With the times (almost)

My cross bike is now officially a 9-speed beast. No more of this 8-speed-can't-change-out-wheels-shifts-like-a-dinosaur-playing-soccer drivetrain. Actually, it shifted fine. If its not broke, don't fix it. But, I just wanted to be able to swap out wheels and go road riding. Or be able to take a wheel from neutral support at races. You know, little things. I also figured I would put on cantilever brakes while I had her all stripped down. These were free brakes, and I soon discovered why. The rear one had a cracked plastic doohickey that is supposed to hold the spring rigid, and the front ones don't fit on my posts. Maybe I can get that part for the rear one. So, we're still stuck with the damn mini-V brakes that have the smallest possible margin between getting the cable tight enough that I can actually slow down and rubbing against the rim. Hopeless. This is when a barrel adjuster would be nice.

Anyway, you learn things about your bike every time you take things apart. Like, the part that goes into the frame thats connected to my stem is ridiculously short (I didn't call it a thing! I called it a part!), and that is why I have that ridiculous-looking spacer on there. Or, the cable guide under my bottom bracket is held on by a spoke nipple, because the a**holes that put my bike together way back when must have been too lazy to freakn tap the screw hole.

After I noticed that my cable guide was held in by a spoke nipple, I was laughing so hard that I put my derailleur cable through the brake cable hole on my rear shifter. I saw this, and still laughing, realized that was wrong. For some reason, instead of taking the cable out, I put it through the derailleur cable hole on the other shifter. I proceeded to collapse on the floor because I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. It was a neat-looking little spiderweb, but I probably would have a little trouble shifting.

so, yeah, everything works now. I have a modern bike!