"Sir, we're gonna need a longer B-screw": Bike shop baffled by bizarre chain routing that left despairing mechanic with "absolutely no f****** hope"; Mountain bike world champ to target road races in 2025 + more on the live blog

"Even an Altus couldn't save them..."

 

 

 

 

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We haven't checked in with the Trench Tales Instagram page for a while. Beginning to crave our much-needed dose of mechanical misfortune, we looked and weren't disappointed. I'm sure some of my earlier chain routing attempts might have looked something like this... praise the lord that was quickly remedied via the proper route through a rear derailleur and a bike shop with a penchant for Instagram sharing never got a look at it.

"As always, there's absolutely no f****** hope," the mechanic behind the page concluded, finding some amusement in the very existence of the classic 'you bike shops are on the Shimano take' joke. 

We're kind of intrigued to see if it actually works as an inadvertent, overly complex and unnecessarily heavy single speed set-up. 

Trench Tales reckon it "ever-so-slightly-sorta-kinda" would work... "unless it didn't"

As ever, the comments section was a hive of helpful advice and back-seat drivetraining, one follower joking: "Just screw in the B tension and you should be good."

Another helpfully added: "Always aim for a clean chainline."

The page dedicated to showcasing life in the trenches as a bike shop mechanic, its undramatic bio simply "the abyss, gazing back" has a rich history of live blog gold, from battered rusty bikes that had the toughest of lives, to unbelievably worn tyres and drivetrains, Trench Tales has seen it all. Good motivation to get your chain checker out once in a while...

> "Just replace the chain, it'll be fine"

The genre of social media posts from bike shops and mechanics showing questionable maintenance was the subject of an online discussion the other month, one cyclist suggesting shops shouldn't be "shaming your customers on social media", that debate sparked after a California-based mechanic posted an image of a cracked stem with the caption: "Came in for new cables, leaving with a new stem too… #YourBikeHatesYou"

Some said that while these sort of posts can come across as elitist and may appear like they are taking a knock at those just taking their first steps in the home mechanic journey, but others argued that if done with no harmful intentions and more importantly, keeping the cyclist/user anonymous, it can be some quick insightful content in jest.

One person said: "How is this shaming? showing clearly worn out parts and showing that they look over the bike completely to make sure their customers ride safe?" to which the original poster replied: "It's the 'your bike hates you' hashtag. This picture with a different caption would be a lot more helpful."

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Please, Nopinz, anything... an adhesive see-through pocket that can be stuck to bare chest? Anything to not see this on the timeline again...

The decision to invest €30-million in the world’s biggest bike parking (12,500 spaces) at Utrecht Central Station seems extravagant, but when you calculate the cost of the alternatives—in the context of tens of thousands of bike-train trips each day—it’s an absolute bargain...🧵 pic.twitter.com/nwvQiPZFxw

— Melissa & Chris Bruntlett (@modacitylife) November 7, 2024

This is Utrecht Central Station's 12,500-space bike parking metropolis. Melissa and Chris Bruntlett, the authors of 'Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality', pointed out it cost €30 million and then made the case for why that's "an absolute bargain".

An external analysis put the cost of the bike parking facility (including construction and operation) at €1 per user per day, where the cost of bus or tram travel was €3 per user per day. So enabling cycling to the station saved millions in public transport subsidies each year.

The savings were even more dramatic when compared to accommodating car travel to the station. The related negative externalities—such as congestion, pollution, road safety, and public health—were calculated in the tens of millions each year; even in the most optimistic scenarios.

Furthermore, a great deal of traffic congestion can be relieved by replacing a small proportion of cars with other modes. The provision of cycling and public transport supports this shift; allowing authorities to postpone or even supersede road expansions that cost them billions.

By executing this type of social cost-benefit analysis, and considering the full economic impact of alternative scenarios—including doing nothing—cities like Utrecht can justify "extravagant" infrastructure investments, because they know it saves taxpayer money year after year.

Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman took note, replying to the thread: "A systemic approach that is fit for the future, on its own, pointless but as part of an integrated transport strategy, it's proven effective, bluntly, ensuring trains are readily supplied with customers is good, joined up investment (and it's nice!)" 

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