Major upgrade on my bike a few weeks ago. New rear derailleur, cassette, front derailleur, chain, shifters, cables, sheaths, bottom bracket, front cranks, all Alivio except for the front cranks. New Avid brake handles. This was the first time I have done so much at once. I pulled the bike to bits in the shower, and scrubbed it all down with strong detergent. I had the back and front wheels down to bearings, which were cleaned, repacked with grease, and put back together. I also had the front forks off and got those steering bearings cleaned and repacked.

I have just today added some Mosso rigid forks, as the previous set seized up about 8000 km ago, and the extra weight with no benefits was no good. Just had a short ride and it feels fine.

I need to do a bit of fabrication to reinstal the front guards. The new forks are higher above the tyre, so I need to drill out the little metal tag that is attached to the guards, fabricate a new one, attach it, get a new longer bolt to attach that metal tag to the forks. The bolt hole size on the bottom of the forks to hold the guards is also different, so I will need new bolts for that too.

This bike now has just over 13,000 km (8077 miles) on it. The Honey brown Brooks B17 has nearly 9000 km and is very comfortable. The current rear wheel is an Deore hub, with Alex Rims D19 rims. This rear wheel seems to be lasting longer than the other 4 I have been through.

Not much remains that came with the bike, the handlebars, headstem, frame, and brakes bits that hold the pads, as well as the front wheel. The wear line is just starting to dissapear on one part of the front wheel, so I might have to do something about that sooner or later.

I bought this bike in June 2009, it has served me well, and needs to do so until the end of June 2012. After that I will get on my Surly LHT and ride to Turkey to start a new phase of my life.

z