Sunday Morning Bike Ride

This morning I headed out for my Sunday bike ride, but I did not get far.

Last week I had the bike into the shop for the annual checkup. One of the things the shop adjusted was the front derailer(dérailleur).

This morning, when I went around a corner, I shifted into the small chainring, and the chain jumped off. So I stopped and put the chain back on, and continued. I shifted into the middle chainring and cruised around the block. However, now I was not able to get the front derailer to shift into the small chainring. After trying for several minutes I was finally able to get it to work, but there were still problems. I rode for about 5 miles and continued to have problems shifting, but the chain did not come off.

"Hmm..." I thought, "If I am having this much trouble, today would not be a good day to go over to North West Austin and do hill repeats. That requires a lot of shifting into the small chainring!"

It is also good that Daniel called me yesterday and said his group would not be able to make today's Walburg Waltz ride, so I stayed home from that. I could probably have done it, as there are no hills and very few places where I would need a low gear. Buts it is just as well I that I was able to test out the newly adjusted bike in my neighborhood.

I was looking at the Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair, especially the section on "Front Derailleur Adjustment," and the adjustment seems fairly easy. So the question is, should I take to bike back to the shop, or should I try to do it myself?

I don't have any rides planed this week. So there should not be any problems getting it back into the shop. They should warranty their work, so if I can find the papers, it should be free. I guess I will take it back in.