Is it spring yet?

Just a quick update:

• It's still winter. Today the snow has reached us and I might go on a little adventure on the South Hill Recreation Way on my way home from campus.
• Forecast for next weekend looks comparatively good (high of -1°C), so maybe I'll be able to go for a ride.
• The new Brooks feels pretty good so far, but due to the weather I haven't had a chance to test it on a longer ride.
• in terms on working on the stable: I installed an Avid Single Digit 7 V-brake on the accomplice's bike in order to increase stopping power and allow installing the BUMM Cyo headlight
• upgrade plans: On Wolfgang, I'm going to install a triple front crank as part of a general spring overhaul. In terms of parts and work, this will require something between the ideal of only switching the front derailleur to a triple and  the worst case scenario of a new bottom bracket, new front derailleur, new (longer cage) rear derailleur. Most people who have done this conversion on a Cross-Check seem to be switching their bottom bracket from 113mm to 118mm, but maybe it'll work without that. Certainly worth a try. 
• My ebaying efforts haven't been terribly successful: The two Oryx brakes were sold for a whopping total of 2.50$ and two of the saddles didn't sell at all. At least the SDG saddle sold for 19.50$ but I'm still awaiting payment. But whatever -- at least I got rid of some stuff.
• Another potential upgrade: I might try buying a used Zzing USB charger for running my GPS and charging cell phones via the hub generator. There's a good DIY solution out there, but if I get a used Zzing it wouldn't save me much money and my soldering skills are a bit rusty.
• As you can see on the accomplice's blog, we've signed up for a biking Memorial Day weekend in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks! It's still far away, but I'm really looking forward to it. 

High Peaks of the Adirondacks

Brooks got here!

Okay, my Brooks Imperial B17 finally got here. Of course, I couldn't wait even until after grocery shopping to install it on Wolfgang. Very first impression: it has a very defined seating position. In contrast to my other saddles where you switch between different position without them feeling clearly wrong, with the Brooks you really feel where you're supposed to sit. This position is, obviously, still a bit hard at the moment, but I'm optimistic that I'll indeed like the saddle once it's broken in. Pictures will follow shortly.

Odo Wolfgang: 3232 km

Maintenance and Upgrade

Temperatures have gone up slightly (i. e. it's slightly above freezing and sunny), getting me motivated to work on Wolfgang a bit. Operation 1 was switching the front brake lever, operation 2 just maintenance.

Last October, after getting more and more annoyed by mediocre stopping power and horrible screeching, I had switched Wolfgang's stock Tektro Oryx cantis to Avid Single Digit 7 V-brakes. Because of the different mechanical advantage required by V-brakes, I installed a Problemsolvers travel agent, a small roll that gets installed in place of the brake noodle and that changes the amount of cable travel. This worked reasonably well (one issue: the holder for my headlight was in the way of the travel agent, probably reducing stopping power a little bit); but because it doesn't look as clean and I was in search of something to put on my Christmas wish list, I decided to switch from the Tektro R200 to the V-brake compatible RL520. Installation was pretty easy, I didn't even have to re-wrap the handlebars. Will they deliver more stopping power? -- We'll see. Probably not as much as replacing the pads with Kool Stops would, but I want to run down this set of pads first. With the current weather conditions this shouldn't take long anyway...

The other thing to do was some maintenance. I've complained about salt damage before, and thus I decided to give Wolfgang a little TLC and clean his drivetrain. The good news: all the rust and grime comes off no problem. It takes several rounds of cleaning with citrus degreaser and the Park Tool CM-5 chain scrubber (no, not the Performance/Spin Doctor lookalike), but after that treatment the chain and cogs look pretty neat again. Until the next ride, of course.

Other maintenance: re-adjust rear fender to avoid rubbing.

Odo Wolfgang: 3117 km