It's the middle of winter here in Australia, and only the strong or stupid can brave the wind, cold, rain and mud to get out on those bike paths.
Winter upgrades included a 700 lumen CatEye LCD headlight, a new CatEye tail light, and long pants. Unfortunately, along with the elements came a badly behaving drive train on my bike.
Firstly, 10th gear resumed its slipping behaviour - worse than ever. Secondly, another dangerous problem arose. Occasionally, and more frequently as time wore on, when pedaling slowly uphill in a low gear, the chain would stick to the front chainwheel instead of peeling off on its way to the rear derailleur. This would result in instant jamming of the pedals, and nearly caused me to fall off the bike on a number of occasions. The only way to free the chain was to quickly back-pedal until the chain became unstuck. The lower the gear, the worse the problem. This meant that I was now unable to use either the highest gear, or the lowest gears. No amount of cleaning, de-gunking or oiling of the chain or sprockets made any difference.
At my wits' end, I took the bike in to Dolomiti for repairs. They replaced the chain, which was apparently stretched beyond its limits, the rear cassette, the drive sprocket, and the pedals. Nick, the mechanic, showed me the cassette and how the splines had become completely worn down, particularly at the edge - where 10th gear sits. This explains the slipping 10th gear. The bearings on the pedals were gone, and the drive sprocket was worn out. This was all after 4,900 km of pretty hard riding done in just under a year.
As you would expect, the difference in riding is remarkable. Everything is smoother, quieter and the whole experience is outrageously enjoyable again. The lesson learned from this experience is to keep more of an eye on the chain wear, because this is what exacerbates wear on the other components. It is suggested that the chain be replaced around the 2500 km mark in future - unless it's well within acceptable wear limits.
I'm now looking forward to when Bosch release their new 500 wh 36V battery - a 25% increase in capacity.
Winter upgrades included a 700 lumen CatEye LCD headlight, a new CatEye tail light, and long pants. Unfortunately, along with the elements came a badly behaving drive train on my bike.
Firstly, 10th gear resumed its slipping behaviour - worse than ever. Secondly, another dangerous problem arose. Occasionally, and more frequently as time wore on, when pedaling slowly uphill in a low gear, the chain would stick to the front chainwheel instead of peeling off on its way to the rear derailleur. This would result in instant jamming of the pedals, and nearly caused me to fall off the bike on a number of occasions. The only way to free the chain was to quickly back-pedal until the chain became unstuck. The lower the gear, the worse the problem. This meant that I was now unable to use either the highest gear, or the lowest gears. No amount of cleaning, de-gunking or oiling of the chain or sprockets made any difference.
At my wits' end, I took the bike in to Dolomiti for repairs. They replaced the chain, which was apparently stretched beyond its limits, the rear cassette, the drive sprocket, and the pedals. Nick, the mechanic, showed me the cassette and how the splines had become completely worn down, particularly at the edge - where 10th gear sits. This explains the slipping 10th gear. The bearings on the pedals were gone, and the drive sprocket was worn out. This was all after 4,900 km of pretty hard riding done in just under a year.
As you would expect, the difference in riding is remarkable. Everything is smoother, quieter and the whole experience is outrageously enjoyable again. The lesson learned from this experience is to keep more of an eye on the chain wear, because this is what exacerbates wear on the other components. It is suggested that the chain be replaced around the 2500 km mark in future - unless it's well within acceptable wear limits.
I'm now looking forward to when Bosch release their new 500 wh 36V battery - a 25% increase in capacity.