Posts Tagged ‘bicycle repair’
Purchasing Mistakes
My bike is in the hands of the professionals now. I dropped it off at the shop yesterday after receiving advice that I shouldn’t try messing with the drive components on my own to solve the annoying click when pedaling.
Since this will now be the third time I have brought this bike in with the same complaint, I am going to pressure the mechanic for as much detail as I can extract from whatever diagnosis he provides. I asked the person who wrote up my service ticket whether there is a known issue with this 2021 Trek bike model. He didn’t know, but said the head mechanic would review all related service bulletins to check.
When I picked this model of bike, I hoped it would be the last bike I would ever buy. I will be very sad if it turns out to have an unsolvable flaw.
It wouldn’t be the first purchasing mistake I’ve made. I’ve been wearing bike shoes that I bought a couple of years ago that have been too narrow for my feet, hoping that they would stretch out over time.
After trying a variety of seamless socks in the hope of eliminating painful pressure points, I finally decided to shop for a better-fitting (wider) shoe. Doubting the local stores would carry much selection, I tried shopping online. I ran into a surprising number of shoes that were either sold out or had limited sizes available.
While I was in the shop yesterday, I thought to ask about shoes. They had the half-size I was after in a model that suited me just fine. It was doubly rewarding to give my business to the local shop, and I was able to take advantage of discount points I had accrued as a member of their “fanatics” program. Plus, they have a 60-day comfort guarantee.
I’ve got two months to decide if this pair hurts my feet.
One other purchasing mistake I frequently regret was choosing the two-lever steering on the zero-turn mower instead of a steering wheel. I discovered right away that the many slopes I mow are a struggle with free-spinning front wheels. They offer a similar model to mine, but with a steering wheel that would have been the better choice.
Multiple thousand-dollar purchases are difficult to undo if you’ve waited too long to switch. One of these days, if I get as fed up with the mower rolling downhill when I don’t want it to as I did with my feet hurting in those narrow shoes, maybe I’ll just buy the version with a steering wheel and see if I can sell the old one to someone with flatter land.
Cyndie took a picture of storm clouds headed our way as she was driving home last evening. It got really blustery just as she arrived, but calmed considerably a short time later. I would describe it as more of a rain shower than a storm.
I’m sure glad I don’t have to purchase weather.
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Color Brilliance
When I got home after the weekend, it was really dry around here. That made mowing a much less urgent line item on the to-do list. Then it rained on Monday, and suddenly everything got dramatically taller. Cyndie’s garden of perennials has become rather crowded.
The dianthus looks almost electric with its intensity of color in the sunlight.
The jewelweed has filled out to a point that it almost swallows the entrance to some of our pathways.
It has reached the point where I need to be trimming the branches encroaching on our trails as much as I need to be mowing grass, and I have yet to catch up with knocking down the growth under all of our fence lines.
Yesterday, I squeezed in a test ride on my bike to see if I’ve made any progress tightening fasteners to eliminate the bothersome clicking. The ride didn’t take long because the click is still there. Further troubleshooting will commence during the next period of daytime rain that occurs, which may be today, if the forecasts prove correct.
We have been informed by the weather service that there are elevated possibilities for severe storms in our area today. I’ll be watching the sky and compulsively checking the pretty colors on the radar to keep tabs on what’s coming our way… between periods of mowing and trail trimming, that is.
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Relative Something 