Nice touting bike and the only thing I would change is to get that innertube promptly off of the rear fender. I might move the headlight from the front luggage rack to the front wheel rack.
So, this might have happened... NBD - 2016 Fuji Touring workhorse
- Thread starter wafter
- Start date
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Nice touting bike and the only thing I would change is to get that innertube promptly off of the rear fender. I might move the headlight from the front luggage rack to the front wheel rack.
lol - thanks, and as you might notice eight pages and many months have elapsed since that first image of the bike as I got it; I guess now's as good a time as any to showcase its progress:
As received:
Current state:
Doesn't look much different really, does it?
All uphill
Still rolling along
- Location
- Somerset
lol - thanks, and as you might notice eight pages and many months have elapsed since that first image of the bike as I got it; I guess now's as good a time as any to showcase its progress:
As received:
View attachment 684053
Current state:
View attachment 684054
Doesn't look much different really, does it?
That's a great bike. You could cycle round the world on that.
It's a big
from me.That's a great bike. You could cycle round the world on that.
It's a big
Thanks - I'm very impressed both in terms of the bike itself and how this particular project has turned out.
I bought it for utility but suspect it'd make a great budget tourer (which of course is what it's intended for)
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Another white-knuckle extravaganza..
After a winter of moderate toil I felt the Fuji deserved a bit of attention. It's generally served me pretty well so far; in my ownership since last August having covered around 740 miles inc. 280-odd utility miles - saving me a heady £30 in petrol. Most importantly there's also the unquantifiable benefits to my mental health of having a reason (and appropriate bike) to ride in conditions I otherwise wouldn't have.
It's not all gravy however and a few problems persist - most obviously its prepensity towards skipping on the smallest sprocket on the cassette; a replacement having been ordered today. In addition the chain's been a bit squeaky - I suspect due to the bike's home in the relatively humid shed. As much as I love chain waxing, it seems that it become less viable in the presence of airbourne moisture.
These, a few other little issues and the bike's increasingly mucky state pushed me to give it some love, now that hopefully the worst of the weather is behind us.
To start, the chain came off and into the wax pan, while the bike got a reasonably convincing wash with a long, soft-bristled brush, before the wheels were removed, the bike inverted and the process repeated to access those hard-to-reach areas I'd inevitably missed. Post wash the frame was towelled dry and left in the house room to dry completely.
Yesterday I carefully applied some phosphoric acid to a few spots or rust in the frame - the worst being a rub spot on the inside of one of the chainstays where the wheel had evidently become loose and skewed in the dropouts.. I'm impressed by how little the exposed bits of the frame have corroded during use over the wet winter - especially those on the underside of the chainstay where the kickstand had previously been very badly fitted
The phosphoric acid seemed to do a great job on the spots of corrosion that were present:
Ultimately I need to get some touch-up paint sorted to address all the damage, however Fuji provide neither paint nor data so I'll have to get some made up from a sample..
While I was poking around the underside of the bike I replaced the rusting, slightly ropey crosshead retaining bolt for the cable guide with a spanky stainless socket button cap, as used elsewhere on the bike:
Other stuff then got in the way, and finishing the job provided a begrudgingly welcome distraction from other stuff going on in my head this morning. The frame and wheels got a good wax and I added some squares of PVC tape in areas of cable rub (evidently forgot about this when I re-cabled it all).
Brake cables were trimmed to a more sensible length and I attempted to seal them with superglue - which appears to have worked so far and should allow them to be retracted through their outers as necessary without any grief. The spring preload on one side of the front brakes was tweaked slightly to address some misalignment once the front wheel was re-fitted and I tweaked a few spokes on the rear to address a slight brake rub at one point on the rim.
Finally the chain went back on and I added a bit of DIY paste wax to the insides of the hooks on the bottom of the pannier bags in an effort to stop them squeaking over bumps.
I needed some stuff from the shops so again this, and the need for a shakedown gave a good excuse to get out for a ride. Feeling somewhat delicate in many aspects I just took it steady, and the odd knobhead at the supermarket notwithstanding I had a really pleasant ride; with the overcast skies giving way to brillant sunshine on the way home.
