aka, German expedition - part 2

Same as for "Journey of a mateiro", this will be an evolving post.

I've never considered myself particularly apt in handywork, quite the opposite. Through the years I was happy to learn how to do basic things like paint an inner wall or fix a door handle. The apex of my skills was building Ikea furniture.
In late February we moved into a new apartment which was completely bare. No furniture, no lights, not even the boiler was on. Through the help of Delie and some friends I learned a few more things:

• how to connect a lamp
• how to connect a sink, dishwasher, washing machine
• how to care for a German radiator
• how to drill into walls and secure furniture

I can't hide I'm both excited and ashamed to share all this. How can a grown man not know how to connect a lamp?
Fast forward a couple of months, all the rental bikes in town are being repaired and are impossible to find. It's time to buy my own bicycle. In Italy I've always bought used run-down bikes for maybe 40€ and they worked fantastic. One bike in particular would drive me 7km to school and 7km back every day, sun or snow, without requiring much more than the occasional pump. When the locals told me to never buy a used bike, that I would regret it, that I couldn't find a decent bike for less than 200€, I laughed.

Delie and I eventually went to a used bicycle market, the cheapest bike was 86€ and that's what I got. Its name is Pollo. Here are some issues Pollo has-had and how I fixed them. Needless to say, the locals were right.

Derailer nut loosens

On my very first test-run, after 50 meters, the derailer nut got loose, making the back wheel press against the body of the bike. The wheel was stuck so I had to carry the bike back home.
This was my first deep dive into Youtube bicycle repair videos and bicycle repairs in general. I couldn't find my exact problem, but I decided to try to fix it on my own. This is when I first found out that basically all nuts on a bicycle should be number 10, except this one, which is number 15.
Solution Take a number 15 wrench and tighten the nut again. I went to a bike shop the next day to have it looked after, the dude told me it's nice and tight and nothing should happen.

Brake pads touch the rubber

Brake pads should never, ever, touch the rubber. When you brake, all pressure should be against the metal part of the wheel. I noticed one of the brake pads was uncomfortably high, so I decided to lower it.
Solution This is very easy to do, as it simply requires loosening a number 10 nut, sliding the pad lower, tightening it again. The tricky part is that as you tighten it, the pad could move, so be careful.
In my case the brake pad was so old that a little pressure broke the screw. I bought two new pads at the shop, which however introduced a new problem...

Brake pads touch the wheel

Depending on the type of brake, it could happen that they're installed correctly, but after you brake, one pad doesn't snap back. This is probably the hardest problem I've encountered so far, as it can be caused by multiple things and there are thus multiple ways to deal with this. Not even the bike shop dude could fix it after 5 minutes of grunting. I have old and rusty center calipers, here's list of a few solutions:

• (what worked for me so far) Loosen the front and back nuts simultaneously (carefully and just a little), move the brake so it's centered. Braking now should make both pads snap back, tighten the front bolt as much as you're comfortable. Too much and the brakes won't budge, too little and you won't have enough pressure
• (what in theory should work) At the front there should be two nuts, what isn't working is the interplay between the two. Unfortunately I had to rely on the first and more brute-forcy method because the inner nut is too small for my tools and most probably oxidized
• (a less common cause) Check for the brake wire tension, it could be either too tight or too loose
• (an unfortunate situation) The spring inside the caliper is either not placed correctly or it's run its course. In the latter case, you need new brakes

Chain skips a beat

I had noticed while riding that the chain would sometimes skip, even when I wasn't changing gears. Solution I sprayed some WD40 on the back gears and run the chain through it a few times

There's still a few issues I'm struggling against:

• Both fenders are extremely soft. When I ride both of them swing sideways and sometimes touch the wheel. I managed to bend the front one so it shouldn't touch the wheel. The back one is a bit more sturdy and I'm not sure how to fix this. In theory I could just take them off, but in order to do this I would need to uninstall the brakes, and I don't really want to mess with the brakes
• Wheels are off center. Both wheels are off center, in theory I should take them off, put them on a special tool and center them. In practice it's a very specialized tool and probably not worth the investment or effort
• Tires are old and worn out. Well, they need replacing. This will be a nice addition to the present post

Bike ride pre-check

After the first test-ride, I can't say I trust Pollo wholeheartedly, so this is what I do before each ride:

• check tire pressure
• check brakes for both pressure and positioning

Whenever I touch something on the bike, I do a test-run immediately after on a road I know pretty well. It takes me 15 minutes back and forth, has two hills, and a decent bike lane.

General lessons learned

• invest in good tools. I had bought a 5€ bike pump at Kodi, turns out it's pretty much useless
• don't buy at the used bicycle market. I could go on a long rant here, about Germany, about life, I will just spare you
• expect the unexpected. Here in Cologne everyone seems to be on the roster for the Tour de France. In order to go as fast as they can, they need to assume that everyone around them will behave correctly. No kids will unexpectedly run on the bike lane, no car will make sudden manouvers, etc. Needless to say, this is a dangerous attitude
• enjoy your ride. (sequitur) Truth is, the bike lane is usually between the street and the sidewalk. Cars park on it, cars run on it, people step on it, other bicycles enter traffic. It's easy to get frustrated and shout "Mann!!". I've been on both sides of "Mann!!". Riding a bicycle is amazing, keep your smile on and be understanding