frustrating commuter maintenance

jedster

I'm in need of sypathy.

I keep a bike at Paddington station for the London leg of my journey.

On tuesday I found that it had a fifth of the chain ring snapped off (I don't know how).

Not an easy thing to fix with the things I carry with me...
So London leg by tube for a few days (grrr...). I have the bike converted to single speed for low maintenance (yes...) and by judicious use of ring and sprocket size and a half-link chain, I can manage without a tensioner. So I go shopping on the web for a new 43t ring. No can do so I order a 44t. Now I realise that will mean that my chain is too short so I order a new chain too. May as well change the sprocket as it's probably a bit worn - order that.

It all arrives last night so I fill the panier with chain tool, cassette lock ring tool, spanner, chainring bolt tool, etc.

Get to the station. Replace the chainring. Replace the sprocket. Get the new chain out, check to see how many links I need to shorten it by.... wait a minute.... it's too short already... one link too short ...aaaggghhhh.... spend 10 minutes trying to bastardise it with a link from the old chain... AAAGGGHHHHH

back on the tube then the web

ddraver

Its still there?!?!?

My word

jedster

I hesitate to say anything so as not to temp fate!

I've been leaving it there for a year like hundreds of other cyclists do

Down the Road

Here's an idea take it to a shop and have them do the work

redvee

Down the Road wrote:

Here's an idea take it to a shop and have them do the work

Do it on the way to work and collect after work and you've got one day where you don't have to worry about your bike going walkies or somebody liking the bits on your bike too much and removing them.