Month: October 2025
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Dunning–Kruger effect
Last week, on the first ride for Kuroko since I started a sweeping round of maintenance in July, I thought the gears were making a bit of noise and the shifting was somewhat sluggish. I was nearly home before I discovered the issue: I’d routed the chain improperly through the rear derailleur cage. With rain…
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We’re back!
The weather dawned clear and mild for Kuroko’s first ride since the beginning of the Jumping Through Hoops project at the end of July. Fujisan was clearly visible in the dawn light, as was the much more shy Nantaisan. Nana was up early to make some of her world-famous onigiri. I took my time over…
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Third time lucky
Today was my third try at sorting Kuroko’s front brake. After yesterday’s discovery of an unfinished casting mark (at a guess), I knew what was required: grind down the excess material and reverse the mounting bracket on the caliper. It took longer to get out the Dremel and extension cord and fit the grinding wheel…
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Breaking Bad
Today marked my second attempt to replace the front caliper for Kuroko following the hack job to unscrew the rounded bleed screw. I had no trouble returning the faulty caliper I’d installed a couple of weekends ago, and I received the replacement today, a day sooner than expected. Installing the new caliper and bleeding the…
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I’ve been told I’m cracked
Following the fight last weekend to release the bleed screw for Kuroko’s front brake, I rode the bike to the office on Monday. All seemed well at first except the front brake was pulsing: grabbing and releasing. This is often associated with a loose headset, and when I got to the office I had a…