The Day Of Dusting And Cleaning

Random dirty pic of my Fargo- Needs Cleaning!

Usually on Wednesdays I go riding and you might expect that I did just that because it was actually pretty nice out yesterday. But, I had some necessary domestic issues to attend to involving the water supply to the house.

Well, this meant that a long, long overdue dusting and cleaning of my work area needed to happen. I got busy in the morning with pecking away at the monster.

I actually made some headway before my lunch break, and with the results I was seeing, it spurred me on to get the deed done with plenty of time before the municipal "professional" came over to swap out the meter. That ended up leading to other issues, which ended up taking up the rest of my day. So, no further progress was realized in terms of cleaning the shop, or for taking care of my bicycles, for that matter.

My bicycles are due for some maintenance and cleaning too. Especially the gravel rigs. We had such a dry, dusty Summer and Fall that the dust is amazingly thick on frames and components. I'm sure there will be some drive train replacement parts entering the picture due to all of this as well. That's one thing about gravel riding- It is hard on the parts!

Gold Midge and new stem installed

One of the bikes due for some work in the drive train department is the Fargo Gen I. It already has seen some attention since the colder weather has settled in. I got a gold anodized Midge Bar and since that was a 31.8mm clamp diameter, the old stem went away and this Origin 8 UL stem went in its place.

This change also will mark a slightly lower front end position than I was using before, but since this bike is going all gravel all the time, I don't see it as an issue. I maybe came down a few millimeters, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Besides, the front end is pretty high on a Fargo Gen I as it is.

At this time, I could have swapped back to STI levers, but these Retroshifters are nice, and even though shifting from the drops is not possible, I am liking these better in every other way. They are staying on for the long term!

The drive train needs some attention though. I'll likely get a new cassette, chain, and maybe a different crankset. I may need a different bottom bracket as well, depending on the crank set chosen. If this crank stays it is getting a new, smaller drive ring. The one that is on it is 2 teeth too big for my tastes. Funny how only a two tooth difference can make a difference worth pursuing on a bicycle, but with this rig, I can say it is "fine tuning". I've had it long enough now that things are getting refined to a greater degree.

There is also the "Orange Crush" and the Gryphon to look after as well. Both dustier than all get out. The dusting and cleaning has only just begun, I am afraid!