Obviously until the cassette's replaced the skipping problem persists, but I just stayed out of the bottom gear. The drivetrain was otherwise silky smooth and dead quiet thanks to the freshly-waxed chain; the pannier bags still clattering a little over the bumps but the wax appears to have sorted the squeak - at least for now
Once back in the village I headed out for a few pictures while the bike was clean - yielding nothing too photographically-splendid, but at least giving an idea of the work done.
Clean bits and trimmed, hopefully fray-resistant brake cable:
Tape in the rub spots at the head tube - transparent would have looked better but I'm not paying the extortionate demands for "proper" stuff..
The front end with little single-AA-powered Moon Nova front light. At 80lm not really enough to see where you're going, but good for identification to other road users.. Still need a bell, mind..
Rear tyre, showing wear in a few places through to the blue compound beneath; so that'll want changing soon..
Finally, the bike as it stands..
It's cost me a few quid more than I'd hoped but I'm hoping the spending will end soon.. a new cassette's on order, I'll pick up a couple of tyres once I've found a decent budget-friendly offering and I'm on the lookout for a shorter crankset (these are 175mm, they also came in 170mm) as the front guard has sadly taken a bit of a battering thanks to an appreciable amount of toe overlap..
That's all for now - well done if you made it to the end
After a winter of moderate toil I felt the Fuji deserved a bit of attention. It's generally served me pretty well so far; in my ownership since last August having covered around 740 miles inc. 280-odd utility miles - saving me a heady £30 in petrol. Most importantly there's also the unquantifiable benefits to my mental health of having a reason (and appropriate bike) to ride in conditions I otherwise wouldn't have.
It's not all gravy however and a few problems persist - most obviously its prepensity towards skipping on the smallest sprocket on the cassette; a replacement having been ordered today. In addition the chain's been a bit squeaky - I suspect due to the bike's home in the relatively humid shed. As much as I love chain waxing, it seems that it become less viable in the presence of airbourne moisture.
These, a few other little issues and the bike's increasingly mucky state pushed me to give it some love, now that hopefully the worst of the weather is behind us.
To start, the chain came off and into the wax pan, while the bike got a reasonably convincing wash with a long, soft-bristled brush, before the wheels were removed, the bike inverted and the process repeated to access those hard-to-reach areas I'd inevitably missed. Post wash the frame was towelled dry and left in the house room to dry completely.
Yesterday I carefully applied some phosphoric acid to a few spots or rust in the frame - the worst being a rub spot on the inside of one of the chainstays where the wheel had evidently become loose and skewed in the dropouts.. I'm impressed by how little the exposed bits of the frame have corroded during use over the wet winter - especially those on the underside of the chainstay where the kickstand had previously been very badly fitted
The phosphoric acid seemed to do a great job on the spots of corrosion that were present:
Ultimately I need to get some touch-up paint sorted to address all the damage, however Fuji provide neither paint nor data so I'll have to get some made up from a sample..
While I was poking around the underside of the bike I replaced the rusting, slightly ropey crosshead retaining bolt for the cable guide with a spanky stainless socket button cap, as used elsewhere on the bike:
Other stuff then got in the way, and finishing the job provided a begrudgingly welcome distraction from other stuff going on in my head this morning. The frame and wheels got a good wax and I added some squares of PVC tape in areas of cable rub (evidently forgot about this when I re-cabled it all).
Brake cables were trimmed to a more sensible length and I attempted to seal them with superglue - which appears to have worked so far and should allow them to be retracted through their outers as necessary without any grief. The spring preload on one side of the front brakes was tweaked slightly to address some misalignment once the front wheel was re-fitted and I tweaked a few spokes on the rear to address a slight brake rub at one point on the rim.
Finally the chain went back on and I added a bit of DIY paste wax to the insides of the hooks on the bottom of the pannier bags in an effort to stop them squeaking over bumps.
