I’ve been going through yet another round of enforced bike maintenance.
- On Friday morning, my Brompton had a flat when I was leaving for work. Luckily, I had a spare inner tube, and could switch them quickly.
- Over the weekend, I managed to snap my front derailleur on the mountain bike. Thankfully, it just locked my chainset into a specific gear, meaning I could finish the ride.
- Which ended with a puncture out near Lewes. Again, I always carry a spare inner tube, so it’s not catastrophic (although it was cold enough to make the change difficult because my hands were so cold).
- Yesterday morning, I took the mountain bike to the lovely people at Freedom Bikes, who fitted a new derailleur for me.
- And this morning I’m just leaving for work when I find that the Brompton has a second flat in the same place. This time, I managed to find the stone stuck in the tyre. More worryingly, I also noticed a rust spot that’s gone through the frame in one place. It’s only a pinhole, but still…
I do love cycling, but I hate having to maintain the damned things. Like computers, I just have a hate/hate relationship with hardware.
Jabbering Giraffe 