Another 29’er
Today was one of those days where the temperature hovered at exactly the same place all day! It was 28 degrees when I rode in, 29 degrees at lunch time, and still 29 degrees when I went home. Brrr….have I ever said I hate winter.
Even more annoying than the temperature, was the evening darkness. I guess I’ve gotta get used to it until the winter solstice later this month. For some reason the darkness and traffic that seemed heavier than normal had me on edge tonight. I’m usually pretty comfortable riding in the evening traffic, but tonight was bothersome.
On the way home, I noticed that my rear brake was bottoming out on the handlebar. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the pads were pretty shot but I managed to get enough cable back to last a few more rides.
I went down after work, pulled the pads, and replaced them with a set I had laying around from when I was experimenting on the tandem last summer.
It didn’t take long to get them installed and adjusted.
As I was finishing up, I noticed the rim was showing a lot of wear. Riding in the crud is sure hard on the entire braking system. I’m wondering if it’s becoming a self-defeating cycle – rims wearing out the pads, which in turn causes greater wear on the rim. Or, maybe I’m just over thinking it and worrying about nothing? What do you think?
God bless….
TW
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December 5, 2011 at 10:51 pm
Do I detect a slight note of discouragement? Nah, I thought not. OTOH, we only got down to 34 down here in Texas, albeit with some wintry mix to lend excitement to our commutes.
December 6, 2011 at 12:15 am
Well the brakes wear on the rim which grind in the crap from the road into the rim. I hear the little rocks and debris scraping on the rim which makes me cringe. The life cycle of brakes and rims OH MY. It was 19° F this morning with a wind-chill of 12° F and tonight was a light snow at 20° F with a wind-chill of 9° F. I had to breakout the heavy duty stuff for the first time. Looks like winter in Minnesota. Let the fun begin. Enjoy.
December 6, 2011 at 7:23 am
Be careful with that worn rim. As you probably know, if it becomes too thin, it can fail with dangerous result. I just read a post on one of the cycling discussion forums (and saw photos) from one who had just experienced a rim blowout.
December 7, 2011 at 10:50 pm
I think disc brakes are pretty awesome
December 18, 2011 at 3:26 pm
I’m not sure what the allure of disk brakes are…maybe it’s just because it’s a new system I haven’t quite figured out yet.
Don’t now how bad the weather gets there (besides the cold), but here is DC the snow is on its way and I’ve been tryin to convince everyone to winterize their commute now.