I needed some stuff from the shops so again this, and the need for a shakedown gave a good excuse to get out for a ride. Feeling somewhat delicate in many aspects I just took it steady, and the odd knobhead at the supermarket notwithstanding I had a really pleasant ride; with the overcast skies giving way to brillant sunshine on the way home.
Obviously until the cassette's replaced the skipping problem persists, but I just stayed out of the bottom gear. The drivetrain was otherwise silky smooth and dead quiet thanks to the freshly-waxed chain; the pannier bags still clattering a little over the bumps but the wax appears to have sorted the squeak - at least for now
Once back in the village I headed out for a few pictures while the bike was clean - yielding nothing too photographically-splendid, but at least giving an idea of the work done.
Clean bits and trimmed, hopefully fray-resistant brake cable:
Tape in the rub spots at the head tube - transparent would have looked better but I'm not paying the extortionate demands for "proper" stuff..
The front end with little single-AA-powered Moon Nova front light. At 80lm not really enough to see where you're going, but good for identification to other road users.. Still need a bell, mind..
Rear tyre, showing wear in a few places through to the blue compound beneath; so that'll want changing soon..
Finally, the bike as it stands..
It's cost me a few quid more than I'd hoped but I'm hoping the spending will end soon.. a new cassette's on order, I'll pick up a couple of tyres once I've found a decent budget-friendly offering and I'm on the lookout for a shorter crankset (these are 175mm, they also came in 170mm) as the front guard has sadly taken a bit of a battering thanks to an appreciable amount of toe overlap..
That's all for now - well done if you made it to the end
Rightly or wrongly, I seem to recall from my time playing with cars that many primers are permeable / hygroscopic, so could potentially make the situation worse..
You’re overthinking it, must be better than bare metal
Of course I'm overthinking it
A quick tickling of Google suggests you might be right and that I was either mistaken / taken in by an urban myth / looking at something for a specific product. Time to start looking at primers then, I guess!
Today the postie delivered my new cassette; purchased as a replacement for the existing one due to the chain skipping constantly on the 11t sprocket.
As much as I generally hate everything in the world, I was again impressed by Shimano's newer-style packaging - both in terms of its minimalist aesthetic and apparent sustainability credentials; looking both recycled and largely recycleable; with minimal, "look at our website" instructions
The bike was recovered from the shed, inverted, chain split, brakes disengaged (6 turns on the still-novelly-lovely Avid inline adjustors allowing the noodle to be released from its bracket) and wheel removed.
I was struck by how "Early Learning Centre" some of my tools looked in their bright, contrasting primary colours - which is probably appropriate for my level of expertise..
The cassette was quickly off and I decided to compare old and new before fitting the replacement - the coloration on the old one (LHS) is the moly-impregnated wax I run on the chain:
I was slightly disappointed to find that the largest seven sprockets are effectively rivetted together; reducing the liklihood of being able to replace individual sprockets as they wear. The smallest two sprockets however are free, so I took the opportunity to compare old and new; with surprisingly little obvious difference:
Investigating further revealed a lot of apparently very moly-heavy wax packed into the spaces between the teeth and the recess behind them on the used sprocket:
I think we can all see where this is going... I cleaned off the chunks of accumulated wax from this most affected sprocket with a wooden pick and toothbrush, while the rest of the cassette was chucked in the oven for a bit on a low heat then cleaned with a cloth and toothbrush:
Evidently it seems that the wax has been accumulating on the cassette (especially the smallest 11t sprocket), lifting the chain our of the channels between the teeth and causing it to skip.
I was slightly concerned that this might have caused excessive wear to the sprocket and there are some burrs present on some teeth; however while burrs are present on the drive-faces there are also some in areas that the chain rollers would never contact (such as the top of the tooth to the right of that labelled "NC" in the image of the 11t sprocket above) so I think these are from manufacture rather than use. Besides, it'd probably take a lot more force than I can exert to plastically deform that teeth in these areas..
