Foldey Hawn Down

Foldey Hawn

It all started with a flat rear tire on one of my favourite bikes - the foldey.  To take the rear tire off involves disengaging the drum brake, stowing away the fender brackets and using a wrench to loosen the nuts on the axle.

Once I had the tube out I found a cut the size of a finger knuckle wrinkle gracing the top of the tube.  After inspecting the inside of the tire, I could find no reason for the small tear and it was a simple matter to replace the tube with the 20" one I had bought at MEC.

It was when I began to install the wheel back onto the bike that the trouble began.  The way the derailleur was seated just did not seem right and when I shifted, the chain kept flying into the frame even though it had worked properly up to being dismantled.

I went so far as to print off a picture of the bike that I had taken a couple of years ago amd using a magnifying glass, I quickly discovered that a small bolt and odd shaped nut were in the wrong hole and causing the derailleur to be misaligned.

Good old dectective work

In desperation, I had used my chainbreaker to remove the chain thinking that without a chain, the whole thing would be easier to reassemble.  My mistake was to be too enthusiastic with the chainbreaker and I managed to push one of the pins all the way through the chain.  I had been told that it was impossible to put the pin back in but by using pliers to hold the pin and a ballpeen hammer to deliver an accurate stroke, the pin slid nicely into its corresponding hole and all the parts fit back together - completing a job that had flummoxed me for two weeks.

Correctly assembled

With temperature outside this morning at a comfortable 11 degrees and the streets clear of water from last nights storm, it was a commute that felt more like fall than the middle of the summer.  Since I arrived at work before all my co-workers, I had the pleasure of riding down the block - long hall to my work space where the foldey fit very nicely under my desk.

Aren't all those wires and cables attractive?