Repair Schedule

 Tire repair- Refresh sealant. Ready!

Wednesday was weird. First off, my daughter didn't feel well enough to go to school. so I was off work anyway and became the nurse for the morning. Thankfully, by mid-afternoon she was herself again. However; that time was all that was open for riding, so I had to get something else done around the house, not make a ton of noise, (while she was sleeping), and stay within close proximity in case I was needed.

That set of requirements best fit a schedule of repair on some bikes that I had been putting off for a while. I also tackled a swap or two that I had in mind. It was like going to work, except I didn't get paid by my boss for it! Well, at least I benefited from it directly, and hey.......the labor was free! 

First up, I wanted to peel off the Cannonball tires from the American Classic rims on the Roker LTD and put those on the trusty HED Ardennes + rims on the Black Mountain Cycles rig. That went pretty well, with the HED rims taking on the Cannonball tires with a bit of a blast from my teeny-tiny air compressor, and setting up with zero issues. Then I took the rig for a blast around the neighborhood to get a feel for the tires. (Don't worry. My daughter was up and about by this time.) Still not totally convinced on those tires......

Those fancy-pants Cannonball tires will live on this bike for a while now.

Then it was on to my OS Bikes Blackbuck, which I had a puncture on several weeks ago when I rode it. The sealant initially did the trick, sealed the cut, and I got home, but the next day it went flat. I knew I'd need more sealant, as it blew out a lot just getting the initial puncture to seal up.

I wasn't sure on this one, because I figured that more sealant would just blow out again, but much to my surprise it sealed up, and my blast around the neighborhood on it showed no chinks in the armor. Good to go then and on to the next bike.

The next project was a swap again. This time the swap was a fork swap with the Blackborow DS going from Bluto to rigid again. I took the time to blast out the crud from the semi-sealed lower head set bearing, and repack it with grease for the Winter. Then I popped on the rigid fork. I always have a back and forth on stems and how straight they are, eventually just giving up. I know there are little tricks to help with this but my brain and eyes like to play little tricks with me when I do this. My brain and eyes think it is funny. I don't play the game long before I just turn away and torque down the bolts. If I keep looking at it I'll drive myself crazy and give my brain and my eyes the very thing they are wanting- to make me go nuts. So, enough was enough. Moving along now!

Ready for Winter duty.

Then I attended to the chain and cogs on this bike, with a bit of cleaning and lube. I also had to bolt on one of the Anything Cage HD's that I had taken off for a proposed display at work that didn't happen. With that accomplished I had the Blackborow DS ready for Winter commuting and more.

After this it was time to wrench on my other fat bike- the Ti Muk. It developed a flattish rear tire, but it never lost all of its air. So, I took the tube out. I may have put sealant in this tube, but danged if I can remember. That could be taken care of if I kept a log book on each bike! I should do that......

Anyway, I dunk tanked the tube in the kitchen sink and found nuthn'! So, I scoured the tire and found nuthin'! Hrummpff! Okay, well maybe I did put sealant in that tire, but if I did, I couldn't tell other than the fact that it weighed more than it should. Whatever! I took the opportunity to put a new rim strip in the wheel. I hadn't put a new one in since 2011, so it was over due for that wheel. I should do the front as well, but it is in better condition.

The inner casing of the tire was coated in talc powder, then I put the tube in and mounted it up. Now I have another, geared fat bike ready to go for the Winter fun and commuting. With that bike done and out of the repair list, I was pretty much done for the day. A good day of repairs and I even cleared up a bit of space on my cluttered bench as well. All in all a good day at the home office.