Maintenance and Repair

Schwalbe Marathon Racer





Time for New Tires



Need Mirror and Grips 




New Marathon Racer



New Mirrycle Mirror and Grips

New Sram 970 cassette and KMC Z 9 Chain

It has been a great cycling year with a record 5354 miles.  Add Bike Florida with 3 days of rain and it has taken it's toll on parts.  Time to change out some basic components like chain, cassette, mirror, grips and tires.  Some cables and housing were done on BikeFL.  I had received the parts ordered and decided to make repairs on Tuesday.  It was a beautiful day and I wanted to get things done quickly.  I got a 35 mile ride in to see how things faired.  At first everything was great.  Then about 1 mile into the ride I noticed problems with the 4th gear.  It was not smooth and tended to slip and skip.  I made frequent adjustments on the ride, but, just couldn't fix it.  I decided to wait until I got home and could place it on my stand.  No matter how hard I tried, the problem remained.  I decided to put back the old cassette and low and behold the problem was gone.  I realized my new Sram 970 cassette had a defective 4th cog.  I boxed and returned to seller at no charge.  I am now looking for a new cassette.
I have been a big fan of my inexpensive Tioga Comp Pool Tires.  Unfortunately, they are no longer manufactured.  I did much research and finally called UtahTrikes and asked their opinion.  They recommended the Scwalbe Marathon Racer.  They also run a perpetual sale on these tires at $25.  I am quite pleased with the ride quality and I feel no difference than with my old Tioga tires.
I am also looking into changing the drivechain to Sram 1:1 Actuation as it is smoother shifting with little maintenance.
KEEP RIDING!!!