This is my new riding buddy and life coach, Alt Road Overshort:
[From MAAP, I guess…?]
You can tell that he has an inner power, and I do everything he says. But we don’t have time for him right now. Nor do we have time to address the various reasons why this guy might be putting sand down the back of his own shirt:
Why? Because when I start something I finish it–quickly, and in a half-assed way. And as you know I recently started overhauling the ‘Noner. Here’s how it looked when I returned to it today:
Tearing the old crap off a bike can feel onerous and demoralizing, but from here it was all putting new stuff on, and so I was filled with optimism–but not enough to strip the bars of their old residue. See, this is not that kind of restoration, and I am not that kind of person:
Also note I went for behind-the-bar shifter cable routing, which I already wonder if I may regret.
But at least I took the time to file and poke the cable housing ends:
And everything looked pretty tidy when I was done:
I’d give myself at least a B- in cable management.
Then I installed the new chain, and before cutting the cable ends tested to see if everything worked:
Everything seemed to work:
Between my own ineptitude and the condition of the equipment when I received the bike, this seemed nothing short of miraculous:
After I’d made the usual adjustments and was satisfied I’d be able to shift, I trimmed the cables, and finally I wrapped the bars, which after a full overhaul (or at least the half-assed process i consider a full overhaul) often feels like bandaging a patient:
With the cables cut and crimped, the bars wrapped, the shifters re-hooded, and all fasteners checked, it was time to ride it up and down the street to see if it would fall apart:
It did not fall apart.
Off to take it for an actual ride now. If you don’t hear from me in a week send help.
