PLEASE NOTE: In order to post on the Board you need to have registered. To register please email paul@sexyloops.com including your real name and username. Registration takes less than 24hrs, unless Paul is fishing deep in the jungle!
Considering there was only a 30% chance of rain diminishing as the evening progressed I feel rather unfortunate to have got caught in two major thunder storms on a 70K ride - although I did manage to avoid two others. It seems to miss a storm you must catch a storm
Anyway, complete fuck up. So what do I have to do to the bike now?
Massive amount of lightning by the way, one roadside strike destroyed put a hole in a forest throwing trees into the road. 30% chance of rain my arse
Paul Arden wrote: So what do I have to do to the bike now?
Nothing special, you just clean it like you would after every dusty/wet/muddy ride. In case you don't know how to do that, here's a good video about it. The Morgan Blue products he's using are very good btw. Be careful with dishwashing liquid, some of them promote rusting.
Unfortunately I can't watch videos at Latohegy. Don't I have to clean the chain, cogs and re-grease all bearings? Speedo stopped working too. Hopefully this dries out quickly.
Oops, bummer. Yes you clean the chain and cassette with chain degreaser and water. Then you wash the bike and wheels with lots of soapy water and rinse off thoroughly. You can just shake everything and let it air dry or take a towel to it or compressed air if you have that. Next you check the bike for damages, make sure the derailleurs and brakes are fine, and lube the chain. It's possible that you should grease the cables but they don't need that very often. Last step would be applying a finisher which makes the bike all shiny and also makes the next wash easier since dirt doesn't stick to it.
And no you don't have to regrease the bearings on a regular basis. The bottom bracket usually isn't servicable anyway and the hubs can take many thousand kilometers before they need servicing. If you hear a crackling noise from the hubs or they seem to run dry, that means you grab the grease pot and wrenches.
If all bearings are greased I would not worry about abit of rain. If the bike is muddy just rinse it off with a hose and wipe it dry, then store it so it dries up where you cannot wipe it...for regular cleaning I do not use soap or degreaser-I do not like the idea of a mix of grease and cleaner draining away in my garden and have good results with rather basic regular maintainance and a thorough service every now and then....
Klaus
To be honest I've been treating the bike like I treat my cars, ie no servicing. IM in three weeks. I might take it on my travels with me over the winter, and will put some pretty heavy Ks on it if I do, and will then upgrade next year. As I understand it the chain and cogs are only good for 5000K? I haven't put that on this Bike - although won't be far off. Problem is that they weren't new when I got it.
It s impossible to say how many K you should get out of your chain because it depends on so many factors, predominantly riding conditions and maintenance. The thing with chains is that once they are worn they start wearing out the cogs and chainrings at an alarming rate. This isn't a big deal if you don't use multiple wheelsets because everything will wear together and work OK until you get decreased shifting performance and the chain starts skipping, which is when you definitely have to exchange both chain, cogs and chainrings. If you use more than one set of wheels the problem is that a worn chain will destroy a perfectly good cassette in no time. So it's much better to exchange the chain before it stretches significantly. You can get a chain gauge like the Rohloff Caliber to monitor your chain.
There are several approaches to this, some of them semi religious, but i personally think it is best to see chains as disposable items and replace them rather sooner than later ("A" side of the Rohloff thingy). That way the life of cogs and chainrings is extended dramatically and your drivetrain performs ideally at all times.
At 5000K without maintenance your chain, cassette, chainrings are probably beyond salvation. A new chain won't work with worn teeth, you need to replace everything.
PS.: Regarding wet maintenance i forgot to mention that you want to lube the pivot points on the derailleurs and brakes too. Always wipe excess lube off the chain and pivot points or it'll attract dirt.
Thanks. On the last IM my 180K time was 6hr15. I was going pretty well until the last 30K. The roads here, while fairly flat, are bumpy and uneven as hell in places, consequently it's very jarring, esp in the aero position. So much so in fact that this time I'm going to ride without the aero bars in place, because my strong point is the marathon and it's been my weak point so far.
My question is how much difference would a really good bike make?
If everything is working perfectly on the bike you have, then a really good bike won't make a lot of difference. If it's not (and it sounds like it's not) then who knows!
You should probably get your bike tuned up by someone who knows what they are doing before the IM.
