May. 20th, 2008 @ 01:46 am Bike minutiae:
Tags: ,
Bike minutiae:

* The back light sometimes goes off when cycling. I infer the batteries jar momentarily loose when going over a bump, and the "on" state is lost. They feel a bit loose. Is there an obvious fix? I tried taping the batteries in place and it made no difference.

(I sort of want some electrically conducting putty to go between the battery and the contact :))

* Last month, the front gear cable snapped off from the handlebars. The bike man from university cycles fixed everything (thank you!). This week, the rear gear cable snapped. I'll take it back and get it fixed too, but any suggestions as to why?

Is anything likely to cause both to fail? Did something snag the chain? I might have changed gear up from the highest gear on one of them, but I don't think I did on both of them. Did someone sabotage my bike, but sabotage the gears instead of the breaks? Do the cables just last a very specific number of months??
About this Entry
Leave a comment
Permanent Link

Add to Memories
Tell a Friend
[User Picture Icon]
From:[info]hatam_soferet
Date: May 20th, 2008 01:00 am (UTC)
(Permanent Link)
What sort of tape did you use? Regular tape isn't always very good at holding heavy things in place very accurately. Try blu-tack?
From:[info]cartesiandaemon
Date: May 20th, 2008 11:30 am (UTC)
(Permanent Link)
Good question, thanks.
[User Picture Icon]
From:[info]pizza.maircrosoft.com
Date: May 20th, 2008 01:55 am (UTC)
(Permanent Link)
stuff paper in the batteries?

my gear cable last year broke a year to the day that I'd replaced it (though it had been going for a couple of years before the previous one broke). it then took me most of a year to get the gears working again, due to being excessively lazy.
From:[info]cartesiandaemon
Date: May 20th, 2008 11:29 am (UTC)
(Permanent Link)
Hm, maybe it's a seasonal issue...? :)
[User Picture Icon]
From:[info]woodpijn
Date: May 20th, 2008 09:56 am (UTC)
(Permanent Link)
Scrunched-up tin foil can approximate to electrically conducting putty, I think.
From:[info]cartesiandaemon
Date: May 20th, 2008 11:30 am (UTC)
(Permanent Link)
Hm, I'd be scared the crinkliness would make a bad connection, but I can certainly try, thanks.
[User Picture Icon]
From:[info]alextfish
Date: May 21st, 2008 02:04 pm (UTC)
(Permanent Link)
Carefully-folded tin foil was what I always used to use, during my student days when I got through many bike lights. I'm not sure what I was doing different then, unless it was that I was using lights that took C-size batteries, and thus I used to use rechargeables, which I think might change size slightly as you continue to use them?

Anyway, I tried little bits of paper/card behind the contact (as in, between the inside of the battery's plastic case and the little metal contact that the battery has to touch - in order to push the contact further away from the case), and had some success therewith, but folded tin foil is what I preferred.
From:[info]cartesiandaemon
Date: May 22nd, 2008 10:02 pm (UTC)
(Permanent Link)
Oh, thank you. Then that sounds very convincing, I must certainly try this.