So, there I was in the garage trying (unsuccessfully) to find the puncture repair kit.
Or at least, I found the old kit – but it’s lacking any of the rubber softening gunk, and I couldn’t find the new kit that’s around ‘somewhere’.
So after the rain had let up I made my way back to the house, hopped in the car and headed across town – deciding to support a small shop and grab some coffee at the same time. I thought if I must endure hideous traffic, I might as well join errands together.
So I went to Fred Baker cycles, who I’ve not been to before… the one time I’d tried before, they were closed. This time they were open, and there they had the new-style puncture repair stuff. Which is unnerving and modern and doesn’t involve putting vulcanising stuff on, waiting for it to go goey, then sticking a patch on, then covering it in chalk. Oh no. Just rough the rubber and stick the pad on, then wait a bit.
Anyhow, on a spur of the moment thing (‘cos it’s always useful to know) I asked if they had rod-brake brakes. Which they did. In stock. Lots of ’em. Not as cheap as the ones I get online – and seemingly the same grotty quality, but there they were.
Then I asked “You don’t happen to have any experience of rebuilding BSA 3 speed hubs, do you?” which has become my standard bike shop question. I expected the usual “You mean Sturmey Archer? Of course we do”… which is wrong, because they’re different and completely incompatible.
But no; he just nodded in response to the question. I confirmed that I meant the BSA ones, not the Sturmeys, and he commented on how they differed, and explained that it was usually easier to replace them with the Sturmeys, but it was certainly something he could do. And that he could look at it and see if it was repairable (for a small examination fee).
And so… my lovely bicycle (Molly) shall have to make a pilgrimage across Bristol in the not too distant future and there’s a faint hope I might get a 3 speed bicycle. Which’d be awfully exciting. And a hell of a lot easier than shipping one wheel off to some random company.
So yay.
