Day 8, 25th May 2011, Brussels
We have a day or two or Brussels, and the number one thing on my agenda was to get my bike fixed. There was something wrong with the drive train, which I suspected was from my lovely Rohloff hub gear set. My friend in Brussels found out that there was a local distributor, and we went out to see what he could do.
He immediately put the bike on the stand, identified a couple of major issues, none of which were due to the hub gears, and spent the next two hours working on the bike while we watched over his shoulder asking questions. I have never, in a long life of working on bikes, come across anyone who had more knowledge and capability as a bike person.
Amongst other things, he replaced the rear wheel rim. The one on the bike had a large crack that ran completely around the circumference of the wheel. It was only obvious when the tyre, tube and protective tape were removed. It certainly explained the buckle in the wheel, and could not have conceivably lasted much longer. The drive problem was due to a faulty chain and cog combination.
The company is Fietsen Koen at www.fietsenkoen.be. Highly recommended.
The rest of the day was spent wandering around Brussels. Normally we sort of “do” cities in a couple of hours, but having a guide made a huge difference.
At the time of writing the weather over the UK seems not to be conducive to riding, so we will meander up to the ferry port, perhaps by the long way.