Sunday, March 23, 2014

Hangers and other things

I've been waiting to blog for a while; employing the old maxim that if you don't have anything to say don't say anything! January and February didn't see much activity on the road but I did manage to get some early year training done in the gym. Much to the relief of my strength and conditioning guru who always wants more weights work. But like most cyclists I tend to think riding on the road is the only thing that counts. We did manage a couple of trips out on the tandem; including one on the 2nd of January. An impressive start but one that hasn't been followed up much so far.

March, however, has been a very diferent ketle of fish. The weather has improved slightly meaning that I've been able to get out more. Not only that but I've managed to get my first century for the year done. Much earlier this year than last when I only got one done. The ride itself was relatively straight forward with an ascent of the Lomond Hills road chucked in for good measure. I'd not been up that road since 2012 so I was apprehensive about it but, despite being in my granny gear a little earlier than I would have liked, I made it over without much fuss; an early success for the year.

The rest of the ride was completed easily enough although I do have to admit to feeling a bit sick on the way up to Hazelton Walls, about 75 miles in. And the hill up to Logie was tough but the legs kept the pedals turning over.



Two days later I was out again, this time meeting up with the afore mentioned S&C guru for some companionable riding. It didn't last long but not because we fell out. It was my bike that gave up the ghost. Changing gear near Bow of Fife my rear derailleur exploded into 3 bits.

It's not supposed to look like this.
Luckily The Stoker was at home and I was able to call for an emergency pick up. On further inspection the derailleur hanger was bent and also needed replacing. Thankfully I had a spare.



Once the work was done I went out again to test the new kit out. And very good it felt too. The wind made the riding hard but the bike felt great. On my return home I propped the bike up near the garage while I went to open the door. Sadly the wind then blew the bike over causing a scratch on the new derailleur. Annoying, but nothing I thought much about. After all, it wasn't the first time the bike had toppled over on the drive.



The next day dawned brightly and, although it was windy again, I decided it would be nice to get out. All was good, even with the early miles being slightly uphill and in to wind. It was only when I got to the Thai Teak climb that I found all was decidedly not well. Going into the granny gear for the first time I heard a clinking sound from the rear. Looking down I saw that I was already in the granny gear, although the lever thought there should be one more gear. And this meant that the attempt to change down was putting the derailleur cage into contact with the spokes. Never a good idea. I completed the climb and took a look.

The reason for the contact was that the new hanger was bent. It must have been damaged when the bike went over the day before. I adjusted the lower limit screw so it couldn't go into the wheel and decided I could ride on to Cupar before heading home. I was still cutting my planned route almost in half but I didn't want to take too many chances with a bike which wasn't quite behaving itself.


Lovely view. You can't see the wind!




Getting home I put the bike in the stand and checked it out. The new hanger is more bent than the old one. I'm glad a replacement is on its way. Will it arrive in time for my next planned long ride, later this week. I hope so. The moral of the story is even if the bike only takes a little knock, check it out.