Years of life left in that. Don't give up!

I've been lucky. Just one catastrophic rim failure, complete buckling of wheel. But the bike was sitting in the garage at the time. It wouldn't have been much fun if I'd been riding.

 

Lucky escape! How did it happen? Was there highly localised neutron star gravity temporarily in one small area of your garage? Perhaps a very small neutron star was passing under that spot, before speeding back to the core and out again to buckle a worn bike wheel in Australia, as it slowly consumes the Earth from within?

Edited January 26, 20251 yr by guerney

Update.

 

Swapped wheel today.

Friday the rear wheel locked as jammed on brake shoe.

Finally the rim failed although I'm surprised it's split.

 

[ATTACH type=full" alt="61893]61893[/ATTACH]

 

At least you didn't end up crushed like a bug by traffic. Hard to tell from the photo, but is there more wear/score line to the right of that split than the left?

 

I see the the Grim Reaper's dark silhouette looming foggy nights, because I'm still using the rims posted about above. Can't be long now.

Lucky escape! How did it happen? Was there highly localised neutron star gravity temporarily in one small area of your garage? Perhaps a very small neutron star was passing under that spot, before speeding back to the core and out again to buckle a worn bike wheel in Australia, as it slowly consumes the Earth from within?

Not sure how it happened; just wear and hit breaking point at random I guess.

Not sure how it happened; just wear and hit breaking point at random I guess.

 

Are you good at bending spoons with your mind? It's like Uri Geller went on a rampage. Check your cutlery.

 

 

Death would be imminent.

 

Update to posts #10 and #21 from Nov last year - avoided braking as much as possible... and I've finally got around to preparing to replace the rear wheel, I'm amazed at having survived this long. I'd be dead if still a fatso, glad I lost all that weight. To the usual hazards fatarses face such as diabetes and heart disease, we can add bumping over potholes with overworn rims.

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2025May 11 by guerney

I give up. I can't remove the cassette from the wheel... first the chain on the chain whip broke, and neither of my chain link tools was compatible with connecting the chain, so after much mucking about managed to get a nut and bolt to connect the chain to the chain whip instead. Then broke the bolt too attempting cassette removal, and bent the crappy Bafang "Free Gift" chain whip in the process. Bike shop or Halfords job. I admit defeat. Halfords five miles away quoted a fiver to remove the cassette, no chain whips in stock. This wheel doesn't want to go. It's determined to kill me.

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2025May 12 by guerney

Is this a job for the T-Rex? Looks less likely to damage teef, cheaper from Amzon than anywhere else, ordered. But will it withstand my freakish brute strength augmented by lancearmstrong.com steroids? It'll snap like a twig.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0781WMDXX

https://road.cc/content/review/bbb-t-rexgrip-287465

I reckon this is beyond the T-Rex's utility - my local bike shop owner and his employee with extension poles on both the chain whip and spanner, couldn't get this cassette off. And he's closing down for good next week, I do hope this cassette removal failure didn't contribute to his decision. Probably thought "What good is a bike shop that can't even remove a cassette? I must close down for good and top myself".

 

I'll try Halfords next if absolutely necessary. If they can't do it either, how the heck do I get this off?

how the heck do I get this off?

 

I did it!!! REMOVED!!!!! With the aid of long steel tubes scavenged from that dead escooter I found a couple of years ago - one on the damaged chain whip (chain attached with a quicklink), and another on the spanner. That and freakish brute strength, of which I'm sure lancearmstrong.com steroids played a part in my victory faced with such terrifying adversity to trumph over impossible odds, where the 1000 year old bike shop owner and his 800 year old mate's puny efforts failed.

Edited May 13, 2025May 13 by guerney

T-Rex arrived, doesn't look useless. I didn't get a chance to use this, or haven't yet, because I'm officially stronger than two dudes averaging at least 900 years of age. It's deffo some sort of steel, 0.1mm thicker than the shorter "Free Gift Bafang Tool" chain whip which arrived with my BBS01B kit, and bent with the application of unimaginably powerful godlike force. If the spring rusts and breaks off, could be replaced I guess, possibly with a strong elastic band if not a spring. If the short chains break, they could be reattached with quick links as I did above. I have spare nylocs. I don't like they've left burrs. For £21.99 I expect exactly zero burrs. I'd require a wider steel pipe, if I needed to extend the handle for very stubborn cassette removal, of at least 36mm inner pipe width, unless I removed the "ergonomic" plastic handle covering. Pipes are pretty ergonomic.

 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2025May 14 by guerney

I use an old chain on the largest sprocket for maximum effect, screwed tightly to a roughly 1 metre piece of wood. I can hold that down with a foot, wheel leaning against my knee, leaving both hands free for the cassette splined tool on a long handle.

Holding the steel tube containing the chain whip down with my foot, while turning the spline tool using an adjustable spanner gripped with both hands, is what broke the chain tool chain off the first time. It's also what broke the chain off the second time, as well as bend the chain whip. Steel tubes increasing length of both tools, while making sure there was no lateral or stray movement on either tool, turning both by hand, grunting a lot and and bouncing a little worked... but weirdly not for those two very elderly and very soon to retire bike shop dudes doing the same using the strength of two whole puny decrepit human bodies. Perhaps in all the confusion, they loosened it by a click for me and didn't notice? More likely I have truly awesome godlike upper body strength of unimaginable powerul force and good looks. Before my local bike shop closes for good next week, I'll pop by to gloat loudly, drive them both to suicide with the shame of such abysmal failure. They're already very depressed. Won't take much to push them over the edge MUWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Edited May 15, 2025May 15 by guerney