All back together again and I went out for a quick blast round the village; the cassette performing flawlessly (at least from a skipping perspective) despite grinding up a short hill as best I could in the highest gear. Previously it'd skip repeatedly at high cadence and minimal load on the flat..
As much as I love it, it appears the wax is to blame. This seems slightly odd as I'd covered about 700 miles on this bike before this problem occurred; while my Genesis has done 4.5k miles without any similar occurrances. I think it has to be down to one or both of two factors:
Wax consistency: I've recently added more paraffin oil to the mix in an effort to make the wax softer / less brittle, stick better and hence give more corrosion resistance. Maybe this is causing the buildup.
Excessive waxing: The chain on the fuji seems to have an irritating squeak; which I've tried unsuccessfully to sort with repeated re-waxings. This means the chain's been waxed far more regularly than the usual 300-350 mile intervals; potentially causing more buildup.
In addition it seems that the deposits on the sprocket were very moly-heavy; suggesting that the wax had been forced from between the chain and sprocket under load but the moly and the lesser amount of remaining wax had compacted down to form something far more compression-resistant that wax alone.
Since I like the idea of the softer wax from an adherance perspective I think I'll split the existing wax cake in the pan in half and add the same mass again of raw wax / oil mix to cut the moly content in two. I could also pull the chain from the pan at a higher temp during waxing; meaning the wax is more mobile and less likely to accumulate so much on the outside of the chain (which I suspect is where most of the excess on the cassette has come from).
I've not had enough time on the bike to see if the shifting has been affected, but I guess it's not outside the bounds of reason that the ghost-shifting I was experiencing might also be down to excessive wax on the cassette. I think I might have cleaned and waxed it before riding it a much, so I can't say whether it was present beforehand or not.. chances are the issue probably remains as the chain's had maybe 4-5 waxes in the time I've had the bike and it would obviously take a while for the wax to buildup.
I also eyeballed the RD / hanger while the wheel was off, and if anything it seems kinked outwards at the bottom (i.e the opposite way you'd expect it to bend if dropped on the drive side). Yes, for the fifteenth time I need to pull my finger out and make an alignment tool..
Ultimately today's escapade has been no big deal providing no damage has been done; I've learned something while the modest money spent on the new cassette's not wasted as I'd intended to get one in the bank anyway.. so that can go in the spares box.
In other news I took a better shot of some of the wear on the rear tyre - definitely needs replacing but I reckon I'll get a few more miles out of it yet while I fanny about trying to sort another; which is good as I'm still waiting on a supplier to answer some questions about potential replacements..
It would have been quite nice to have got out for a waft today; however I'm feeling somewhat sub-human again and I'm less keen on the sporadic spring rain currently happening outside.. so maybe I'll just stay inside and drink beer instead.
EDIT: Got out after all; bike behaved itself and the skipping issue seems sorted
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I elected to ride to some mates' this afternoon, and decided to pop to the farm shop beforehand.
The bike didn't feel quite right; with a slight crabbing to one side at the rear while coasting on smoother sections of downhill. For once my monkey brain took notice of its lizard subordinate and made me investigate when I got home.
The rear tyre's nearly dead through wear and I was aware there was a bit of delamination near the rim; however it seems that the ply at the sidewall has started to fail in one section; causing it to bulge. Nope.
I've ordered a pair of replacement Conti Ride Tours but they won't be here until next week. The bike likes 32s (nothing larger will comfortably get past the mudguard at the chainstays when fitting the rear wheel), while the limited selction of rubber I had free was all too big / too small / generally unsuitable.
I moved the front tyre to the rear rim as intended when the new ones arrive. The front got a 40c GBL hybrid tyre and its tube - one I'd found on the cheapo scrapper that donated its rims, and for a while saddle to my pub-beater Routier. After pulling the lower / rear portion of the mudguard out on its stays a little the tyre cleared fine.
The GBL did well; allowing an uneventful journey. However, these have no puncture protection and in any case I don't really want mis-matched tyres; one reason being that this would prevent the ability to swap them front to back as the rears wear out. Once the new tyres arrive I'll get one fitted to the front and move the GBLs on..
