Bike chain inferno
On this peaceful Monday afternoon I decided to wage war on my bicycle’s chains. My knowledge on this topic was next to none, but I was confident that my excitement made up for it. Upon my arrival I was rather relieved to meet Mikael there, because subconsciously I knew this was not going to be easy. According to the excellent instructions I was given, I cut the chain by using a mysterious weird looking tool called chain cutter. By using this extraterrestrial piece of martian plastic and metal I succeeded in relieving my bike of its chain. But that was only the beginning.
Humble beginnings
I was lacking some essentials so I ventured towards a certain place that has a large selection of all things mechanical. A lady that was clearly trapped in there against her free will, greeted with horror my oil stained glove and the old dirty chain resting in it. She had obviously been stuck there for an eternity since all she could come up with was “I can’t… Uh… I… No…”.
Scary times
I could relate to her but saw better to leave her be and turned into a more able looking male resident of this netherworld. He led me between the shelves and got what I came for. I proceeded to the check out with a new chain cutter and 4€ bike chains.
Shopping
Despite the fact that in hell time advances at a much quicker pace, Mikael had not aged too much and was still able to assist me with my task. And I was indeed in need of help. Between us we had four good hands and even that amount felt insufficient. The tiny bit holding the chain together flew away and disappeared into the abyss. Luckily the chain I had gotten was too long anyway and we could use it. Mikael gently hammered the little piece (I am sure if you have ever done this you know what I am talking about) back to its place and the project could go on.
A lot happened. At some point the back tire came off (on purpose!). It required removal of brakes and the gear box. Many tools I cannot name were required for this, but hammer was not one of them.
Mikael removing the back tyre
The final touch to this project was given by our lord and saviour Mr. Träskbäck, who arrived at the site and was immediately put to work. He gave the project a finishing touch and saved at least an hour of our time. In the end the bike was in one piece again and all was well in general.
Lord Träskbäck undoing the damage I had caused
If you are a first timer doing this, make sure you have the following things before you begin:
-A new chain
-A chain cutter
-Some sort of oil
-Gloves (tight ones)
-A hammer
-An anvil
-Cable tie
-At least two friends
-Time
-Patience
