tonight I spent a few minutes working on the bikethe fixie had a crank arm problem
early in the animation of this frankenbike there was an issue where the left crank arm would come lose
I traveled with the right tool to tighten things up when needed
it got to the point where the crank arm got loose more frequently
initially it was a matter of tightening things before a ride
and well
keeping an eye on things
then things became more common place
then one day I was moving sluggisly down Mount Pleasant Street
there were no brake pads to be rubbing
yet I felt the resistence and friction
I dismounted and checked things
the rear wheel did not spin
there was significant resistence
it was obvious
the most recent change had been the tightening of the cranks just a few minutes earlier on my ride
home was not far away
so I forced things even with the resistence
there were a few occassions after discovering this issue that I still rode the bike
days where I knew there was not much time for a ride
or days where I felt that the fixie was the best wet weather bike
there was a dance between loose and so tight with friction and then a little time in between
each time tightening more and more
knowing that tightening would fasten the crank arm but cause the resistance between the crank arm and the cup of the bottom bracket
finally tonight I dug around the garage and found a 175mm left crank arm
nothing special
the perfect piece for the job
pulled the pedal
pulled the crank
black dusty fillings dropped to the ground at the removal of the crank
I had actually grinded the crank arm down
a measurable amount
the black crank arm had a shinny silver surface where the friction had occurred
I am such a bull
just a big dumb ox
my brother would really get a kick out of this
he always gets a kick out of this stuff
this sort of stuff sort of fits into how things operate in my world
that is a black crank arm
the silver spot is where the crank contacted the bottom bracket
there was an actual concentric circle that was within te bottom bracket surronding the axle