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| Morning Hill Repeats - before another broken spoke... |
Maintaining Equipment and Making Repairs
Repairs and maintenance are not the same thing. It may sound obvious, but solid maintenance keeps things running better - longer. There are just some things that don't neatly fall into that category - like broken spokes. Aside from the new brakes I need to install on the hardtail, the chain was in need of replacement, as well as the freewheel on the commuter wheelset needed serviced. Sometime last week I was completely burned out from working on client stuff and spontaneously decided to perform a quick wheel service and chain swap on the hardtail. In the process, I found another broken spoke - like the third one on that particular wheel. Replacing a spoke is time consuming, as the entire wheel has to be broken down - including the tubeless tire. Once back together, its a good 30 minutes' in the truing stand straightening the wheel itself. After all of that, cleaning the tire and filling it with new sealant and using a few magic tricks to make it air-up and seat. It takes time. Yesterday morning seemed like a good opportunity to get 90 minutes of hill intervals in the book - that was until I heard another spoke "snap" mid grade (the image above). Such is the nature of J-spokes; an inherent stress concentration at the point where it bends. In the end, its simply a matter of engineering mechanics and applied physics. I've pull the center hub apart on my road bike, split rims and busted countless j-spokes over the years. The only remedy is to use hubs with straight-pull spoke-hub assemblies - which I do have for both the hardtail and the full-sus. This isn't a matter of maintenance, but it sure can eat up precious time making repairs. I'd rather be investing time into upgrades and maintenance - more on that in a later post.
Swapping wheelsets & pushing the endurance
The quickest way back on to the road this evening was to swap wheelsets wholesale. I've been running by best wheelset on the full-sus, with some very aggressive tires. They are light and fast, but can take a lot of beating. In a race, I'll put on a different set of tires and reconfigure the drivetrain and rotors for the hardtail. Until then I've also got a pretty solid DT Swiss wheelset with some cross country race tires - that are wider and a tad bit more aggressive than the commuter tires. It's an easy swap, with maybe a few minor adjustments on the shifter - on the fly, but it puts me back on the road. Schedules and commitments being what they are, sometimes I have to ride my way to baseball games or other family events. The ride tonight with the wider dirt tires, took me across the entire valley to a late baseball game. Because the bike has great cross country and dirt capability, I can take a few detours not available on the road bike. More importantly, the hardtail doesn't permit the typical "kick and glide" you often get on a road bike - even on minor downhill grades. Basically it is pedaling full time, up to about 28-29 MPH. Looking at the Garmin stats post ride, the overall speed is not bad, but more importantly, the effort is pretty continuous. I threw in a solid 20+ minute climb just to make it legit, with heartrate recovery spot on for expectations. Truth is, it is really the right setup and ride sequence for the current situation. Breaking those spokes was probably a blessing in the end.
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| Cool mornings in the mid to upper 30's |
Sorting it out
Not enough time to get into "it" tonight, but there is definitely some sorting to be done. Methods are changing by necessity, as well as some equipment. I'm looking to make some changes to the road bike, if not replacing it all together. Some time this week it will be going up on the stand for some serious work. It has a lot of miles on it for a carbon/aluminum frame. Lets face it, I'm hard on my bikes. There is a possibility of a carbon-fiber crack in the seat-tube. If that is the case...not a lot that can be done. Aside from that, I have been riding a bike frame that on paper should fit my geometry. Truth is, that the geometry has always stretched me out - creating forces during climbs that are damaging and inefficient. I've always been able to make it work, but it may have finally been too much. Assuming the bike can ride one more season it will be getting a few changes - stay tuned. Aside from that and on a personal note, I have been distracted by questions that have just never been answered. Right - it doesn't matter. But when you reach a point in your life that taking things for granted is no longer an option, you have a tendency to look harder at the little things without immediate dismissal. I'm sure there will be more on this as well. For now, just know that the muscle fatigue is in the right places and not a chronic issue. We are making progress - in some areas anyway.
Enjoying the simple things
Harry was such a perfectionist. A lot of his stuff took countless hours cutting and splicing tape. In the end, so much of his work has gone largely forgotten. There is one piece he did that starts out some basic, it is almost unassuming. in a matter of only a couple minutes, he blends perhaps one of the tightest sessions into a complete work. The depth of the effort is lost in it's simplicity.
Ride HARD!
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