however much we wish otherwise.
Monday was to be bike maintenance day, specifically sorting out Foxy's wheel issues so straight after breakfast Foxy went in the stand and the wheels were removed. I've got all the gear so i set up the jig, found the spoke key and went to work. The front wheel was actually not out of true, rather it was the damage caused by last weeks impact that was the problem, the rim is toast - useable but not fixable, guess the rim replacement programme will have to be moved up a bit.
The rear wheel was another story, a quick spin revealled quite a pretzel caused by a broken spoke on the non drive side, dang! No way around it, i needed to get a replacement and after a couple of phone calls i tracked the correct size down a couple of miles away. Long story short, i got quite wet on the way (i walked), grabbed a coffee in the Swedish shop on the way back and caught the bus the rest of the way back but at least i had my spokes, i always get more than i need, just in case.
Back at the house it was the work of a couple of minutes to fit the replacement, another thirty to re true the wheel to my usual 0.25mm tolerance before refitting the wheels. At least i have one working bike! I didn't get far with the Focus, my bolt extractor once more failing to remove the required retainer, a closer look at the damage - well i'm well impressed at just how much force was needed to cause so much damage. Anyhoo, a job for another day..
Despite an iffy forecast i thought i should get some sort of ride in on Tuesday, my bout of 'flu' seems to have cleared up and that wheel needed bedding in. Well i got in 60km with a twiddly run down to Bath and back. Today, once the laundry was on the line, i set to harvesting more potatoes, some that i planted but mostly it has to be said, from feral plants in the onion bed! Guess we missed a few when that bed was last used for potatoes and they are doing a lot better than the onions that are sharing the area.
Elsewhere, the tomatoes are coming along nicely, fruits are, erm, fruiting, more flowers are coming which promise even more to come. And my sweet pepper plant, having already supplied 8 peppers, looks like it will produce at least the same again. We had homegrown cauliflower au gratin with our tea om Monday, more heads are coming along nicely, the broccoli otoh has all bolted so nothing out of that.
I've booked my coach up to Sheffield, i'll be going up on Tuesday. As for the man himself, well they've got him back in the hospital atm, not entirely sure what's going on, its a cancer related issue but of itself shouldn't impact the timetable. It really is messing with my head, i really can't concentrate on stuff and even going for a ride isn't helping, hence the relatively short distances.
I'll be back Sunday, but for now,
Tschuss,
Madeline Anafrid
Comments
Broken bolt
My method for removing bolts involves the use of a mig welder and scrap rod, and or tin. Drill a hole in middle of bolt if bolt is over 1/4 . If in aluminum drill a hole in piece of scrap tin about size of bolt. Mig weld on head of bolt to tin or a scrap rod. Let cool. Mig welding shrinks as it cools quite a bit. Bolt will usually come out in one try. If not repeat.
Got a slight bend in rim? If it’s an alloy rim it can be straightened. I use some wood I shaped to rim and a big c clamp. Wood has to be shaped to be a cup over the rim on outside and less of a convex on inside. Tighten clamp and wet the wood with water on a rag. Next take a propane torch and heat up alloy rim to relieve stress where bend is. It does work and no you don’t catch wood on fire if your carefully heating rim itself and wood is wet. Won’t take long to cool. Just heat it up till you hear the ping of metal shifting then let cool by air. I have blocks curved for doing both directions and it got the bend out of rim quite nicely. Didn’t damage the finish.
It’s just heating not melting. You can try it…or search for that elusive rim that matches your other rim.
the bolt
is Ti and just needs a better tool than i have to undo. Not only that but its located inside the Ti axle which is why you need the right bit of kit for the job, mine is okay for installation but not for removal.
As for the rim - your method might work on old school cheese rims but modern hard anodised rims - nah. if it was a simple matter of a slightly dinted bead it would be one thing but the damage is mostly to the braking surface, the impact causing ripples through the material. No sensible fix possible, i can put up with a bit of brake judder until i can replace. The rims are a rare 520c, i have a choice of maybe 3 rims all retailing @ $50, due to brake wear they usually last about 5 years, the current pair are @ 4 years old.
Madeline Anafrid Bell
feral plants in the onion bed!
ROFL.
I harvested 3.5kg of rogue tatties from my onion bed at the weekend. A fact of life I guess. Still it was nice to have some freebies to give away.
Good luck up in GOC. At least you have a working bike to return to...
Samantha