New Outside Column! And Other Stuff!

Good morning!

How's everybody doing today?

Well, that's fantastic/sorry to hear that/I don't really need that much information about your bowels/it was a rhetorical question anyway so stop talking to your computer.

Firstly, I've got a new Outside column:

However, the wrong illustration appears to be accompanying it, and it should be this one:

I suppose I could have waited for it to get fixed but I'm the same impatient person who nearly destroyed his frame trying to remove a brake arm rather than wait a few extra minutes for some penetrating oil to kick in so there you go.

Secondly, speaking of the nearly-destroyed frame, I took it and the components that are bolted to it for a nice long test ride yesterday:

It's always wise to test ride a cyclocross bike by riding it deep into the heart of the city instead of finding a dirt trail somewhere.  Also, I've got some concerns about chain retention, as I did drop it on one occasion.  See, this is how I curated the drivetrain:

1) Rummaged around in chainring and cog drawer and extracted one (1) singlespeed cassette cog;

2) Rummaged around in used chain drawer and extracted the least disgusting chain in there;

3) Upon installing chain I discovered it was too narrow to wrap around the cog;

4) Rather than attempt to piece together a new, wider chain I simply removed an appropriately-sized cog from a used 10-speed cassette and used that instead.

Of course singlespeed aficionadoes afficanados dorks know this is risky, since cogs designed to allow chains to move easily from one cog to another still retain that property in the absence of any adjacent cogs, hence any agitation of the chain is liable to mimic the action of a derailleur, thus throwing the chain off the cog and your gentitals onto your top tube.

However, I refuse to buy any new parts, and I'm disinclined to go rummaging in my archives again, so at this point odds are I'll take my chances.  Hey, my chainline is good, so perhaps with sufficient chain tension I'll be good.  (Though I'll throw the bike around some more between now and the day of the event and see what happens.)

And who really needs genitals anyway?

from Bike Snob NYC https://ift.tt/2KV32m8