Arg, so yesterday I went to clean winter off my bike....

Spent $20 on degreaser, got my chain lookin BRAND new. I was so excited. But I remember at some point hearing a small piece of metal dropping...turns out it was the roller from the link where I had taken the chain apart. And I didn't have enough chain to just cut out a piece...So I had to go out and buy a new chain.

Then I went to swap out my winter pedals for my 105's, turns out my significant other put a significantly heavy box on them and on of the toe cages are broken...AND turns out said cages are hard to come by and also pricey. Then, on the way home last night, one of my toe straps snapped....haha

Nothing major, just all annoying small things...

Take full advantage of this weather!

Love it!

Time to strip down a bit... but, just around the corner is more "winter"
(forecast calls for snow, but probably won't stick though... I hope not)

My winter ride is on its final last legs.
The crank is now hanging from a thread as the bearings are toasty
The gears are almost non-existant as they are toasty.
The front der'l is just hanging loose like the balls on a moose.
For 109 bucks though, it did me well.
Mindya, it wasn't much a winter to test it fully.

enjoy the heat, they call for 16oC today!!! Eggcellent! bring on the heat! free heat at that!

I hope you bought a chain with the quick link. I have been using these for a couple of years and they work great. Once I learned the trick for getting them apart, it makes cleaning a joke. The Park chain cleaner does a pretty good job too. I'm a bit (a lot) of a bike whore. I have 6 bikes and tons of components. I finally got a shelf built downstairs and installed hooks. I bought little plastic organizers and that sort of thing. Now all the extra wheels and stuff are all stored nicely and safely. It's going to hit 18 here today, and we are headed for our first official trials ride of spring tonight.

I know it may sound counter intuitive, but I have been running pretty decent components, including hydros on my winter bike for a few years. I find that with regular washing and lube, these hold up really well. I must admit that the winter bike gets all the used components I upgrade over the years as well. The brakes, cranks, XTR derailleur and components have been going strong for 5 years though. I change the derailleur cables every couple of years. My friend that rides a cheap Canadian Tire bike in the winter has all kinds of issues, from braking to hubs to shifting. He has changed his bike twice in 5 years and is always doing stuff to it to keep it running. We have a debate as to who is better off. Just a friendly sparring thing. I think when all is said and done, we end up spending about the same money on the winter rides, but I have way better performance. Mind you, I started out with sacrificing my older MTB in the beginning, a capitol cost I don't include.

I am debating the quick link...I run fixed gear, and am researchnig the strength of these things....I would hate to blow a chain while riding...