Eccentricity

Sadly, my Cannondale Trail SL SS 29er (to give the long name) has been grounded for some months now. I had issues with the eccentric bottom bracket (EBB), and after some internet searches it seems I'm not alone. The bike came with Cannondale's double wedge design eccentric - Part A181 for part number fans. The idea is that the two opposing wedges are brought together by a central bolt which secures the eccentric into the frame. Whilst the concept works fine, adjusting the eccentric could be an issue. A circlip and washer must remain above the bolt for it to undo the wedges - just like self-extracting crank arm bolts. Unfortunately for me, and many other 'dale owners, this circlip disappeared when adjusting the eccentric. Without the circlip, there is no way of adjusting the eccentric without making some amendments - unless, of course, you get the hammer out...

After a bit of forum searching, I found a method that worked fine for a short while. By tapping threads into the wedge that houses the bolt (on the left side of the diagram above), you can thread a bolt in there and, using the long bolt already with the eccentric, push the wedge from the other side. The forum post can be found here. This worked fine until I completely stripped the new thread that had been tapped - I suspect through poor tapping from the bike shop. This rendered the whole eccentric pretty much useless.

The eccentric can be bought new for around £70 but I really didn't want to get another one just to lose the circlip again and be back to square one. So I got myself a Bushnell featherweight eccentric. The general view is that these are well made, reliable and easily adjustable. 

The trouble is that they're not that easy to get a hold of. Charlie the bike monger has them advertised on his website but doesn't have any in stock. However, Fat Birds had them in stock. Fat birds are a ti specialist and a dealer of Van Nics who spec Bushnells on their single speeds.

Fitting was straightforward and didn't require the use of any particularly specialist (ie expensive and only used a handful of times). You will need a pin spanner to move the eccentric in the frame unless the BB has been installed and you can use a BB tool to move it. Other EBBs have hex key fittings to rotate it within the frame.

I will confess that I did not use a torque wrench, but applied a fair bit of oomph to the bolt. After 2-3 rides it hasn't slipped or creaked. Fingers crossed it will continue to do just that!

Other options include eccentrics from Carver Bikes, Phil Woods and Niner. 

Tweeted Trips map

It seems that the map isn't updating automatically. I can't get it to work on my mobile either. I do know that changes to Twitter would affect the mapping. I'll see what I can do when I get home.

New beginnings

Today marked the last day with the job I've had for the past 18 months. I'm ready to move on and take my life a different route. 

The weather recently has been pretty terrible; however today was bright and dry! Taking the opportunity I got out into the hills on foot. The snow started out as only a light dusting but quickly got deep at around 200 metres. Above 350 metres the snow was knee deep and navigation became tricky. Thankfully I know the area well enough for a short walk without having to get the map out. Even more thankfully, someone had been up not long before me so I followed their footsteps. This made the walk easier and safer!

I love how the wind can move the snow to produce some interesting shapes.

Next trip

Bike touring is not something you can only do once. It's such an amazing experience that we've managed to organise a short 12 day tour.

Before we get the ferry over to IJmuiden we've got tickets for the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup round in Fort William.  It's such a great weekend of racing and a great warm-up for a bike tour. 

Fort William 2012

We haven't really decided on a route but we are thinking of heading north east up to Gronigen then circling back down to catch the ferry home again. As always, that's what we would like to do. We will most likely make it up as we go along!

Camping on tour

New bike

I say "new bike", I've had my Cannondale Trail SL 29er 3R since September 2012. After seeing a thread on the Singletrack forum about how this bike can be had for a bargainous price, I decided I'd try this 29er thing out for myself.

I paid £420 for the bike as shown below.

At £420 I feel it's great value. Yes, it's rigid and singlespeed but the spec is decent. The frame and forks are the same as those models further up the range. The costs are reduced by having no gears. The biggest price/quality compromise in my mind is the brakeset - Cannondale branded by Promax. The levers were too flexible and stopping power wasn't great.

Since I've had the bike I've changed the saddle to an SDG Bel Air (personal preference), upgraded the brakeset and swapped to a wider bar. Next to change will be the Kenda Small Block 8 tyres. They're fast but I would prefer a grippier tyre and deal with the increased rolling resistance. The gearing is currently 32-16, the bike is sold 32-18. I'm still experimenting with the gearing.

Since this is my first 29er and the only 29er I've ever ridden I can't compare it to any other bike. There is a noticeable difference with the larger wheel; there is no doubt they roll better than smaller wheels. Cornering takes a little to get used to, but this is partly due to geometry not wholly wheel size.

If you're looking to try 29ers and are thinking of joining the "niche" rigid singlespeed 29er lot then consider this bike.

Tomorrow

After 2 weeks of The Netherlands it's time to progress into Germany. From Arnhem we will follow the Rhine southwards into Germany. We're not finished with NL however, we will return to IJmuiden to get the ferry back to Newcastle.
We went in search of maps for Germany today in Arnhem. Being so close and on the Rhine bike route we thought the VVV (tourist info) would have something but they had absolutely hee-haw. It was suggested we tried an outdoor shop a few doors down. They had plenty maps but not what we were after. We were pointed in the direction of a map shop a few minutes away further into the city. If anywhere has the map we're after it's them. Right enough we got the appropriate map to see us through. I think it is also a guidebook with information on nearby attractions but its entirely in German. The maps are nicely detailed with supermarkets, campsites, restaurants etc marked on them. We are currently unsure how long we will follow the Rhine and as a result how long we'll spend in Germany before making our way back to the ferry.
As always keep an eye on the map (on the Where am I page) and you can follow me on Twitter, it's @pedalpoweredeu.

Week 2 already!

It's hard to believe it's week 2 already, it seems like only a couple of days ago we got off the ferry. Quite a lot has happened so far that I'm starting to struggle remembering everything that's happened in order.
Thankfully the issue with the front rack has been resolved and we're back on the road. I think I need to increase my fluid intake as I think I'm a hit dehydrated. As a result I'm feeling rubbish so we decided to stay another night at this campsite. It was an easy choice to make as it has a pool table, fridge and great showers. Today wasn't really a rest day at all. We pedalled around 20kms or so to go swimming. I'm not the biggest fan of swimming but somehow had the urge for it. Or just a good bath maybe. We arrived half an hour before the pool opened again after lunch, so I made use of the coffee machine. The changing rooms/area were a bit of a maze with rooms having 2 doors. At one point I thought I'd never make it out alive. The pool had a great water slide that I take great pride in saying I went on; they're fun, don't pretend you disagree.
After swimming we went for a big lunch (it was around 3), did the daily shop and headed back to our tent.