Rear Derailleur Shifting Issues... Trying a new missing link...

Bought some new missing links.

This one is for 10 speed Campagnolo chains.

It's slightly more narrow than the Shimano 10 speed version...

This one is for 10 speed Shimano chains.

Made in Taiwan.

Shimano on the left & Campagnolo on the right.

It's difficult to see but the Campagnolo version is a fraction of a mm narrower than the Shimano version...

I tried to install the Campagnolo version on my bike with the Shimano chain & it won't fit!  That fraction of a mm is just enough to keep it from going on.

So, I installed the new Shimano version missing link on the bike.

Will test ride it tomorrow to see if it makes a difference...

 

Rear Derailleur Shifting Issues...

The bike's still not shifting right.

The "missing link" or "quick connect" link is in the red box.

The green box shows one of the normal links in the new chain.

Not sure if there's too much play in the missing link.

One think I thought of trying is to reverse the missing link.

This is how it was, as installed.

Tried reversing the link but it didn't make any difference on today's ride...

On the bright side, at least my "half-ass" repair for the bike shoe is still holding up (3 days now...).

 

Shifter Cable Broke

I was trying to see why the rear derailleur was not shifting correctly by shifting up/down multiple times on the bike stand.

During the investigation, the shift cable actually broke.

This is the cable housing end that goes into the side of the shifter/brake lever.

Seems like an unusual failure.

It seems to have broken inside the shift/brake lever.

Broken cable is drooping...

This is the hole in the side of the lever that the shift cable would be fed through when installing a new cable.

The end of the cable with the built-in cylindrical "knob" appears to be stuck inside the lever.

Using a magnet, mini needle-nose pliers, a T-pin & a small pick tool (with some finesse/effort) I was able to fish out the broken piece from the shifter.

I have extra cables, so installed a new shift cable.

Cut it to length and put a cap on the end of the cable.

When tightening the new cable to the derailleur, I adjusted the cable adjuster to a position to allow myself a lot of adjustment in the tightening direction.

This bike is from the days before routing the cable through the frame became more common.

It's nice in that the cable replacement process is pretty easy and fast (don't have to "fish" the cable in and out of the frame...).

 

Thursday, December 10, 2020 -- Manhattan Beach Pier

Cloudy and cool today (low 60s).

It's actually nice to see some real clouds for a change...

It's windy (blowing in towards the NE).

Averaged about 19.8 MPH today, for about 20 miles.

For me, that's very fast.

Spent 1/2 the time at above 20 MPH...

The "bodge" repair held up another day...

 

Poor air sealing around the front door - install weather seal

Front door.

The hinge side (tight fit) and the bottom of the door (threshold seal) keep cold air out pretty well.

But the lock side and top of the door do not...

Gap between the front door and the door jamb.

Can see the light coming through the gap.

Allows cold air flow into the house.

The fact that you can see sunlight along the door jamb shows how the door is not sealed.

You can actually feel the airflow by putting your hand in front of the gap...

There's also a gap at the top of the door.

It's uneven, wider at the RH side, and also allows noticeable amounts of airflow in.

Decided to try this bulb-type stick on weather seal.

Based on some measurements, the gap should be able to be taken up by this "bulb" seal (similar to automotive seals).

This product comes as a double seal (side by side).

I need it to be a single bulb width, so I simply cut it down the middle using some scissors.

 First, the door frame/jamb area where the weather seal will be placed needs to be thoroughly cleaned to get rid of all dirt/dust.

This is before cleaning...

After cleaning.

Applied the first strip on the side of the door jamb perpendicular to the door edge (the surface on the right).

This picture is showing the "side" of the strip.

Then the second strip went on the surface 90 degrees from the first strip.

This strip would get compressed from the door's outside surface.

Went all the way top to bottom.

Then, two strips along the top, arranged 90 degrees from each other, similar to the side.

Just ran out of the weather strip material.  I needed another 20 inches or so.

But, even with what I have, it should seal out most of the draft...

After the seal application, can't see light through the door jamb anymore & can't feel airflow either.

Done...

Papaya...

CM got this very large papaya (about 10 inches long) from the nearby Latin American Market (it's more than just Mexican; there's products from other Latin American countries like Brazil...).

We just cut it in half and use a table spoon to scoop out mouth-fulls.

Tasty...

This is after I ate it up (pretty much just the skin left)...

 

Wednesday, December 9, 2020 -- Manhattan Beach Pier

Average speed was fairly high today (typical average is about 18.7 MPH).

Not much wind at the pier at 12:30...

It's a nice day with warm temperatures (low 70s).

A little hazy in the distance but not atypical...

My "bodge" repair of the biking shoe held up today.

I guess I used enough super glue this time...

The light blue colored layer is a piece of thin plastic I used to reinforce the broken piece.

Hopefully it lasts a little bit until I buy some new shoes (online)...

 

Tuesday, December 8, 2020 -- Manhattan Beach Pier

The flag is at half mast (yesterday was Pearl Harbor Day).

The wind is blowing towards north & is very dry (Santa Ana winds).

Warm today (around 80 F).

Looking north towards the Santa Monica Mountains.

My usual benches were taken so I sat & rested on the one open bench facing north.

My plastic patch and super glue "bodge" repair of my right shoe looked like it was holding.  But, when I checked after taking the shoe off, when I got home, it did not hold and had come apart again...     

I redid my "bodge" by applying a lot more superglue this time and putting a clamp on it to set overnight.

Will try it out again tomorrow...

Before going for the ride, I made a slight adjustment of the derailleur.  I turned the top screw clockwise 1/2 turn and the bottom screw 1/2 turn counter-clockwise.

It seemed to make a slight improvement on the ride.

In certain gears, the chain still "skips" or tries to shift at times.

I may also order another missing link and see if it makes a difference. (Previously, maybe a year ago?, I had problem due to the missing link not being the correct one...)

One other thing I thought of trying is to flip the missing link around to see if it makes a difference...

They've been working on this hillside shoring project for months now.  Looks like they're getting close to finishing, at least at this spot...

 

Adjusting the rear derailleur on the Cannondale...

The first thing I tried to do is adjust the rear derailleur cable.

There's a micro-adjuster for the cable tension/position at the rear derailleur where the cable goes into the derailleur.

In the picture, it's the black plastic piece.

It can be rotated at about 60 degree increments to slightly adjust the cable position.

Adjusting didn't seem to fix the issue.

In some gears, things are OK.

But in others, there's a "skipping/slipping" feeling/action.

There's a few other things I'll check before I mess with the actual cable position on the derailleur or adjusting the derailleur itself...

Meanwhile, I can still ride the bike but have to stay away from about 1/3 of the gears (out of the 10 speeds).

 

BBQ'd Ribeye Steaks...