Last weekend I cleaned my chain - one of my last bike preparations for the ride. I call it a 'full service'. Riding my bike afterwards it was a pleasure to notice how smoothly it ran, so I posted on my cycling club's WhatsApp group that 'happiness is a clean drivetrain'. It sparked off a series of comments about cleaning bikes and a certain amount of innuendo about waxing and lubing. It also provided this gem of information - apparently there are up to 12 watts in a clean chain! Did you know that? No, I didn't either but I'll take it. I'll need all the watts I can get, and any bit of free energy will be most welcome. Well, it wasn't entirely free - it's surprising how much degreaser costs!
While attending to my drivetrain and prepping my bike, I fitted a new rear derailleur and cassette* - the new derailleur being necessary to accommodate the larger cassette. A 36 tooth rear cassette. I already had a 32 at the rear. For those who don't know, 32 is considered pretty low - indeed the maximum low for normal road bikes. I even managed to cycle up the Devil's Elbow in Wales (which, as its name might suggest, is pretty steep) with it, but that was without panniers. I'm sure road racers will laugh at me. But they won't be the ones riding up all the hills between Lands End and John O'Groats with loaded panniers on the back at the age of 66, so there.
*For any fastidious bike savants reading this, no, I didn't fit a new chain on fitting the new cassette, the one that is on there and the bike as a whole, really isn't that old!
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