Oh, as a reminder I also found that the front hub felt somewhat rough as I was spinning the wheel to check tyre alignment; so I suspect that'll want stripping and rebuilding when I do the tyre.. never ends, does it?
The bike didn't feel quite right; with a slight crabbing to one side at the rear while coasting on smoother sections of downhill. For once my monkey brain took notice of its lizard subordinate and made me investigate when I got home.
The rear tyre's nearly dead through wear and I was aware there was a bit of delamination near the rim; however it seems that the ply at the sidewall has started to fail in one section; causing it to bulge. Nope.
I've ordered a pair of replacement Conti Ride Tours but they won't be here until next week. The bike likes 32s (nothing larger will comfortably get past the mudguard at the chainstays when fitting the rear wheel), while the limited selction of rubber I had free was all too big / too small / generally unsuitable.
I moved the front tyre to the rear rim as intended when the new ones arrive. The front got a 40c GBL hybrid tyre and its tube - one I'd found on the cheapo scrapper that donated its rims, and for a while saddle to my pub-beater Routier. After pulling the lower / rear portion of the mudguard out on its stays a little the tyre cleared fine.
The GBL did well; allowing an uneventful journey. However, these have no puncture protection and in any case I don't really want mis-matched tyres; one reason being that this would prevent the ability to swap them front to back as the rears wear out. Once the new tyres arrive I'll get one fitted to the front and move the GBLs on..
Oh, as a reminder I also found that the front hub felt somewhat rough as I was spinning the wheel to check tyre alignment; so I suspect that'll want stripping and rebuilding when I do the tyre.. never ends, does it?
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New tyres turned up today; my having elected to go with some Conti Tour Ride as they were cheap and I've had good experiences with the brand in the past.
As usual they were mercilessly contorted and bound to appease the postage overlords, but sprang back to somewhere near once released and left in the sun for a bit. The example I elected to fit went onto the front wheel easily without the need for levers. Upon first inflation spinning the wheel revealed the centre tread to be snaking all over the place, however after depressurising, applying some synthetic grease around the bead and re-inflating it seated nicely; with little axial runout and only one slight radial high spot at the valve, as often happens.
Disappointingly, despite being listed as 32-622 / 700x32c the tyres came up at little more than 28mm wide on my 19mm rims; around 12% less than they should be. I'm hoping that this won't impact ride quality too much but I'd rather have something closer to the 32mm stated by the tyre's dims.
Tread on the tyres is pretty deep / pronounced at around 2.25mm depth in the centre. They apparently have some form of puncture protection, however this appears to be something different to the usual thick rubber puncture protection layer in the centre of the tyre as it seems pretty thin beneath the treaded section.
I guess time will tell how they perform..
In other news the front hub continues (unsurprisingly) to feel really nasty - draggy and gritty with the odd patch where it really picks up with the wheel spinning; trying to twist the axle in the fingers.
Unfortunately I need a 13mm cone spanner to strip (or more correctly reassemble) the hub; and my last foray into this market left me paralised with indecision and I eventually bodged the hub right without any specialist tools. I want the bike back on the road with a properly cleaned and setup hub, so I've pushed myself to order a couple of Park Tool double-ended cone spanners (13/14mm and 15/16mm, to cover all such eventualities as I'm not sure what size the flats on the axles of my other bikes are).
These probably won't be here until Monday however, so there will be no utility ride this weekend and if I want a leisure ride I might dust off the Genesis. Hopefully when I do get the hub apart it'll just need a good clean and re-grease however I'll have to wait and see what I find inside..
As usual they were mercilessly contorted and bound to appease the postage overlords, but sprang back to somewhere near once released and left in the sun for a bit. The example I elected to fit went onto the front wheel easily without the need for levers. Upon first inflation spinning the wheel revealed the centre tread to be snaking all over the place, however after depressurising, applying some synthetic grease around the bead and re-inflating it seated nicely; with little axial runout and only one slight radial high spot at the valve, as often happens.
