From: "Brian Sanderson" <[email hidden]>
Subject: Addicted to wrenching...
Date: July 9, 2005 10:00 AM
My Brother in law...gotta love 'im.
G is a gentleman and a scholar (no, really!) but his mechanical aptitude is
untrained. He found a really nice 24" DS 15 speed in the trash and nicked
it for his 12-yr-old son.
However...
The RS pedal had been stripped (removed, threads damaged, and forcibly
cross-threaded at an angle!), and the chain was really rusty. G figured he
might need a new one. So he called me and came over @ 6 PM with the bike
and son in tow.
The pedal was easy, I just sledged the old one out, then used a largish 15mm
wrench and cheater (and much sweat) to PERMANENTLY (haa haa haa!) affix a
duplicate replacement with UNdamaged threads. It'll probably never come out
again, but as long as it works, right? The chain had one stiff link and a
good soak with penetrating oil (and a little reefing with pliers) freed it
up.
Time 6:15 - job over, right?
Nope.
Once the chain was done, I happen to notice the forward derailleur won't
move. A little lube there. Then I see the cable is stuck; no problem, just
thread and cut a new cable. Then I find the rear brake pads are shot...no
trouble at all! - I have a spare set right here! Uh-oh! The sprockets on
the cassette are all rusted and have broken/chipped teeth...hmmm, I have an
older Shimano 5 cassette that will fix...Boy! does this rear wheel need new
grease!...oooh, better re-center that back brake...Hmmm, that old lock clamp
on the stem is just getting in the way...ya know, these derailleur stops
really need to be re-set...better pump up that rear tire...this wheel has a
warp there and needs a little tweak with a spoke wrench...
G stopped me before I could align the seat and re-pack the front hub (which
didn't really need it); and so I cannot say I did a COMPLETE overhaul on
this bike. By this time it was 8:15 and I think he was afraid that if he
stayed much longer and let me fix "just one more thing", he and his son were
going to be there after dark...
....but I gotta say, it felt good getting my hands dirty. I think my nephew
is really going to enjoy this bike. Just so long as he doesn't leave it out
in the rain and undo all that work...🙂