But hey, after >10 years off I’m going to celebrate small wins. But first.
A local bike shop which will remain nameless did a shit job on an overhaul of my >20 year old Cannondale R2000. I took it in because the chain was catching on the rear cogs, which caused me to fall. They offer a menu of service options. Because I’ve always done most of my own work, the brakes, derailleurs, wheels and so on were in pretty good shape. But also because I hadn’t done anything in years it was probably worthwhile to have all the systems looked at. So I went with a fairly expensive annual package, which led to new tires, tubes, brakes, chain and goodness knows what else. More than $600 in all. Which by the way, was what my first Cannondale road bike cost in total back in the 80s. It’s still running.
After the servicing, first ride out, the front derailleur was rubbing. FFS. I took it in and the tech blamed it on how old the components were. Goodness, it didn’t make that sound before I entrusted it to you guys, why should it do that now? He tweaked it a little, straightening it out the way it should have been originally, and I’ve figured out how to work with it. Not so much this:
I had never like the original pads that came with the Ultegra brakes, so long ago I swapped them out for a set of the top-of-the-Shimano-line Dura-Ace pads. Great stopping power, smooth deceleration, one of the best upgrades you can do.
The tech took off my Dura-Ace pads and replaced them with these. Right away I felt the mushy feel, a feel that said “I hope we’re actually going to stop before we go out into the intersection.” I spent a modest sum and mail-ordered another set of Dura-Ace and yesterday I came to a smooth, timely stop after a 31MPH downhill run.
Then this:
No way. I would have noticed this, since the handlebars aren’t exactly an obscure location. I toyed with the idea of going to another shop and having them re-tape the bars. But no, I can do this myself. I’d always been a fan of Cinelli cork ribbon, but in looking to see what’s new and what’s well-reviewed, I went with the Superkaz Super Sticky Kush tape. It was a bit of effort to get on because it’s rather stiff. But also rather stretchy, so it covers well.
The figure-eight wrap around the brake levers was new to me. Nice!
But the final application looks nice. I took it out on my ride yesterday and it felt pretty good.
The bar end plugs have a hex key, so you can tighten them up to stay in place.
Last week’s weather was a mix of miserably hot and humid, alternating with torrential rain. I’d taken the previous weekend off just to get some home maintenance stuff done, so when Sunday’s weather was dry and in the low 80s I was ready to jump. Here’s the route from my Ride With GPS app.
Don’t let the elevation fool you; the y-axis is adjusted to fit in the space. A Tour de France alpine stage might look similar only with 20 times the elevation gain. I was happy to get a ride where I didn’t have mechanical failure, didn’t need to call for a ride, and didn’t need to get off and walk up a hill.
And back to my original point, happy to report that my basic skills are improving. I can (safely, confidently) cut across lanes to make a left turn, slow to an almost-stop entering an intersection so traffic can clear, grab a drink, generally enjoy myself.
I wish you were still riding and posting the rides to Strava. I like sharing workouts with friends. You would’ve been my third workout friend.
I do all my own mechanical work. In true Andy fashion I never remember how to do it or the components to use. I have to look it up every time. Thank goodness for books, and now the internet.