Where Did All of That Salt Come From? – August 22nd Bike Ride
A maxim of biking is do not make major changes in your equipment or riding style before a big ride or race. Well I broke that maxim yesterday since I am going to Wichita Falls for the Hotter’N Hell Hundred Saturday. As I wrote several times about my Ultegra ST-6700 shifters performance problems. Yesterday my replacement shifters arrived and I started to replace them last night around 8:30 PM. Why I waited until the bike shops closed is a sad story. I started with the left lever and did I get a shock as I unwrapped the handlebar tape. Underneath the tape a huge buildup of green salt like residue lurked. The left lever is the one that has the most problems and now I know why. As the tape came off around the shifter attachment clamp the salt buildup filled nooks and crannies between the brake and shift cables. I started to remove the salt and finally got down to the handlebar metal. Water did not do much to remove the salt so I tried some vinegar which did remove some but not all. Some soap remove a little more but finally I scraped the remain salt off. The plan was to reuse the old tape but at this point I figured new shifters deserved new tape. Once I removed the salt I coated the handlebar with Phil Wood waterproof grease to help combat future salt invasions. This presented a small problem when I installed the cables and needed to use tape to hold them in place to wrap the new tape but my wife helped and we got the cables installed. This picture shows some of the salt.
Previously I examined the left lever and could see the rust in the mechanism. The “B” lever (small inside lever) refused to return the closed position unless I did it. After seeing all of the salt I am surprised the lever worked at all. Finally I got the new lever on the handlebar and the cables in place. Next I worked on the right lever. I expected the same condition as the left one but the salt buildup was strikingly less but still there. The cleanup did not take near as long. This picture shows the right lever ( I didn’t think to take pictures of the left lever when I found the salt).
Right Shift Lever Salt Deposits
Fortunately installing the new ST-6700 lever went smoothly and the cables secured to the handlebars easily with electrical tape. Around midnight I got things up to the point of installing the handlebar tape that I need to buy in the morning.
New Levers Installed, Ready for the tape
This morning I went to Bike Werks in Kingwood to get the handlebar tape to finish the job. I thought I would get the Cinelli cork tape but talking to the store manager he showed a bike with Lizardskin tape. I liked the feel and the fact that it might keep the sweat and salt from forming under the tape again. The tape was not cheap but I figured if it saved from spending $300 on another set of St-6700 levers it was a good purchase. Now the fun began installing the tape. My main problem is I am too finicky about how it looks so I spent about an hour and a half putting it on and taking it off. It took so long that I was able to watch all of today’s stage 5 of the Vuelta a Espana while installing the tape. (I recorded the stage while I went to Bike Werks.)
With the tape installed (I did not put the Lizardskin closure tape on yet in case I needed to make some adjustments) I got ready for a ride to test all of my handy work. Yesterday I said I wanted to go on a 40+ mile ride today but I changed to a 30.62 mile ride incase I need to stop and make adjustments. I am happy to say not one adjustment was necessary. The new ST-6700 levers worked perfectly shifting to each gear when asked both up and down the rear cassette and the front chainrings. The handlebar tape felt comfortable to the grip and stayed in place. So I think equipment wise I am ready for the Hotter’N Hell Hundred this Saturday. The only work left is to wax the chain. I don’t think that will take until midnight like the levers did.
The weather felt like a fall coolness arrived during the night. With the handlebar tape installation I did not start riding until 12:23 and returned home at 2:33. The temperature ranged from 89 to 92 while I rode. The sky varied from partly to mostly cloudy not really making up its mind. The 45% humidity probably helped make it feel somewhat cooler than it was. I still sweated up a storm but I checked the handlebar tape when I got home and it seemed to roll off. I did stop just before I turned onto Sorters Road to wring out my gloves. I put a big wet spot on the pavement.
Ride Statistics:
- 1:59:58 riding time, 10:18 time stopped
- 15.3 mph average speed, 21.8 mph max speed, 79.5 RPM average cadence
- 107.23 miles this week
- 524.42 miles for August
- 4459.39 miles YTD
- Link to RideWithGPS.com map and data
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