Tuesday

Today I tried to fix up the chain. I returned my other chain to the bike shop and got longer one with 117 links. I went back eager to finally get the hub spinning but had no idea how difficult it is putting a chain back together. I had bought a chain breaker the previous day and with some effort I managed to get the rivet out to take out a few links. However I could not get the rivet to go back into the link and then realised that the chain breaker was damaged. I went back to the bike shop and was told that the chain breaker was not suited for this type of heavy duty chain and so the guy at the shop helped me put the rivet back in with a workshop quality tool by Park tools. This got me wondering why they even bother making lower quality chain breakers if they can’t do the job they are intended to do? I got the chain properly connected and bought some new tyres and rim tape. I put the new rim tape, tubes and tyres on the bike then spent some time trying to get the rear wheel aligned correctly. Using the spacers on the rear hub I found that if it went to far to the left the tyre would rub on the frame and if it was to far to the right the chain would catch the chain guard. Eventually I got it near right. 'Near' because the rear rim is a bit buckled. I then put on some better pedals and the old seat. I went for a test run up to the shops. The bike was fairly stable although the breaks were very slow to kick in. I can only imagine what it would be like trying to stop on a steep hill. The other major problem is the crank is very loose and made a funny noise. The left crank arm wobbles severely and makes a funny npise as you pushed the pedal down. The bike is now basically operational but I would not like to ride it in serious road conditions. There are four main things I have to fix up now: the crank, the breaks, truing the rims and a new paint job.