The ride which precipitated the discussion included the length of my driveway, down the street 3 houses, and back up to my driveway. I had my bike-shoe-clad feet in the toe clips, shifted twice, braked, did a U-turn and rode home. What more do you need to call it a bike ride? Lunch in the middle? A flat tire? An hour?
I stopped because my front wheel was dragging. The brakes were okay but the hub wasn't freely spinning. The grease had dried up during its long layoff, and I needed to clean and repack the bearings. I did the job over my cluttered workbench, then did another tiny ride to ensure everything was okay. Later, I started thinking about the bearings in the back wheel, the crankset, the headset - Arrgh. Time for an overhaul.
One can't do those jobs with the bike laying on its side in the driveway, so I set off in search of my long-lost bike repair stand. There it is - see? No?
Approximately 15 years ago I turned it into a multi-tasking device, by wrapping the upright section with old beach mats. It became the perfect scratching post for our large cat. But when he died, the bike stand got moved off the patio into the bushes. Why? Ask my wife. Anyway, here it is with the scratching material cut off. But where is the rest of it?
Aha! Under the BBQ, about 100 feet uphill and on the other side of the yard from the stand itself. Along with lots of pine needles and black widow spiders.
Why? I know not. Ask my wife. But here are all the accessories for holding tools and two bikes. Rusty, yes, but each piece weighs about 10 pounds, so it's only cosmetic rust.
Today's riding time was spent cleaning up the stand. The post, trays and crossbeam are nice, smooth and black. The clamp is nice, smooth and gray. All the bearing surfaces are clean and lubricated, and the handle is wrapped nicely with tape. It could use a bit more detailing, but remember, this stand is only a means to an end.
NOW I can tune-up my bike, THEN I can ride again. Unfortunately, NOW my arms are tired and my hands stained with paint and noxious chemicals.
This project felt just like the old days when I was 20, a time when men were men and we factory workers washed our metal parts in open buckets of methyl ethyl ketones aka Butanone (very nasty stuff). As Wikipedia describes it, Butanone seems innocuous. However, it's also the kind of thing that turns your brain to mush if you inhale too much of it.
Butanone is an effective solvent, and used with gums, resins, cellulose acetate, nitrocellulose coatings and vinyl films. Also in the manufacture of plastics, textiles, paraffin wax, lacquer, varnishes, and paint removers. It's also the highly sniffable component of dry erase markers and model glues.
I did most of this on the grass in the park, just in case my solvent-addled brain caused me to fall over!
