Roadworks and closures to cycling routes

This is the season for roadworks which are affecting various parts of the cycling network in South Tyneside.

The cycleway between the A184 and Downhill Lane, which is an important,well used link is still closed due to Northern Power works on the overhead lines which is for the new Wear Crossing. This is expected to be reopen early to mid January. The alternative route is to use Downhill lane itself between the A184 and the A1290
Follingsby Lane will be closed from 8th of January until March for Bridge repair works. At the minute there is no update whether pedestrian/cycle access will be possible. The closest alternative is use the shared path alongside the A184, and the cycleway when it reopens. To avoid the poor surface crossings at Testo, it is possible to use the farm bridge which links the old Newcastle road beside Enterprise car rental, with Boldon Business park, although it can get slippy when wet.

Further afield, Cherry Blossom Way is closed to vehicles at the junction with Nissan way, although there is fairly narrow access for pedestrians and cyclists. Use the road, and the path on the east side from the Adient gate

Alfine 11 hub gear - It's first oil change

I bought and fitted the Alfine 11 to Thunderbird 2 (a Moulton non-separable ABP) back in mid march to replace the SRAM Dualdrive 24 which had been in since new back in 2002.

Now after a couple of months, it's time for the first oil change of the hub, which is at 1000km.

The procedure is fairly straightforward and easier than getting hold of the kit in the first place. Mine came from Estonia via ebay for just over Twenty quid. the contents are shown below and are (clockwise)

• Plastic container for the old oil
• 50ml of Shimano SG-700 oil (Green like washing up liquid) only use this for the 2 year warranty
• Syringe
• Protective gloves
• Bleed tube
• 3mm allen key
• Instructions

1. Locate the oil port, and after wiping any crud off, remove with a 3mm allen key. Ensure that the o ring comes off with it and you do not lose it

2. Attach the bleed tube, and secure with a 10mm spanner (not included with the kit)
 

3. Attach the syringe to the bleed tube, then carefully rotate so the bleed tube is vertical with the port at the bottom and then leave for a few minutes to let the old oil soak to the bottom of the hub

 

4. Slowly and smoothly pull out the syringe plunger and draw the old oil out of the hub being careful not to get any air bubbles in, and once out unscrew the syringe from the bleed tube and then squirt the old oil into the plastic pot. It's a nasty greenish black

5. Now we need to inject 25ml of oil to clean it.

6. Hold the syringe to the bottle of new oil and draw 25ml into the syringe. This is quite fiddly as you need to keep the bottle and syringe tight together to prevent spilling any oil or getting air bubbles in the oil.

7. Rotate the wheel so the bleed tube is at the top this time. screw the syringe back on, and slowly and smoothly inject the oil into the hub making sure you don't get any air in.

8. Once all the oil has been injected, remove the syringe and tube, replace the oil cap, and then spin the pedals changing up and down through all the gears for a minute or two to ensure the oil gets everywhere inside.

9. Follow steps 1 to 4, and reconnect the tube and syringe. Spin the wheel so the oil port etc is at the bottom and after allowing the oil to settle, draw out the cleaing oil which will now be a dirty black green colour and dispose into the plastic pot.

10. Repeat steps 6,7 and 8 to inject 25ml of new clean oil into the hub. Remove the syringe an bleed tube. Screw the oil cap on, ensuring the o ring is there. Give the gears a few runs through.

Job done until the next 3000 miles is up