It’s nearly October now, and there’s a definite nip in the morning air. I think I’m even going to have to seriously consider switching from shorts and a short sleeve jersey to something a bit warmer for the morning commute soon. Daylight is in increasingly short supply, with the morning and evening cycle commutes on the verge of requiring lights.
In short, it’s time to say goodbye to summer 2009 and get the winter bike out of the garage.
As a winter commuter, I use a Commencal Normal Disc 2008 that I’ve converted to slicks and rigid forks and fitted Tesco 3W LED Torches to as powerful (and cheap) headlights. It’s heavy, but with lights, mudguards, bigger tyres and tougher components it’s better equipped to handle the winter weather than the BeOne road bike I’ve been using all summer.
The Commencal has been languishing in my garage since the spring and was in need of a bit of an overhaul before being pressed back into service. Aside from needing an overall good clean, it needed new headset bearings and I wanted to fit SPD clipless pedals like I’d been using on the BeOne.
 Headset bearings... |
 ...needed replaced... |
 ...and SPD pedals fitted |
I also took the opportunity to apply anti-seize grease to the movable adjustment plates on the Avid BB5 disc brakes, following last winter’s seize fail with the calipers.
Corroded bottom bracket
It wasn’t all good news though, as I noticed some bad corrosion on the outside of the bottom bracket. It still seems to turn all right and there’s no sense of unusual resistance or grabbing so the damage could just be superficial, but it’s something to keep an eye on in the bad weather.
Ready for action!
Apply some lights and mudguards, and I’m ready for another winter’s worth of commuting!
