CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

[CitroJim]

Wondered if Brooks running shoes were related to Brooks Saddles..

Until you mentioned it Neil, the thought had never occurred to me Shocking I know...

My choice of saddle is a Selle-Italia... I believe they may now own Brooks too although Brooks still operate as a separate company producing their iconic traditional leather saddles

Allegedly it takes 5000 miles to 'run in' a Brooks saddle!

Are you suggesting Jim got saddled with them Neil?

Love it No, I chose the Brooks Glycerins a long while ago as the ones that suited me, my feet and running style the beat... Now I'll run in nothing else and dread Brooks ceasing production of them. In case they do I always keep at least one new pair in stock..

Running shoes are a very personal choice. What suits me may be totally unsuited to you and vice-versa... Every runner has their favourite...

Like performance car owners and tyres I guess

[CitroJim]

Another lovely day here so it was out on the bike again

At this time of the year days like today have to be made the most of... Daffodil can wait a while...

I took a short break in this magical place

Tea Time!!!

I also thought I'd captured some good video but it was mighty misty when I set out and it big droplets condensed on my video camera lens and obscured everything

[Hell Razor5543]

I wonder if coating the camera lens with some Rain X could resolve that issue?

[CitroJim]

I wonder if coating the camera lens with some Rain X could resolve that issue?

That's a good point James, thanks

Certainly worth a try...

[CitroJim]

It's been a good automotive afternoon

First up was to do the weekly checks on all the operational cars...

Open wide Sally! I promise it won't hurt...

All is good on both Pix and Sally... Both the girls needed a bit of air in their tyres to compensate for the now much lower ambient temperatures...

Then a look at the car I'm fostering for a while.. I ran her up to temperature and she really does run like a clock...

MX5 Engine... Nice!

The interior is a bit snazzy too...

You need to be an athlete to get in and out!

A quick look over the car suggests she's in very good condition

I could succumb to her charms

Then it was time to do some work on Daffodil...

First off she had her weekly run-up to temperature to keep all good and her battery nicely charged...

After that I dealt with her loose and floppy drivers door lock barrel...

A floppy lock! Remember those in early PCs?

I popped off the door card - easy in an AX - and found the spring clip had fallen off...

I retrieved it from the bottom of the door and set about the very fiddly job of putting it back where it belonged...

A clip in time saves 9...

It was a right fiddly old job and I thanked genetics for giving me girly hands and thin wrists

At some point in her life Daffodil has had replacement locks fitted and the replacements don't appear genuine... Even with the clip tight there's still a bit of movement in the barrel...

If the clip falls off again I'll revisit and see if can make things better...

An excellent afternoon well spent

[CitroJim]

Ever since I'd had my new super-fast Carlos Fandango FTTP Internet installed, my Zwift virtual cycling setup has been a bit flaky with frequent display freezes, lots of pixelation and the occasional complete crash...

Today I did some investigation. Suspecting the Wi-Fi was likely to be a prime suspect, I downloaded onto my 'phone a Wi-Fi analyser app. that immediately showed everything in my house was running on the very crowded and congested 2.4GHz band... On it I can see all my neighbour's APs at very good signal strengths...

Odd as previously I'd had as much as possible on the 5GHz band... Today the analyser showed the 5GHz band to be totally empty...

Logging into the router I found the reason... Only the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band was enabled by default

I enabled it. gave the two bands different SSIDs, to which the router admonished me saying it was not optimal naff off, I know what I'm doing , switched the Zwift kit over to the 5GHz band and went for a test ride...

A Virtual tour of Richmond, Virginia...

Happily, Zwift ran faultlessly with not one freeze, no crashes and no pixels out of place The display screen definition was higher too...

Success

Question is, why is the 5GHz Wi-Fi band not enabled by default in a router designed to connect to fast fibre? Anyone know or can hazard an opinion? It seems odd to me... Unless it's because the ability to operate at 5GHz is not by any means universal... None of my laptops will and amazingly, neither will my very posh and relatively new smart telly :surprised:

[xantia_v6]

The 5 GHz signal has less range and if your house has a room which is on the fringes, some devices make a pigs ear of deciding which is the better quality signal, causing drop-outs and freezes as they grimly hold on to an unreliable 5 GHz signal or jump back and forth between the two bands. Perhaps switching off the 5 GHz is part of a plan to reduce customer support workload.

Our house here is built of reinforced concrete and it attenuates the 5 GHz signal to the point that it is only reliable when in the same room as the wifi access point, so I have given them different SSIDs and only a couple of devices know about the 5 GHz SSID.

[CitroJim]

Thanks Mike, excellent That makes a lot of sense... Luckily, in all the places I use 5GHz I have a good signal.

The joy of a small compact house I guess!

