A Small Road Trip - Penrith, Keswick, Gretna Green, Peebles, Innerleithan, Kelso, Spittal & Berwick Upon Tweed

As I mentioned in Sundays blog we were away last week on a small road trip - Penrith, Keswick, Greta Green, Peebles, Innerleithan, Kelso, Spittal and Berwick Upon Tweed. As you can see by the photos below we had every kind of weather possible - cloud, sun, snow, sleet, rain, wind, fog, misty, hot 13 degrees and cold 0 degrees. The photos have jumbled up for some reason when I have uploaded them but not too worry. We had a great time and nice to be away for a while, the roads were not too bad but some of the driving conditions were not the best. 

Cube E MTB Hardtail Maintenance & Repairs

 

After yesterdays ride I washed, dried and lubricated the Cube E mtb. I then put it on charge as I forgot to charge it up from the previous ride. 

Also during yesterday ride when I stopped to take a photo of the bike it fell over onto the drive side when I turned my back and did not catch it in time. The impact twisted the handlebars slightly which was the first job, I loosened the stem bolts, realigned the bars with the front wheel and torqued the bolts back up again. 

The left pedal also needed one side of the spring tension increasing as my spd was unclipping too easily. I also checked the others at the same time so they were all equal. I also decided to re grease the axles / bearings by removing the Richey end cap with a 5mm allen key and pushing fresh grease in the end of the pedal body and by screwing the cap back on it squeezes the old grease out of the pedal on the crank arm side. I had to do this twice on each side before the fresh grease come through. 

Then leaving the most complicated job to the end, re aligning the rear mech hanger. When the bike fell over it had bent the rear mech hanger and the rear gear indexing was out. I bought the X Tool - rear mech hanger alignment tool along time ago and this is the first time I have had to use it. I had to have a read of the instructions as I have never used one before. I will do a Fresh Goods Sunday Blog on the tool as I don't think I did one when I bought it. The alignment was out by approx 30mm over the four positions but after some adjustments with the alignment tool I had it within approx 2mm on the four positions on the rim. Once the rear mech was refitted I checked the gears and after adjusting the cable tension with a couple of turns on the barrel at the bar shifter end the indexing was perfect again, in fact it was better than before! 

That was the final job on the bike and its ready to rock n role again on the tracks n trails. 

Fresh Goods Sunday - B Twin Mountain Bike Rear Mudguard (Decathlon)

 

I bought one of these many years ago when Decathlon opened up at Gateshead. After a couple of rides I managed to split the plastic at the rear and stuck some gaffa tape over to keep it together. It has been like that for a very long time. A few weeks ago we ended up at Team Valley so I decided to have a look around the cycling section up stairs and they still did the same mudguard so bought another one and fingers crossed this one did not split within weeks. I cannot remember how much I paid the last time but they are £3.29 now with a reusable zip tie. Fitting is simple enough, I undid the velcro straps from the saddlebag that feed over the top of the saddle rails and pulled it down the seat post out of the way. Then I loosened off the zip tie and pulled the old guard back through the saddle. I cleaned the underside of the saddle and also the rails. I then slide through the new guard pulling the tabs over the saddle rails and bent the rear of the guard along the lines to form the shape. Once I was happy I feed the zip through, nipped it up and re fitted my saddle bag straps. I have been out on a few rides now and so far so good, it keeps some mud off your back at slower speeds and has remained in place. The best part the plastic has not split! They are excellent value for money compared to Ass Savers etc. 

RRP £3.29 and I paid £3.29 from Decathlon, Gateshead 

Manufacturers blurb - 

This lightweight, 26" to 29" mudguard is designed to protect your bum from muddy spray kicked up by your rear wheel when doing XC mountain biking.

The mudguard is both compact and lightweight, protecting your face from any tyre spray coming off the front wheel. It is detachable and can be easily fitted and removed.

LEVEL OF PROTECTION

This ultra-compact mudguard stops mud getting sprayed into mountain bikers' bums.
Its reduced dimensions meet the needs of cross-country mountain bike racers, who need a light, aerodynamic mudguard to protect them.

For better lower back protection, opt for a rigid mountain bike mudguard.

Bike compatibility -

This mudguard fits 26" to 29" mountain bikes with a saddle mounted on 2 metal rails.

BOX CONTENTS -

The mudguard comes with 1 removable cable tie

Dimensions and weight - Blade length: 395 mm - Blade width (folded and in use): 70 to 110 mm

Total weight: 34 g

Warranty 2 years

And this is the old one that I removed, straight to the bin! 

They have tweaked the size - shorter in length but the rest is the same

Back out for a spin down to Durham and Maiden Castle n back

 

Apologies for no blogs this week but me and Jane have been away on a break for six days, more on this is an up coming blog. Anyway todays ride has been my first ride in quite a few days and my legs were not feeling it at the start so I decided to take out my Cube e mtb. I dropped down into Durham in the lovely sun but still nippy. I loop around the river banks before heading over to Maiden Castle for a loop before going up The Trod. By now my legs had warmed up and was feeling a little better. Back down to Durham around the river banks before heading for home via Frankland The Sands & The Carrs. The weather was fantastic and the temperature went from 3.5 degrees to 7.5 degrees. The tracks n trails were wet and muddy with some puddles but it all adds to the fun. Just as well I had my new mudguards fitted. More on the rear guard in this weeks Fresh Goods Sunday. All in just under 16 miles in 1hr 23 min with 750ft of climbing. Below are a few snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon -