The Portland gets a mid-winter bath
In the four-and-a-half months and 1,384.4 miles I’ve owned it, I’ve never given the Portland a proper bath. Sure it gets rinsed off after every wet or grungy ride, but gunk builds up, especially on and near the drivetrain.
Plus, I don’t have a really good picture of it, something driven home when I was making flyers after my Giant was stolen last month. I didn’t have any really good pictures of it either.
Ordinarily, after a wet or grungy ride, the Portland gets rinsed off in the shower stall. I stand it up on its back wheel, hook the handlebar against the medicine cabinet, and have at it with the shower massage. The grunge on the chainstay, for instance, is a mix of dirt and lube that doesn’t rinse off.
These were taken after the TNUA on January 15. We collected a lot of snow that night.
Tonight, first I took off all the accessories. Then I removed the entire drivetrain, except the crankset.
Here the chain and the spyder-mounted gears from each of the three cassettes dry on the radiator in the living room.
Meanwhile, the individual gears dry in the dish rack on the bedroom radiator.
The heaviest grease buildup removed, a still very dirty frame dries on its regular hook in the living room. You’ll notice the rear dérailleur hanging from the shift cable.
Wheels? We got lotsa wheels. Every single one of them filthy, too.
One corner of the living room is all bike shit right now.
I decided to remedy that this weekend. I planned to strip it, degrease it and reassemble it on Monday. But that seemed like a lot for one day, especially since there is also laundry and grocery shopping to do as well. So after resting and napping all day, I cleaned up the kitchen, started a pot roast, then put the Portland in the work stand and had at it.
I got all the heavy degreasing done tonight. Tomorrow I’ll go at the frame and wheels with soap and water. After they dry, they’ll get a good coating of Bike Lust, and I’ll put everything back together, and lube the drivetrain.
Meanwhile, here’s what things look like.
More photos to come after everything is clean and reassembled.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:43 pm UTC
I like that Portland. The lines look alot like my Gary Fisher. I was wondering about two things: 1. What are those tires you have on in the shower picture. 2. What kind of rack is that, it looks sweet! Nice pictures, and nice bikes. Wish I good find a Trek for $100.
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 pm UTC
The Portland’s studded snow tires are Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106 in 700Cx35. One-hundred six carbide studs. Made in Finland. The Finns know their snow and their bikes. These are great tires. I got ‘em last year at speedgoat.com, but saw them cheaper this year at eBikeStop.com. Peter White Cycles also carries them.
Ah, the rack. The rack had to have two side rails so I can mount my trunk bag and the panniers at the same time without fussing and interference. Material was important too. Steel rusts, and aluminum is soft. (I gouged up my old Alu expedition rack pretty heavily when towing bikes.)
Enter the Tubus Cosmo. Two side rails and crafted from stainless steel. It weighs almost a kilo less than my old expedition rack, and it has a higher load rating, 40 kilos or 88 pounds. Again, it’s a European import, this time from Germany. I got mine from Wayne at The Touring Store, also sold in the US by Ortleib USA, Wall Bike and Peter White Cycles.