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Something to Do (Part 5)

Posted by Dutchman Saturday, October 24, 2009

Wheel Preparation

I'm now waiting on two key items to be delivered. One is the bottom bracket and crankset and the other is the headset. Most of the other components have arrived, but can't be assembled until the headset and fork are installed. Meanwhile, I'll set up the wheels.




The first thing to do is to tape the rims. After checking to make sure there are no metal burrs around the valve stem and spoke holes, I ran 10mm wide Velox tape around the inside of the rim.



Following this, I mounted one side of the tire. The tires I'll be using are 32mm Schwalbe Marathons. These are not as puncture resistant as the long distance tourist favored Marathon Plus tires, but they are much lighter, and a good compromise for the type of touring I'll be doing. I chose 32mm, which should be good for the occassional rail trail or dirt road riding, yet the rolling resistance won't be too bad for paved roads. As you can see from the photos, they have a reflective strip on the sidewall that should add a safety factor for low light riding.





 
Lastly, I used Park tools to install the Shimano XT 11-34 tooth cassette.






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I'm a middle aged divorced father living with my two sons. We like to canoe, bicycle, fish, camp, play baseball, and spend money when we want and where we want, without permission from anybody. HA!

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