herneweb

Mechanical frustration

Up to Sheffield to catch up with some friends this weekend, and an opportunity to get some more hills into the legs out in the Peak District. When I was seven years younger (and about ten pounds lighter) I lived in Sheffield and was riding in the Peak District almost daily, so I was itching to get out and try one of my old routes.

Friday night's reunion didn't help Saturday's early start but that was forgotten on the climb up to Fox House Inn. The route was a loop round through Curbar, Baslow, Great Longstone, Monsal Dale, Cressbrook , and on to Hope and Castleton.

Things were going great for two hours until I lost a spoke on my back wheel, I heard the crack as the head sheared of the nipple and rim started rubbing the brake pad. Luckily I managed to loosen the opposing spokes off enough to straighten the rim and allow me to ride for another hour to get back, all the time cursing myself for not bringing my spare wheels for the weekend.

I was lucky that the spoke key on the multitool fitted the wheels I was using. If had been using my other wheels (Ksyriums) I would have had to be carrying a special plastic key to adjust the tension. I thought that industrial standards would be converging but it seems that more and more kit needs its specific tools and complimentary components to work correctly. Don't get me wrong, I not getting all UCI on you, I'm all for innovation, but repairs are more often than not becoming complete replacements and on-the-road fixes are less achievable without a support car.

So, on the road repairs might have to get more and more innovative. I haven't had to perform feats of mechanical skill up there with Eugene Christophe's repairs. He ran to the local blacksmith during the 1913 Tour de France to fix his broken forks and having successfully executed a repair was subsequently penalised for getting assistance from the boy who was working the bellows. I think the best I can offer is using grass to stuff a deflated tyre, which incidentally is not much use at all.

What's your most innovative on-the-road repair?

Comments:

on one occasion I had a pleasant Macclesfield Wheeler hilly Peak ride, lead by a John Jackson who had amongst other things a spare bottom bracket...if I remember right he was also riding a fixed which seemed a little uncomfortable!

...I also have memories of kind-hearted Phill impulsively stopping to make some repairs to a farmers' dry stone wall which had become damaged by some errant passer-by...
By  Anonymous
 

hehe
yes I can't recommend repairing a dry stone wall head first with your chin at 30mph
... I also remember lying in a ditch and my riding partner calmly passing by thinking I had gone for a leak behind said wall.
By  phill
 

Your wish is my command.
By  Mark Holland
 

...and as if you needed further proof of Phill's benevolence I remember him performing path repairs in the South Downs with his helmet. I should point out he was wearing it at the time!

Mark, that tool looks perfect, thank you.
By  iain
 

I once came off and broke both my handlebars and my seatpost. Ever tried riding standing up with one hand? For and hour and a half?

Bodged the bars with a piece of stick. Still was a mission tho.
By  Anonymous
 

Post a Comment

Archives