Foam Chaincase

It will be remember-ed - we few, we happy few, we band of brothers - it will be remember-ed  (no it won't, cos no-one's paying attention and frankly, why should they)  that I built a foam chaincase around my no-maintenance rainbike so I could dose the chain with oil and not worry about it.


Said rainbike started making a whoosh-whooshing noise t'other day and on my return, dripping, I chanced to examine the back tyre and decided, on reflection, that it was probably about time to replace it.

Back tyre. Past its sell-by date

Using the time-honoured method (1) of undoing the LH axle nut only and pulling the frame apart just enough to get the old tyre out and the new one in, I replaced it and found to my annoyance that the chain had come off.  Stuck inside the foam chaincase I couldn't get it back on, so peeling back the foam I discovered that my endeavours had not been entirely successful in keeping the chain oiled and clean and maintenance-free.

So it was an interesting experiment but in the interests of honesty I think we can discard both the chaincase and the idea.  I prefer waxing chains as road dust doesn't stick to wax and a waxed chain lasts longer than oiling it,  but I think this bike can be an exception and since it's made out of old junk and exists solely so I can get my daily exercise even in inclement weather, we'll oil the chain and live with the need of occasional replacement.

(1) As explained to me by Mr. Knight.

One year on

It is now zackly a year since I was cut for the stone, and since nobody who ever reads this blog registers the wit and vivacity of my literary references (see, there goes another one) I shall mention that the quote comes from Mr. Pepys and if you don't know what being cut for the stone means, here's (warning: pdf) a particularly graphic and horrifying account of it. Everyone thinks that Mr. Pepys was just the chap who wrote the Diary, but actually he was slightly importanter in the history of England than that - he was the chap who really founded the Civil Service. Which statement can rest unreferenced because either no-one cares or if they do care they're better informed than I am and likely to be disputatious.

I wasn't cut for the stone actually. I was cut for the nailing together of some of my trochanters. And the current posish is that apart from minor nagging aches, and the fact that I'm five minutes slower in the hour on a bicycle and not nearly as fast walking, I'm pretty well recovered, ta v.m. for asking.

However since we are not interested in my state of health, I shall now display a photograph of the foam chaincase which allows me to ride my delightfully slow two-speed bike through the rain without having to trouble myself about the chain going rusty.

And here is how I glued it together:

It just sits there, vaguely attached by the flimsy hole round the bike's frame, and being of light-weight, soft material, it makes no noise even if the chain or crank rubs on it.

One day I shall have to think about how to remove parts for maintenance, but I expect a sharp knife, followed by contact adhesive, will have to do the trick. For the moment, lubrication, if I can be bothered, can be by squidging the oilcan in somewhere. Being protected from road dust the chain can manage by being oiled though this I normally eschew, it being a very inferior form of lubrication compared to chain waxing. Which topick we need not go into since the unconverted will never believe it and the converted need no encouragement.

The highly observant, by which I mean Mr. Knight, will note that the rear wheel, formerly a four-cross, has been rebuilt as a three-cross owing to frequent pringling. The or'nery observant will note the common-or-garden pedals, and that's because I wear knackered old trainers when riding this bike cos it only ever gets used when it's raining. Which it happens to be today. Which is why this topick cross'd my mind.