The joy of fixing a bike :)

[lph]

I finally realized that the key to getting my winter bike fixed up again was time and comfort... wrenching outdoors in winter is a race against time and frozen fingers and ensures shoddy and minimal work. So I took Friday off (!) and transformed our cramped little kitchen into a bike workshop. Oh joy! Being able to mull over little mechanical details in warmth and comfort! Puttering around in stocking feet with a cup of tea!

So poor filthy corroded Kona Frankenbike got a new rear shifter lever (broke the last one, I keep doing that ), new cables and perfectly adjusted re-routed housing for both derailleurs (which will be interesting cos now I've crossed the cables underneath the downtube, they rattle but don't seem to rub). Housing that is too long is such a pain in cold temps, every little extra bit of friction is noticeable. New brake cables and housing, meticulously lubed brake pivots and derailleurs, freshly scrubbed brake pads and rims and I splurged and threw in a new chain as well. The old one wasn't that worn but it came off looking like a seismograph with a million stiff links from the damn road salt. Oh, and a new front fender, tenuously attached, with a home-made mud flap from a soda bottle.

ooh-ooh-ooh, can't wait to go out and ride a "new" bike to work Monday!

And now my "good bike" can go rest in a corner, and corrode in peace until spring...

[kermit]

I am jealous of your mad wrench skills!

[Biciclista]

yeah, really. I totally approve of wrenching in the warmth of your home.

[lph]

hee-hee - my dh doesn't, but I try to ignore his heavy sighs as he maneuvres* around me and all my mess



*is that with an o or not?

[Melalvai]

I like the fiery red stove!

[OakLeaf]

Way cool! And too funny it's your man who hates the kitchen being turned into a workshop. At least you're not using the stove to warm up engine parts (are you?!). I would draw the line somewhere before there, too.

(And since you asked... I think it's either manoeuvre or maneuver - never seen a mash-up. )

[lph]

Heh, he's the tidy sort, and doesn't mind wrenching outdoors. Too bad, I do!

Melalvai - that stove is straight from the late 70s! Original reddish-orange, all the rage back then. It's on it's last legs but it's kinda cool.

[MomOnBike]

I'm using the basement as my bike repair area. Oddly, DH seems pretty happy about the arrangement, even though I ask him to haul the bike up and down the stairs. He does get testy when I use the top of the freezer as a workbench, though.

And yes, there is nothing like pottering around on a bike, in your slippers, sipping tea, and listening to your tunes on a pair of tinny speakers while a blizzard blows outside. Pure bliss. {sigh}

[IvonaDestroi]

Sounds like a good time to me