2021 Race Blog - Japanese Radness in all this Madness!

[Mikku]

So yesterday I had a closer look at the Elite hub. I first removed the driver, then the pawls and springs and gave everything a good wipe-down. Post-clean pic below. There's not much tension in the springs, so I got in touch with Profile who said that the springs can be bent/reshaped if I want to increase the tension but I'd worry about weakening them by doing that, so am more inclined to just replace them. They also said that the pawls will most probably fine, being made of tool steel, so don't need replacing, which is a bonus. As previously said, I have no idea how old these hubs are but suspect, given the faded, blue ano on the Sun Envy rims, plus the condition of the rest of the components that were on the bike, that they must be quite a few years old by now. I'm guessing between 5 and 10 years. I love these hubs, so if I can get a few more years' use out of them, preferably on the GT, then I'll be a happy chappy.

[nic968]

 Great to see you're racing again out there, despite Covid and the weather. I'm sure unpredictaable weather reminds you of home too, we had blazing sunshine on Sunday and then it snowed a bit yesterday...Happy Easter!

[Mikku]

Unsurprisingly, the British weather's one of the things that I don't miss!   That said, you don't get the heavy snow, high humidity and typhoons that we get over here, so I guess that balances things out a bit.

Sunday's race is still on the cards, with entries to be made online to avoid everyone lining up to do it on the day. I've therefore just submitted my entry, despite going over on my ankle yesterday! I was practising on my homemade start ramp (pic below) when I put my foot down, slipped and fell over! I could hardly walk last night but it's a bit better today, though I can't put my full weight on it. I had been planning to go to Gonzo tomorrow (Weds) night for some gate practice, so that's now off but I'm hoping that it heals up by the weekend. Whether I can ride the bike on Saturday will be the acid test.

In other news, Profile told me that the copper springs in my Elite hub are the older style, which they stopped using a few years ago. That has cemented the desire to replace them, so that's on the cards this week. In fact, the cost of those will be covered by the cost of the Gonzo trip that I'm now not making, so it's not all bad news!

[Mikku]

I kind of expected this to happen, so it's no big surprise, but Sunday's race has just been cancelled due to COVID, as per the attached notice. Half-disappointed but also half-relieved, for various reasons. On the plus side, I can let my ankle heal properly and spend some more money on the bike!