Semmelrocc
E*POWAH Master
Isn't that a giant RockShox sticker on the steerer tube? You've got the wrong suspension on your bike.
Pic of the Day
- Thread starter Kilham5
- Start date
Slymobi
E*POWAH Elite
Haha yep, it came in the bike box !! Makes a good Stone chip protectorIsn't that a giant RockShox sticker on the steerer tube? You've got the wrong suspension on your bike.
Back at Livigno and fantastic biking possibilities. Still no black uber runs.
Time for a brew, N Wales.
Out and about on the old mountain roads from Killin up to the Lubreoch dam. Just over 25 miles and 2567 ft of elevation. 
Why did you lock her to the bench with your bikes? Was she planning an escape? You’ve got a few hours before the tide is in. Just saying
.
I went out for a local ride today, no car involved. A very nice first 12 miles ensued along various bridleways. I stopped in a small village called Westborough. It is a cul-de-sac with no through traffic, so it's very quiet. Bearing in mind the problems I'd had with my mech clogging with vegetation I stopped at the old cross in the centre of the village to clear out the grass I'd picked up. I must have done something wrong, because as I set off, the chain, mech and cassette collided and bent the mech into the cassette. (How is that even possible?).
I unbolted the mech from the mech hanger, but the chain was jammed between it and the cassette, so the chain had to come off as well. I couldn't undo the magic link, so I had to break the chain. The mech was that bent that I couldn't unclamp the gear cable, so I had to cut the cable. Once the mech was off and in my hands I could see how badly it was bent.
I coiled the chain and put it in my backpack along with the mech and then looked forward (not) to my 3.5 mile walk home.
The village cross made a useful workstand! The stone cross went missing many, many years ago, the base that you can see here was refurbished about 100 years ago, according to an elderly resident I chatted to last year. The steps were crawling with black ants, so my backpack was only put there for the photo.
As for the trip home, I could stick to tarmac and it would be 4 miles, or I could do my planned route along the river bank, 3.5 miles, or take the direct route across the fields 2.5 miles. Ignoring the tarmac option, I hobby-horsed my way out of the village to the bridge over the river and made my final choice. The fields looked dry(ish), so I opted for the direct route, which was a public footpath across the farmed fields, with unplanted areas left for walkers. Unfortunately one of the fields along the way was flooded, so I made my way around the edge of the flooded bit. You should appreciate that this is Lincolnshire in England and it is known for its heavy clay soil! After about 200 yards, my boots each weighed a ton and my bike wheels stopped rotating. I had to carry the bike and the mud another 200 yards to get to the next field, access via a small bridge.
You can see where various walkers had scraped their boots on the bridge railings. I had to scout around for a stick to scrape the mud from the wheels, but would you believe it there were none! So I had to break one off from the Hawthorne hedge nearby. Mud removal took quite a while, the clay was just like the sort of stuff that pots are made from, only thicker and stickier! It loves rubber tread!
It took me over 20 mins to get both wheels scraped clean enough to go under the mucky nutz with some extra space for contingecies. See below.
It occurred to me at about this point that if I'd opted for the tarmac route, I would have been home by now!
In the pic below, you can see where I'm going. I'm heading to the left of the shiny rooves. Right where the field track stops there is a kissing gate that only walkers and uni-cycles will pass through. The fences to the side were low enough for me to heave the bike over, just.
Eventually I got to the last kissing gate and it was just too high for me to get the bike over. If I was absolutrely desperate, I would have lifted the bike and climbed over the gate, but this was the village where I live. Somebody would give me a helping hand. The first two people I rang went to voicemail. Then another Steve came walking by with his dog. 40+ years younger and he just lifted the bike up above his head and handed it over the fence to me. Gosh! Thank you Steve!
Now I just have to get the bike clean, fit a new mech and gear cable and then see if I can straighten the damaged XT mech. Probably, but will it ever be the same?
I unbolted the mech from the mech hanger, but the chain was jammed between it and the cassette, so the chain had to come off as well. I couldn't undo the magic link, so I had to break the chain. The mech was that bent that I couldn't unclamp the gear cable, so I had to cut the cable. Once the mech was off and in my hands I could see how badly it was bent.
I coiled the chain and put it in my backpack along with the mech and then looked forward (not) to my 3.5 mile walk home.
The village cross made a useful workstand! The stone cross went missing many, many years ago, the base that you can see here was refurbished about 100 years ago, according to an elderly resident I chatted to last year. The steps were crawling with black ants, so my backpack was only put there for the photo.
