As the sun was shining this morning and it wasn’t forecast to be too hot, I decided to take out my touring bike for a run. I hadn’t used it it for a while, maybe not since I fitted the x2 chainring set-up. Well, not for a longer run at least. So, I decided that this was the day to head off to B&Q to buy some compost for my house-plants. It was going to be the first time I had gone shopping on the bike since I sold the car so the trip would cover a few bases.

I had cycled about five miles and wasn’t too far from my destination when the left hand crank arm gave out. That was not long after a wasp stung me on the arm. I felt something land on my fore-arm and I tried to shake it off. That’s when it must have decided I was a threat and stung me. I thought it would then fly away but it held on. Worried in case it stung me again I ended up swatting it. It’s the first time I’ve been stung for many years so I wasn’t sure how much of a reaction I would get. In the end it was a bit stinging but not too bad and no swelling.

But, back to the crank. It had started making a rubbing noise then just spun round. Luckily (or so I thought) I had my tool kit with me. So having the correct allen key I could fix it and get on my way. The crank arm went on and tightened up but only lasted a couple of turns before it loosened and spun around again. It was a long walk home, especially pushing the bike.

When I got home I tried a couple of times to fit the crank arm on but it didn’t seem to want to catch. The splines in the arm seem a bit worn but I’m not sure if that’s the problem or if I just wasn’t adjusting the pre-tension plug correctly. After messing around for a while, I even considered replacing the crank-set with a Hope one. I’m really happy with the hope set-up on my mountain bike but when I looked into it, going down that route would probably mean replacing my chain-rings. As it’s not so long ago I bought Absolute Black oval rings which fit on a 110 bcd spider I wasn’t too sure they’d be compatible with Hope cranks.

I found a replacement Shimano crank arm on-line, so have ordered that. Soon after I hit send, the arm then fitted correctly (maybe!) but I’ll take it out tomorrow for a run to try it out. I may even be able to do the shopping test-run again. Once the new crank-arm arrives, I’ll compare the two. This may turn out to have been yet another hastily made and unnecessary purchase! If the old one is still serviceable, I can alway re-sell the new one without being too much out of pocket.