This is a tale of my daily rider and a necessary mod I performed on it this afternoon.
First, the machine itself. Perfect rat-cycle for the urban jungle. Count the cable ties, marvel at the shim on the seatpost made from a Diet Coke can and bow down before the luggage carrier made from a freezer basket! Don't miss the mismatched wheels!
I've never got the brakes right on this bike. It's home-converted to V-brakes from calipers and the wire snagged on the mudguard at the front, meaning that front braking effort went to bending mudguard as much as braking. My solution, modify the mudguard by creating a channel for the wire to pass through.
First, make a former for the mudguard by clamping a bit of tube in the vice. The mudguard goes on the former and the channel is formed with an offcut of tube heated with a soldering iron.
A few minutes later and there's my channel. Tidy it up with a file, spray paint it and here we are.
Put it back on the bike...
Result, no mudguard bending, better brakes!
First, the machine itself. Perfect rat-cycle for the urban jungle. Count the cable ties, marvel at the shim on the seatpost made from a Diet Coke can and bow down before the luggage carrier made from a freezer basket! Don't miss the mismatched wheels!
I've never got the brakes right on this bike. It's home-converted to V-brakes from calipers and the wire snagged on the mudguard at the front, meaning that front braking effort went to bending mudguard as much as braking. My solution, modify the mudguard by creating a channel for the wire to pass through.
First, make a former for the mudguard by clamping a bit of tube in the vice. The mudguard goes on the former and the channel is formed with an offcut of tube heated with a soldering iron.
A few minutes later and there's my channel. Tidy it up with a file, spray paint it and here we are.
Put it back on the bike...
Result, no mudguard bending, better brakes!
