A couple of (not so recent) pictures

I'm lazy and I know it. I shot this pictures last month and they are still sitting onto my Flick account, waiting for me to write this (almost useless, I agree) post.

So, here it is, in it's almost latest setup (I took out the Restrap bag and the rear light).



I switched the front stem with a 120mm one (Brand X, good and cheap from CRC)


With these Tektro generic brakes, there are no probs with 28mm tyres (but I won't be able to use any full size mudguards...)



and



This is somehow a good idea, tried to place the rear light (with the help of a tiny P-clip) on the rear axle (using the fender bolt hole)



The biggest change here was going 1x. I took out both chainrings, front mech and its suport to use a narrow-wide 44 chainring (bought on eBay) along with a 10s 11-36 cassette.
Tightening the B screw, 105 rear mech can cope with the big cog. I may need a slightly shorter cassette but is not an issue, never had a chain drop since then.

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Crank Bros MXR pedals - rebuild

I have a pair of MXCR since ages but I never investigated whether they are rebuildable.
After a full winter, I thought it was the right time to service them just to discover that they are not serviceable.


I was slightly annoyed (I bought a rebuild kit just for them...), however it is actually possible to tear them apart, clean, lube and close them again. Perhaps they won't last enough for a third service but for sure you might be able to prolong their life

This is, roughly, the kit I used, along the pedal itselfç


Main topic is summarized in the below picture: the spindle is rolling over a very small set of ball bearings.


The process is somehow straightforward. Open the pedal, removing the plastic cap (which is normally a bolt on item but for these pedals is just a simple cap pressed on the hole).
Remove the nut) as you'd do with a usual Crank Bros pedal.


Given the status of the spindle,

I don't think that the pedals may survive another service, however there are a couple of takeaways I can share.
This type of pedals (along with their Candy-type cousins) are serviceable.
Tightening the closing bolt (or loosing it) may reduce any play.

Last but not least, there is another (maybe easier) way to help prolonging the life of your MXR pedals. Without opening the body, you can drill a little hole (3mm should be enough) on the plastic cap and, using a grease gun, injecting as much grease as you can (Mr. Cunningham, we all owe you).

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Kona Hei Hei - Drop bar

Since the beginning of March I've got back my old Kona Hei Hei 2-9.


This was an old 2009 model that I bought in 2012 (in used state).
I barely used it, back in the days. I raced just once with that (the year after I raced on a fully Rigid Niner EMD with a drop bar...) and cycled around my place a couple of times.

Once I got it back, I tried to sell it on the web but did't have any success so far.
I decided to move it a little bit on the road-ish side, as there is no real offroad here where I live. I had basically everything besides some good road disc calipers. Bought on Evans a pair of Shimano calipers and on Merlin Cycles a Tiagra brifters kit (were on sales, triple setup... why not).

The result is somehow close to some of the latest gravel experiment (plus size, slacker angles) due to the fact that this Kona is very old style. It has steeper angles (compared to modern MTBs), limited travel (80mm front, less than 90 rear).
The bigger issue may be the chainstays which allow a very limited choice of chainrings. Going 1x, the biggest ring is around 38 (to stay on the safe side).

I used the SLX chainset with a 38 narrow wide setup (taken from my Van Nicholas) with a 10s cassette (11-28... I know, I had a used chain which was too short for anything bigger than 28). Deda handlebar is 46cm wide (I don't really like flared bar), Tektro levers with Shimano 10s bar end shifters and it's done.
I didn't want to use the new Tiagra brifters just because I may not like this peculiar setup.
I expect to use it for everything, perhaps for a century next month.

Here are some pics:












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