A frosty / sunny early start on the old railway lines of County Durham.

 

There was an overnight ground frost which meant the sun sun was out early doors and so was I. The grass was white in places and the Garmin was hovering just above minus -1 degrees when I joined onto the old railway line at Langley Park. I headed straight up to Consett and at the crossroads I went straight over to pick the Derwent old railway line. I followed this down hill to Hamsterley Mill there I turned and headed back up. I took a slightly different route coming back via Blackhill Park / Consett and the country back lanes down to Lanchester. There was quite a few others out enjoying the good weather. The old railway lines are still bone dry, rock hard and easy going. By the time I got back the Garmin was reading 11 degrees and I was warm! All in just under 32 miles in 2hrs 30mins with 1500ft of climbing. Enjoy some sunny snaps below and hopefully more soon- 

Fresh Goods Sunday - Specialized S182500006 Creo 2 Lower Headset Bearing

 

Last year my lower headset bearing started to feel and sounded a little rough so I started looking for a new one. I assumed that it was the same bearing size in my Creo 1's but I was wrong. I looked around for a better quality one but could not find a really good quality one so opted for the cheapo version instead. The part number from Specialized is S182500006 rrp £17.90. The size is 47.8 x 56.8 x 6.5 - 45/45. I paid £16.55 inc 48hr p&p from Aire Velo Bearings (Ebay). 

It was not until the other day after a few rides I thought it got really worse so now was the time to change it. I checked the manual and it was the same procedure as the Creo 1 which I have covered in a previous BLOG. You only need a few different sized allen keys, grease and a 3mm spanner which comes with the bike but I have also a Park Tool one now. The top bearing was still ok but the next time I swap the lower bearing I will also swap the top one. All in took less than an hour from start to finish. 

 

After replacing the bearing and adjusting the preload on the bearings the front end still sounded rough. It turned out to be the HUNT front wheel! There was slight sides ways movement so I removed the wheel, end caps, rotor and both bearings were dog rough. More on this in an upcoming Blog after I sort the correct tool to remove / fit the replacement bearings.