A Bit Late, But Ready For Winter

We’ve had a mild winter so far.  Yesterday was the first snow accumulation we’ve had, and it was just a trace.

My Surly Long Haul Trucker is my winter bike because I have studded tires to fit it.  First it had a front derailleur issue, then it needed new cables run.  I didn’t like the brakes and it needed new wheels.

So, I replaced the brakes, recabled brakes and shifters – moving the shifters to the downtube bosses, and swapped the new wheels into place.  I hated the shifters.  With my neck flare up I couldn’t actually ride the bike.

Last night’s weather forecast was ugly.  We were under a winter weather advisory, so I figured I’d better get the studded tires out.

I moved the shifters back to the bar-ends, re-cabled them (again!) and routed the cable up the bars so my BarMitts would fit.  I swapped out tires for the studded Marathon Winter tires.  I ended up staying up late to get this done.

So, this morning the roads were completely clear.  What little snow we had gotten had disappeared (did it sublimate?).  It was cold, so the BarMitts were great.  I enjoyed the “electronic bacon” sound of the studded tires, even if they did slow me down a bit.

My cabling job works.  Everything works.  The new brakes are silent even if not as powerful as I’d like.  I never did use a fork-crown mount cable hanger, but that may not be needed.  That’s good as it’ll leave a better mounting spot for a dyno-powered headlight once I get around to buying it.

I didn’t re-wrap the bars.  I need more bar-tape, and I want to make sure my cabling job is good before covering it.

All four of the bikes in the house (#5 – the folding bike is still with my daughter) are ready for commute duty should they be needed.