I feel like I perhaps had a few too many last night

Half price tasties last night.

Ouch.

The end result is that this post will be photo heavy and poorly worded. No apologies.

Yesterday it was time to rebuild the hubs on the Fastest Bike in the World. Since there was no riding to be done outside for pleasure it just seemed like the thing to do, and I honestly had no idea when it was done last.

I hate performing maintenance on my work bike. That's the real reason behind riding a track bike. Aside from putting air in the tires and lubing/tightening the chain there's not a whole lot else to worry about.

I sequestered myself in the bike room with no plans to emerge until the job was done. It was then that I discovered I had no creamer in my coffee. Not a problem.

I grabbed all my spanners. I can never remember which ones work on which hubs, so I just threw them all on the bench.

Meh, I only needed the two I thought I would need and none of those I thought I wouldn't.

I only wore the ground score Ritz Carlton slippers until I dropped a greasy tool on them. Maintenance foul.

Things looked bad on the inside, but not bone dry like they were the last time I rebuilt them.

Everyone should have dental tools in their tool box.

They can make your life much easier and save you loads on dental cleanings for your kids.

One thing I love about my rear hub... caged bearings WITH a plastic cage so it doesn't end up all rusty and mangled from neglect.

Happy and packed with fresh grease I moved on to the Campy front.

The Campy hub annoys the shit out of me.

See the flats on that cone? No, you do not. They are mostly hidden behind that seal. What seal?

That seal. The axle is slotted and the washer is keyed, but I still want to be able to get a wrench on those flats. The Campy hub also has loose balls. I hate loose balls.

Loose balls means lost balls most of the time.

I ended up trying to rebuild the hub without the seal and then trying to press the seal in around the hardware. It was not possible. I grabbed my box of sockets and tried to find the right sized one to bang it on. My sockets were a mess, so I organized them.

Which ended up being a nightmare since starting with the sockets I found myself emptying my household tool box and organizing it as well. Once I got back to the hub I discovered that the socket idea was a big fail. I had to take the hub apart, put on the seal, and hope the keyed washer would do its job.

The camera was forgotten at this point as my tolerance for distractions was low. I didn't need to digitally document myself walking around the bike room stomping my feet and sobbing. Eventually I got the wheel back together, and the bike became rideable again.

This is how you tension the chain like a pro. Semi-pros rely on cheater devices, but my rookie years are far behind me.

Don't worry rookie...

You'll get there someday.