In keeping with the @#$% noises theme, I had a McGyver moment last weekend and I wanted to write a quick post to share it with you.
My best friends and I were riding Katy Cycling Club‘s No W(h)ine Tour in the Texas Hill Country when my derailleur cables developed a squeak where they pass under the bottom bracket. The cable guide was dry from a previous ride in the rain, and maybe a little Gatorade had dribbled down the cables. Anyway, every shift was accompanied by a wretched squeak, made all the more embarrassing by the fact that it was the mechanic’s bike making all the noise. And my shifting was none too good either.
I was pondering where I could get a dab of grease or oil. I considered buying a bag of potato chips and rubbing one on the cables, or asking a motorist if I could have a drop of oil from their dipstick. Then I remembered my ChapStick. So I ate my chips, flipped the bike over, and gave both cables a swipe of lip balm where they pass over the cable guide. Silent shifting for the rest of the day.
I’m still working on part two of my @#$% noises compendium, coming soon. Friends are reminding me of noises I had forgotten about, like the Banshee free-hub…