It's the start of the year, and while those who had a hefty collection the past Christmas holidays are trooping to their favorite bike shops with new components/apparel/bikes in their minds, us mere mortals need not be left behind.
This afternoon, I visited Hermie, my favorite mechanic in Cartimar, for a good old bike overhaul. It's not as serious as you think. It's just a shifter and brake cable change that cyclists often overlook.
I replaced my seven year-old cables with fresh Armadillo cables that I got from Sam at Ross Cycles - the bike shop right next door. Admittedly these are a bit pricey at P1,000 per set, but the point is one will never know how much improvement this does to an old set-up. I've been religiously lubing my cables almost after every ride but it cannot equal that of a fresh cable change. It especially did wonders on my shifting. What once was turning to be an effort is now smooth and crisp. It was miraculous, if you ask me - a few notches short of the Frankenstein creature.
This year also marked the retirement of the last piece of component from my first bike that, until today, was being used - the DiaCompe Aheadset. After years of service (11, if I'm not mistaken), it threw in the towel. And so the replacement was a Chris King knockoff, that is allegedly manufactured by Cane Creek. It's performance was OK based from my ride this evening. Of course only time will tell if it will be as good as its predecessor.
Now everything is in order, it's time to do more riding. I'm hoping this year brings us more adventures with our bikes.
Cheers!
This afternoon, I visited Hermie, my favorite mechanic in Cartimar, for a good old bike overhaul. It's not as serious as you think. It's just a shifter and brake cable change that cyclists often overlook.
I replaced my seven year-old cables with fresh Armadillo cables that I got from Sam at Ross Cycles - the bike shop right next door. Admittedly these are a bit pricey at P1,000 per set, but the point is one will never know how much improvement this does to an old set-up. I've been religiously lubing my cables almost after every ride but it cannot equal that of a fresh cable change. It especially did wonders on my shifting. What once was turning to be an effort is now smooth and crisp. It was miraculous, if you ask me - a few notches short of the Frankenstein creature.
This year also marked the retirement of the last piece of component from my first bike that, until today, was being used - the DiaCompe Aheadset. After years of service (11, if I'm not mistaken), it threw in the towel. And so the replacement was a Chris King knockoff, that is allegedly manufactured by Cane Creek. It's performance was OK based from my ride this evening. Of course only time will tell if it will be as good as its predecessor.
Now everything is in order, it's time to do more riding. I'm hoping this year brings us more adventures with our bikes.
Cheers!
Comments
i was hoping that maybe you could help me with all your insights as how and where to buy stuff. My goal to get all the parts are until MAY (bday month ko, pinaka-gift ko na sa sarili ko).
So there. Thanks, hope you read this. my email is jongitz@gmail.com
No problem on helping you out with building a new bike. You can contact me at jovanpuyo [at] yahoo [dot] com. You can also join us at the Philippine Cycling Network (The link is there on the right). :)
Cheers!
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Feel free to write a comment or a message. You can also send me an email at jovan [at] bisikleta [dot] ph.