I took my bike into The Bike Shop for repair, yesterday. I dropped it off, drove home to get the old bike, and returned for a brake swap. They currently have both bikes and a list of things to do.

The Hayes brakes from my Trek Fuel EX7 are going on my Trek Fuel EX8 and I’m getting new front pads. The loose skewer situation is getting checked out on both bikes. The front derailleur situation on the EX8 is also getting checked out. You see, the derailleur was never really adjusted properly.

Every time I would come to an abrupt stop, either by braking hard or hitting a rock or root, the chain would come off. This hasn’t been too common, recently, but the chain still rubs on the derailleur in certain gears. This last problem has been occurring since I got the bike. No, it’s not ok. It’s not normal. With respect to the front, my EX7 front derailleur situation is much better.

I rode my EX7 around the driveway before taking it in. It felt good. It felt solid. The only persistent issue I’ve had is with the rear shifting. The chain skips when it’s in the third easiest cog. That’s quite annoying since I use the third and fourth cogs the most. I guess if I ever went singlespeed, I would have a good idea for gearing in the rear. Maybe it’s a leverage thing. It just works for me. Ali, don’t get too excited. I’m not going singlespeed.

We are having a Red Jacket meeting at the Keweenaw Brewing Company this evening. The Bike Shop closes at 8:00 p.m., so it’ll work out perfectly when I go to pick up my race bike.

I’m excited about having two different mountain bikes in working order. I think I’ll even take the EX7 out for a few rides just to remember the feeling that got me so psyched about mountain biking and bikes in general.