Put Some Elbow Grease Into It!

Saturday. 20th July 2013

Damn I love these things. They are so, so light at 305 grams PER PAIR!

Hello dear readers. I had a lovely weekend. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the body remembers fast. My weekend was spent working on, and riding Natasha. I spent the majority of Sunday spinning the BIG RING. The middle and granny rings get almost no use now – except on steep hills (and that’s with the 21kg worth of kid weighing me down). But that was Sunday – this is all about Saturday. The initial rust damage on the cassette is superficial I’ve since realized. And it is all pretty much gone now (thanks to a bit of attention from yours truly). The crankset is another story. The first two rings are aluminum, but the granny ring is steel – and that is where most of the tin worm sits. I may have to pull the rings off to do a proper job on it. On closer inspection too, my front tire has chunks missing out of it – so I guess a new tire (may as well get a new matching pair) is in order. I pulled the rusted crankset bolts off to see how much rust I could remove. Whilst I got the top layer off, there is still a deep under layer well dug in. I think new bolts will be the best option. On the subject of bolts, I’ve noticed the odd loose bolt on Natasha of late – nothing serious, the water cage allen bolts for example have worked their way loose on the down tube – easy fix, but hammers home that a long stored, un-ridden bike needs proper sorting. You certainly wouldn’t risk touring on one. I’m guessing a month’s riding should have her perfect.

Sexy new HT Components pedals – check out those grommets and how high they are! They’re practically like having clip-ons. I’ve gotten rid of almost ALL the rust on the steel granny ring, courtesy of some skateboard grip tape and elbow grease.

But, to the riding. On Saturday morning I took my son with me to run a few errands. I’m using a Co-Pilot seat which isn’t too bad. It is supposedly rated to 22kgs. My boy is nearly four and very tall for this age. B1 is around 21kgs. That he is remotely comfortable in it astounds me. The next seat I get will have to be more suitable – as in, a bit larger with longer leg sections. I purchased this one in a bit of haste I’m afraid. I suppose it will comfortably take my one year old (B2). Anyway, this time B1 felt a little less like a purpose built de-stabilizer. Perhaps because I was prepared for it. My first stop was to buy some chain oil in a can (at a bargain *cough* S$19). I had to ask the guy twice what the price was because I couldn’t quite believe it. At least I scored a free rag out of the deal to apply it. Squeaky chain solved. For now.

Lots of manual intervention – and that’s just for the rust…….it’s at a point now where I think my wife wants Natasha back.

Another ride around my personal ring route to another shop-front, this time for some WD40 to help get some of this rust off (S$6 bucks!). I’m not so certain WD40 is designed for this job, but I’ve given it a shot anyway. Supposedly vinegar is efficient at removing rust but I tried it – it doesn’t work all that well. Maybe it needs to soak overnight? Back on the bike and I decided to explore a bit of the local location with the little man. He LOVES riding with me. Seriously. And damn if we didn’t find a bike/walking track along the river behind where we live. Pretty nice – and easy, good for kids on bikes…..too short for me however, I’m guessing it is barely 2 kilometers long – but it’s longer than anywhere Sydney would have. Sydney is starved for decent bike paths. I will further stick my neck out here and say that I feel infinitely safer riding around Singapore than I do in Sydney. Sydney drivers seem intent on killing you (sometimes on purpose). I find the complete opposite here. Drivers are very courteous (to bike riders) and I am more than happy riding on very busy main roads with B1 in tow. Call it a sixth sense. Bicycles make absolute sense in this country. They make sense in every country but I feel welcome on the roads here and I love that. But back to the track-by-the-river. It was fun and served its purpose of me stress testing the very unstable racebike/kiddie-seat set up that I currently have going. Don’t try this at home kids – get a proper, long wheelbase, stable bike to carry your little ones. I actually bottomed the rear Alex 300 rim out fairly hard on this particular run – how it didn’t get bent is beyond me. Lesson learnt however – CHECK YOUR PRESSURES. The overall kid-carrying experience has me thinking of the Big Dummy courtesy of Surly (so I can take both B1 and B2). Oh sure there are other brands out there with kid carrying/big load models but Surly has my vote at the minute. More on that later.

I spent the rest of the day trying to get the rust off with some WD40 and a toothbrush. I think I may need some wire-wool. I used some sandpaper on the crankset bolts – and whilst they no longer looked “flowery” I think the rust has permanently taken hold of them. They must be mild steel. I can see the steel granny ring is going to need something industrial to clean it up. On the flip side though, everything is looking much, much better, and best of all, the drivetrain feels incredibly smoother now. Amazing what a bit of tender care can do. Your local bike shop can service it – but they won’t love it like you can. And I know Natasha appreciates it.