Mechanical Issues

[courtney.rennie]

As the taper continues not only is my body feeling more sore but it appears my gear is also calling it quits:

(1) This morning I noticed a 1.5 cm tear through my wetsuit on the arm that crosses the seam.  Mardi gave me some wetsuit glue but does anyone know where i can buy a patch?  Are these iron-ons?  My suit has done great until today.

(2) Acquired some new zip wheels from Bart a few weeks ago.  Since we put them on the bike it feels like my crank slips from time to time.  Almost as if I am cycling in the higher cadence than my gears will allow, however, my cadence is only 85 and so this doesn't make sense.  It also only seems to happen in the middle of my back gears and doesn't happen every revolution.  I initially took it to the shop and found it really wasn't shifting well when i got it back.  For a long time now my gears haven't been shifting perfectly but I thought it was just all the miles.  But the weird sensation while pedalling intermittenly was weird. 

So i took my bike in again.  They checked the wheels which are in good condition, nothing loose.  Then they tried to replace my back cassette only to find the shifting still wasn't great.  So they put on the old one again.  I am riding an 11/27 and the bike store decided that the derailer i was using wasn't ideal for this ratio (not long enough).  So they have switched it.  Also they think my right shifter needs to be fixed but that it is it won't give me any major challenges during the race.  However, the store owner has offered the shifter off his bike if i am still not happy.  Today when i rode it it does shift a little better but not ideal but it the sensation while I pedal is intermittently still there but perhaps not as frequently.

I am not mechanically inclinced so I appologize if this sounds ridiculous.  But wondered if anyone has ever experienced what I am.  I just don't want a major mechanical in the race next weekend.

Thanks for any advice.  Court.

[courtney.rennie]

Well the wetsuit is fixed at least temporarily.  I think I will hit the pool for tomorrow's workout to prevent a bigger tear pre:race.

As for the bike.  I think the shifter likely is not related to the slipping sensation I am experiencing.  Bart and the bike store are now wondering if the free hub on the back wheel is loose.  They checked it a few weeks ago but did not take it apart.  At lunch today we have put by old wheel back on to check this out.  I guess i will have to do a little ride tonight that was unplanned.  Oh the stress.  It feels like i am constantly applying pressure when teh very minute give occurs but perhaps not.  Does anyone have experience with this with there training wheels vs race wheels.  Does anyone know if my free hub was a little loose if it could cause detrimental issues in teh race?

Thanks
Courtney

[Andrew]

Follow up with Brock when you arrive in Penticton. I have sent you an e-mail with his cell number. He really is a fantastic mechanic, and can fix just about anything if given a couple of hours to sort it out.