worked on my bike last night...

worked on my bike last night...

the bike needed it and I needed it
often I forget how good it feels to work on the bike
for some people it is working in the garden
some people take it a step further and work with wood
for many people like my self it is working on the bike
that is my organic activity

it was no major overhaul but doing some things that should have been done long ago
my jamis cyclocross bike was nearly unriddable

it was a process that started with pulling out one tool
then started feeling better the more tools that were pulled out

there was a plan
I swapped out some simple and clean Deore levers for disc brakes that were not pulling enough cable to effectively engage the spooky brakes on my Jamis Nova
so... dug I into the garage and I grabbed some two finger Deore levers that were on my Huma Huma Nuka Nuka Apua Ah
an old Kona cruiser that I rode off road as a single speed some years ago
removing the brake levers was fine as I am not riding this machine any more or ever again
removal of the old school XTR Cantis should be the next effort on the strip before I ditch that bike

things came off easily
things went into place nicely

everything adjusted easily enough
it gave me a little pleasure to know I was using these levers that are over a decade old

the tire I threw on the back was suffering some wear and tear of time
the tire was looking a little shabby on the bead in a few places
some gaffer's tape set things straight... bright orange so it will get my attention further down the road
it is a question of the fresher knobbies and the slightly deteriorating tire versus the existing rear tire whose knobbies have long since worn away
I went with the taped tire with better tread

after the swap of the tire and the switching of the levers it was a quick clean and lube the drive train
degreaser and then some ROCK AND ROLL lube that I picked up at City Bikes in Chevy Chase
went through the gears and double checked the brakes
things were feeling pretty good

out of the stand the levers got one final adjustment to a more appropriate angle
things in the stand are not always the same as they are on the street... or even level ground
rode the well refreshed Jamis Nova Cyclocross bike with mountain bike riser bars to cyclocross practice at Fort Reno

this week I need to give a similar level of attention to both my Jamis Exile and my Karate Monkey
both single speeds are on the injured reserve list in need of some repair and some part replacement