Carbon Fiber vs. Rust
After yesterday’s ride I went to the garage to investigate why I could shift the front derailleur. Putting the Stradalli in the work stand I tried the shift lever several times but nothing moved. I flipped the bike upside down to look under the bottom bracket. Where the cable entered the bottom bracket I could see some rust. Trying to move the cable it would not move. After several attempts I cut the cable and tried to pull it out. It would not budge yet but pliers enhanced my grip and I finally got the cable out of the hole. Removing the cable from the lever I tried to insert a new cable into the hole but it would not go in. Looking at the old cable and new one I saw the new one was slightly larger in diameter. I decided to take the bike to my local bike shop, Bike Werks in Kingwood, and went inside to shower.
Arriving at Bike Werks I carried the bike inside and explained the problem. Jeremy took the bike into the shop area and started to insert a cable in the bottom bracket hole. It would not go in more than 1/2″. Several attempts later it was decided the hole was blocked with something. The cable was not stiff enough to move the blockage. Several squirts of penetrating oil didn’t help any. Searching for something stiff one of us, there was another mechanic named Tom, suggested a spoke. Tom tried a spring he straightened out but no success. The spoke was too big of diameter and Jeremy used a grinder to make it smaller. Sevral stabs with the spoke didn’t do anything. I asked if the hole could be accessed if the crank was removed. Jeremy tried that but no good there. I suggested heating the spoke with the grinder and inserting it. A couple more squirts of penetrating oil and Jeremy inserted the heated spoke. Now he started twisting the spoke and a little black powder came out. More twisting and oil and the black stuff broke loose and the spoke went through the hole. Next a cable with lubricant went in and out and the hole was opened. By mow I had been there about 45 minutes. Jeremy installed the new cable and adjusted the shifting. I told him about the chain skipping and the extra links I left in the new chain. He said the skipping was caused by the worn cogs in the cassette but took the links out just in case. I headed home relieved with the repairs and shifting front derailleur. I am not sure what the black stuff was but my guess is a combination of Teflon from the old cable and rust jammed in the hole. I don’t shift the front derailleur much so the rust isn’t disturbed.
With the Stradalli now fixed I planned a longer ride on my “Stroker Road – Huffman” route. I wanted to enjoy the smooth flowing chain and gears. Before leaving I put a couple of drops of oil on the cable where it enters the bottom bracket housing and shifted the cable a few times to help the oil go down into the hole. I left home a little later than I wanted at 11:52. I was delayed by a trip to Baker Paint and Body to get the last part installed on our Jeep Grand Cherokee. Rolling out the driveway I was on my way. The weather was good with the temperature in the upper 80’s, a partly cloudy sky and a light breeze.
Heading south to Atascocita the bike was going great. As I made my way through Atascocita south of FM1960 two bikers rounded the corner probably going home. I waved and said hi. Even though the wind was not that much I worked hard to get my average speed up to 15 mph. Coming out off of Atascocita Shores Drive I turned east on FM1960 to go over Lake Houston. The long straight stretch was a good place to check the skipping gears. I shifted to the third smallest rear gear and the chain went a round the gear but quickly began to skip. This confirmed the gears are worn and I was glad I ordered a new cassette last night. Today though I was able to compensate using the big front ring. I shifted the rear gears up two and shifted onto the big ring. It worked perfectly. I stayed in that gear for several miles as I rode to FM2100. On Fairlake Drive two more bikers passed going the opposite direction. I waved and said hi to the women bikers. On Old Atascocita Road I had to wait for a long, long freight train to cross. Then I rode to FM2100 and turned right. I was still in the big ring but after about a mile or so the wind was slowing me down so much I shifted to the small ring and moved to the smallest rear gear that didn’t skipped.
I hoped turning east onto Stroker Road the wind would not be so strong but it was and I stayed in the same gears. Once I reached Ramsey Road and change direction to the north the wind was behind me and I shifted back to the big ring again. I used this gearing all the way to Huffman and the Chevron station. With all of the effort i was looking forward to a cold Powerade and the snacks I brought. When I arrived at the Chevron I walked over to get some paper towels to dry off some and then back to the bike. That is when I realized I forgot to put my seat bag back on the bike. I removed it to put it in the work stand. It was laying on the workbench and it was in my sight when I brought the bike back from the shop but I guess the joy of a fixed bike blocked my senior mind from remembering to put it back on. Without the seatbag I had no money to get the Powerade so I settled for water from my water bottle. As I was getting ready to leave I went inside to refill my water bottle and there was sign on the Powerade dispenser that it was out of order. I couldn’t buy any even if I had the money. Good thing I didn’t need to patch a flat.
Back on the bike I headed home to finish the 39.29 mile long ride. With the help of the big ring I built my average speed up to 16.1 mph where it stayed until the 36.8 mile mark when the starts and stops in Kingwood slowed me down. It ended up at 15.8 mph. I will wait to see how much my leg muscles complain about those big miles.
Looking at the Marshall weather forecast for Saturday the chance of rain has increased for the morning. The Tour de Fireant will have to wait another year unless there is a change in the weather.
Mileage standings:
- 96.51 miles for the week
- 237.85 miles for October
- 5769 miles for the year
Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.
