I burned me bike !

Today we have had a number of bikes in for repair. The cause of the damage to the bikes has varied. One was driven over by a jeep, another had a saddle which was eaten by a dog, but it was the third bike in this morning which was the most unusual of all.

The lower jockey wheel had melted and a little bit of questioning produced the following results:

Our customer was cleaning his bike when he noticed a considerable amount of hair around the lower pulley (jockey) wheel. Just where hair on a jockey wheel comes from nobody knows but it is one of cyclings great mysteries.

Anyway, he decided that the best way to remove the hair would be to use a blowtorch and burn it off. Never did it cross his mind that the plastic jockey wheels and the oily chain or the rubber tyres might not be too well disposed to such a course of action.

Things began quiet smoothly with some of the longer strands sindging away nicely. Then, suddenly a big flame shot up and the bleddy pulley wheel and the chain went on fire. Our customer began running for a hose when his father who was nearby told him to’ Slow down you clown and grab that bucket of water behind you’ which he did and managed to put out the fire without need of hose nor fire brigade.

The result was just the melted jockey wheel which in the big scheme of things was a pretty good outcome and a lucky escape.

I guess the moral of the story is – Don’t ever try to clean your bike with a blowtorch !

Barry

www.worldwidecycles.com