Another First!
Posted On Thursday, July 1, 2010 at at 8:02 PM by MTB ManNo ride again today. Got back from a meeting too late. But I did change my chain! Very important!
When I changed out my wheel yesterday because of a broken spoke, I thought it was a good time to check my chain wear with my handy Park Tool chain checker, excuse me, Chain Wear Indicator.
Well, lo and behold, it failed the test! It was 1% worn which is time to replace!
So when I went to Mad Dog Bikes today to get some spare spokes to repair my now spare wheel, I picked up a new chain.
I believe this was the first time I changed my chain. The new chain as well as the old has a master link which makes it easy to install and remove the chain without a chain tool but I still had to remove one link from the new chain to make it the correct length.
This was the first time I used the chain tool from my Park multi-tool. It worked great. In fact I think I like it better than my dedicated chain tool which is around here somewhere.
My old chain was just absolutely filthy. I have got to get better about keeping that thing clean. I am such a bad boy when it comes to maintenance. I only maintain it when it breaks!
My copy of Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance recommends wiping the chain down after every ride and lubing it. Then, next am after the lube has had a chance to soak in, wipe it down again before riding. That gets the excess oil off that has soaked through and pushed some of the inside dirt out with it. Just another chore to do besides getting all my gear on, filling my drink bottle and topping off the tires with air. Sigh. Patience is a virtue I am still developing.
I'm quite pleased with the addition of another skill in my wrenching repertoire, though. :-)
