Imperfection
I was talking to my friend, Alex Kostelnik, owner of 2020 Cycle, and going on about how anal I can be about my bikes are running and how I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, and he reassured me by pointing at that, what the hell, bikes are relatively simple machines and so it’s understandable that a person might try to get them running more or less perfectly since, as a matter of fact, that’s essentially do-able.
So even though my fussiness about my two-wheelers may be somewhat fussy to say that least, at least it’s not futile; on the other hand, it does make for a certain share of frustrations, although they must be frustrations I enjoy, or at least puzzles I’m interested in solving.
For instance, now that I’ve gotten the Saluki’s crank all quieted down and basically, the bike is running like a dream, I’m noticing—or at least I did on today’s ride home—the occasional chirping sound emanating somewhere in the vicinity of the back wheel. I thought maybe it was an out-of-true wheel rubbing sometimes against the fender or brake blocks, but it’s not consistent enough and besides, when I stopped and spun it, the sound didn’t reproduce.
The source could be the spokes, but having squeezed them, I don’t think so. Currently, my conjecture is that it’s something to do with the rear rack; I was able to get something like what I was hearing by jiggling it, so I tightened up all the bolts and we’ll see tomorrow.
The thing is, I realize that even if I solve this minor annoyance, there’ll always be another one; I’ll start thinking that the tires are running too loudly on the asphalt or something.
It kind of make me envy those people I run across on the trail whose bikes are all rattling and squeaking and clanking; they seem to have achieved the perfect balance between noise and tolerance for it.
So even though my fussiness about my two-wheelers may be somewhat fussy to say that least, at least it’s not futile; on the other hand, it does make for a certain share of frustrations, although they must be frustrations I enjoy, or at least puzzles I’m interested in solving.
For instance, now that I’ve gotten the Saluki’s crank all quieted down and basically, the bike is running like a dream, I’m noticing—or at least I did on today’s ride home—the occasional chirping sound emanating somewhere in the vicinity of the back wheel. I thought maybe it was an out-of-true wheel rubbing sometimes against the fender or brake blocks, but it’s not consistent enough and besides, when I stopped and spun it, the sound didn’t reproduce.
The source could be the spokes, but having squeezed them, I don’t think so. Currently, my conjecture is that it’s something to do with the rear rack; I was able to get something like what I was hearing by jiggling it, so I tightened up all the bolts and we’ll see tomorrow.
The thing is, I realize that even if I solve this minor annoyance, there’ll always be another one; I’ll start thinking that the tires are running too loudly on the asphalt or something.
It kind of make me envy those people I run across on the trail whose bikes are all rattling and squeaking and clanking; they seem to have achieved the perfect balance between noise and tolerance for it.
posted by Professor Dave at 6:49 PM
2 Comments:
check your seatpost. I had an annoying squeak from what I thought was the rear wheel on my kogswell, and it turned out to be the saddle rail clamp. also, my brooks squeaks a bit if it's not fully tensioned.
Some of my bikes make noises. I know the noises well though, and if they start making a new noise, it is just as aggravating as if a bike that doesn't make noise usually were to start. I would guess.
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