I finally got around to fabricating a mount for my "Eternalight" red flasher - these are apparently rave lights that have been adapted for bicycle use by installing all red LEDs. I suspect this setup is already obsolete with the 3W Dinotte light now available, but at 1/3 the cost I think I'll let this one ride for a while!
The concept was to install an aluminum strap using the holes I had drilled in my Volae carbon seat to mount the HP Velotech headrest. The strap is 1" wide by 1/8" thick by ~10" long and was cut from a 36" piece purchased at Home Depot. I marked and drilled the lower hole centered 1" in from the end of the strap, then did the initial bend on my vice to clear the edge of the seat. I disassembled the headrest and marked the second hole location on the strap using a Sharpie marker, then drilled the second hole.
The second bend was "eyeballed" using the vice and adjusted by trial and error to be about right. Pic 1 shows the result. I used #10 by 32 tpi flat head machine bolts with rubber gasketed washers on both sides and nylok nuts to hold it together. I did have to buy 1" bolts to accomodate the strap and get reasonable engagement of the nuts on the bolts.
I had already mounted "fuzzy" (hook) side Velcro on the Eternalight (supplied by Wildfire in Maine). My previous attempt to mount the light on my large Eurobag failed, leaving unsightly urethane deposits. Sigh! I cleaned the strap surface and mounted loop side Velcro on the strap (pic 2). The assembly looks good (pic 3), although I'll probably rubber-band the light in place for insurance on my first few rides.
The light mount probably only took an hour to fab and install, but much more time was spent thinking about it and buying more parts than I needed "just in case"! I then spent weeks not getting around to doing the work...
Pic 4 shows my sad attempt to repair chain damage to my right fork. The chain popped out of the front idler when the retaining bar mysteriously opened up. It chewed through the iron glimmer powder coat, tough though the coating is. I've used black Rustoleum to preserve the metal. A bummer visually, but no functional harm done. I now check my retention bars on both idlers before every ride.
As a post script, the mount worked well on the Turkeyburn ride - Scott said the light was highly visible from behind, and the velcro seemed to "set up" with time - the light was very firmly attached indeed when I went to pull it loose after the ride. There may be a lighter way to do this, but the set-up looks functional!
I finally got around to doing some long overdue (maybe
Gettting the Q rings on was straightforward, but slow, as I triple checked each step. WedgieFree and Mr. Drew were very helpful in passing along their interpretation of Rotor's sometimes cryptic instructions. The key is getting the initial "mark" correct, based on the point where the first full link of chain is engaged on the large ring when the right side pedal is in the fullest extension position (the "dead" point in your pedal stroke). Here is my large Q ready to be marked:
Counting the teeth to mark the remaining reference points was no problem. Getting the small ring aligned required some eye-balling, but I think I got it pretty close on the first try!
I knew several of my spokes were loose, but it turned out that the wheels were pretty true - so only a "light" truing was needed!
The chain replacement was interesting - I went with the same number of links - clearly the old chain had stretched quite a bit! With the larger rear "granny gear" sprocket I was a little concerned that the derailleur would not handle all possible combinations of gears and that the chain might be too short, but this worked fine.
I did have trouble getting the front derailleur to work properly - had to move the derailleur up to clear the large Q ring, but couldn't seem to get the Shimano 105 to work properly. Finally took it to RacePace, where they got it to work well - on the second try.
The bike looks great and definitely works better with its makeover! I also have gained confidence in doing a lot (if not all) my own work.
And finally, this is the "seldom" seen west end of the WMRT - actually a very nice parking lot with porta-pot is available, but this end is easier to bike to than to drive to!
