Sweet. Athena is all done and ready for North Carolina. I spent the afternoon "learning" how to "wrench". Now what did I truly retain you ask? Well. . . . . .
I'm fairly confident I can put a new chain on all by myself. Yes, I understand this is a "basic" wrenching item, but keep in mind there are a number of people (granted, mostly girls) who can't even change a tire. SO. . . . . .changing a chain is pretty good I'm thinkin'.
I'm also fairly confident I can change my own cables & housing again. I may need a little guidance, but if I can take it apart I'm pretty sure I can change it.
I KNOW I can put my own brake pads in (disc brakes mind you). In fact we left the old ones on the rear since they weren't totally shot. I'll change those out after NC. I'm gonna be OK on that one without being supervised (I think).
Shifting. . . . . .well, if you take my derailleur off I think I'm screwed. I'm not certain I can reposition it myself, but I can at least give it a good shot. I should be able to adjust the shifting after putting the new cables on however.
And that's what I learned today. It was good bonding time with Athena and for the most part I kept my cool and had lots of patience. It was actually a little FUN to learn. I just hope I can retain. No offense to women, but I am a "girl". Some of us truly have a tough time retaining this "bike crap".
Sweet. I hope that puts me a notch up on the "coolness" factor. Cuz it's all about being "cool". Is a girl who can "kind of" wrench cool? Or is she just a wanna be? I don't know and I'm not sure I care. If I get stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a mechanical while on a ride. . . . . . .at least I know there's a pretty good chance I'm gonna get home.
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6 comments:
How cool would it be to have a girlfriend that could fix your bike!
Way.
YEAH YOU!
way to go!
i didn't know wrenching was cool. i mean, try going in a nice store with grease all stuck under your fingernails and see how they treat you... yeah. maybe it's just that i should get dark nailpolish to hide it.
keep it up though, practice will make you faster and more confident! and don't sweat hanging derailleurs- it's unlikely you'll ever have to do that on a trail.
Great now you can fix my bike too! Ha Ha just kidding.
i'll second what julie said, definitely keep practicing! i used to wrench for SRAM at the events and i could cable a bike and adjust with my eyes closed.
Nice! Soon you'll be tearing your bike down after every mud race for a refreshening.
Tip, surgical gloves go a long way in in keeping your hands clean.
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