Monday, December 12, 2011

A SuperMutant, Boeshield T-9, and a Tree


I have sad news. Mutant Winter is no more. When I got around to trying to clean her up for this winter season, I found that the disc brakes had deteriorated into rusty clumps of unfixable goo. I didn't want to buy new ones. Other things were also pretty bad, so I stole the studded tires, the second best tub in town, pedals and a few other components and slapped 'em on an old SuperCycle mountain bike. SuperCycle is a house brand for Canadian Tire bikes. At the lowest end they are about the same as NEXT or any of the other cheaper department store bikes. The Gary Fisher Bitter that Mutant Winter was based on was nice, but while I wait for the time and resources required for my next sweet winter bike build, I figure this will suffice. One nice thing is that by combining parts from Mutant Winter and this SuperCycle, I have created a SuperMutant!


SuperMutant, sans Tub

I guess it doesn't really look like a mutant at all yet. I'll get there, I promise.

The Deore derailleur from MW wouldn't work on this frame since it required a derailleur hanger, so I bought a new, cheap ($15) Shimano "Tourney" from Village Cycle in my neighbourhood. Looking at it, I knew its screws and other silver bits would begin to rust immediately in the salty road conditions here. That's where the Boeshield comes in.



Boeshield T-9 is really great stuff. I originally bought it to treat the insides of my steel Trek touring frame. I also sprayed it on a heavy chain that I use to lock up bikes on my porch. That chain has been sitting outside in the snow and and mist (although not direct rain) for about 15 months and it still looks pretty good...

 

I only treated it with Boeshield that one time over a year ago, so I'm pretty impressed. A steel chain left outdoors would normally get rusty pretty quick, I think. Anyway, I hosed down that derailleur and many other parts of the bike with Boeshield and I bet it'll help considerably. When I get around to building a new winter bike, I will use Boeshield from the get-go on everything (especially spokes, nipples and rim eyelets: I've had nipples break due to salty brutality) and every few months in the hopes of keeping it nice despite the salty crud it will face.

If you are thinking of commenting about how I should give the bike a rinse after riding in salty slush, I know, I know. I also know myself and that I'm too lazy or hurried or both most of the time to do what I should and Boeshield or something like it may be my only hope.

Where was I? Ah, yes, a tree! There is another SARATS entry. It is a Steve A find from a blog post he read. It is, however, being entered by the owner, Durango, who shot it in Fort Worth, Texas with Steve's encouragement.



Love that dome shape, man. Thanks for the tree and good luck in my contest! 



Yer Pal,
R A N T W I C K

10 comments:

Steve A said...

My bike is in for surgery, but is expected to recover.

Steve A said...

I would be interested in a good comparison between Boeshield versus Eezox.

RANTWICK said...

I've never heard of Eezox... Boeshield was fairly hard to find here in Canada...

Big Oak said...

MW, RIP.

I am sad to say I won't have an entry this year. I couldn't find any suitable candidates worthy of competing with the King. I do look forward to seeing the other entries.

Anonymous said...

I suspect the heavy chain hasn't rusted because it is galvanized and not because of the Boeshield. The chain looks galvanized anyway.

RANTWICK said...

Big Oak - You'll just have to savour the memory of last year's prize, I guess... don't be sad.

Anon - I does looked galvanized now, but it was very bright and shiny in a way no galvanized chain could have been when I bought it.

Now you've got me doubting myself... I'm gonna visit the local hardware store where I bought it and check.

Graham said...

I gotta get me some boeshield! I'm a lazy cyclist and am always looking had to save some time.

Going to try the Waterloo Lee Valley which just opened up.

RANTWICK said...

Graham - Lee Valley was the only place I could find it, so I think you're on the right track.

JAT in Seattle said...

Jeez, I realize I haven't been on the bike for weeks - Ugh!

My Boeshield story: many yrs ago ( the now rowing offspring weren't born yet) I was living on a small southern continent and kept a bike in the rafters of my (now-ex) in-laws' garage for visits home. All my tools/lubes/ointments were down under and I went to a bike shop (now 5 blocks from my house, oddly) and asked the shop rat for a chain-lube recommendation.

I was an ice-wax devotee at the time.

he said: I don't lube my chain; since I work in a shop, I just put a new chain on, every two months, but if I had to, I'd use this. (handing me a squeeze bottle of Boeshield T-6)

That shop is now a pet supply store; too much shrinkage.

(kidding - it just relocated across the street)

Anyway - it's friggin got the word Boeing in it, obviously it's good. If it were named Airbushield, it would be just about as good, but be a lot noisier and rattle a lot on take-off

Partizanly yours...

RANTWICK said...

JAT - I'm with you. Anything developed to protect vital airplane parts is good enough for me.

I have a lot of respect for aerospace engineers, despite what I know of Steve A! heheeeeee!

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