Some Hardware For The Body

Bought a pulley, nylon rope and an S for doing some lat and deltoid type exercise at home. Bought them from Chandni where Monisha and I went this morning, basically to buy two Aron helmets (Rs 600 each). The pulley (a very basic one) cost Rs 170 and the S Rs 10. The 10 meter nylon rope came in for Rs 80. It's the thinner variety. I thought the thicker variety might be difficult to tie to the weights. But now after installing the machine, looks like it's too thin for the weight. I am using 10 kg for pulling up. Might go up to 15 kg. It's too thin for a decent grip. Let me see. I might go for a thicker rope or a wooden/cane rule to be tied at the other end or perhaps both. 

I remembered my father once again. He would've been happy today. We had a very famous large well in our house in Deoghar where the entire neighbourhood used to come for their water in summer when the other wells in Belabagan used to run dry - ours never ran out of water as it had several perennial springs inside. It had a very elaborate grille (according to Baba his father had bought them off an auction from Hazaribagh jail) on top but it did not have the pulley system for pulling out water. During my grand father's time it had a latha system to fill up the cistern for irrigating the field around. A latha is a large bamboo with a rope attached to one end with a bucket hanging from it and the other end is on a Y kind of piece of wood fixed to the field. That end has a big weight. You pull the rope down and guide the bucket into the water and then let it go free. It rises with the load at the other end of the bamboo. A very ancient kind of system, I am sure. I don't think these systems are practised anywhere in India any more. 

Our caretaker Tilua used to complaint a lot that pulling water out of the well without a pulley was a hell of a problem. Basically he used to stand on the grille on top and pull water out with a bucket attached to a rope. To use a pulley we would need to make a concrete structure over the well. Two pillars on the sides and a concrete slab connecting them over the top from where the pulley would hang. 

Baba used to often take quotes from some local masons and they would spend hours over various details like how many bricks and how much cement would be needed, what diameter of steel rods to use etc. Finally the pillars would never get erected for paucity of funds. 

Today that pulley finally got purchased. Albeit for a different purpose altogether. But it's a similar pulley nevertheless that should have hung over our big well in Deoghar. All that is part of my memories only. 

From Chandni I also bought for my tool collection a small hammer for Rs 70. It's not a regular requirement item but when you need it you cannot make do with something else, particularly on cycles or other delicate items. 

You Light Up My Way

The unit mounted on the handle bar

Yesterday my basic headlight and taillight arrived from Bangalore for my Red Roadie. Bought these off Happy Earth. A NiteRider Swift 350 lumen front light and a very basic NR TL 5.0 SL. Both are basic but the taillight is more so, given that it costs Rs 549 only. The headlight costs Rs 2299 for 350 lumens of white LED light. But then there are cheaper headlights that offer 200 or 100 lumens. 

The other day while going for the early morning group ride with Rana, I realised that light is really going to be important if I was to ride early mornings. Particularly now that winter is coming and fog will soon envelop Calcutta streets in the wee hours of the morning when we venture out on the streets.

Everyone else in the group had their taillights. It was really helpful for me because all of them went ahead of me and I could see them from a very long distance behind. 

My taillight has three LED bulbs inside and offers three modes. It has the steady light, which is fairly bright. The second is the strobe mode where one light blinks on and off. Then there is another mode where the three lights go on and off in succession. I think I will have the lamp on in this mode when I ride. It draws the maximum attention. 

The lamp is powered by two small AAA batteries. The OE pair was NR branded. Very cute looking. 

The unit is operated by one tiny little switch behind. I have stuck the unit by the clip to the back of my saddle bag and I hope it does not come off on a rough patch of road. There is another attachment for strapping it to the seat post. I have kept it aside because with the saddle bag on, there is no space to use that on my bike. 

The unit feels very cheapo. Opening the unit up for installing the battery was easy. But fixing it back on was a bit scary. I was worried that it might break. Well, it did not. 

It's on. The white light is of the button

The headlight is a small "pencil torch" kind of flashlight. The light output is decent. But it is not really meant for seeing the road in the dark. It is more for making yourself visible to other drivers. That's fine for me for now. If I ever went for a 300 or 400 km Brevet, where you do a lot of night riding I would have to go for something bigger. 

This unit has three light intensities - I guess 100, 200 and 350 lumens respectively. To switch it off you keep the switch pressed for 3 seconds. There is no strobe mode. There is a way by which you can lock the switch to prevent accidental switching on when you are carrying it in a bag or something. I have to work it out though. The unit is powered by a lithium ion battery that is USB rechargeable. The unit came with a USB charging cable. I have installed it on the left hand side of the handlebar with the strap that is provided. I don't think the battery is user replaceable. I will have to chuck it off when the battery dies out.

Important Note - Added 10th June 2020

I think it was last year that the rear tail light fell off the bike and broke. It had a clip system to attach to the saddle bag and that clip progressively became loose. I had hit a small road bump and it fell off the bike. The first time it happened I could re-assemble the unit after collecting back all the disintegrated parts but on the next accident the glass shell broke. I have since not replaced it. If I do I will possibly go for a Sigma but the attachment system has to be something like my front light which is quite good.

In fact the other evening during lock-down I had gone cycling to Regent Park and the roads were totally dark in stretches. The light is pretty adequate. I could quite see my way around. I may not feel confident with it on unknown mountain roads in the dark but here in the city I am quite okay with this.

Crankbrothers Multitool 19

Yesterday my Crankbrothers Multitool 19 arrived. Bought it off Amazon. I intend to carry it on my bike trips. It has a few hex keys and star keys. It also has a chain tool, not to speak of spoke wrenches. These days that's about what you need for a world tour. Because bicycle manufacturers have simplified most of the stuff. Of course a few specialised tools are needed for specialised jobs but this tool can do most of the basic tightenings and loosenings.

The chain tool; it also has 4 spoke wrenches - Moto G5s

The tool feels nicely heavy and solid in the hand and does not give the el cheapo feeling at all. I find the different tools a little too tight as of now. But I am sure with use they will loosen up. So far I have only used it to tinker with some minor saddle adjustments like pushing the saddle back a bit and pulling it up a bit. The tool came in handy. I have to learn to use the chain tool. I don't think one will ever need it on the road. But no harm learning basic things that can be fixed on the road.

June-end 2018

The tool has found a permanent place in my saddle bag and it is immensely useful. The other day I bought an old chain just to practice chain breaking and repair. I broke a few links with this multi tool. Works like a charm. You can read about it here.

The keys have eased up quite a bit. However, you have to be very precise with folding the chain breaker tool otherwise the unit does not slide into the aluminium case. Precision designing at its best. The plastic cap of the case, which was difficult to take off and snap back on, has eased up too.

I love using this tool. No doubt.