Perpetual Evolution

An industrious week culminated with the submission of “Belgian Mix” and timely arrival of some Cyclo tools including this tube cutter, which as its name implies is for precision slicing of raw frame materials, fork steerers/handlebars et al. Sure, a bench vice, decent lighting, hacksaw and steady hand reaps commendable results but mistakes can prove irreparable, not to mention costly. Similarly, downtubes cannibalised from gas pipe frames make surprisingly accurate crown race setters but improvisation has its limits-purpose made, CNC machined examples repay their investment very quickly if you've a big fleet, or were elected club mechanic. 

Left to my own devices and with seamless supply of piping hot, diesel strength coffee, the urge to commence front-end transplant surgery became irrepressible.Fervent re/measuring of stack heights/ steerer lengths saw work stand, “school chair” forks, hacksaw and cutting guide repatriated to the comfort of one's kitchen. Five minutes hence said beefy Cro-moly pipe had been trimmed to perfection, ready for bearing components. However, bitter experience warns against performing more complex procedures at 12.30am, so I retired to bed-though not before removing all trace of such clandestine debauchery.

Returning to said duties twelve hours later, disassembly/inspection of the tubby tourer’s steerer bearings confirmed their exhaustion.  Devoid of suitable successor, I dropped an email to Alan at Riverside Cycle Centre, who was only too happy to address the finer points of Ahead replacement first thing on Monday morning for the princely sum of £21.50. Wanting to minimise labour costs, cups were deftly dispatched using this badly ravaged 300mm, 27.0 diameter Kalloy post and engineer's mallet.

Now, we’re talking common or garden cheap n' cheerful like-for-like Dia Compe turning on simple caged balls with rudimentary O-rings keeping Mother Nature at bay. Then again, these seem very reliable so long as servicing and full length mudguards (fenders) aren't overlooked. Speaking of which, relocating said chrome plastic presented a few challenges given those beefy legs are sans eyelets and standard P clips won't straddle their girth. Wandering round the web in search of commercially available solutions drew a blank but one or two folks had overcome said obstacle, employing Jubilee clips with old inner tube serving as protective, paint friendly interfaces.       


Extensive rummaging in my graveyard of redundant mounts unearthed two oversized cat-eye computer sensor brackets. Comparably stout cable ties tethered everything together-not ideal perhaps but ensures sufficient clearance to prevent nasty stuff getting jammed between tyre and guard section, while allowing spiked snow tyres to ship straight aboard .   

Fettling/repair/replacement are all central to riding, though there’s a strong economic argument for outsourcing more complicated work when time is short, or indeed better expended on other things. Good shops are pivotal in this equation, so cultivate a positive rapport, not forgetting a periodic packet of biscuits/ jar of instant coffee/ their way.