Here we go, partly taken apart:
The new bullhorns, pre-installation. I bought them on eBay for about $23 with shipping. The tricky part is that there are at least two diameters of tubing on the market, and not all of them will accommodate the aerobars correctly in the center. These are swept down slightly on the sides, whereas my previous ones were straight across, but otherwise they fit perfectly. Thanks to Flatman for his expert advice!!
The new bullhorns on top, the old ones on the bottom (slightly bent on the right side in the photo). I was glad the new ones had a mark at the center - it would have been difficult to get them exactly even without that. The new ones are a couple centimeters wider than the old.
Today I finally removed the Ironman Florida number from last November as I was cleaning the bike up. Tried to keep all the loose parts together - didn't want to wind up with extra pieces.
One of the aerobar pad bases had gotten a little askew. I was afraid it was bent, but when I took it apart I realized it was quite a simple adjustment to alter the yaw angle on the aeropad. I turned both of them inward slightly to more correctly follow the line of my forearms.
The trickiest part was getting the cables all straight. I had to remove and replace one of the aerobars twice to get it all bending correctly. Here's one wrong version:
Finally done (notice it's getting dark outside!). All the bars are re-wrapped, the aerobars are slightly closer together than they were, the aeropads turn inwards slightly now, and the new bullhorns are in place with the brake handles aligned straight. Quite a number of small changes - it will probably be a couple of hundred miles before I'm absolutely certain that everything is correctly positioned and I'm confident it won't fall apart on the road!
8 comments:
You are a bike mechanic whiz!
(But somehow I kinda knew you would be!)
I have no patience for this type of thing, so take it to the shop!
Yeah, if I could find a really trust-worthy mechanic, I would too! But I can't find anybody around here that I'm sure will do it all right, unfortunately!!
I guess necessity really is the mother of invention. I've actually done some plumbing when I just didn't want to spend the money on a pro. Turns out I really should just spend the money. Congrats on getting your bike back together!
Great job in making the bar switch. Here's one piece of advice... put your bike on a trainer and get a feel for them before getting on the road. It could save you time in getting the exact fit.
Stay tuned...
Great job on the bike work. Do you make house calls?
I am so impressed. I would have probably either taken it to a shop or asked my husband to do it (he actually enjoys playing bike mechanic).
Good for you!!!
Where is your bike stand? At least put it in the trainer to do this sort of work...
Nice job. You did great.
I don't have a bike stand!! The deck works pretty well because it's synthetic planking that's not abrasive. Plus I can sit down to work. :-)
Sometimes I use a car bike rack attached to the deck railing, though.
Thanks!! Bike trainer time tonight, maybe, to check out the fit.
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