falling off bikes since 1975

Hurray!

I went out early on Saturday morning hoping to fit in a long ride and still beat the heat of the day. I’ve been expanding my Trough of Bowland loop by taking ever more distant roads over the Bowland Fells into the Lune Valley.

My last ride out this way, over the Tatham Fells, had been held in pouring showers. This time I was taking the old Roman road over Bowland Knotts.

This weekends weather promised to be very different. Having a slightly different destination the straightest line I could find from home to the Fells took me on the opposite side of the Hodder valley than I normally ride.

The early morning haze was accentuating the height of the fells and the steepness of their shoulders, and Bowland Knotts looked a long way away. I took the opportunity to explore some old bridleways that I’ve not ridden in years and covered myself in nettle stings and seeds.

After the long climb out of the wonderfully named Cow Ark I was rewarded with a fast straight line descent.

If I’d known that it was good for over 50 I’d have put some effort in coming over the crest and gone for 60. This is a road I’d only ever done the other way, and I remembered it as one long climb. In this direction I was rewarded with some fast corners. Dropping into the woods and seeing that the road ahead was clear I glanced down as I came off the brakes and tipped it into a corner to see that I was still touching 40. I wouldn’t have taken these bends that fast on the Firestorm, while dressed in leather and a full face lid.This was the route of the old Roman Road from Ribchester (BREMETENNACVM) to Over Burrow (GALACVM). The Roman route was aligned on the tops of Bowland Knotts - my destination, but their route into Lunesdale turns off over Croasdale Fell and the Salter Fell Road, which I haven’t ridden in years.

So ,where the Romans turned off I kept straight on, heading for the Knotts. If the Pennines are the backbone of England then at Bowland Knotts the skin is stretched so thin that the vertebrae are poking through. As I climbed up the unprepossessing road I would have had stunning views of Lancashire behind me and Yorkshire in front, if it hadn’t been for the haze that still hadn’t burnt off. There were no cars here, the sound only that of the wind and the curlews. Ahead of me lay Clapham and Ingleton, places I normally visit only during the Three Peaks race.

Boo!

Once down into Lunesdale I picked up the pace.

Then, ten miles from home, the rear wheel wobble I’ve been suffering lately suddenly got a whole lot worse. The wheel bearings have been going for a while now so I just put it down to that and continued home riding as smoothly as I could.

When I got home and tried to take the freehub body off to take a closer look at the bearings I glanced across at the opposite flange and noticed a floating section of hub.

Oops.

One of the driving spokes has pulled out of the hub. I never knew I had so much power.

Now I need to play wheel chess to find a hub that will take a spider from the Hope mechanical disc brakes.

The rules of wheel chess are simple. Using any available spare wheels, hubs and rims from the shed attempt to fit all bikes with a matching pair of wheels.

Like all games with apparently simple rules it’s a devil to play.

The wheel chess game goes something like this.

Both the hubs On Kirsty’s Burner use the old splined spiders, so I could take those. Except my front hub is so old that it’s a screw on spider, so I’d need a new splined spider. Then I’d have to find some disc compatible wheels for Kirsty which will work with some old Hope C2 brakes…

So you see, the simplest solution leads on to other bigger problems.

The solution I’m playing goes something like this…

I can use one of the spare rear wheels for the tandem which has compatible splines. I’ll need to swap the axle for a longer one (it’s all to do with Hope axle mounted calipers - don’t go there), and fit the mechanical brake spider. I could end the game there, but that wheel has a Deep V rim which wouldn’t match the front wheel, and would just look wrong. Hardly checkmate.

For the end-game I have a Deep V rim on another wheel that I could use. Unfortunately it’s spoked to a non-compatible front hub. I could rebuild it onto the current hub, in which case I’d have to find some spokes of the right length.

Well, I could use the ones from the almost identical hub that are currently laced to a broken Deep V rim. Of course the easiest way to do this is by a simple rim transfer onto the said broken front wheel. Which has a splined brake spider, not the even older screw on spider of the current front wheel.

So I’m back to needing a new splined spider.

Got that? It’s about as clear as playing mental chess just by reading the moves the players make.

On the other hand the hub is one of the old bonded ones and Hope may be able to replace the broken flange. I can have the bearings serviced at the same time. Even if I play the game above if I get the broken hub fixed I can build it up and use it on the tandem, or just save it for the next game of Wheel Chess so it wouldn’t be wasted.