CyclingAdventures.co.uk
2006
Chain MaintenanceThe GM says:The ProblemFront
wheel goes round, tyre picks up dirt and deposits it directly onto your
chain ring, chain etc. Without full close fitting mudguards/flaps or even a chain guard (all
of which don't work when MTBing) the crap that causes chain wear
will continue to find its way onto
your chain.
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Toothpaste tube for spares Top Tip from Olivio: Get an empty toothpaste tube, cut it open and open it out. Put this in your tool bag and when you get a tear in the sidewall of your tyre you can place it between the new tube and the tear in the tyre. This will be sufficient to continue the ride and get you home. Waterproof your SPD shoes
When changing the
cleats in your shoes, after you have ensured they are aligned
correctly and you have tested them, but before you go out in the
mud, get some bathroom silicant and fill in around the cleat on
the base of the shoe. Wipe the cleat itself and there you
have it - no water will get into your shoes from below!!
Brakes
"When should I change my disc brake
pads?" - Gadget
You should change your pads when, and
only when, the TWO KEY SIGNS are present, which are:
1- A metallic grinding/ graunching noise when braking This is not to be confused with squealing, this is a sign of happiness from your brakes - similar to a a two year old child seeing a sleeping cat. You are listening for a noise that sounds like your back wheel has fallen off, and your frame is dragging it's arse along concrete. If the first sign is present, you are ready to check for the SECOND SIGN by removing the pads and inspecting them. 2- Your pads look like this: 
If they look like this, then you have
probably got the best out of them and can replace them.
Although I personally would look to get at least thirty more miles,
and then sell them on eBay as "pre-owned".
When you get a new pair, be very careful not to mix them up with the old ones. I have done this many times myself, in fact I have some mixed up ones here:
Can you help by telling me which one is the old one? I'm not too sure!! Gadget Lights
"Hey, Andy, Can you explain to
the readers, in simple terms, how these home made lights, made out
of bathroom plumbing, compare to normal shop-bought battery
lights?"
The lights you have are not very bright really. I would say 2-3 watts. We are talking the same as Monk and One-Prong, also Gadget's new lights. You can of course make them as powerful as you like. I have some LED bulbs on order from Australia (via Chris). These are 3 watt (equivalent to a 40 watt domestic bulb). They will last for about 19 hours! Chris uses 20 watt or 35 watt bulbs for the really bright lights. These will last about 2 hours on a full charge. Monk has HID bulbs which are still very expensive (I'm still looking for some of these). The bulbs are £0.67 so you can have as many combinations as you want. I think it's probably best if I send off for the batteries myself and sort out a prototype system. I can then write the instructions for others to follow for the web site. I think total cost will be as follows:
My old lights cost me £125.00 3 years ago and they are only the heavy 6volt Ni Mh which are not that bright really. They only last about an 1.5 hrs now and are dim at that. The lights I intend will last 3 hrs on really bright and about 19 hrs on LED which are also quite bright. I think they will be about as bright as my lights at full charge Battery web site www.batteryspace.com Thanks, Andy now I understand!! |
