May 2011

I finally got the next coat of epoxy on the hull and it looks great. what a pity it couldn't have been like this the first time round...
My feeling is that I'll forego the promised second coat and go straight to paint.
A June project...

Meanwhile I've decided to rebuild the bike, so having stripped it of it's old paint I've given it a more modern looking, higher visibility, colour scheme.
Painting it on a spit was my Dad's idea and it worked a treat.
The detail on the fittings is quite incredible, so I had to pick that out in black.
The next step is a new bottom bracket as the old cotter pin design had worn out. The plan is to switch to a whole new gearset. The key learning from the IoW Randonnee was that I don't have enough low gears on this bike.

It's a 44/48 chainset with a 24/21/18/16/14 cogset which gives this ratio chart.
Very limiting below 20kph...

Compare this to my off road bike and you'll see what I mean.

This is the solution - A Shimano 11 speed hubgear with a 39/20 gearset.
No over lapping ratios, consistent rev drops, how simple.