Disappointingly, despite being listed as 32-622 / 700x32c the tyres came up at little more than 28mm wide on my 19mm rims; around 12% less than they should be. I'm hoping that this won't impact ride quality too much but I'd rather have something closer to the 32mm stated by the tyre's dims.
Tread on the tyres is pretty deep / pronounced at around 2.25mm depth in the centre. They apparently have some form of puncture protection, however this appears to be something different to the usual thick rubber puncture protection layer in the centre of the tyre as it seems pretty thin beneath the treaded section.
I guess time will tell how they perform..
In other news the front hub continues (unsurprisingly) to feel really nasty - draggy and gritty with the odd patch where it really picks up with the wheel spinning; trying to twist the axle in the fingers.
Unfortunately I need a 13mm cone spanner to strip (or more correctly reassemble) the hub; and my last foray into this market left me paralised with indecision and I eventually bodged the hub right without any specialist tools. I want the bike back on the road with a properly cleaned and setup hub, so I've pushed myself to order a couple of Park Tool double-ended cone spanners (13/14mm and 15/16mm, to cover all such eventualities as I'm not sure what size the flats on the axles of my other bikes are).
These probably won't be here until Monday however, so there will be no utility ride this weekend and if I want a leisure ride I might dust off the Genesis. Hopefully when I do get the hub apart it'll just need a good clean and re-grease however I'll have to wait and see what I find inside..
After decades of using a pair of double ended multiple sized stubby cone spanners (stepped 13/14/17mm one end, 15/16mm the other) not dissimilar to the Park Tools DCW series, I, on a whim, ordered a pair of cheap but "proper" (long gripped handle, single size) cone spanners in 13mm and 15mm from Wiggle. I even bought a 15mm pedal spanner at the same time which is identical but with a longer handle (just in case I might have been tempted to use the cone spanner on a stubborn pedal and chew it up). Only a few quid and I haven't regretted it - I certainly am glad of them when re-greasing my hub bearings. They do the job, offering greater comfort and ease of use than the stubbies.
lol - thanks for completely torpedoing my decisiveness
Tbh as much as I'm usually happy to spend more on higher-end kit, after an uncharacteristically short period of thought I justified the choice of the DCWs on the basis that:
- The fittings on the axle shouldn't need a lot of torque
- I shouldn't be using the spanners particularly regularly
- The two of these spanners that serve 13-16mm nuts will take up far less space than four larger, single-size tools
- These two cost me about £15 total, whereas the equivalent single-ended stuff from park would have been £40-50.
I appreciate that there are other decent brands out there (I'm not a Park brand whore and as a rule view them with the same skepticism as self-proclaimed premium brands like Snap On), however I think you can trust them to be decent quality of not always great value.
I guess we'll find out how regrettable my decision was when they get here!
- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
Of course I'm overthinking it
A quick tickling of Google suggests you might be right and that I was either mistaken / taken in by an urban myth / looking at something for a specific product. Time to start looking at primers then, I guess!
Today the postie delivered my new cassette; purchased as a replacement for the existing one due to the chain skipping constantly on the 11t sprocket.
As much as I generally hate everything in the world, I was again impressed by Shimano's newer-style packaging - both in terms of its minimalist aesthetic and apparent sustainability credentials; looking both recycled and largely recycleable; with minimal, "look at our website" instructions
View attachment 688346
The bike was recovered from the shed, inverted, chain split, brakes disengaged (6 turns on the still-novelly-lovely Avid inline adjustors allowing the noodle to be released from its bracket) and wheel removed.
I was struck by how "Early Learning Centre" some of my tools looked in their bright, contrasting primary colours - which is probably appropriate for my level of expertise..
