Passage Refit Part VIII stumbling toward the finish

I mentioned at the beginning of the last post that I had done a shakedown ride of the Passage and it had been rather short, more on that in a bit but first to continue the thread of refitting the bike.  On Thursday I had resolved to do the drive -train and brake cabling and since I felt like I needed a refresher I went over a very good article on cabling by Saint Sheldon the Brown.  Thus informed I cabled up the brakes as you can see above.

Before running the shift cables I wanted to set up the chain, and little did I know this would turn into a Goldilocks experience.  I had purchased a Wipperman nickel chain a while back with what I assumed was a standard master link but instead I got the link pictured above.  And despite reading the directions and fiddling with it I could not get it "just snap on" so after bagging the Wipperman chain up for later use I grabbed another chain in box -too weird.

After removing the second chain from its packaging I realized it was a chain pin connector type, hmm I had moved away from this kind of connector years ago and didn't know I had any left but well lets give it a try.  After about 10 minutes of frustration I clearly remembered that I HATE these effing pin connectors!!!! So I tossed it in the recycling and took a deep breath or two - too aggravating!

And finally I reached for the SRAM 8 speed chain with a normal quick link master link.  It was on the bike in minutes - Just right!  Next time I will just start with the SRAM.  With the chain taken care of I ran the cables for the down tube shifters and got them snugged up.

One thing about running the rear derailleur cable is that I can use the new step down ferrule that I just bought that goes from 5mm to 4mm and I thought would be useful on older bikes

I had first seen them on the Velo Orange site but they wanted to sell them one at a time which is an expensive way to go so I found them elsewhere by the bottle.  I had that bottle knocking around for weeks except now that I actually wanted to use one I could not for the life of me find it!!! really!?  So I said screw it and did the cabling with out the benefit of a ferrule on the chain stay braze on.

All this fussing with cables, chains and lost ferrules was giving me a literal crick in the neck and driving me to drink.  So I poured a glass of Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale, in addition to tasting good the brewery donates a portion of its proceeds to Jazz education, which as a former High School Band Geek I can appreciate.  After this libation time out, I got back to it with some accessories.

It is almost a crime not to use the frame pump peg on the Passage but the the Lezyne pump was less expensive then a frame pump and I have used one for years on the Handsome Devil and it works great.

And no old steel bike is complete for me without a bell so on goes a nice Crane brass one.

As a stop gap I am using this old Banjo Brothers Minnehaha Canvas Barrel Saddle bag that was on the Handsome Devil for a few years but has been on the shelf for a while.  I need to be able to haul tools and spare tubes etc. and for now and this bag fits the bill.  I do have a front rack on order that is identical to the one on the HD so that in theory I can just swap the Baggins trunk bag and its contents from bike to bike depending on which one I am riding.

And by days end on Thursday things were looking pretty complete.  I like to hold off on bar tape until the bike is dialed in so I don't get it all greasy or worse I have to undo it if the cabling ends up needing attention after a few rides.

And so Friday dawned and rather than take a ride around the block first I loaded up the Passage on the bike rack anxious and optimistic to take it on a longer ride on the Alki trail.

Shake down about to commence

I had not gone far when the back wheel started to slip as if I was riding over an oil slick, or ice or loose sand.  Hmm that shouldn't be happening, I dismount and walk the bike back to where the car is parked.  I stop and on impulse grasp the rear wheel near TDC and gently move it side to side.  It moves -much more than it should which explains the slipping but why!!?

re-enactment of the rear wheel test

As I am walking my mind is racing with reasons that rear wheel is slipping:

• could it be the free wheel, some people have complained about the IRD Defiant free wheels
• is the spacing from nut to nut on the axle different from what it was on the original 40 spoke rear wheel causing slop?
• Could it be the bearings aren't tightened right - nah I just did them -right?
• If a fix eludes me in the short term I could try the original rear wheel (not rebuilt yet) or use the spare wheel set I have for the HD with a not so fat set of tires for the ride on the 29th
• Did I leave the porch light on...?  Wait what?  back to bikes slacker!

Well for today (Friday) I need to get a long ride in so I drive back home swap for the HD and get a 20km ride in.  I have other things to tend to on Friday and Saturday and frankly I need to take some time away from this project.  On Sunday morning I remove the rear wheel and start checking for slop.  I get the quick release and FW off and when I check the tension on the bearings I realize the Mook who serviced them a few days ago didn't tighten the bearings like he should have.  I reassemble everything and now the rear wheel does NOT move back and forth so I take the Passage down for a test ride in the alley.  In the short sample -no more slippage..hoorah! I do notice that the rear derailleur cable housing is not staying put due to its lack of ferrule which is adversely affecting shifting.

Since its Farmers Market day I make a stop at the LBS to see if they have a step down ferrule and while I am at it pick up some shift cable crimps, I have about a hundred brake cable crimps but none for the shift cables.  The bike shop wrench finds what I need but waves away my inquiry about payment, I say "how about a beer?" he declines saying he's more of a cider guy.

My next stop is the Beer junction so as I order my traditional Sunday sipping beer I ask the bar man for a cider recommendation.  After hanging out for a bit and enjoying my selection, a wee glass of Old Rasputin Imperial Stout,  I head back across the street to drop off the "payment" at the bike shop, after all no good deed should go unpunished.

Old Rasputin Imperial Stout

The plan now is to redo the rear derailleur cable with ferrule this evening or in the morning and then do Shake Down part Duex Monday and hope it goes better than round one.  Here's to Riding.Smiling and (fingers crossed) Repeating.