My Grand Master Plan entailed removing the inner chain rings, moving the outer to the middle position, and installing a bash guard on the outer. It was an excellent plan, in theory. In practice, not so much.
It seems the Shimano Altus crankset I have is riveted together, instead of screwed. Which means I am screwed, as well. I could just lock the front derailleur down, leave it on the large chainring and call it a day. But now that I look at it.... that chainring is kind of small... and it's really showing signs of wear...
I should install a new single ring crankset. A bright shiny one with 40+ teeth. And fluted cranks. Bright and shiny. (Seriously, sometimes I think I have the mind of a crow.) But here's the thing-- I'm a cheap Scot by nurture. And while I'd love to put on something light and contoured, they tend to be, well, not cheap.
In any event, off I went to the Interwebs to see how to remove the crankset. Oh. Special tools are needed. Hmm. That sneaking feeling I'm in over my head starts to creep up my neck. I think I'd better register on one of the forums and ask some questions. Whammo! Three excellent responses right out of the box. I may have to take back all the nasty things I said before. That, or I managed to only get responses from the helpful people. One poster had just rebuilt his old '92 Trek 700 - possibly the same year I'm working on. He recommended changing the bottom bracket while I was at it. Creeeeeep goes the scope of the 'mog.
I'm not so sure I'm still not it over my head, but at least I know what I don't know. Now if I can only find a cool, retro crankset on the cheap...
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