Bike Back, No It's Not - Yes It Is - Rear Quick Release Skewer Seized!

Well my bike is finally back with me, but I did have a further drama with it!

I collected my bike and to my surprise and delight I noticed that there had been a few changes!

A new frame of course, but not only that but a whole load of new components were fitted!

These included - (all new) Bottom Bracket, Chain Set/Pedals etc, Chain and Front and Rear Mechs!

So very happy with how I have been treated by both GoOutdoors and Calibre Bikes!

Top Notch customer service which is very rare indeed these days!

On getting my bike back I had to set about bolting on all the extras that I have fitted, saddle, rear pannier racks and front pannier racks.

Kiera did not seem overly impressed that I had taken over the conservatory for the build!

The rear panniers took a bit of time as I wanted to level out the rack.

As you can see from the above picture, it was tilted forward. I wanted this to be level, but this meant extended the front connecting stays.

I had some metal laying around in the garage, so once cut to length and drilled I bolted it on and although not a pretty sight, I think it has worked and is functional.

Some off road testing with the panniers on will see if the extensions are up to the job!

As you can see the panniers sit upright now and I now have more space on top of the rack for strapping things down.

The above picture is a before shot, you can just about see that I have gained around 3 to 4 inches on the top of the rack by straightening it all up.

However, I did have a slight problem. I decided that it would be probably easier to remove the rear wheel to allow me to attach the pannier rack easily.

So I released the skewer axle lever and unwound, well, it unwound fresh air, it had seized!

I tried all sorts to release it, and even phoned up the workshop to make sure it was not me being daft!

Back I went with the bike who confirmed that it was seized and I wasn't at fault! Phew!

The next question was how to get the skewer out, we tried all sorts, nothing worked. Eventually we took the rear mech off, pulled the frame slightly to allow the wheel to drop out and unwound the mech hanger and threaded tube that way. This meant we could then pull the axle through the left hand side of the bike.

A new skewer fitted and we were good to go!

Fitting the front pannier racks takes a bit of mucking around, I have to swap the skewer axle for a longer axle.

This done, I replace it all with the drop down shims which allows the pannier racks to be mounted and then clamped around the forks with the "U" bolts. An easy job which did not take long.

I have used these racks as there are no lugs to mount cages on my forks. The forks are tapered so using jubilee clips is out of the question as well.

At least I can bolt on bottle cages and strap dry bags to it which actually makes more sense to me.

I also cut an old piece of inner tube up and wrapped it around the rear stay to protect the frame when the chain comes off. Again, not pretty, but functional.

Just need to get out on the bike now, but with a sore wrist, which is not yet healed, deciding to wait a few more days makes sense.

Anyway, the bike is ready, it's just me now!

Ride safe