View attachment 688347
The cassette was quickly off and I decided to compare old and new before fitting the replacement - the coloration on the old one (LHS) is the moly-impregnated wax I run on the chain:
View attachment 688348
I was slightly disappointed to find that the largest seven sprockets are effectively rivetted together; reducing the liklihood of being able to replace individual sprockets as they wear. The smallest two sprockets however are free, so I took the opportunity to compare old and new; with surprisingly little obvious difference:
View attachment 688349
Investigating further revealed a lot of apparently very moly-heavy wax packed into the spaces between the teeth and the recess behind them on the used sprocket:
View attachment 688355
View attachment 688356
I think we can all see where this is going... I cleaned off the chunks of accumulated wax from this most affected sprocket with a wooden pick and toothbrush, while the rest of the cassette was chucked in the oven for a bit on a low heat then cleaned with a cloth and toothbrush:
View attachment 688357
View attachment 688358
Evidently it seems that the wax has been accumulating on the cassette (especially the smallest 11t sprocket), lifting the chain our of the channels between the teeth and causing it to skip.
I was slightly concerned that this might have caused excessive wear to the sprocket and there are some burrs present on some teeth; however while burrs are present on the drive-faces there are also some in areas that the chain rollers would never contact (such as the top of the tooth to the right of that labelled "NC" in the image of the 11t sprocket above) so I think these are from manufacture rather than use. Besides, it'd probably take a lot more force than I can exert to plastically deform that teeth in these areas..
All back together again and I went out for a quick blast round the village; the cassette performing flawlessly (at least from a skipping perspective) despite grinding up a short hill as best I could in the highest gear. Previously it'd skip repeatedly at high cadence and minimal load on the flat..
As much as I love it, it appears the wax is to blame. This seems slightly odd as I'd covered about 700 miles on this bike before this problem occurred; while my Genesis has done 4.5k miles without any similar occurrances. I think it has to be down to one or both of two factors:
Wax consistency: I've recently added more paraffin oil to the mix in an effort to make the wax softer / less brittle, stick better and hence give more corrosion resistance. Maybe this is causing the buildup.
Excessive waxing: The chain on the fuji seems to have an irritating squeak; which I've tried unsuccessfully to sort with repeated re-waxings. This means the chain's been waxed far more regularly than the usual 300-350 mile intervals; potentially causing more buildup.
In addition it seems that the deposits on the sprocket were very moly-heavy; suggesting that the wax had been forced from between the chain and sprocket under load but the moly and the lesser amount of remaining wax had compacted down to form something far more compression-resistant that wax alone.
Since I like the idea of the softer wax from an adherance perspective I think I'll split the existing wax cake in the pan in half and add the same mass again of raw wax / oil mix to cut the moly content in two. I could also pull the chain from the pan at a higher temp during waxing; meaning the wax is more mobile and less likely to accumulate so much on the outside of the chain (which I suspect is where most of the excess on the cassette has come from).
I've not had enough time on the bike to see if the shifting has been affected, but I guess it's not outside the bounds of reason that the ghost-shifting I was experiencing might also be down to excessive wax on the cassette. I think I might have cleaned and waxed it before riding it a much, so I can't say whether it was present beforehand or not.. chances are the issue probably remains as the chain's had maybe 4-5 waxes in the time I've had the bike and it would obviously take a while for the wax to buildup.
I also eyeballed the RD / hanger while the wheel was off, and if anything it seems kinked outwards at the bottom (i.e the opposite way you'd expect it to bend if dropped on the drive side). Yes, for the fifteenth time I need to pull my finger out and make an alignment tool..
Ultimately today's escapade has been no big deal providing no damage has been done; I've learned something while the modest money spent on the new cassette's not wasted as I'd intended to get one in the bank anyway.. so that can go in the spares box.
In other news I took a better shot of some of the wear on the rear tyre - definitely needs replacing but I reckon I'll get a few more miles out of it yet while I fanny about trying to sort another; which is good as I'm still waiting on a supplier to answer some questions about potential replacements..
View attachment 688359
It would have been quite nice to have got out for a waft today; however I'm feeling somewhat sub-human again and I'm less keen on the sporadic spring rain currently happening outside.. so maybe I'll just stay inside and drink beer instead.
EDIT: Got out after all; bike behaved itself and the skipping issue seems sorted
You have a very clear and easily understood writing style.
