Improving the Road Bike

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The year began with a dearth of any b’cyclery-related activity. Having moved home I had ridden the bike but once to transport it from old to new abode by March. I was out running a few times a week but had neglected the bicycle for far too long come April. So I cleaned it off and got some lovely Continental Grand Prix Classics to get me riding again.

After an early ride and a bit of cleaning and tuning, my chain wear indicator said it was time for a new chain. I ordered a 9-speed chain online and fitted it without too much drama.

Unfortunately, with the new chain it was now slipping on the smallest cog in the casette. I booked an appointment with the local bike shop having researched the problem online, I was expecting a new casette. The LBS duly fitted one for me.

Around mid-May I acquired a new singlespeed bicycle. I took a bottle cage from it to add to my road bike for those long distance rides where extra hydration is needed!

Following another trip to the local bike shop to fix a broken spoke on my single speed I enquired about fitting a barrell adjuster to my front brake. Adjusting my cantilever brake without a barrel adjuster was frankly a right pain in the arse. The LBS gave me a replacement cable hanger with barrel adjuster, which I fitted myself. I had to loosen the top cap, remove the handlebars, spacers and old hanger. The new one allows much better tuning of my brakes.

While I was on a quest for perfect cantilever braking, I decided to invest in a new straddle cable for my rear brake. I was constantly struggling to balance the rear brakes so both sides of the rim were hit uniformly. The new straddle cable helped but it still wasn’t perfect. I also purchased new brake shoes from the LBS

Around this time my old pedals failed (stopped spinning) so my LBS showed me how to fit new ones and sold me a tool to do the job. This would come in handy when it came to fit pedals on my singlespeed project.

Next up I decided to buy a new saddle from ebay. I made an offer on a Fizik Antares VSX Saddle (with Carbon Braided Rails) in black for £65 which was accepted. I wanted a saddle with a groove down its centre to protect my gooch from pressure!

After a few more weeks riding I noticed the rims were concaved on my wheels, inidicating wear and it was time to get new ones. The old wheels were now very old and not particularly true either. I bought a like-for-like replacement; Mavic A319 Rims with Shimano Deore Hubs (9-speed) in black. In order to swap the cassette over from my old wheel to new, I also purchased the Shimano lockring tool and a chain whip.

Finally after struggling with my rear brakes even with nice new true real wheel I installed a new rear brake and also purchased some black bar tape to finish off.

In the not-too distant future I’m looking to upgrade to Shimano Sora STI shifters.