As for the trip home, I could stick to tarmac and it would be 4 miles, or I could do my planned route along the river bank, 3.5 miles, or take the direct route across the fields 2.5 miles. Ignoring the tarmac option, I hobby-horsed my way out of the village to the bridge over the river and made my final choice. The fields looked dry(ish), so I opted for the direct route, which was a public footpath across the farmed fields, with unplanted areas left for walkers. Unfortunately one of the fields along the way was flooded, so I made my way around the edge of the flooded bit. You should appreciate that this is Lincolnshire in England and it is known for its heavy clay soil! After about 200 yards, my boots each weighed a ton and my bike wheels stopped rotating. I had to carry the bike and the mud another 200 yards to get to the next field, access via a small bridge.
You can see where various walkers had scraped their boots on the bridge railings. I had to scout around for a stick to scrape the mud from the wheels, but would you believe it there were none! So I had to break one off from the Hawthorne hedge nearby. Mud removal took quite a while, the clay was just like the sort of stuff that pots are made from, only thicker and stickier! It loves rubber tread!
It took me over 20 mins to get both wheels scraped clean enough to go under the mucky nutz with some extra space for contingecies. See below.
It occurred to me at about this point that if I'd opted for the tarmac route, I would have been home by now!
In the pic below, you can see where I'm going. I'm heading to the left of the shiny rooves. Right where the field track stops there is a kissing gate that only walkers and uni-cycles will pass through. The fences to the side were low enough for me to heave the bike over, just.
Eventually I got to the last kissing gate and it was just too high for me to get the bike over. If I was absolutrely desperate, I would have lifted the bike and climbed over the gate, but this was the village where I live. Somebody would give me a helping hand. The first two people I rang went to voicemail. Then another Steve came walking by with his dog. 40+ years younger and he just lifted the bike up above his head and handed it over the fence to me. Gosh! Thank you Steve!
Now I just have to get the bike clean, fit a new mech and gear cable and then see if I can straighten the damaged XT mech. Probably, but will it ever be the same?
Think how much fitter you are after today.
Now I just have to get the bike clean, fit a new mech and gear cable and then see if I can straighten the damaged XT mech. Probably, but will it ever be the same?
Probably not.
Something wasn't right before so replacing the XT mech would at least eliminate another problem area.
No one ever said it would be easy ...I went out for a local ride today, no car involved. A very nice first 12 miles ensued along various bridleways. I stopped in a small village called Westborough. It is a cul-de-sac with no through traffic, so it's very quiet. Bearing in mind the problems I'd had with my mech clogging with vegetation I stopped at the old cross in the centre of the village to clear out the grass I'd picked up. I must have done something wrong, because as I set off, the chain, mech and cassette collided and bent the mech into the cassette. (How is that even possible?).
View attachment 143968
I unbolted the mech from the mech hanger, but the chain was jammed between it and the cassette, so the chain had to come off as well. I couldn't undo the magic link, so I had to break the chain. The mech was that bent that I couldn't unclamp the gear cable, so I had to cut the cable. Once the mech was off and in my hands I could see how badly it was bent.
View attachment 143967
I coiled the chain and put it in my backpack along with the mech and then looked forward (not) to my 3.5 mile walk home.
The village cross made a useful workstand! The stone cross went missing many, many years ago, the base that you can see here was refurbished about 100 years ago, according to an elderly resident I chatted to last year. The steps were crawling with black ants, so my backpack was only put there for the photo.
View attachment 143969
As for the trip home, I could stick to tarmac and it would be 4 miles, or I could do my planned route along the river bank, 3.5 miles, or take the direct route across the fields 2.5 miles. Ignoring the tarmac option, I hobby-horsed my way out of the village to the bridge over the river and made my final choice. The fields looked dry(ish), so I opted for the direct route, which was a public footpath across the farmed fields, with unplanted areas left for walkers. Unfortunately one of the fields along the way was flooded, so I made my way around the edge of the flooded bit. You should appreciate that this is Lincolnshire in England and it is known for its heavy clay soil! After about 200 yards, my boots each weighed a ton and my bike wheels stopped rotating. I had to carry the bike and the mud another 200 yards to get to the next field, access via a small bridge.
View attachment 143970
You can see where various walkers had scraped their boots on the bridge railings. I had to scout around for a stick to scrape the mud from the wheels, but would you believe it there were none! So I had to break one off from the Hawthorne hedge nearby. Mud removal took quite a while, the clay was just like the sort of stuff that pots are made from, only thicker and stickier! It loves rubber tread!
It took me over 20 mins to get both wheels scraped clean enough to go under the mucky nutz with some extra space for contingecies. See below.
View attachment 143974
It occurred to me at about this point that if I'd opted for the tarmac route, I would have been home by now!
In the pic below, you can see where I'm going. I'm heading to the left of the shiny rooves. Right where the field track stops there is a kissing gate that only walkers and uni-cycles will pass through. The fences to the side were low enough for me to heave the bike over, just.
View attachment 143972
Eventually I got to the last kissing gate and it was just too high for me to get the bike over. If I was absolutrely desperate, I would have lifted the bike and climbed over the gate, but this was the village where I live. Somebody would give me a helping hand. The first two people I rang went to voicemail. Then another Steve came walking by with his dog. 40+ years younger and he just lifted the bike up above his head and handed it over the fence to me. Gosh! Thank you Steve!
