Not every turf day turns out as planned. You know how it goes. The evening before the day, you plan where you will go, taking into account any uniques, TvT zones or FTT zones you have an eye on, or simply zones held by a turfer you just want to annoy by taking them. You might even prep your bicycle, oil the chain and pump mostly nitrogen into the tyres. Then, of course, something comes along to foil any thoughts of turfing that day.
That something might be a reminder from a family member that tomorrow is Mother’s Day and you are going to Selkirk to visit your mother. Or someone needs to stay at home waiting for a delivery and guess who that will be? However, sometimes, or rather most of the time, everything works out just fine and you head off to places near or far for a few zones. But, even then, sometimes, things do not go the plan.
I’d only taken five zones, between home in Bonnyrigg and Eskbank, when I heard a worrying clunk from the rear of the bicycle. That’s not right. Finding a safe place to stop, I tried to find the cause. Both wheels could spin round fine, so nothing wrong there. Both pedals could rotate without issue, so these were also fine. Discovered the clunk was occurring when turning the cranks forwards, about every second turn of the crank set. Nothing stuck in the chain tensioner – I was riding the single speed Ribble today – so that left the chain itself.
Closer inspection reveals the culprit. The snap-link that connects the ends of the chain together had failed. One of the pins had parted company from the snap-link side plate and chain pressure had twisted the link out of alignment, hence the clunk when pedalling forwards. The chain would jam completely in the tensioner if I turned the cranks backwards. Bugger! That’s all I need.
So, what is to be done? Do I attempt to remedy the issue or return for home? Well, I’m about a mile and a half from the house, so walking home is easy enough. And I have some spares and tools in the rack bag. I decided to attempt a fix. Of course, this raises the problem of staying clean. No way can you start working on an oily bike chain and not end up with smears of dirty oil everywhere. I did have disposable gloves with me but had omitted to include some rags for cleaning up. Without rags, as soon as you touch the chain, anything else you touch gets covered in oil. And when you place them back in the rack bag, it gets covered in oil as well.
Anyway, removed the chain and tried to remove the broken snap-link with the intention of fitting the spare I carried. However, without suitable pliers, fat chance with that in this instance. Tried everything I could think off but to no avail. So, a walk home it would be. Of course, by now my disposable gloves are covered in oil, as are some of the tools I’ve handled, parts of the bike and even the pavement. However, the small bottle of chain lube I carry was inside a polythene zip-lock bag which was used for stowing the oily chain and the gloves.
But another option occurred and a passing cyclist stopped to enquire if I required assistance, even offering what limited bike tools he had at home – his house was just around the corner – and even offered to shuttle me and the bike home in his car. What a kind thoughtful chap! In the end, I thanked him and walked home. Later, I was able to replace the broken snap-link and I should say even with special snap-link pliers, I took some effort. Also took the opportunity to clean up the bike, chain, freewheel, etc, while the chain was off the bike.
Now, all this leads to the question, what do you do in this type of situation? What would you do if you are turfing 20-miles from home and that’s just a bit too far to walk back. First option, I suppose, is carry all the possible tools and spares you might require. But where do you stop? There a whole range of special tools you need to repair bicycles and what spare parts would you carry? Not really practical.
Another option, and the one I favour, is to carry the basics, pump, multi tool, spare tube, puncture kit, rags and disposable gloves. For anything else, either walk home, call a friend or a taxi, or if riding a Brompton, hop on public transport. And the moral of this sorry tale? Don’t reuse the snap-link multiple times, just to save money, when removing and replacing the chain from the bicycle. As suggested by the manufacturer. Bye for now.
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