Bike saga continued

[lethargic_man]

As well as posting here, I sent an email around my department, asking if people thought I'd got a decent run for my money out of my bike—trying to gauge whether I'd just had a run of bad luck, or had, as green_knight suggested, really reached the point at which no sooner does one get one problem fixed than another one pops up. I got no replies to this question—I had to go chasing people up to discover they assumed it was a rhetorical question. I only spoke to a few of the known cyclists in my department, but of those it turns out I'd been cycling longer than them all, and had been the only one to wear my bike out like this.

Meanwhile, after racking my brain unsuccessfully for twenty-four hours to try and think of something to wedge the derailleur into place, I tried taking it off. The inside of where the securing bolt passes through was so smooth I thought for a moment there never had been any screw thread there at all, and the thing was held in place with a nut which must have dropped off.

When I took the derailleur off, the component with the cable adjuster spun around—it had been under spring tension. When I tried to put the thing back on, it jammed against the frame before the derailleur was securely in place; turns out the frame is assymetric, and you have to wind it back to where it was against the spring tension (or try at least) to get it back on. Well, I got it most of the way there—and then discovered that it was jamming the derailleur in place exactly the way I had wanted. The derailleur is still refusing to behave itself—the adjusters did nothing, and it refused to go higher than third gear. I could switch down to second... but then couldn't getthe thing to go back to third.

Even so, this counts as a useable bike to me^*—enough to get me through the next week or two (how long exactly depends on (a) whether the heath-robinson repair holds up, and (b) whether cycling to work and back in second (and possibly third) turns out to be worse than not cycling at all). I'm sure it's doing the derailleur no good to have the cable adjuster jammed against the frame like that, but if I'm getting rid of the bike anyway, I don't see if makes much difference.

* And after I'd given up and bought a one-week travelcard, too. Oh well.

Comments

[snjstar.livejournal.com]

I told you when you were complaining about your bike last time it is past it's best and needs replacing.

agree

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

Yap, I agree. Whenever my parents had a bike for me and it broke completely it was more worthwile replacing it as the repairing costs were higher.
I don't know if your parents are easily prepared to sponsor for a new one. I sometimes got it stolen. I started cycling when I was 7 years old. I would not be able to ride on a children's bike.

Re: agree

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

Yap, I agree. Whenever my parents had a bike for me and it broke completely it was more worthwile replacing it as the repairing costs were higher.

Were you bikes new, and how much mileage did you get out of them before they died completely?

I don't know if your parents are easily prepared to sponsor for a new one.

I have an income; I don't need my parents to buy anything for me (short of a contribution to my first flat).

I sometimes got it stolen.

Which is why I keep mine indoors, and, on the rare occasions I have to leave it outside for more than a few minutes (whilst shopping), lock it with two locks.

I reckon having an old, battered-looking bike made it less attractive to thieves, though of course that's no longer going to hold if I get a new bike.

Re: agree

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

I sometimes got it old but then it was hard to pedal. The new bikes were not the most expensive, though not fast, but good enough for my small tours. It often got stolen because it was new. Now I have no bike in London. My last bike is with my parents. I don't need to worry about extra expenses now. You could get one cheaper a bit outside of London or maybe just in East London. What about trying Cambridge? It did not take very long getting there and it is very easy getting there. I just thought when you ask your parents sometimes for sponsering for anything done in your flat and you are short of money to get a new bike you might ask them again.

Re: agree

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

I only got it stolen when I left it at the station locked or somewhere else but never from home out of the garden. Our neighbours always watched our garden. It normally had a lock on the bike itself and I had an extra one. I can't remember how it got stolen. They never hold very long especially the second hand ones we often got from my parent's friends or relatives. I only had very cheap bikes. I used them mainly for getting to the next tube or railway station or small tours into the city.

Re: agree

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

I never leave my bike at Tube stations. Mostly it's either at home indoors, or at work inside the site (smart-card access), inside the cycle park (more restrictive smart-card access). I do occasionally leave it street-accessible, but only very rarely, when the occasion demands.

Re: agree

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

Well, you use it for other purposes. My parent's house were to fare away from everything that I had to go by bike to the next tube or railway station and shopping every time.