I went out on the tourer again this morning, having re-fitted the crank. It seemed to be OK but if I’m honest I was nervous the whole time I was out. When I got back home I stripped the crank down again, removed the spacer on the left bearing of the bottom bracket and built it back up again. I had hoped the extra 2.5mm of extra length on the axle would give more of the splines for the crank arm to grip on to. It didn’t and the crank just moved left and right by the amount of the spacer. I’ve put it all back the way it was and hopefully it will hold. I’m not sure that it wasn’t just an error I made when fitting the crank previously. When the new arm arrives I’ll compare the two for wear and see if replacing it will make any difference.

One other thing that I did change was the angle of my bars. I set them so that the “bull-horn” is slightly more vertical. Just a slight adjustment has proved to be much more comfortable when I’m riding with my hands resting there. I’ll just need to reposition my bell. I had placed it on the stem as there’s not much room on the bars but it’s not easy to access there in a hurry. A bit more experimenting needed. Apart from that everything is settling down nicely. I should organise a camping trip soon!