Month: April 2019
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Otarumi Touge Loop
I’ve been wanting to test out Kuroko’s new lower gearing as achieved by a replacement crankset, and so today the Halfakid and I planned to revisit Otarumi Touge, a mountain pass near Mt Takao. Unfortunately when it came time to set out, the Halfakid informed me he’d spent too much time in the sun at…
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Confirmation bias
It never fails: whenever there are kids (about kindergarten through upper elementary) walking or playing along my bike route, whether it’s a cycling course or a public street, they’ll look and see me coming, wait, and then … suddenly dash across my path the moment I’m within lethal range. This is probably an example of…
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Satisfied!
Today was my first time back on the bike following the loose crankset incident. I spent a relaxing weekend and made sure this time the crankset was on and snugged down to the manufacturer’s specification. The result was very satisfying. The bike shifts surely, and there’s a noticeable difference in climbing ability. There’s still a…
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Loose crankset
I set out this morning in beautiful, warm weather under partly sunny skies for the first ride with Kuroko’s new crankset. I didn’t get far, though, before it became clear something was wrong. I could feel a slight hitch in a certain part of the pedal stroke, and the front derailleur wasn’t happy. First I’d…
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Grinding the bastards down
As reported in my earlier posts Mechanical prep for a long ride and A couple of discoveries, following some upgrades to Kuroko I had two screws that were too long. In the first case, the screw holding the cable guide onto the bottom bracket was interfering with the new crankset, and in the second the…
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Prepping a Wheel
I had a couple of spare hours this morning while the sun was shining and the day warming up, so it was time to prep the new front wheel. For the upcoming Lejog ride, I want a generator hub that will let me not only have lighting on demand, but also recharge my phone and…