive-side twice in the same ride, but unknown to me, all is not so good in RearMechLand.

The last climb of the day, about a 3% gradient, but stick a fork in me, I'm done. I drop into a granny gear and the rear mech overshoots the cassette and would have been into the spokes had I not been too lazy to take the dork disc off. The chain breaks - how, I do not know, but it's not on the bike any more. When I find it, the masterlink is missing. A tantrum ensues. I pick the chain up and launch it into a low orbit. It probably hasn't landed yet.

Phoned the missus to come get me. First time I have ever been defeated by a ride. It's only lucky for the bike that there wasn't a pond nearby.

Once home it turns out that the mech hanger is bent in by about 3mm, though I managed to straighten it out (but bought a replacement anyway). Also, the rear mech is a write-off. Luckily it's only about £22 worth of Shimano Acera 8sp.

Replaced the hanger and mech, but to top it all off I cut the chain two links too long, then couldn't get the masterlink back off to shorten it. Managed to pinch my hands (both of them, which is impressive) in the not-the-tool-for-the-job pliers I was using - pliers which got launched down the garden in a paddy as I invented myself some new swear words.

Considering taking up something a bit safer. Maybe base-jumping.

[edit] "buttock" was not my word of choice.
That's a very bad day in the saddle!

Hope your better soon and put it down to experience!

Cheers James
markjohnobrien
Posts: 1037
Joined: 4 Oct 2007, 8:15pm

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by markjohnobrien »

Jamesh wrote: 7 Apr 2021, 10:41pm Prefer coffee tbh.

Paying for tea seems a waste when you can buy proper coffee for not a lot more....

Cheers James
Proper tea - lapsang souchong - is the drink of the gods. Oolong is good as well.
Raleigh Randonneur 708 (Magura hydraulic brakes); Blue Raleigh Randonneur 708 dynamo; Pearson Compass 631 tourer; Dawes One Down 631 dynamo winter bike;Raleigh Travelogue 708 tourer dynamo; Kona Sutra; Trek 920 disc Sram Force.
Stradageek
Posts: 1657
Joined: 17 Jan 2011, 1:07pm

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by Stradageek »

Had a WWBD (What would Brucey do) moment on a lovely ride out to Stanford-on-Avon. 20 miles from home with Jean's battery running low she pulled onto a grass verge for a 'comfort' break only to have the rear mech hit a rock. If you know where the rear mech sits on a Kettwiesel trike you'll know it can happen. We now had a bent mech hanger and mangled chain tensioner, the derailleur arm miraculously survived.

Recalling Brucey on the topic of 'cold forming' the rear triangle on steel frames (to convert from derailleur to AW3 gears) I took the largest tools I had in my emergency kit and carefully bent everything back into as usable shape.

Only 6 of 9 gears were functioning but we got home and with a better set of tools all is now Hunky Dory
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Cowsham
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Joined: 4 Nov 2019, 1:33pm

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by Cowsham »

Stradageek wrote: 22 Apr 2021, 9:25am Had a WWBD (What would Brucey do) moment on a lovely ride out to Stanford-on-Avon. 20 miles from home with Jean's battery running low she pulled onto a grass verge for a 'comfort' break only to have the rear mech hit a rock. If you know where the rear mech sits on a Kettwiesel trike you'll know it can happen. We now had a bent mech hanger and mangled chain tensioner, the derailleur arm miraculously survived.

Recalling Brucey on the topic of 'cold forming' the rear triangle on steel frames (to convert from derailleur to AW3 gears) I took the largest tools I had in my emergency kit and carefully bent everything back into as usable shape.

Only 6 of 9 gears were functioning but we got home and with a better set of tools all is now Hunky Dory
Well done -- I always carry a pair of pointy nose pliers for pulling thorns out of tyres but they are handy for other jobs like what happened to you.
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Cowsham
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Joined: 4 Nov 2019, 1:33pm

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by Cowsham »

A 50 miler today around the Northern Ireland coastline on my MTB. Took a wee photo of White Park Bay.

Image

Weather was cold about 7 degrees but sunny with very little wind.

My rear tyre went soft on the way home but when I stopped to fix the puncture I thought I had, I couldn't find any. I examined the inside of the tyre to feel for a thorn or nail but nothing. No holes in the tube?

Valve must be leaky or something - just pushed the tube back in, pumped it good an hard and cycled the last 20 miles home.
Last edited by Cowsham on 3 May 2021, 10:16am, edited 1 time in total.
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nez
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Joined: 19 Jun 2008, 12:11am

Re: A ride for Brucey....

Post by nez »

Darkman wrote: 21 Apr 2021, 10:38am
Mechanical mishaps especially welcome.....
*ahem*

The chain breaks - how, I do not know, but it's not on the bike any more. When I find it, the masterlink is missing. A tantrum ensues. I pick the chain up and launch it into a low orbit. It probably hasn't landed yet.

Phoned the missus to come get me. First time I have ever been defeated by a ride. It's only lucky for the bike that there wasn't a pond nearby.
I have carried a spare chain connector link since Methuselah was a boy. Obviously not the same one, as I started with 5 gears at the back and now have eleven. Anyway, I broke a chain I think a year ago and had to use it. The feeling of smugness 'No don't wait for me, I can fix it.' I even had a multitool with a little hook to hold the chain together while I clipped it in. Yes! Vindicated. I now have two connectors, in case it happens to a companion.
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