The big ship sails on the ali-ali-o

[venta]

A month or two back, I had some problems with my bike pedals.

Scccrrrrch! went the bike as I pedalled. Scrrrrch!

Hmm, diagnosed one of my colleagues. I bet your pedal wobbles like this <wobbles pedal>

Yup. He grabbed the crank and demonstrated that it wobbled laterally. I took the little cap thingy off, tightened it up, popped the cap back on. No more wobble. Colleague warned that the wobbling probably indicated that bits were worn, and I'd have to keep re-tightening it until bits were replaced.

Riding back into town, my bike went Scrrrrch! a lot. Still. I took myself to the bike shop and explained the problem.

Doesn't wobble, said Bikeshopman. No, it doesn't, I said, I tightened it up.

No, he said, that's just a cap, tightening that doesn't do anything.

No, I said, I took the cap off and took a socket to it.

You, he said in disbelief, own a socket set?

I let him off, because was in other ways nice and helpful, and greased the bit where the pedals attached so it didn't go Scrrrch! any more. He assured me I didn't need to replace the cranks in any kind of a hurry.

I have, however, intermittently been checking them for wobbles. They've been fine.

(NB My bike is twenty years old. The cranks probably don't attach like you think they do. I have no idea what you think, but thus far this morning a succession of colleauges have come in and opined at me before realising that the cranks on my bike don't attach like they think they do.)

Today I was pootling happily along the A33 cycle path.

Brrr, chilly.

Why don't cars put lights on in the fog ?

Ooh, pedal a bit wobbly.

Ooh, pedal very wobbly.

Quite close to work, I'll scoot along haphazardly and have a proper look when I get there.

*clang*

Oh.

I walked the rest of the way, carrying the pedal and pushing my bike.

Comments

[phlebas.livejournal.com]

On the last day of September!

[venta.livejournal.com]

One kudo to you, sir!

[ebee.livejournal.com]

Uh oh. Not good. I however would never be so stupid as to doubt your socket or other skills after the masterful display of DIY and logic you applied last week!

[ebee.livejournal.com]

Wait, mistressful?

[venta.livejournal.com]

Think I'll settle for masterful - mistressful sounds like a combination of mistrustful and distressing!

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

You, he said in disbelief, own a socket set?
Did he then have the decency to duck?

[venta.livejournal.com]

Nope :)

However, since I'd begun the conversation by saying that I was perfectly happy doing my own car maintenance, but that bike maintenance freaked me out, he shouldn't have been surprised that I owned tools. I decided the easiest explanation was probably that he was Stupid.

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

Probably the simplest answer, true!

bike

[bondagewoodelf.livejournal.com]

I had a similar problem hmm about 2 months ago. The problem was not the pedal, it was the socket the pedal was in. It required replacing the part, which might have been called 'the crank' (or maybe not), it's the thingy the pedal is attached to and the axis of the front gear.

It was quite expensive to have a new one attached ;-(

Re: bike

[venta.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping that I have enough bike-compentent colleagues that when I need to replace it someone will show me how, thus reducing the cost to just parts.

I think for now I can just bolt the thing back on, but it does look like this is a problem which needs a long-term solution rather than a swift bodge :)

[exspelunca.livejournal.com]

...and then there was the garage mechanic who became quite respectful when you mentioned using a trolley jack.

[paste.livejournal.com]

dunno if it exists where you live but we have a voluntary bike project that runs free maintenance workshops JUST FOR GIRLS! they said they'd help me fix whatever was needed on my bike, nice boys.

[venta.livejournal.com]

We have a similar (though non-segregated) thing - I went to their inaugural class, which was mostly punctures and basic safety checks.

They haven't yet got their drop-in workshop thingy for fixing specific things sorted out, though.

[pm215]

My bike is twenty years old. The cranks probably don't attach like you think they do. I have no idea what you think

(gosh, 20 years old these days is only 1990!) Cottered cranks? They're the reason I've been putting off doing anything about the Twenty's dodgy bottom bracket...

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

I had that happen once when cycling to High Wycombe along the old A40. That hill by Stokenchurch, where the nearby motorway goes through the cutting, is very long and steep when you're pushing a bike up it in hot weather.

I had completely neglected the preceding wobble phase, so it was my own fault really.