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Woo- Christmas has come early, Equipe Ambrose is off to Les Gets in Les Alp (Les Alpes? What gender is a mountain?). Last year the wonderful Mrs Ambrose managed to fall off and break her pelvis in two places but today was sort of passed fit by the medics. X-Radiographer, pelvisographer and primatologist say it is healed, go ride- carefully. Physiotherapist says go ride, be very careful, there are still problems with the nerves, hence the chronic pain. To celebrate I dug her bike out of the shed and went shopping for things. She now has pretty lilac coloured grips to match her lilac coloured gloves and lilac coloured jersey. Woman and machine, in perfect harmony.
Over the years I've amassed a fair few shock pumps but none of them work on my DT Swiss rear shock, which is most annoying. However, the shock so reliable it seldom if ever needs any adjustment but if it does I wait until I see Mark, who has a Topeak pump that does work on it.
Mark can't make it to Les Gets this year having bust his back on Run 1, Day 1 last year. So, I decide to bite the bullet and get spendy and fork out on a pump of my own that will work with my 'special' shock. So off I jolly well trot to Tredz in that there Swansea complete with the shock, removed from the bike.
Who knew there could be so many ways to squirt one of the commonest substances on the planet into a confined space, but there you are, such is life I suppose? The guy behind the counter was great, unpackaging a variety of pumps to try out.
In the end we found a couple of Topeaks, one without a gauge at £17:99 (RRP £21:99, bargaintastastic!! YAYY) and another, with a digital gauge at about four times the price. I went for the former, especially as it says that it is 'Built for experienced riders that know the pressure to run in their shocks without a gauge'- “Well hello there” I said to myself that is most definitely me innit? I'm a mechanical genius and a riding god! I can fix my bike and I'm off to Les Gets in LES ALPES (TM) for goodness sakes. I must fit into the Venn diagram bit where all the stuff that I am overlaps that includes Ambrose, Swansea, £17:99, Topeak, experienced rider (I'm almost 57 and a half btw) and 'Shiny and New thing that looks all technical and moves nicely with a bit of heft (but not too much 'cos it is lightweight).
And now owning a pair of super lovely lilac coloured grips, a shiny new shock pump that works on my shock and a Rapid Racer Products weird shaped sheet of stiff plastic that I will try again to wrestle into place with zip ties (provided) and pliers (not provided) in the morning. It will be a doddle in then, ‘cos I am a mechanical god innit. Somehow my Zip tie Fu had left me earlier this evening when I first tried to fit the blummin’ thing between the fork legs. The midges sucked my technicorpuscles from me and thus I could not completely achieve what I knew would be well within my capabilities. If anyone saw a stroppy annoyed 57 and almost a half riding and mechanical guru sort of nearish to Swansea it wasn’t me. Actually, it was. Why are there so many possible holes to choose from?
Anyway, every day’s a school day right? Got home, remembered that nice bloke behind the till had poked a screwdriver down the nozzley bit of the air-squirty shock pump (possibly ‘pwmp shociau’ in Welsh, not sure. Welshfarmer, you there?) so I had a go on one of my older now less loved pumps because it is not as shiny/ slick/ new/ techno-hefty ™ as the New Pump On The Block, the Topeak MicroShock. And Lo and Behold- if you turn the brass thingamybob (Welsh= beth yn galw) in the connector with a screwdriver you can adjust when it impinges with the projection on the Schraeder valve… …and thus, all my many shockpumps can now be used on my rear shock.
Phew, what a day.
I'm not reading all that shit.
Oh. I did 🙁
Summary, please.
Put the bottle down close the laptop and head to bed
I liked it!
And learned so much.
You can buy a shock pump without a gauge?! Is that more or less useful than a tape measure without any marks on the tape?!
...but that tip about the shock is useful as I only have one out of three that works with a particular shock, they all leak, but at least I know I should be able to adjust any pump to work with it in future...
What I noticed was you managed to have one broken pelvis and a knackered back on your alpine trip last year. I'd be avoiding the place again, sounds dangerous for you!
Wow. I didn't know that. Neither did my (oft mentioned on here) LBS, who gave me a new 32mm aircap for my 35mm forks as a solution! And I "fixed" it with a new valve core 😆
My eyes hurt now but I also didn't know that. Never had the problem though.
Also your far too old to be going to the Alps. Get to the bowling green instead and accept your piss stained arthritic future. 👍