View attachment 143975
Now I just have to get the bike clean, fit a new mech and gear cable and then see if I can straighten the damaged XT mech. Probably, but will it ever be the same?
Fit for what though? It is embarrassing how much upper body strength I have lost in the last ten years, or have my bikes got heavier? .........Oh yes!Think how much fitter you are after today.
I just Googled it and heavy clay soil is twice as heavy as water. ie 2kg per litre. or 124.8 pounds per cubic foot.
It felt heavier!
A few seconds on my calculator says that I weigh the same as 1.57 cubic feet of heavy clay soil! Yikes that is heavy!
You are referring to the chain slipping under load on the 10t gear. Everything was checked and found to be OK. When the bike was reassembled everything WAS Ok. So I suspect that it had been a build-up of crushed vegetation in the mech that had been removed in cleaning. Even climbing uphill in Boost earlier today would not make it slip, so I reckon it was fixed! Until I broke it today.
Memorable day though!No one ever said it would be easy ...
Sry, but I laughed a few times …couldn’t help it.Memorable day though!
You definitely deserve an “Atta-Boy” (or two) for that adventure.
Will YOU ever be the same?
I bet your other half dreads it when you've got to change a light bulb.Memorable day though!
Semmelrocc
E*POWAH Master
On my way to work this morning. It's a shame I'll have to spend the day in the office.
Yes of course! I was only a few miles from home, it wasn't as though I was in the wilderness with roaming grizzly bears, and mountain lions, rattlesnakes and so forth.
PS: The XT mech that I bent severely was actually an SLX mech. I consulted my spares list that some of you may remember I made a week ago or so. As luck would have it, I had a new SLX mech in its box in the garage. AND I had a new slickwire inner gear cable. I spent what later seemed far too long cleaning, stripping down and straightening the bent mech. It was good to have a new one to compare it with because the new cage is subtly not straight. I very briefly pondered on refitting the straightened mech, but decided to put it on my list of used spares. It should work; apart from some scratches, it looks exactly the same as the new one.
I'm not doing too well for 12s mechs on this bike I am averaging one mech every 1024 miles. That is the original XT mech and two new SLX mechs. The one I just fitted is the fourth.
What is it about 12-speed? I never broke or bent any other mech, from 6-speed upwards to 11-speed! My previous emtb was 11-speed and all ever had to do was a mech hanger alignment and to renew the jockey wheels in almost 3100 miles.
Don’t worry. It is normal to get confused during riding as only having 10 fingers when counting shifting gears up an down. Starting at 0 works up to 11 but with 12 you quickly end up in trouble,, because to re-calibrate your brains memory you have to look down to check chain visually on the cassette and while doing so you keep running and hitting whatever comes along. That is btw why Shimano invented these gear indicators.
Don‘t mention it!
Vaurion aiheutti todennäköisesti kasvillisuus risut takertumalla takavaihtajan pienien hammaspyörien väliin .
Mielestäni Steve tarvitsee nimen uudelleen Wedding Crasherista mech masheriksi
InRustWeTrust
E*POWAH Master
"The damage was probably caused by vegetation twigs getting stuck between the small gears of the rear derailleur."
NO, I know it was definitely me! I had ridden up to the stone monument and then extracted a few bits of vegetation from the mech. I suspect that I inadvertently moved the chain to a different gear. Whatever I did, it didn't like it! When I set off, I had hardly moved a few feet when I felt and heard the mech bending into the cassette, taking the chain with it. My fault.
"I think Steve needs a renaming from Wedding Crasher to mech masher"Mielestäni Steve tarvitsee nimen uudelleen Wedding Crasherista mech masheriksi
With my average of just over a thousand miles per mech on my current bike, I would agree that it would be more apt. But I'm not in charge of the Sorting Hat, so I'll have to stay as the Wedding Crasher.
But I'm off to OZ for another family wedding, this time the younger brother of the last one. I have a track record to defend!
Steady on Steve ..that's a very concise reply for you mate ..is the heat getting to you or wot ?"The damage was probably caused by vegetation twigs getting stuck between the small gears of the rear derailleur."
NO, I know it was definitely me! I had ridden up to the stone monument and then extracted a few bits of vegetation from the mech. I suspect that I inadvertently moved the chain to a different gear. Whatever I did, it didn't like it! When I set off, I had hardly moved a few feet when I felt and heard the mech bending into the cassette, taking the chain with it. My fault.
Concision can be over-rated.Steady on Steve ..that's a very concise reply for you mate ..is the heat getting to you or wot ?
We are dealing with a multi-cultural, non-native English speaking audience. We are not all Brits, hell, even the Scots and the Geordies are different to people from Yorkshire.
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