One of the most interesting things about this cyclocross season has been being both racer and mechanic. I've done every single bit of mechanic work on my rig this season, and with that has also come some mistakes. Fortunately, none of those mistakes have cost me in a race--or at least not noticeably.

The first mistake, I made two days before Charm City and I'm hoping it'll be the most expensive one I make this season. The left rear brake boss on my Javelin isn't aligned properly. That's a manufacturing error/QC issue, but the result is that my rear brake pads weren't contacting the rim at the right angle. In trying to bend the brakes to overcome this error, I bent the bolt that holds the smooth shaft brake pad. In doing that, I damaged the threads to lock it in place and when I tried to screw it shut, I sheared the bolt! This bolt is unique to Empella brakes and since Cyclocrossworld.com is the only company selling them in the US, I had to shell out for next day air and a replacement sent of bolts. I have since learned how to properly bend the brakes and now they're at the right angle.
Cost: $40.49

The second mistake I made was beyond a rookie mistake. It was purely a stupid one and so far it was the most dangerous to my race hopes. I lost a bolt out of my seatpost during Charm City and upon examination, it was because I had the top part of the clamp oriented backwards. Basically, I didn't read the piece to see the 'FRONT' stamped on well, the front and I had it in there backwards. That meant it was tough to get the angle I wanted and so I had the back bolt just barely screwed in. One race on the dirt, and it worked its way loose.
Cost: $4.95

The third mistake, I didn't notice until late last week. I lost the crank arm cap/washer on my Dura Ace FC-7700 drive side crank. I didn't think it was much more than a cosmetic error until I noticed the crank bolt was loose moments before the start of my race on Saturday. A new one should keep that bolt tight.
Cost: $8.95

Unfortunately it wasn't the cause of the most perplexing of all problems . . . Moments before the start of my race on Saturday, I started hearing an awful cracking/creaking noise coming either from my bottom bracket or somewhere in the hub/rear derailleur area. I wasn't sure which and I had no idea how to fix the problem, so I had to race with the noise. I did get a little bit better during the race, but never the way it should sound.

So today, I set off on a quest to determine what in the world this noise was. It never happened on the stand. So shifting up and down without any real pressure on the crank sounded just fine and the shifting was normal. So I took it outside and confirmed that the only way to make the noise was to put a lot of resistance against the crank. That meant the noise was heard when starting from a dead stop in just about any gear, but worse when starting in the 42x12.

I first wanted to rule out the hub. That would be the worst case since the Mavic Cosmos I've been riding on have seen very little 'cross action so far. I switched the rear wheel with my road bike's rear wheel. I took it outside again and was actually thrilled to hear that the problem persisted. That ruled out the hub! Or did it? My rear hub on the road bike actually seemed to have some play in it. I tightened it up to take out the play and fortunately, the sound continued. I checked the tightness of the hub on my cross wheel and it was fine.

The remaining possibilites were the BB and either the rear derailleur or chain. It was hard for me to determine where the noise was coming from since I had to ride the bike to hear it. But on Saturday Jess seemed convinced it wasn't the BB. So I went with her recommendation and turned my attention to the rear derailluer and chain.

The more I looked at the problem, the more I became convinced that the chain was somehow slipping to make the noise. And that was consistent with my thought that the chain was one link too long. In my quest to improve the shifting last week, I hadsd finally concluded that the chain was just barely too long. But when I went to shorten it, I realized that the one reason I loved SRAM chains was not a feature in their 10 speed chains!

The link that I thought was a PowerLink is actually called a PowerLOCK on the new chains. That means that you can install the chain without a chain tool, but to remove the chain, it's back to the same old of using a tool. And once you remove the PowerLock, you have to get a new one to reconnect the chain! Ugh. I'm no longer excited about SRAM 10 speed chains. But that's the reason that I decided to leave the chain at its current length. And that one extra link, it turns out, was the cause of this horrible noise.

I had to ride over to Big Wheel Bikes, the closest LBS and snag a Shimano CN-5600 (105 Chain). I checked the length with the SRAM chain I removed, then installed it and voila! The problem was gone. So until I get another PowerLock, I've got a useless SRAM 10 Speed chain laying around.
Cost $27.95


I should comment also that so far the shifting does seem to be better with a Shimano chain the Shimano drivetrain. Go figure! Shifting it more precise also without so much slack in the chain. In the 27 cog, the cage is at about 45 degrees with the horizontal, which in my opinion is about as far as you should go. In the 12 cog, things look exactly as they should, with the two pulleys nearly inline vertically.