[CitroJim]

I found myself in need of some spanner therapy today

So after a particularly good 30 mile virtual bike ride around Watopia I set about doing some preparatory work to replace Daffodil's RH driveshaft, wheel bearing and brake disc/pads...

I also used it as an experiment to see just how well I could work on the suspension within the confines of my bijou workshop... Very well as it happens and that bodes well for when the weather really turns...

I have to push Daffodil's rear end outside and work with the garage doors open but that's much better than being totally outside

Daffodil amongst the spanners...

For now, the hub nut has defeated me. However hard I tried I just could not keep the car on the ground... I was either lifting her or spinning the engine over... I'm going to need assistance to get the nut loose!

That did not stop me doing a trial strip of the brake components...

Thin as a fag paper!

The disc and pads are well worn...

I found the caliper very tight on its sliders so removed the caliper complete to clean and lubricate the sliders...

The caliper minus pads...

I tried to retract the piston but even with plenty of force from a G Cramp it won't move... I thought opening the bleed nipple might make it easier to retract the piston but the nipple is very tight and I'm wary of applying too much force...

I'm soaking it in Plus Gas and will do so over a period of days in the hope the nipple will undo successfully... Maybe a bit of carefully applied heat will help too...

The track rod end balljoint was no problem at all

An easy win!

As was the lower swivel through-bolt

Lower swivel

The boot on the outer CV joint - the failed one - is not well secured and much nasty grease had escaped and made a mess...

It just goes to prove that cable ties, even a pair of them, do not make good CV boot clips

What a mess and what a bodge...

I hate spilt CV grease and hate cleaning it up even more Lots of brake cleaner helped...

Once this side is done, a repeat performance on the LH side, less driveshaft, will take place

Before it all goes together again, all will receive a good clean up and a lick of black paint

Happily, no 'nasties' found - on this side at least.....

[NewcastleFalcon]

but the nipple is very tight and I'm wary of applying too much force...

I'm soaking it in Plus Gas and will do so over a period of days in the hope the nipple will undo successfully... Maybe a bit of carefully applied heat will help too...

One good thing if you do happen to shear it off Jim, at least you will be able to make a contribution to this old thread of mine.

viewtopic.php?t=53542&hilit=sheared+a+bleed+nipple

Regards Neil

[myglaren]

Re: the recalcitrant hub nut. When I had to do my GS rear discs, I bought a giant box spanner for it but failed to shift it, then found that the workshop method was to split the nut as they rarely gave in, chuck it and the c-nut and replace them (dirt cheap).
Save hours of toil.

[Skull]

For now, the hub nut has defeated me. However hard I tried I just could not keep the car on the ground... I was either lifting her or spinning the engine over... I'm going to need assistance to get the nut loose!

Jim I presume you've removed the stake on the nut and that you've tried cracking it off with the wheel back on and brakes applied before you removed the brake components ?

I don't recall having much trouble on my AX's over the years ....

[CitroJim]

Jim I presume you've removed the stake on the nut

Oh yes, all staking removed

Being alone I cannot apply the brakes to assist with undoing the nut so will wait for assistance...

Even with the wheel on I was lifting the wheel up and clear with my undoing efforts and then if not lifting, the wheel was rotating and turning over the engine It's tight!!!

I was concerned if I put much more force on the bar I was in danger of flipping the car over onto its roof

Re: the recalcitrant hub nut. When I had to do my GS rear discs, I bought a giant box spanner for it but failed to shift it, then found that the workshop method was to split the nut as they rarely gave in, chuck it and the c-nut and replace them (dirt cheap).
Save hours of toil.

That's a good thought Steve, I have some spare ones and a very sharp cold chisel!

One good thing if you do happen to shear it off Jim, at least you will be able to make a contribution to this old thread of mine.

viewtopic.php?t=53542&hilit=sheared+a+bleed+nipple

Thanks Neil

Indeed, I have made loads of my little nipple adaptors to recover calipers with sheared nipples in them and have all the raw materials to hand...

Watch this space, my lathe could be busy again soon

[Michel]

“ Being alone I cannot apply the brakes to assist with undoing the nut so will wait for assistance”..

It was your good self I believe, who told me how to use a broom handle or similar to keep the brake pedal pressed down while bleeding Xantia brakes. One end on pedal, one end against drivers seat. Move driver’s seat forward to keep pedal pressed..

[CitroJim]

“ Being alone I cannot apply the brakes to assist with undoing the nut so will wait for assistance”..

It was your good self I believe, who told me how to use a broom handle or similar to keep the brake pedal pressed down while bleeding Xantia brakes. One end on pedal, one end against drivers seat. Move driver’s seat forward to keep pedal pressed..

Tried that, unable to exert sufficient pressure...

It's fine for bleeding Xantia brakes or testing brake lights but for a very tight hub nut, no chance!