We arrived without any real glitches at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport at 2:30 this afternoon. We shuttled in on the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel courtesy van. By 4:00, we were too late to pick up my ironman packet, but not to late to get my bike from tri-bike transport. It was pretty shook up. The sidewall of one of my tires was rubbed to the threads. It has acquired a new sqeak in the crank as well, that comes out only when you stand on it.
The back tire was soft again. Ongoing problem of the stem of the tube tapping on the inside of the extender and letting the air out. It didn't want to hold air either, because the stem wasn't sealing it off quickley enough. I rode around on it until the brakes were fine, but the tire/intertube situation needed solving.
Inside Out sports offers their usual supplies/support. The first mechanic I dealt with immediately blamed the brake and started turning here and there, completely loosening the adjustment on the brake, adjusting the cable. Nope, that isn't it. So he pulls out the tire and puts it in sideways so it now is rubbing on the chainstay. UGH. A sqeak that is only present on the crank that doesn't occur with spinning the wheel...WHAT in God's name does that have to do with the brake or how the tire is set on the bike. So, he says to the next mechanic that he could use some help adjusting the brake. Now this new guy wants to know what I came in for. I said I was after a new tire, because of the damage to the old. "Well here is your problem, your riding it with the tire rubbing on the chainstay." He also said something about the rear brake not "feeling quite right" and recommended that the cables all be rerouted. Wow. Lets back up to the part that they were fine when I got to the shop. The real story is that I don't like my bike being hammered around by any yaahoo.
It wasn't all bad. He showed me a trick for making the stem NOT tap out in the extender. Basically, it involves slightly damaging the threads to the tube and wrapping the whole thing with plummbers tape. Once the extender is in place, you have to pop through the plummers tape with a paper clip or pin. But the stem is held neatly in place.
The kids were up this morning at 3:30 and we left at 4:30. We were all tired and hungry. I probably was not as nice as I could have been. I have a new tire, and managed to find my precious 80mm stem tires. NO more extenders! There is only 1000 miles on the tire I replaced, so it can be used for other stuff. The bike is set to go, save for needing to put the back brake back where it was. Tomorrow morning before the practice swim, I will make sure it is working the way it is supposed to.
We ordered pizza and headed out to the pool. The pool is on the roof and it is huge, with hot tubs on either end of it. There are palm trees all around hanging over and chairs with little tents over them. Out in the pool/hot tub there is a great view of the stars. We are all just hanging out now, watching Grey's Anatomy and have stopped trying to kill each other.
The back tire was soft again. Ongoing problem of the stem of the tube tapping on the inside of the extender and letting the air out. It didn't want to hold air either, because the stem wasn't sealing it off quickley enough. I rode around on it until the brakes were fine, but the tire/intertube situation needed solving.
Inside Out sports offers their usual supplies/support. The first mechanic I dealt with immediately blamed the brake and started turning here and there, completely loosening the adjustment on the brake, adjusting the cable. Nope, that isn't it. So he pulls out the tire and puts it in sideways so it now is rubbing on the chainstay. UGH. A sqeak that is only present on the crank that doesn't occur with spinning the wheel...WHAT in God's name does that have to do with the brake or how the tire is set on the bike. So, he says to the next mechanic that he could use some help adjusting the brake. Now this new guy wants to know what I came in for. I said I was after a new tire, because of the damage to the old. "Well here is your problem, your riding it with the tire rubbing on the chainstay." He also said something about the rear brake not "feeling quite right" and recommended that the cables all be rerouted. Wow. Lets back up to the part that they were fine when I got to the shop. The real story is that I don't like my bike being hammered around by any yaahoo.
It wasn't all bad. He showed me a trick for making the stem NOT tap out in the extender. Basically, it involves slightly damaging the threads to the tube and wrapping the whole thing with plummbers tape. Once the extender is in place, you have to pop through the plummers tape with a paper clip or pin. But the stem is held neatly in place.
The kids were up this morning at 3:30 and we left at 4:30. We were all tired and hungry. I probably was not as nice as I could have been. I have a new tire, and managed to find my precious 80mm stem tires. NO more extenders! There is only 1000 miles on the tire I replaced, so it can be used for other stuff. The bike is set to go, save for needing to put the back brake back where it was. Tomorrow morning before the practice swim, I will make sure it is working the way it is supposed to.
We ordered pizza and headed out to the pool. The pool is on the roof and it is huge, with hot tubs on either end of it. There are palm trees all around hanging over and chairs with little tents over them. Out in the pool/hot tub there is a great view of the stars. We are all just hanging out now, watching Grey's Anatomy and have stopped trying to kill each other.
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