When I returned to the cycle sheds the other day, I was surprised to find that I had a flat tyre. I checked very carefully but couldn't find anything that would have caused it and the hole in the tube didn't look like a "snake bite" which ruled out a pinch type of problem. I should have checked things a lot more carefully!
The next morning, I had another puncture on the way to work and had to swap my tube (only took four minutes, which was a re-assuring time, its nice to know all your emergency procedures work!). This time I looked much more carefully. There were signs of wear on the tyre side-wall, and sure enough the brakes were incorrectly adjusted and had been rubbing on the tyre. The tyre had a minute hole, and a greatly reduced strength so when I later pumped 120-PSI in, the inner tube pushed through and exploded.
As I had to buy a new tyre, I bought two new ones from www.nextdaytyres.co.uk and they arrived very quickly. I bought two Schwalbe Ultremo LX tubes, in black (the coloured option was tempting but doesn't wear as well)
Whilst I was in a servicing frame of mind, I swapped the brake pads and checked the chain for wear.
Another issue! The chain was at 0.75% wear and would need swapping. I ordered a Wipperman Connex with the phosphor bronze coating. They come with a quick-link and I always found them to be very reliable. It was a doddle to fit, although I did initially run the chain incorrectly around the rear derailier! I tested it and all seemed OK and it wasn't until I noticed a problem changing gear that I checked it again carefully. It let me use nearly all 18 gears but some were a little tricky to switch to. I had threaded the chain over the derailier frame instead of under it. Once I swapped it, everything became ghostly silent. Gear changing is positive and reliable and you cant hear the chain run at all.
The 0.75% wear was a worry, and sure enough the smallest rear sprocket is too worn. The gears always skip under load when in the highest gear. I've just ordered a new rear cassette and have opted for a slightly larger size or 27 teeth rather than 25 which should make the big hills a little easier. I would have liked to go for 11 tooth small and 30 tooth large but it isn't possible with Shimano 9 speed systems.
Lesson - I need to service my bike more than once per year! As the bike is far higher mileage that the Brompton, I am scheduling a service every 1000 miles. I will make the service much more thorough than just a quick check of things. Expensive lesson learnt, its cost me sixty pounds for the tyres and forty pounds for the cassette. Both replacements are good but were done way before the old component had worn out.
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