Allez Refurb: Cables, Chain and Test Ride(s)

Saturday evening I decided to run the brake cables and chain so I would be in position, in theory, to finish up on Sunday.

I ran into an issue almost immediately as the front brake cable frayed on me rendering it useless, however, I had a length of brake cable in my stash that fit the bill.

Front brake run

Rear cable run 

After running the brake cables and housing I realized the front brake pivot where I had replaced a missing nut was still a bit loose and making the brake flex, so I removed the brake and got that fixed.

I had a Connex nickel chain I had intended for the Moto_GT but the stupid Connex quick link (above lower) was so baffling that I abandoned that chain and used a SRAM instead.  In the meantime I had bought some spare SRAM/KMC style quick links (above upper) and I used one of those with the Connex chain and ...

..Bingo I was in business, I eneded up taking out a link for fit but I finished Saturday with brake cabling and chain done.

I had a brief moment of panic this morning when I thought I had been sent two packs of brake cables and no shift, then I realized the packaging was generic and looking closely at the bar code I did indeed have a set of each, whew.

Once again I enjoyed the rotation feature of the Park work stand which made accessing the under BB cable guides a breeze.  Velo Orange was even nice enough to have sent pre cut shift housing lengths so I just used what they sent.  I didn't even have to spend an inordinate amount of time getting the Indexed shifting to work, using the same Park tools video I used for the Schwinn Le Tour back in June.

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And then I was ready for my first test ride, yes first. Brakes and rear shifting were fine but about a block from home the front derailleur cable came loose so I decided just to walk back, but I failed to secure the loose FD cable and it got frayed and I had to cut it short enough that I couldn't use it.  I really hate self inflicted wounds.  I also noticed that my newly finished rear wheel had a loose axle, when I moved the wheel laterally in the chain stays, sigh.  I decided it was time for a break to recover some zen.

It was a gorgeous day for a ride to the farmers market.

I forgot to specify my normal 4 oz pour and was forced to drink an entire pint!  It was 80 degrees out so I couldn't complain.  Ham the Yuge IPA from Single Hill brewing in Yakima WA.

I opted to ride the steady and worry free Handsome devil.

I swapped the Sneaker MKS pedals that had been on the Novara Randonee onto the HD, it was about time it got my favorite pedals.

While out running errands I stopped at my LBS, Alki Bike & Board, and got a replacement shift cable.  I had already snugged up the cone nut on the rear axle and got the slop out of the rear hub.  Thankfully my second test ride was uneventful, and everything worked as it should.  Since I had spent a good portion of the weekend on the Allez I decided to spend the rest of Sunday relaxing.  Tomorrow I will clip and cap the cables, maybe snug the brakes a bit more and add the final touch, yellow bar tape, before posting to Craigslist.

Ride. Know when to walk away and have a beer. Smile. Repeat.