A Real Weekend

With temperatures soaring on Saturday, Northwood games complete and even Lakehead Minor on March Break it was finally time to enjoy a full weekend.

I stripped Lael of all the parts that would be replaced and found a few things I needed. I drove Sal to work, grabbed the few items at Petries and picked up my package. I thought it would be a slow day at Petries but the skates just kept coming in for sharpening so I cut my visit short and went home to get started.

Everything went well. The mini-V brakes are simple to adjust but on this setup they require such tight tolerances between the wheel and pads that I decided to pull them and put the Avid Shorty 6s back on. Keeping the wheels 100% true is always a constant maintenance requirement and the cantilevers are much more forgiving.

Cabling the bar end shifters was a snap and shifting worked immediately for the rear derailleur. The front required some major adjustments to the position and limits screws to stop the chain from dropping from the big ring and to get any shifting to the small ring. I had to review some Youtube videos to get the various settings straight in my head. Once I put all the knowledge to work she shifted on the stand but will probably need some more fine tuning after more test rides. Only job left is taping the bars.

We (along with a long line of others with  the same idea) picked up some steaks to barbeque for Saturday's supper. While I worked the grill Sal prepared asparagus, mushrooms and perogies. She even had a drink with supper, a rare occurrence. Sunday we took Brandyn for breakfast and heard all about his adventures in Mexico and then had a video visit with Cullen and Campbell. It was a full couple of days and I didn't want to ask "where id the weekend go?"

frame stripped and cleaned

Ultegra bar end shifter installed

crank installed

mini-V brakes installed but later removed

Saint pedals installed

Lael ready for a test ride

This Week on My 3 Grandsons

Brandyn visits some friends in Mexico...

Cullen learns to print his name and lots of others

and Campbell learns to eat with his toes, just kidding

Drooling....

About this time every year the North American Handmade Bicycle Show is held in various locations across the U.S.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that some time in the next few years Minneapolis, ranked as one of the best cities for cycling, gets a shot at hosting. If they do I'll be there.

NAHBS Gallery

Plans for Lael

With some timekeeping cash firmly in hand I placed an order for some parts to upgrade the bike I ride most often, Lael. I've broken several spokes on the rear wheel so first off I went back to the wheel that came on the bike when it was given to me. It still has 7 speeds but the range is wider, she's always felt a bit slow in the smaller gears and the original wheel will address both problems. Not a match to the front but hopefully the benefits will make up for any cosmetic loss.

Shifting will move from the downtube where I had McGyvered a $15 set of shifters to the frame. The new ones will go in the end of the handle bars and be a higher quality Shimano set. A new crankset and pedals will also be mounted.

Lastly the ever so noisy and b***h to adjust cantilever brakes will be removed in favour of Tektro mini-v brakes. I prefer the looks of the cantis but they are just too much trouble to keep quiet and really only go to the head of the class when mud is an issue. Since I'm not racing offroad (or anywhere else) my preference will be the simpler setup.

The other half of the plan is to get her back to Calgary and actually ride in Banff this summer. I'm trying to focus on getting her ready and not previewing all the trails and measuring distances. Lots of time for that later.

I got out for two decent rides on the weekend and even though my arm was uncomfortable on the bikes it felt much better after both rides. I have no idea why but I'm not complaining.