The gears stubbornly refused to work properly (can shift upwards but can’t move down properly or vice versa) and 2 hours later (close to 2pm), after removing certain sections of the RD shifter cable and re-oiling it, I had only managed to find a “compromise” point. Shifting upwards was not as crisp but at least the chain didn’t jump when I shifted downwards. I believe removing and re-oiling the entire cable was the best option but I wasn’t going to do that considering my wire cutter was blunt and using it would only make matters worse.
Today’s ride was cold, wet and muddy. I ran on super low pressure and traction was pretty decent except on certain tricky corners and climbs. In fact, the 3 laps of Bukit Timah this morning would be very enjoyable if everything had remained prim and proper, Sadly, mountain biking is not for the risk averse and mechanicals are pretty common. I thought my bike had performed pretty reliably on the 3 laps but as I made the final half lap to Track 15, the gear shifting started becoming problematic.
Worse, after the large clearing, I was going at speed and had just emerged from a mud pool when I found myself heading for a brick in my path. No worries. I can just roll over it easily. To my surprise, the force I hit it dislocated the entire brick and flicked it into the air. As it ricocheted against my front wheel and flew upwards in my direction, I could only think of one word. Shit. The next thing I knew, my crank impacted against the damn thing. I was horrified to find a couple of bent teeth on the outer chain-ring and as I touched them, they broke. Now, my crank is toothless (a couple of chipped teeth). I don’t care about the cosmetic damage. I just hope it still works fine.
Total distance: 29.5km (off-road); 23.3km (on-road)
Money spent: $0
Participants: LSH
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