Getting down to final reassembly I see that the original bolts have an unthreaded collar, designed to clear the shoulder of the half shell mounting. The new 6mm bolt I purchased this morning is a standard hex threaded along its length. As I tighten it up the head runs into the shoulder of the half shell and stops dead, with a little way left to go. I can do up the other side and it all stays in place under tension but I have visions of the whole thing vibrating loose and falling off as I ride.
This is frustrating, to say the least. What I need is a bolt of similar design, or a sleeve of just the right size to imitate the unthreaded bit. This way I can tighten the bolt so it is less likely to vibrate loose. I go hunting for something to do the job. To an onlooker, this part of the problem solving ritual looks like aimless bimbling. In fact, the problem solver is so focused it’s a bit frightening. In this state of fixation it’s not unknown to start dismantling otherwise perfectly functioning everyday items and leaving a mini trail of destruction as you go. Anything that looks the part is fair game, it’s a reckless state of play.
On this occasion, a stiff plastic straw from one of the child’s drinking cups presents itself as at least an interim solution. He, and more importantly the mum, will never miss a few millimetres neatly hacksawed off the end. The bore of the straw is a perfect match for the bolt and the pliability interests me from a vibration damping point of view. The only suspect property of this repair is how robust it will be over time. If the collar splits and falls off the lever is likely to go loose again but I’m prepared to take that chance, for now, until I get round to sourcing a sleeved bolt. The arrangement can be noted in the accompanying photograph.
The nice thing, if it works, is that I’m building a relationship with this bike, in a very real sense. Not only am I becoming increasingly aware of its foibles but I’m introducing a few of my own.
I can imagine a time when the lever becomes loose again and perhaps I’m giving someone a ride. While they deal with doubting the wisdom of accepting a lift on this bucket of bolts I will know exactly what’s going on and be able to review the strengths and weaknesses of my design decisions, moving swiftly on to a more permanent solution.
There won't be any panic, or anxiety, and I want to extend this to other aspects in my custody of the Black Bullet. Taking this to its logical conclusion, I suppose the best thing I can do is take it to bits and put it back together again. But I'm not a mechanic of any experience and who knows what bugs i'd build back into it.
At least on this occasion the underlying problem has been solved. If I had bunged up the stripped hole with epoxy and shoved the old bolt back in, and I needed to get the piece off at a later date, I would have an even bigger problem on my hands. So I’m happy to see whichever outcome this repair presents, as I now understand the problem, even though my current solution is a bit flaky.
