My bike is 100% ready for winter now + a couple of upgrades I alluded to in an earlier post.
Firstly, lets deal with the schoolboy error. I dragged my mudguards out of storage and assumed that they would be a straight fit given that they were originally fitted to my other Dolan. Wrong! The mudguard eyelets are higher up the rear stays and the bridge bolt is not on the underside so I had to fashion a bracket and drill the guard again. Plus the rear guard stays are a bit short now but they just about made it without the plastic caps to cover the sharp guard stay ends.
The first thing I fitted was my new Ortlieb Fast Rack. After some further research I opted for the Light version as 1. it’s lighter! and 2. surprisingly, it takes 5kg more load than it’s beefier brother. Odd.
The initial fit was easy. I just had to screw in some retaining bolts onto the frame over the mudguard stays which the rack grabs and then adjust and tighten the bar to the seat tube bracket and then the bracket itself. Done. It’s awesome, I can remove it in about 15 seconds. It’s bit more fiddly to align over the guards and refit but still under 30 seconds to lock it in place. It’s a commuting revelation.
The big upgrade and treat to myself were my Oval Qrings for 2x GRX. I’ve been waiting for a couple of years for someone to make these and Rotor answered the call. In my ideal 46/30 ratio too. Fitting was straightforward although the T30 torx chainring bolts were ridiculously tight. I haven’t ridden them yet but, surprisingly, I didn’t have to move the front mech as I expected, just a minor limit screw and cable tension tweak. Shifting on the stand is fine.
The last thing I’ve done is sack off my big fat 33.3mm tyres and go back to 28mm. No reason other than a change and to feel a bit faster as I try to get my fitness back post-Canada.
Time to get back out on the roads now. No excuses anymore.
Adios
Health to ride 👌