Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Bolt Buster



This is how I ride.

It took me two weeks to figure out that a broken axle was the reason the rear wheel on the Stumpjumper kept sliding to the right while I rode.

I came damn close to stripping the threads on the axle in repeated attempts to re-align the wheel and not have it slide again.

Finally, this morning, in the pre-dawn, 29° chill, while trying once again to re-align and tighten, I noticed that while turning the wrench on one nut while the other was firmly tight, one half of the axle rotated with the wrench... the other did not. Hmmm....

4 comments:

D said...

it's a good thing the StumpJumper has a robust frame. A lesser machine would have collapsed...

You know, PMS isn't just a funny girl word; Preventive Maintenance Schedules exist for a reason - and one such reason is to find broken bolts before you crash and slide.

Scummy said...

Lavi is such a Bad Boy™

Lavi D. said...

...and one such reason is to find broken bolts before you crash and slide.

Eek. I can't tell you how many curbs I jumped up or how many I flew off at speed with a broken axle.

One reason I've been lax on Maintenatin' is because have no garage. I will have to figure out a way to disassemble and reassemble the bike once a month or so.

I really don't want to slide.

D said...

"no garage"? wah -- you don't have an emergency room either

put a sheet on the floor, get a good bike stand, and do your Maintenance *inside* so you don't fall down go boom when you're riding like a wild man *outside*

www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-PCS-10-Mechanic-Repair/dp/B000ROHJ12


Ain't got no garage...
Piffle


Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the music at top volume and at least a pint of ether.

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