Since retiring I found that my Trek 620 commuter wasn't seeing much use,
and after I bought a Saluki on this list I pretty much stopped riding it
all together. I tried selling it but no one made me a decent offer and I
liked the ride too much to just give it away. When someone offered a good
set of NOS 650B wheels I decided to go ahead with a long standing plan to
convert this bike and add S&S couplers to the frame. Had to move the canti
studs, added DT studs and had it powdercoated, all by Bilenkey. Pictures
here: https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A2GgZLKuGQYuu6 Sorry about the
fuzziness but I find it very difficult to hold an iphone steady enough to
take decent pictures. Other than the wheels, all the parts are stuff I had
on hand.
Anyway, every time I put a bike together I find myself wondering about why
some things are so much harder than they have to be and why the bike
industry hasn't made any attempt to ease the process. Don't get me started
on the bright idea of putting one chainring bolt in backwards! Cables
puzzle me the most. First, threading cable into aero brake levers. If
your light isn't perfect, or your eyes are over 50, or you're working with
a used cable that has the slightest bend in it, you will struggle. Why not
make the entry point funnel shaped, or the anchor slotted, or removable, or
even make the top of the lever housing removable? How hard would that be?
Second given how much the industry has worked to reduce inventory (steeply
sloping TT & ahead stems for example) why do we still have two cable sizes
with two different size housing, two different ends, two different caps and
crimps? I understand that brake cables need to be stronger than derailler
cables do, but derailler cables don't need to be weaker. In 35 years of
riding the only cable I have ever broken has been a rear derailler. I was
a long way from home and would have been much happier with a stronger
derailler cable as there were a lot of hills for me to negotiate on a
single speed bike! This time the cable disconnects created another
complication. If you haven't used these, the female end of the connectors
house a cable end. But that end is sized to work perfectly with derailler
cable. The brake cable end needs to be filed down in order to fit loosely
enough to allow the part to turn. This is in spite of the fact that they
made the brake cable hole a tad larger. In contrast the male end holds the
cable with two set screws, but the entry hole in the brake connect is much
smaller than the exit hole and, to my eye, just barely distinguishable from
the derailler connect. I think I spent half the time on this job playing
with cables!
Now I'm going to take it on a shake down ride, then disassemble, pack it in
a suitcase and fly to Oakland on Tuesday.
Michael
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