I’m spending my day off work on important tasks like getting a clean bill of heath from the doctor and packing up Kuroko in the carry bag for an upcoming trip.
Kuroko of course is right where I’d left her after sorting out the slow leak in the rear tire. Before disturbing her rest, though, I reviewed my notes from a previous use of this bag: Yes, I needed to remove the pedals. No, I didn’t have to remove the handlebars, and it was better if I didn’t, but it makes things very tight.
After getting the bag from the closet, I had a go at the pedals. It’s easier when both wheels are on the bike, but I thought I might be able to get the job done with Kuroko in the stand as she was. I was fine, once I remembered which hand was my right hand (for the drive-side pedal), and that the non-drive-side pedal is left-hand threaded.
I have a pulley I took off a dummy hub I almost never use, and it’s the perfect thing to keep some tension on the chain and derailleur when I’ve got the rear wheel off the bike for transport.
And just like that, the pedals were off and the dummy hub on. The next step was to lower the saddle, which was tricky as the bike was held in the stand by the seat post. With the saddle down, it was just a matter of persuading the bike into the bag.
Based on my previous experience with the bag, I let most of the air out of the tires. I’m a little concerned this will allow the beads to unseat and I won’t be able to reinflate them when we arrive at our destination. In the worst case, I’ve got spare inner tubes I can put in to get the bike rolling.
Even with the tires deflated and the seat pushed all the way down — and despite the fact it’s a small frame — it’s still a tight fit in the bag. It took some pulling to get the zipper done up. But it’s all done now and I can concentrate on packing the rest of the things I’m going to carry for trip.
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