| # |
Event(s)
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Lasting effects and consequences
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| 1. |
Survived a crash at barely-creeping speed, when
a maladjusted derailleur decided it was time to acquaint
itself with the spokes in the rear wheel.
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On finding out that the spokes survived
intact, acquired a new derailleur of the same weak
build.
|
| 2. |
Survived severe overloading on the already-
overloaded rear wheel on several occassions, before
I wised up some, though not by much. After all, what
good is a bike, if you cannot overload it now and then?
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Public shame, when I had to push the
bike up even the slightest of inclines. Just what the public
needs to reaffirm its fear, uncertainty and doubts (the
FUD causes) about the
recumbents.
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| 3. |
Survived upgrade to
a Sachs Orbit rear hub with drum
brake and trueing of the rear wheel, plus what subsequently
proved to be Eternal
Gear Adjustment undertaken in
1993 by Torsten Lif.
|
Four years on, the Orbit
works just fine; the rear wheel is now again out of true,
albeit in an entirely different plane (I think), and the
gears are doing their clikcety- clickety-
clack . . . shifting up and down no-brain-
fashion, as seen on TV!
|
| 4. |
Dental Work:
exchanged the single chainwheel for one with 4 less
teeth.
|
Proved to do wonders to my ability to scale up
a short, but steep street near the top of which
I live.
|
| 5. |
Survived being admired MOUTHS-AGAPE-
style, and then test-sat upon by everyone in turn in my daughter
Adina's pre-teen school class, when I decided to raise the
status of my offspring in the eyes of her classmates by appearing
there with the way cool bike in
tow.
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Difficult to measure, but definitely t h e r e.
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| 6. |
Survived attack by a fork-lift or some
other mechanical elephant during rail transport from
Stockholm to Bergen.
|
Squashed front wheel and lamp exchanged for
new ones in a Bergen bike shop and paid for by the
Norwegian State Railways. Travelmates seriously irritated
on account of delays though.
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| 7. |
Broke down immediately afterwards due to
a bent[sic!] rear dropout, that should have been fixed
first to begin with. Paid a visit to the same bike shop
in Bergen the next day, and managed to convince the staff,
that the best way to get rid of me was to fix it.
WHILE I WAIT.
|
Fixed. Never any more trouble from that
particular part. Reaffirmed my conviction in the power of
having high nuisance value .
|
| 8. |
Survived the Norwegian Alps.
For two days I basically pushed the loaded bike up a slope,
coasted down at speed, and then again pushed it up. This
LWB bike is definitely not suited for any hilly terrain,
much less for the Sound of Music country, where
I was. My lowest 33 gearinches proved
grossly inadequate, too high
by a factor of 2.
|
Went back home after a couple of days,
swore never to attempt that with the
Roulandt again. Rethought my intended uses for
it, that it'll do me just fine for in-town use, but not for
any unsupported touring outside the safe envelope of commuter
train network near the city. Held firm to that since.
|
| 9. |
Tamed its amazing ability to break chain
links, which manifested themselves during he first two years
of my acquisition of it, by moving the BB nearer by an inch,
adjusting the length of the chain and learning to detect
a broken link by sound alone.
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No more broken links, and much more effective
pedal use.
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| 10. |
Survived an attempt to strengthen a cracked
seat by patching it up with glassfibre and plastic. Should
have been done by a specialist with
p a t i e n c e.
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Applied some Plastic Padding, and covered it
up with a coat of shiny paint. Adapted my ways of
sitting down in the seat, so as not to widden the tiny
crack.
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