Hurry hurry slow slow

My apologies - the post on TT & TRI is taking longer than anticipated. It'll be here soon.

Meanwhile, I've been busy on several fronts - all of which are related to the front end of the bike. You may recall that the fork was replaced with one that has curved legs - esthetics are important. Along with this I mounted the fender and front rack. When I got done, the fork was loose in the headsets unless I tightened it down to the point where it was binding. URGH!!

I've taken the front end apart - suspecting an unstraight crown race. Looking at the land very carefully, it did appear to be less than square with the steerer. A few careful turns of the crown race cutter and things looked much better. After buttoning up the fork again, the problem returned, although it was somewhat more subtle. Some of the movement appeared to be between the steerer and the upper race. After digging out the instructions - it was clear that the upper compression cone was missing.

Its not clear how this happened. The prior fork worked fine - suggesting that it had its compression cone - but where did this one go? Fortunately, there were two matching headsets, so that each fork could have its own crown race. So, compression cone number two went into the stack and all was well. The milling on the crown definitely was part of the problem, but the core of it was the compression cone.

Then I worked to keep the rack higher off the fender. It looks like some improvement has been made. First the hole for the brake bolt was elongated some. Second, the brace coming out from under the brake was bent. The combination looks promising - I'll have to put the fender on to be sure. In any case, I can ride tomorrow morning even if the fender isn't yet in place.

Once the fender and computer are installed, this frame should be done and I can get back to Sarah's bike. But, not before finishing the piece on TRI & TT

Cheers