The clocks have changed and the light nights herald the annual drivetrain re-fit on The Westcoastmess’ bike.
You may remember a few months back while trying to deflect attention away from the fact we hadn’t printed enough GODDAMN CANUCK tees I took a photo of The Mess’ sprocket after noticing how worn it was. Well, true to the thrifty Scottish stereotype it’s that self same cog that just got changed and it’s encouraging to know that as far as bikes go there’s always lessons to be learned. The latest one: Chainwhip don’t work on cog with no teeth. Apparently the cog was riding fine with no skipping despite having the profile of a tractor tyre. You can see from the photo just how much metal was lost to the ether, probably to be inhaled by other couriers ( that would probably account for the sore throat you get in your first week as a courier ). This years project is to try to wear through to the cut-outs on the new cog. Little does The Mess know that blue hipster chainring has just moved him to the top of my “People to fire” list.
Back on the road on Monday with a shiny new engine. Weather Forecast: SLEET.
Technical info: We don’t want to treat our readers like morons but we’ve seen so many upside-down chains that something needs to be done. If you’re running a Kool Chain* it goes on the way in the picture.
*They’re not pretty but they don’t stretch and they last about a year.
