After years of neglect (four to be specific) I decided to tune-up my bike today. I bought a Mongoose Crossways 350 way back in 1998, and used it heavily prior to graduating from Va Tech in 1999. Since then I have schlepped it between three different residences. In that time I think I dusted it twice. So I started with a pretty good scrubbing. I even cleaned off some of the gunk from the chain-rings and cogs. How in the hell do bikes get so dirty?
The tires, chain, and all of my cables were in great condition. The front wheel, the cogs, and both derailleurs were in passable condition. The big chain ring had some obvious damage (a couple of teeth shorter than the others and a bit of other wear from chain slippage), but nothing that would prevent it from doing its job. The rear brake pads were shot, and the rear wheel was visibly tweaked. I was still holding out hope that adjusting the rear brakes would compensate for the not even close to out of whack wheel, and keep me from having to spend any money.
April 29th, 2005 at 6:49 am
The teeth are supposed to be uneven. This aids when shifting gears. Otherwise the derailer would have a hell of a time getting the chain off the cog…. Keep biking! If you want some help give me a shout - for mechanics and off roading.