Not too much to report to be honest, except that sometime in the last few weeks I passed the 1000km commuting mark on the Pogward - I have no idea exactly how far it is due to the lack of cycle computer, but it is definitely between 1000 and 1500kms...
The only niggles to speak of have been a squeaky crank and an annoying tendency for the left hand rear axle nut to come loose, the crank being the most annoying because no matter how tight I got the crank bolt it started loosening off almost immediately. I have never had problems like this with square taper cranks before, so I am guessing that the tapers on the dirty old Campy cranks must have been worn. I solved the problem by buying a nice set of Shimano 600 cranks and a new bottom bracket to suit - this has been totally sweet for a good few weeks now. One extra benefit of the new cranks is that I was getting a wee bit of heel strike on the chainstays with the Campagnolo items, this has now been eliminated which is a pleasing side effect of the change.
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| A filthy commuter, today. |
As can be seen I also treated myself to a set of Shimano Saint pedals - I have these same pedals on the Surly now and they are very nice indeed, and should take the mountainous weight of yours truly with aplomb. There is also a sneaky Surly 42T Stainless Steel chainring hiding under the dirt and grime, this should also take many miles of punishment.
The axle nut comes loose over the course of a month or so, I might just double nut it for now, I just need to check it every couple of weeks at the moment...
This lack of exciting problems is really quite pleasing as the Pogward has had to deal with some fairly extreme conditions; snow, sleet and epic amounts of rain, so yay for me.
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| I have added much reflective shiny stuff in an effort to make myself more visible as you can see from the flash. This is probably pointless as Christchurch drivers are almost wilfully blind and/or careless when it comes to cyclists. I am not dead yet though, so there is hope it is doing something. |
You can see another quick and dirty project of mine in that pic, a 5 space angled bike rack. Unfortunately I have 10 bikes to find space for, so I shall build another the next free day I have. The angled thing is pretty good for minimising the space required while still allowing reasonable access, and my lovely wife appears to be pleased that they are not all draped around the garage as usual. Not as pleased as she would be if I dumped some of them at the tip I would venture, but still.
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| A motley collection of bicycles. I like how my wife's bike is the only one without a Brooks saddle. |
I am just getting back into my weekend riding again, these rides have been pretty sparse of late due to our house getting earthquake repairs - we shifted out for 6 weeks, and the whole place was completely gutted and redone. It looks nice now, but many weekends have been filled up doing the many little jobs that have needed doing since the workmen have left. The actual work done on the house was of pleasingly high quality, although the cost of the extras we asked for was eye-wateringly steep. All I can say is; Get A Quote. Also for the record I must say that Canterbury EQR are a pack of lying, thieving, two-faced bastards whose mothers probably only bought them home from the hospital under duress.
So this morning, to the obvious displeasure of my wife who had somehow got the impression that I had agreed to spend the day in the garden helping her tidy up, I decided to ride the rail trail down to Little River and back. This was exceedingly pleasant, as only time spent avoiding something tiresome can be. The track was a bit bumpier than I expected but the Surly took things in it's stride like a true champ. Together we showed our heels to a surprising number of people on mountainbikes, which should have been more suited to the terrain...
The weather, temperature and views were just perfect;
